The Talented Ribkins

At seventy-two, Johnny Ribkins shouldnt have such problems: Hes got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or its curtains.What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African American family that has been gifted with superpowers that are a bit, well, odd. Okay, very odd. For example, Johnnys father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether hes been there or not.In the old days, the Ribkins family tried to apply their gifts to the civil rights effort, calling themselves the Justice Committee. But when their, eh, superpowers proved insufficient, the group fell apart. Out of frustration Johnny and his brother used their talents to stage a series of burglaries, each more daring than the last.Fast forward a couple decades and Johnnys on a race against the clock to dig up loot hes stashed all over Florida. His brother is gone, but he has an unexpected sidekick: his brothers daughter, Eloise, who has a special superpower of her own.Inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois famous essay The Talented Tenth and fueled by Ladee Hubbards marvelously original imagination, The Talented Ribkins is a big-hearted debut novel about race, class, politics, and the unique gifts that, while they may cause some problems from time to time, bind a family together.