At seventy-two, Johnny Ribkins shouldn’t have such problems: He’s got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster manager or it’s curtains.What might or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he originates from an African American family that is gifted with superpowers that certainly are a little bit, well, odd. Okay, extremely odd. For example, Johnny’s dad could see colors no-one else could observe. His sibling could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches open fire. And Johnny himself can about The Talented Ribkins: A Novel make exact maps of any space you name, whether he’s been there or not really.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 demonstrated insufficient, the group dropped apart. Out of disappointment Johnny and his sibling used their skills to stage some burglaries, each even more daring compared to the last.Fast forwards a couple decades and Johnny’s on the race against the clock to find out loot he’s stashed around Florida. His sibling is fully gone, but he has an unforeseen sidekick: his brother’s daughter, Eloise, who includes a unique superpower of her very own.Inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois’ popular essay “The Talented Tenth” and fueled by Ladee Hubbard’s marvelously original creativity, The Talented Ribkins is a big-hearted debut novel about race, course, politics, and the initial presents that, while they may cause some problems from time to time, bind a family together.