Stories and Book Talk

Category: Book Talk

The Currents Series by Dora Okeyo
Fire

Book One

A boy is born in the land of Leo. As the sound of the cattle horn is heard, everyone in the Kingdom celebrates the birth of not only a boy, but the Crown Prince. His name is Ustawi.

The hands that hold him foretell a prosperous future, but just like every dream has it’s valleys, so has Ustawi’s birth. One man has seen the evil that’s to befall the kingdom under the boy’s reign, his name is Ukweli. He is the Seer.

Fire begins the story of the Prince’s life and as you read through a story rich in culture and customs you can only ask yourself, can the Seer fight the gods? Can he avert the impending doom that’s to come?

Available on Amazon

Water

Book Two

Water is a riveting tale about the kingdom of Leo. It is led by a stubborn King who is jealous of his brother- The Seer.

When their mother dies, the King sets on a path filled with anger and it seems that no one can stop him from spiraling down this trail of vengeance.

Water weaves a tale filled with African tradition and sayings, and as you read each word, you cannot help but wonder what will become of the kingdom of Leo? Will King Uwezo listen to his brother and do what’s right?

Available on Amazon

Wind

Book Three

King Uwezo knocks on his son’s door at night and tells him he will be crowned King by dusk.
Ustawi does not want to be King, not when his Father is still alive. He wants to travel and see the other lands.

But, the King’s word is final. Wind, marks the beginning of Ustawi’s initiation into leadership. Relationships will be broken, alliances will be formed and suddenly the rush to occupy the throne of Leo will begin!

Wind never blows for a long time, but in this third book of the Currents Series, the people of Leo find themselves unable to predict or control the events that take place. It’s a serving of humor, pain, betrayal, anger with a pinch of love.

Available on Amazon

Earth

Book Four

Leo’s most powerful King dies. His only son, Prince Ustawi, resides in the most dangerous forest for he was banished for turning down his inheritance.

The people of Leo need a leader, with enemies ready to attack the most prosperous kingdom, will the Seer’s premonition of doom come true?

Will Ustawi return home? Will he accept his throne and will the woman he loves, Amara, accept to be his Queen?

Earth is the final book in The Currents Series. It is preceded by three books: Fire, Water and Wind. In this final book, we are treated to the race to the most powerful throne and everything is not as it seems, will Ustawi find his bearing or will he fail as the gods decreed?

Available on Amazon

The Currents Series by Dora Okeyo: In Leo—“the land of today”—a prince named Ustawi grows from prophesied doom to chosen leadership, testing whether legacy is fate or something a leader earns, as family rivalries, ritual, and war churn symbolized by the elemental titles: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.

The series grows as follows:
- Fire — Birth and an omen: a celebrated heir arrives under a shadowed prophecy. The question isn’t “Will he be king?” but “At what cost and to whom?”
- Water — A family fracture grows: King Uwezo’s jealousy of his brother, the Seer, Ukweli, pulls the kingdom into grief-driven rule; tradition confronts pride. Will King Uwezo listen to his brother Ukweli?
- Wind — Initiation under pressure: Ustawi is forced toward the crown before he’s ready; alliances reshuffle too fast, revealing how unstable power is when seized, not earned.
- Earth — Exile to return: with the king dead and enemies circling, the banished heir must decide if he’ll claim the throne, rewrite the prophecy, and choose love without losing the realm.
It is a coming-of-age kingship saga rooted in African custom, where elemental forces mirror moral dilemmas. The core of the series is rooted in the tension between prophecy vs. self-determination, bloodline vs. merit, and legacy vs. love asking if a leader can honor tradition while bending a doom that everyone else has already accepted.
September 12, 2025
The Price of Sight by Gitahi Ngunyi

Trapped in darkness, witnessed a crime. Would anyone believe him?
Mukeni, a gentle soul with a developmental disability, faces a terrifying fate when his head is sealed inside a clay pot, left to suffocate on a lonely Kenyan hillside path. His desperate struggle for air intertwines with visions of his beloved late mother—visions that may be his last.
His discovery comes from Wacera, his devoted guardian since childhood. Rushing to deliver milk before dawn, her shortcut leads to a horrifying Mukeni, seemingly lifeless, his head grotesquely imprisoned. Her screams shatter the silence, rallying the village.
As Mukeni fights for survival and recounts witnessing a brutal burglary next door, the community scrambles. But justice proves elusive. The thieves targeted Gathii, a man Wacera secretly longs for, yet Mukeni’s testimony is dismissed—the law deems him unfit to speak. While pragmatic villagers focus on recovering stolen goods, Wacera rages against the injustice done to the man she protects like a brother.
The Price of Sight is a poignant and suspenseful tale set in rural Kenya. It explores the bonds of family and community, the crushing weight of prejudice against disability, and the quiet resilience of those fighting for dignity and love in the face of cruelty and indifference. Can Mukeni find safety? Will Wacera secure justice for him? And will her own heart find its answer with Gathii?

