A thoughtful and attractive presentation of a complex and intriguing topic.
A collection of fascinating tales of women's trials and triumphs during the years of settlement in the West.
Miller has divided the book into broad topics that gather stories of women's roles in settlement of the American West. “Many a Weary Mile" describes the trip west by wagon; "Oh Give Me a Home" explores early pioneering experiences. "A Woman Can Work," "And Now the Fun Begins" and "Great Expectations for the Future" all examine the careers of women who stepped out of typical female roles of the era. "A Clash of Cultures" tells of the experiences of two young white females captured by Native Americans and two Native American women's experiences dealing with white culture. The stories strike a nice balance, profiling many different types of experiences. Each chapter begins with a broad overview of the topic and then narrows down with compelling tales of individuals. Inclusion of first-person narrative through the use of letters and diaries brings the women to life in their own voices, augmented by revealing black-and-white period photographs with very brief captions. Part of this enlightening effort is a reworking of the 1995 Buffalo Gals of the Old West, which was aimed at a somewhat younger audience. While presented as an offering for teens, this work would be equally appropriate for adults.
A thoughtful and attractive presentation of a complex and intriguing topic. (extensive bibliography and endnotes) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-883052-97-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Some gems for readers willing to get out the sieve.
Plodding through this mostly disposable collection of blog posts is claustrophobically tiring, like watching someone else reflected in a hall of mirrors.
The preponderance of young, white, female authors of commercial series fiction may explain the chatty, repetitious content and tone, larded with perishable pop-culture references. The view that blogs and social networks foster petty narcissism is reinforced here as authors reassure their teen selves that they’ll be hotties, win awards and be admitted to their first-choice colleges. Popularity, dating and looks are major themes. Writers congratulate themselves on surviving parental divorce or mean behavior from peers. Reflecting on one’s teens from a vantage point of very few years (one was 18 when she “looked back”) can sound self-congratulatory and pompous—asserting wisdom without having paid the dues of accumulated life experience. Tough personal stories often feel flat—the short form and high concept work against emotional depth. Scattered among the self-reverential messages are a few gems: Joseph Bruchac’s account of how a personal choice became a foundation for self-esteem; Carrie Jones’ refusal to be defined by stigma; Don Tate’s tough love–style straight talk to his messed-up teen self. Michael Griffo, Mike Jung and Mitali Perkins also avoid cute-speak, conveying genuine feeling and the deeper complexity and contradictions of life as it’s lived, not just blogged.
Some gems for readers willing to get out the sieve. (Nonfiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-936976-21-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
Disturbing but compelling.
An eloquent memoir of teen drug abuse from 1970s Berlin retains a contemporary feel in a new translation.
Christiane F.'s story begins in childhood. Readers feel, from her 6-year-old perspective, the sense of frustration and restlessness that permeates the housing projects of Gropiusstadt and her father's violent punishments for mild infractions. At 12, she first tries alcohol, hashish and LSD, and the experiences are described with evocative imagery. That Christiane will ultimately become addicted to heroin is apparent from the first page, and a sense of tragic inevitability pervades each early anecdote. Christiane paints a grim portrait of the drugs-and–sex-work scene around Berlin's Zoo Station, but readers will also see the sense of fraught community that develops among Christiane and her friends. The strong pull of heroin is never clearer than when, after four days of brutal withdrawal, Christiane talks herself into having “one last and final fix.” Short chapters written by Christiane's mother and a social worker, a photo spread, a foreword and editorial footnotes help contextualize Christiane's life in West Berlin. Readers might, however, wish for more information about how the memoir came to be published, and a note about HIV infection (not a possibility in Christiane's time, but certainly a risk now) would also be helpful.
Disturbing but compelling. (Memoir. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-936976-22-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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