On "Walang Hiya, Brother" by Melissa R. Sipin (7474 words) ***

Kweli publishes a lot of interesting stories insofar as they come from very differing points of view and culture. Here's a tale about arranged marriage, but it's more about the guy who's being arranged than the woman. He's being "sold" essentially for money, someone who needs citizenship papers. It's a fascinating look at a Filipino community. Read the story here at Kweli.

On "La Hija de Chango" by Ivelisse Rodriguez (6096 words) ***

Xaviera wants a boyfriend. Actually, she wants a particular boy. But she's in school, a fancy one at that, and no longer fits in with the neighborhood where she grew up. Torn between two cultures, she wishes for the old one as she gravitates more and more toward the new. In the end, her taste in boys will change too. And what's more important, she learns, is that you can ply any tricks you want, but if a person falls for tricks, they aren't falling for you. Read the story here at Kweli.

On "A Hard Bed" by Princess Perry (6176 words) ****

Here's a bit of historical fiction for you. The Pembers are poor black folk trying to make a good of it on a farm. Joh Pember seduces Molly, and that's just the beginning of the end of any dreams they might have. Molly, pregnant, will not get to go to school to be nurse, if Namon, Joh's brother, gets to make the decision. What Namon suffers at the hands of the whites in town he turns on his own family. Read the story here at Kweli Journal.

On "The Little Girl With Budding Breasts and a Bubblegum Laugh" by A. Igoni Barrett (5804 words) ****

A friend recently asked why I like the book Lolita and whether I sympathized with the main character. Does one have to sympathize with a main character? I'm not convinced one does. Still there's a certain sick hopelessness, a pitifulness, to such characters. Writing about subjects like incest or pedophilia is almost always of a disturbing nature, and this story is no exception. Here a man falls for his cousin fifteen years his junior. He's got no business living in the same house with her, and reading as the events unfold is downright icky. She's a spoiled teen; he's nearing thirty. The decisions he makes, mostly based around her, become increasingly more disturbing and also secretive. If you have the stomach, you can read the story here at Kweli Journal.