A collection of brief yet informative biographies of American women of the Colonial era.
Most of the women described in this effort were exceptional for their time. Some, such as Pocahontas, Puritan lay preacher Anne Hutchinson, and poet Anne Dudley Bradstreet, may be familiar to readers. The brief biographies of others will provide new revelations regarding the lives of the women of the era. Elizabeth Ashbridge started as an indentured servant and became a respected Quaker leader; Mary Rowlandson heroically survived being taken prisoner by Indians during King Philip’s War; and Eliza Lucas Pinkney, whose letters reveal much about her life, managed her father’s plantation at the age of 16. With literacy still relatively uncommon among women of the time, and since they only rarely rated the attention of male record keepers, it becomes the exceptional woman for whom biographical information survives. However, each chapter includes enlightening history of the time and place, and the biographies make it clear that these women were not always typical of their time. Parts of the book were originally published in 2003 as the much shorter, juvenile nonfiction work Good Women of a Well-Blessed Land: Women’s Lives in Colonial America. Detailed endnotes and an extensive bibliography round out an excellent nonfiction offering for sophisticated readers.
A valuable and entertaining resource for both budding historians and those seeking biographical information on a few of the many nearly forgotten women of that time. (index not seen) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55652-487-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Categories: TEEN BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | TEEN HISTORY
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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 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Categories: TEEN NONFICTION | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES | TEEN BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR
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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. 5, 2019
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