Paired with a quality volume on Islam, this book can be enlightening; for readers without a solid understanding of Islam, it...
In this slim nonfiction volume, January traces the genesis, activities, and influence of the global terrorist group known as ISIS.
This book draws readers in with a detailed description of the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, then moves back in time to the U.S. invasion of Iraq as a setting in which divisions deepened in the Middle East and extremist leaders found followers. Next, ISIS leaders move to war-torn Syria, recruiting desperate, vulnerable people and terrorizing local populations. The organization’s global recruitment scheme is presented as having dangerous appeal to young Western Muslims. The final chapter, “The Challenge of Our Times,” presents debates such as barring Muslim refugees from Europe and the United States and discusses “Security versus Freedom: Trade-Offs” in the same impartial voice that dominates the text. The text depicts the devastation ISIS causes in the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims, and it mentions mainstream Muslim scholars’ condemnation of extremism. It does not clarify the tremendous difference between ISIS’ “radical interpretation of Islam” and traditional ways of practicing Islam. In particular, the book does not challenge ISIS’ claims that they follow the example of the earliest Muslims. This omission leaves readers with the harmful (and false) impression that ISIS’ mission and practice represent the original form of Islam.
Paired with a quality volume on Islam, this book can be enlightening; for readers without a solid understanding of Islam, it will likely reinforce stereotypes. (source notes, further reading) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-2998-5
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Congolese-American Sophie makes a harrowing trek through a war-torn jungle to protect a young bonobo.
On her way to spend the summer at the bonobo sanctuary her mother runs, 14-year-old Sophie rescues a sickly baby bonobo from a trafficker. Though her Congolese mother is not pleased Sophie paid for the ape, she is proud that Sophie works to bond with Otto, the baby. A week before Sophie's to return home to her father in Miami, her mother must take advantage
of a charter flight to relocate some apes, and she leaves Sophie with Otto and the sanctuary workers. War breaks out, and after missing a U.N. flight out, Sophie must hide herself and Otto from violent militants and starving villagers. Unable to take Otto out of the country, she decides finding her mother hundreds of miles to the north is her only choice. Schrefer jumps from his usual teen suspense to craft this well-researched tale of jungle survival set during a fictional conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Realistic characters (ape and human) deal with disturbing situations described in graphic, but never gratuitous detail. The lessons Sophie learns about her childhood home, love and what it means to be endangered will resonate with readers.
Even if some hairbreadth escapes test credulity, this is a great next read for fans of our nearest ape cousins or survival adventure. (map, author's note, author Q&A) (Adventure. 12-16)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-16576-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Unhappy teens in need of a lecture on thinking positively and being more in touch with one’s emotions need look no further.
Mangan presents in as many chapters a 20-point strategy that ranges from “Have a Positive Attitude” and “Cut Your Problems Into Pieces” to “Practice Being Patient” and “Appreciate the Value of Your Hard Work.” She blends private exercises like visualizing forgiveness with comments on selective attention, “problematic procrastination” and other bad habits, reframing situations to put them in different lights, “changing shoes” to understand others better and subjecting feelings to rational analysis. Though the author has a graduate degree and years of practice in clinical psychology, she offers generalities and generic situations rather than specific cases from her experience, and the book is devoid of references to further resources or even an index. Superficial advice (“If you are unsafe or are around kids that you know are bullies, just walk away”) combines with techniques that are unlikely to interest readers (“Make a song verse out of your list of helpful thoughts”). The author also makes questionable claims about the mind-body connection (“When you smile, your body sends a signal to your brain that you are happy”) and fails to make a case for regarding side forays into food habits and environmental concerns as relevant to her topic. Obvious issues and common-sense advice, unpersuasively presented. (Self-help. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1040-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
