It’s also a story of aging punk rock stars, wildly imagined aliens, and the beauty and stupidity of life as we know it.

It’s a touching, deeply universal story of connection, perseverance, and what it means to be human. Thus begins Decibel’s journey as he navigates the narrowing rules of the contest, but also his efforts to tackle his own self-doubt and the many (many) scars from his past. How high stakes? Oh, just determining whether the human race will be welcomed into the universe or wiped from existence. What happens when you cross the sci-fi wackiness of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with the glam rock lifestyle of Eurovision? You get the delightful, bouncing disco ball of a novel, Space Opera! Revolving around has-been rockstar Decibel Jones, Space Opera opens with the collective lifeforms of the galaxy making first contact with Earth - specifically, with Decibel, who they have selected to represent humanity in a high-stakes, intergalactic musical contest. ⭐ For more books that discuss race, check out our guide to African American Literature. Narrated in Nicole Lewis' confident (and confidential) tone, Such a Fun Age is one of those best audiobooks that feels like listening to a friend confess the latest details of their own life. Thus begins a plot that could only happen in the present day, as Emira struggles to navigate racial issues and potential social media scandals, all while trying to hold together a job, a social life, and some semblance of sanity. One night, in an effort to keep Alix’s daughter out of the house during a family emergency, Emira takes young Briar to the grocery store, where they’re confronted by a security guard wanting to know what this Black woman is doing with a white child. Alix - white, married, successful in a private blogging enterprise - hires Emira to be a regular babysitter of her two kids. This thoroughly modern novel revolves around Emira, a 25-year-old Black woman desperately trying to make ends meet, and Alix, her peer by age but not by social status.

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