Monica S. Baker (Author of Mr. Ace and the Rainbow Bridge)

Monica Baker rated a book it was amazing The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a must read for anyone who wants a). great storytelling, b). powerful imagery, and c). emotional resonance that sticks with you years after you read the book--like with me. Deesha Philya deserves every award she ha ...more
Jul 25, 2026 06:53AM · like · see review
Monica Baker rated a book really liked it Devout: A Memoir of Doubt by Anna Gazmarian (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I actually read Devout by Anna Gazmarian back before it was released in 2024. Since then two things about the book have stuck with me and are worth mentioning here. Firstly, the author bares her soul regarding her bumpy journey as she tries to come t ...more
Jul 25, 2026 06:26AM · like · see review
Monica Baker rated a book really liked it Save a Seat for Me: Notes on American Fatherhood by Mark Anthony Neal	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I am in no way part of the intended audience for Mark Anthony Neal’s book Save a Seat for Me yet I should be. As a white woman who is a few years older than the author, I am forever disturbed at how our experiences as white Americans vs. black Americ ...more
Jun 29, 2026 03:26PM · like · see review
Monica Baker is now following Therearenobadbooks's reviews
Apr 10, 2026 04:12AM · like
Monica Baker rated a book really liked it Livonia Chow Mein by Abigail Savitch-Lew (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Even as a lucky recipient and reader of a S&S Advance Reader copy of Levonia Chow Mein, I ordered this book from my local bookstore to purchase. It’s that good. With Levonia Chow Mein, the author—Abigail Savitch-Lew—centers a very authentic American i ...more
Apr 09, 2026 07:17AM · like · see review
Monica Baker has read The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (Virginia Shreves, #1) by Carolyn Mackler (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 09, 2026 06:26AM · like
Monica Baker rated a book really liked it Bigger Than Fashion: How "Streetwear" Conquered Culture by Tyler Watamanuk (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read Bigger Than Fashion last November and am late to writing this review. Honestly, I am propelled because I can't stop thinking about the book. As many have written, the education regarding the advancement of streetwear--from surfs up to day job ...more
Jan 19, 2026 10:53AM · like · see review

Monica Baker rated a book it was amazing

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
by Deesha Philyaw (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a must read for anyone who wants a). great storytelling, b). powerful imagery, and c). emotional resonance that sticks with you years after you read the book--like with me.

Deesha Philya deserves every award she ha ...more

Monica Baker rated a book really liked it

Devout: A Memoir of Doubt
by Anna Gazmarian (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I actually read Devout by Anna Gazmarian back before it was released in 2024. Since then two things about the book have stuck with me and are worth mentioning here.

Firstly, the author bares her soul regarding her bumpy journey as she tries to come t ...more

Monica Baker rated a book really liked it

Save a Seat for Me: Notes on American Fatherhood
by Mark Anthony Neal

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I am in no way part of the intended audience for Mark Anthony Neal’s book Save a Seat for Me yet I should be. As a white woman who is a few years older than the author, I am forever disturbed at how our experiences as white Americans vs. black Americ I am in no way part of the intended audience for Mark Anthony Neal’s book Save a Seat for Me yet I should be. As a white woman who is a few years older than the author, I am forever disturbed at how our experiences as white Americans vs. black Americans can continue to be so entirely different from each other. Disturbed but not surprised. Yet, Dr. Neal writes with such honesty about his relationships—to his own parents, to his wife, and most importantly to his two daughters who present as robust characters in the book—that I feel we were raised as neighbors … and it’s that closing of psychic distance between authorial voice and reader that I love about Save a Seat for Me.

The academic Dr. Neal writes about rich black cultural references that impacted his upbringing and his fatherhood, using some I can’t relate to because I am that white and some obvious cultural icons that penetrated white America in the late 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s: Bill Cosby (pre knowledge of his sex abuse) as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, James Avery as Uncle Phil on the Fresh Prince of Belair and—not a television character—Malcolm X in his role as father, a role I personally had never before mentally attached to the man.

