Black Girl in Paris, Riverhead Books, 2000 Key elements of this book: Paris setting 1980s time period James Baldwin Finding oneself Eden has dreamt of going to Paris for most of her life. Even as she works in the basement of a former plantation, she dreams of the freedom of Paris, and to walk the same streets as her literary hero James Baldwin. She imagines herself living there, finally going after her dream of being a writer. She will meet James Baldwin and he will take her under his wing....

In 2021 when my husband and I moved from Central North Carolina to Central Arkansas, I donated hundreds of books. These were paperbacks and hardbacks I'd been collecting for YEARS! All gone because we were moving into a small house that wouldn't accommodate the two dozen boxes of books I had. I made a promise to myself then that I wouldn't collect books anymore. I would buy them, read them, and sell or donate 95% of them. After all, I was still taking almost a dozen boxes of books with me....

Big thank you to the author for an advance copy of this delightful book. Chef Devon Paige fears her career and life are over when an...