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
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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
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Deaf, trans artist Man meditates on his journey and identity in this brief memoir.
Growing up in conservative central Pennsylvania was tough for the 21-year-old Deaf, genderqueer, pansexual, and biracial (Chinese/White Jewish) author. He describes his gender and sexual identity, his experiences of racism and ableism, and his desire to use his visibility as a YouTube personality, model, and actor to help other young people like him. He is open and vulnerable throughout, even choosing to reveal his birth name. Man shares his experiences of becoming deaf as a small child and at times feeling ostracized from the Deaf community but not how he arrived at his current Deaf identity. His description of his gender-identity development occasionally slips into a well-worn pink-and-blue binary. The text is accompanied and transcended by the author’s own intriguing, expressionistic line drawings. However, Man ultimately falls short of truly insightful reflection or analysis, offering a mostly surface-level account of his life that will likely not be compelling to readers who are not already fans. While his visibility and success as someone whose life represents multiple marginalized identities are valuable in themselves, this heartfelt personal chronicle would have benefited from deeper introspection.
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22348-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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