Nobody’s Magic

Poet Birdsong (Negotiations) makes her fiction debut with a searing portrait of three young Black women who live with albinism in Shreveport, La. Suzette Elkins, 20, is held back from becoming an adult by her sheltering parents. As a child, a friend’s parent threatened to cut out her strange-looking eyes, prompting her father to cloister her in the house and forbid her from attending college, driving, or holding a job. Maple Christine Moffett grieves the loss of her mother, who was killed in a drive-by shooting. Her albinism attracts rather than repels, creating its own set of complications, as men believe she has magical powers. Agnes Kirkkendoll was mocked for her complexion in high school. She struggles to achieve economic independence despite holding a PhD, and stays in a toxic relationship with a white man while working as a test proctor. Suzette’s budding romance with a body shop technician helps her achieve some degree of autonomy, while Maple, a recent college graduate, is buoyed by a friendship with a man who also experiences great loss; and Agnes’s frustrations heat up to a consequential boiling point. Birdsong imbues the characters with palpable emotions and crafts spot-on dialogue, conveying vernacular speech with layers of pathos and wit. It’s a stunning achievement. Agent: Kiele Raymond Agency, Thompson Literary. (Feb.)