“Rooted in science” and offering teen readers tools for individual action, this is a necessary purchase for most libraries.
A comprehensive introduction to the scientific history and current understandings about climate change.
Heos opens her well-organized presentation with a strong statement of the reasons readers need to know about this issue: “Scientists agree that human-induced global warming is well under way, and that it is cause for great concern.” Chapter by chapter, she explains what climate is, describes its changing nature since Earth's beginnings, tells how scientists have determined that Earth is warming again, this time as a result of human actions, and suggests reasons for humans’ lack of response. Each chapter ends with tips on how to “Be the Change,” suggesting what readers can do personally to assess their own energy use; reduce household, fuel, agricultural, industrial, and waste emissions; and spread the word. A concluding section offers further and larger-scale solutions. Even the design of this well-thought-out briefing will remind readers that things are heating up: page numbers are set on red circles; almost every spread includes a red-bordered photograph or other graphic; and the suggestions to take action are printed in white on a red background. Many of the author’s sources, listed in an extensive bibliography, are available online. Determined readers can find and follow them up, but most of her revealing statistics are not footnoted.
“Rooted in science” and offering teen readers tools for individual action, this is a necessary purchase for most libraries. (bibliography, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-30347-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author.
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 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style....
As she does in previous volumes—Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008) and The Grammar Devotional (2009)—Fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be “annoying, boring, and confusing” and takes on the role of “grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar.”
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style. Fogarty works hard to find amusing, even cheeky examples to illustrate the many faux pas she discusses: "Squiggly presumed that Grammar Girl would flinch when she saw the word misspelled as alot." Young readers may well look beyond the cheery tone and friendly cover, though, and find a 300+-page text that looks suspiciously schoolish and isn't really that different from the grammar texts they have known for years (and from which they have still not learned a lot of grammar). As William Strunk said in his introduction to the first edition of the little The Elements of Style, the most useful grammar guide concentrates attention “on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.” After that, “Students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work.” By being exhaustive, Fogarty may well have created just the kind of volume she hoped to avoid.Pub Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8943-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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