Available on Amazon

Thoughts:

The Price of Sight is a short story about Mukeni, who lives in a small rural community where he faces prejudice for his learning disability from the larger community, but receives infinite kindness from Wacera, a young woman who treats him like a younger brother.

This short story offers a sharp commentary on the callous indifference and distorted perceptions of those with disabilities in our communities, and how such neglect can leave them voiceless, unrecognized, and without legal empowerment.

September 5, 2025
3 Manga With That Shōjo Toxic Love We Love To Read

Some days you want wholesome fluff; other days you crave a hero who’d burn the world for his girl—then ask if she’s eaten yet. If you’ve been missing the delicious drama of Unhinged heroes, buckle in. I’ve unearthed three titles that deliver that “this-is-so-wrong-but-I-can’t-stop” adrenaline hit: Firefly Wedding (Vol. 1–3), Yakuza Fiancé, and Yakuza Lover. Grab your emotional popcorn.

It’s been a beat since Hana Yori Dango, so it’s always fun to uncover interesting manga with that toxic love energy that we all love to hate, but actually love to read about, and I feel like I’ve unearthed three titles that fit right in to this trope. Either way, when the hero says, ‘I think people who hurt my wife should be erased from the world.’ We’re there for it. It’s the love for that totally unhinged hero who is totally crazy to read on the page, but we all refuse to meet in real life. So, let’s jump in!

Firefly Wedding (Hotaru no Yomeiri) by Oreco Tachibana

On the surface, Satoko has it all—she’s beautiful, the daughter of a nobleman, and at a prime age for marriage. Unfortunately, she is also quite ill and only has a short time left to live. Before she can secure a marriage that will redeem her worth in her family’s eyes, she finds herself the target of the mysterious assassin Shinpei, and her plans are put in jeopardy. In order to save herself, she makes a desperate proposal—of marriage! When it comes to love, however, Shinpei takes “until death do we part” seriously.

Why it clicks: Satoko has a weak heart, but she has a strong will and does all she can to survive in the face of unprecedented danger.
Read if you like: damsels-in-distress, instant “I love you” demands.
Age : Firefly Wedding is marked ‘Teen Plus’ 17+

Yakuza Fiance (Raise wa Tanin ga Ii) by Asuka Konishi

In this critically acclaimed romantic crime drama, a yakuza granddaughter is sent from Osaka to marry the grandson of a rival family in Tokyo.

Yoshino grew up the sheltered yakuza princess of the largest crime family in Osaka, the Somei. Due to her resting bitch face and dangerous family, no man has ever approached her. When her grandfather signs a truce with the Tokyo-based Miyama crime family, he offers her up as a truce bride to the Miyama leader’s grandson! Kirishima Miyama is popular, charming, and seems totally normal.

But behind his smile is a violent sadomasochist who thirsts for her dominance even more when she impresses him with her moxie! Even though she knows how bad yakuza can be, she’s stunned by Miyama’s viciousness. She can’t turn him down with the East-West peace treaty on the line…so instead she steels herself to play ball!

What it is: A political engagement between rival crime families, think Romeo and Juliet with more knives and fewer apologies.
Why it clicks: Both leads are terrifyingly competent in their own dark ways, so the relationship feels like two predators pacing the same cage.
Read if you like: power couples who treat threats as foreplay, strategic marriage pacts, heroines who can shoot straight.
Age: Yakuza Fiance is rated Teen Plus 17+

Yakuza Lover by Nozomi Mino

When feisty college student Yuri is attacked at a party, she’s saved by Toshiomi Oya, the underboss of a yakuza syndicate. Despite her obvious attraction to him, she convinces herself that she’s not in the market for a bad boy type. But when they meet again, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to him—kicking off a steamy and dangerous love affair that threatens to consume her, body and soul.

What it is: A college girl meets a Yakuza boss during a brawl and tumbles into an all-consuming romance of silk kimonos, scarlet tattoos, and constant danger.
Why it clicks: This is pure, high-octane fantasy: the heroine’s sweetness collides with the hero’s lethal devotion.
Read if you like: possessive declarations, R-rated chemistry, “ride or die” loyalties that could actually get you killed.
Age Rating: Yakuza Lover is rated Teen Plus 17+

Toxic-But-Tempting: Why We Keep Turning Pages

This trope is fascinating in that there is a thrill to reading danger on paper, as there is the perceived buffer that fiction creates a safe distance. However, any friend experiencing these things in real life, and we would be the first to seek help for them. So, red flags are not beautiful, cannot be sugar-coated, but we can say that we read them so that we can identify them in real life (Yes, we’re going with this to the end of that last chapter, don’t judge).

There is the fantasy of absolute devotion. We can’t lie. There’s a serious guilty thrill in a hero who will raze down obstacles for love. We totally can’t resist an unhinged hero.

At the end of the story, there is always growth potential. A well-written one will nudge the couples toward mutual respect, eventually.