Herein lies the mastery: Dr. Neal writes about these cultural icons and many others from a deep perspective of a black man looking at fatherhood—either his own or that of his father. His observational yet emotional touch transcends conventional masculinity and opens the door so outsiders like me can step into his parlor. There, he exposes a narrative around fatherhood that is relatable to anyone who is crawling through the parenthood tunnel, mother or father, black, white, or other.

Save a Seat for Me is an emotionally stacked read that is laced, just in the right places, with touches of cultural academia that speaks primarily to the black reader, but that can be appreciated by all readers who understand the immense impact black culture has on the U.S. Or simply, to readers who want company in the parent tunnel. The book, along with the author’s smacking playlist, should be high school required reading. At a minimum, it will be a gift to my adult son and my husband when it is published. ...more

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Monica Baker rated a book really liked it

Livonia Chow Mein
by Abigail Savitch-Lew (Goodreads Author)

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Even as a lucky recipient and reader of a S&S Advance Reader copy of Levonia Chow Mein, I ordered this book from my local bookstore to purchase. It’s that good.

With Levonia Chow Mein, the author—Abigail Savitch-Lew—centers a very authentic American i Even as a lucky recipient and reader of a S&S Advance Reader copy of Levonia Chow Mein, I ordered this book from my local bookstore to purchase. It’s that good.

With Levonia Chow Mein, the author—Abigail Savitch-Lew—centers a very authentic American immigration and integration story on four generations of the Wong family, who originally settle and then live on in Brooklyn. She uses alternating points of view as well as historical times and settings; sliding between the 1940’s, 70’s, and 21st century. I liked the approach and, unlike a few reviewers here, actually appreciated the switch-ups that provided me with shots of fresh air, detailed context, and energy as the story progressed. Without them, I think the author would have had to rely on too much back story in order to get both the historical richness and the contemporary truth of the complicated story across.

While Levonia Chow Mein’s compelling and mystery-laden plot lines keep the reader on the page, the characters and their arcs are what nested the book in my emotional memory. Savitch-Lew parallels and interweaves the lives, cultures, and languages of Chinese, Black, Jewish, and mixed characters as they struggle to lift up their families and their community. As a white woman who has never lived in Brooklyn, I found something to relate to in almost every character as (most) of them bare the parts of their souls that (most) of us are given to work with: love, anger, stress, sense of responsibility, frustration, feelings of injustice, feelings of just wanting to move forward.

Koon Lai, from the first of the “Wong” generations, especially struck me as he is such a gentle yet powerful force that I thought of him even when he wasn’t written into the scene. His gesture of giving a typewriter to his poet-wannabe grandson, Jason, is written sparsely, but packs a wallop of meaning and emotion. His final gesture in the book (no spoiler here!) pulled me back to his homeland as I was given the gift of wondering just how much of himself he left there as a young man. Again, another point of relatability to any of us who have left our place of birth and upbringing and find ourselves floating in someone else’s native universe.

Levonia Chow Mein is a literary read, is a Book Club read, and is a read to pass along to friends and family interested in not just Brownsville, Brooklyn, but any pocket of the U.S. that had and/or has immigration and integration stories of its own. Last I checked, save for American Indian territory, that is the entirety of the US. ...more

Monica Baker has read

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (Virginia Shreves, #1)
by Carolyn Mackler (Goodreads Author)

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Monica Baker rated a book really liked it

Bigger Than Fashion: How "Streetwear" Conquered Culture
by Tyler Watamanuk (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I read Bigger Than Fashion last November and am late to writing this review. Honestly, I am propelled because I can't stop thinking about the book. As many have written, the education regarding the advancement of streetwear--from surfs up to day job ...more

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	Mr. Ace and the Rainbow Bridge by Christopher Toffolo (Goodreads Author), Monica S. Baker (Goodreads Author), Arthur Lin (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 9 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Freestyle 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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