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PoorMonger

(844 posts)
16. The Talented Ribkins by Ladee Hubbard
Tue Nov 28, 2017, 04:22 PM
Nov 2017

At seventy-two, Johnny Ribkins shouldn’t have such problems: He’s got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it’s curtains.

What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African-American family that has been gifted with super powers that are a bit, well, odd. Okay, very odd. For example, Johnny's father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether he's been there or not.

In the old days, the Ribkins family tried to apply their gifts to the civil rights effort, calling themselves The Justice Committee. But when their, eh, superpowers proved insufficient, the group fell apart. Out of frustration Johnny and his brother used their talents to stage a series of burglaries, each more daring than the last.

Fast forward a couple decades and Johnny’s on a race against the clock to dig up loot he's stashed all over Florida. His brother is gone, but he has an unexpected sidekick: his brother's daughter, Eloise, who has a special superpower of her own.

Inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois’s famous essay “The Talented Tenth” and fuelled by Ladee Hubbard’s marvelously original imagination, The Talented Ribkins is a big-hearted debut novel about race, class, politics, and the unique gifts that, while they may cause some problems from time to time, bind a family together.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly PoorMonger Nov 2017 #1
Another winner! hermetic Nov 2017 #3
this was SO good..... dhill926 Nov 2017 #11
I'm taking a Bosch break to reread a Robert Heinlein classic TexasProgresive Nov 2017 #2
Such a great title hermetic Nov 2017 #5
I am not up on 2 wheels but I am much improved. TexasProgresive Nov 2017 #9
I guess so hermetic Nov 2017 #10
The Plot to Hack America by Malcolm Nance n/t Lulu KC Nov 2017 #4
Definitely hermetic Nov 2017 #6
I just picked up murielm99 Nov 2017 #7
Oh yum! hermetic Nov 2017 #8
Between all of the cat rescue work and Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale, I haven't gotten much japple Nov 2017 #12
Hey, my pleasure hermetic Nov 2017 #13
Awwww. Such a sweet little one. Bless you for finding her a home. I hope they will keep her japple Nov 2017 #14
Justice Hall by Laurie R. King PennyK Nov 2017 #15
The Talented Ribkins by Ladee Hubbard PoorMonger Nov 2017 #16
Good times! hermetic Dec 2017 #18
The Game by Laurie R. King (duh) PennyK Dec 2017 #17
Sounds awesome hermetic Dec 2017 #19
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