A searing critique of the justice system with a narrative arc that turns despair into hope.
This account by one of the Exonerated Five is an inspiring story of one man’s fight against institutional racism.
In 1989, 14-year-old Raymond was arrested and accused (along with Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise) of assaulting and raping a woman in New York City’s Central Park. Although he, like the others, was innocent, the police used intimidating and manipulative interrogation techniques, and public opinion was against them. Raymond was convicted and imprisoned, receiving a conditional release when he was 21. Following the 2002 exoneration of the Central Park Five, Santana, who eschewed bitterness, sought refuge in art. This moving first-person account of his life emerges from interviews conducted by Carolyn P. Yoder, Editorial Director at Calkins Creek Books. It shows the ways racial profiling, entrenched within American society, has life-altering consequences for people of color (Santana’s father came from Puerto Rico, and his mother was Afro-Latina). The text is succinct and punchy, printed in large, bold, colorful type. Brown’s dynamic art, which often covers wordless two-page spreads, transports readers to 1980s Harlem (shown as a place filled with art and music), through gut-wrenching prison scenes, and into Santana’s rocky transition to a new life as a fashion designer and activist. Despite the suffering he endured as a boy and young man, the book’s overall tone is one of optimism.
A searing critique of the justice system with a narrative arc that turns despair into hope. (photos, photo credits) (Illustrated memoir. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781662680397
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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