Mud Crab Kingdom: My People or My Peace?

by Joel Anthony Hamilton

Following the Indie Ink nominated book, the Soft-Shelled Prince, this slow-burn sequel shows Marcious Leojè's life after creating his Mud Crab Kingdom. Like that of his childhood, the walls of his kingdom keep discrimination and persecution at bay. However, they also keep the true Marcious locked inside. Marcious must constantly choose between what's best for his kingdom and himself; the advancement of mud-skins and the pursuit of love; his people or his peace. The demands of his citizens, opinions of outsiders, and thoughts in his head create an inescapable constant roar. Even so, he must make choices that leave some, or someone disgruntled, disowned, or dead.

198 pages, Hardcover

Published January 15, 2023

Reviews

[Tatiana Obey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book of this series, the Mud Crab Kingdom, and couldn’t wait to read the sequel. The first book was a charming coming-of-age tale of young prince, Marcious, as he learns to lead amidst discrimination & hardship. In the sequel, Marcious is now older and the ruler of the mud-skinned kingdom. He is struggling to lead and advocate for the rights of mud-skinned people everywhere while fearing how his people will judge him for his sexuality.

When Marcious meets a boy from another kingdom that he develops feelings for, he has a heartbreaking choice to make: his people or his peace?

This book is a YA coming of age tale that explores the intersection of two marginalized identities to powerful affect. It’s cute at times. It’s sad at times. It’s dark at times. But I think that’s what makes this tale all the more relatable and human.

I look forward to the next book and seeing how these characters grow.

[Sam Carnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second book shows the anxiety that can overtake someone as they struggle to be allowed to be themselves but feel compelled to have to keep their true feeling inside. It is an extremely unpleasant place to be but all to often feels like easier path to avoid the being ostacized by others but at the cost of internal peace. This book brings out this internal struggle that all of us who are gay, or in the terminology of this book "soft-skinned", go through to let our true selves shine out.