Your Turn

Which “love-to-hate” manga has swallowed your weekend lately?

Theria Guild Guardian: Code and Courage

August 19, 2025
Six Timeless Fantasy Reads Every Young Dreamer Should Discover

From the wardrobe that whisks us into snow-dusted Narnia, where we meet Aslan and outwit an ice-cold witch, to Charlie’s wonder-filled tour of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, these classic fantasy reads spark every child’s imagination. Add The Golden Compass, a daring tale of kids rescuing kids from adults with terrible plans, and you have stories that pulse with courage, magic, and heart.

These six books aren’t just entertaining; they invite young dreamers to explore deeper themes of friendship, bravery, and hope.

Stories are the first passports we’re handed as kids. These six books stamped my childhood with magic: wardrobes that open into snowy kingdoms, chocolate rivers that bubble with possibility, spiderweb messages that spell out friendship, and secret gardens that teach resilience.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures, and epic battles between good and evil—what more could any reader ask for in one book? The book that has it all is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, written in 1949 by Clive Staples Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.

For the past fifty years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature. Each of the seven books is a masterpiece, drawing the reader into a land where magic meets reality, and the result is a fictional world whose scope has fascinated generations.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

This beloved book by E. B. White, author of Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children’s literature that is “just about perfect.”

Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte’s Web, high up in Zuckerman’s barn. Charlotte’s spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur’s life when he was born the runt of his litter.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

One boy…
One dragon…
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Charlie Bucket’s wonderful adventure begins when he finds one of Mr. Willy Wonka’s precious Golden Tickets and wins a whole day inside the mysterious chocolate factory. Little does he know the surprises that are in store for him!

Can’t forget the Oompa Loompas! This book has a lot of nuances when you read it as an adult. A lot of commentary on social and economic factors, but from a childhood perspective, it has a lot to give too.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal–including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want–but what Lyra doesn’t know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

In a house full of sadness and secrets, can young, orphaned Mary find happiness?

Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.

With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.

Do you remember which of your childhood fantasy reads shaped your earliest daydreams?

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August 15, 2025
Jenny Han’s Summer Trilogy
Salt, Sunscreen, and Second Chances: Jenny Han’s Summer Trilogy

I read this trilogy for its coming-of-age heartbeat and stayed for the way it lets you sit inside Belly’s messy, sun-drenched firsts: first love, first heartbreak, first real loss, and the first steps toward independence. Belly isn’t always lovable; sometimes I wanted to shout at her choices and her naïve ideas about love (and even her mom’s decisions). But there’s an honesty to how she stumbles and learns. The result is a story that’s painful, and sometimes painfully beautiful, in the way growing up really is.

Snapshot
Titles: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You, We’ll Always Have Summer

Author: Jenny Han
Genre: YA contemporary romance • coming-of-age
Vibes: beach house summers • love triangle • family and grief • firsts that change you
Heat Level: low (YA-appropriate, closed-door)

Why it worked for me

The courage to be imperfect.
Belly makes choices that can frustrate you as you read. She’s impulsive, naïve, sometimes blinded by what she wants love to be, but that’s exactly why the arc works. The trilogy doesn’t tidy her edges; it lets her be wrong, learn, and try again. Watching her move from wanting to be seen to learning how to see herself, her family, and the boys who matter makes the story worth it.

Firsts, rendered with honesty.
The series nails the visceral feel of firsts: the dizzy high of being truly noticed, that painful moment of a first heartbreak, the ache of losing a second-mother figure, the strangeness of preparing for college when home still needs you. None of it is melodrama; it’s every day life. Even when the situationships hurt, it feels earned.

Family as an anchor.
Mothers, sons, divorce, illness, tradition, each of these family dynamics tug at every decision. The beach house isn’t just a setting; it’s a memory bank where love and grief live. That family bond anchored so deep at Cousins Beach gives the romance stakes and situates Belly’s choices within a wider web of loyalties.

Summer as a structure.
By returning to Cousins Beach year after year, the books show how time changes everything. How the same porch light can look different once you’ve been broken and rebuilt. The seasonal rhythm becomes a mirror for Belly’s growth. Each year, Belly’s experiences in life give Cousins Beach a new meaning.

Favorite Quote
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“Sometimes it’s like people are a million times more beautiful to you in your mind. It’s like you see them through a special lens—but maybe if it’s how you see them, that’s how they really are.”
― Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty
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Read if you enjoy
- Coming-of-age romance that feels lived-in, not polished
- Love triangle dynamics with emotional consequences
- Family-centered stories where mothers matter
- Beach-town nostalgia threaded with grief and hope
Content notes

Grief/illness (loss of a parental figure), underage drinking, heated arguments, breakup/make-up cycles, love-triangle jealousy.

Your turn

Which coming-of-age heroine frustrated you at times, but still had you rooting for her by the end? And what’s your favorite beach-set YA romance?

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a series on Prime Video.

Theria Guild Guardian: Code and Courage
August 6, 2025