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THE JEWISH AMERICAN FAMILY ALBUM

An attractive and extremely useful entry by the Hooblers (The Chinese American Family Album, 1994, etc.) in the American Family Album series, this documentary history covers the mid-17th century to the present. The authors combine short essays with over 130 brief excerpts from letters, diaries, memoirs, and interviews, accompanied by more than 175 black-and-white photographs (most quite small, some blurry with age). Arranged topically (e.g., ``Leaving Home,'' ``New Arrivals,'' ``Pioneers in the West,'' etc.) rather than strictly chronologically, the volume's many voices tell of the persecutions that motivated waves of immigration, the hardships of the journey, and the struggles and successes of life in America. This is for a somewhat younger audience than Milton Meltzer's The Jewish Americans: A History in Their Own Words (1982), with Holocaust testimonies that are not as harrowing as those he cites; Meltzer's provides longer quotations from fewer sources (including about a dozen of those found here) and lacks illustration. (chronology, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 9+)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-19-508135-8

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1995

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FLAMER

Buy it. Read it. Share it.

The last week at Scouting camp highlights accomplishments and humiliations that last a lifetime.

Aiden, a fat, biracial (Filipino and White), soon-to-be high schooler, is in his last week of Boy Scout camp in 1995. Each day documents events, from bonding over fireside songs and learning important skills to the micro- and macroaggressions that follow an adolescent boy of color who presents as effeminate and is queer. As the week moves on, readers learn more about Aiden and his life, from his stressful home with an emotionally abusive father to his love of Catholicism and being an altar server. The stress of a new school, bullies who are ever present, and struggles with identity drive Aiden to a breaking point, one that’s familiar to many young people. The monochromatic illustrations, sometimes highlighted with red, orange, and yellow, are timeless moments of a remembered childhood. The use of red to highlight the tangible (firelight, a Swiss Army knife) and represent the intangible (passion, sorrow, and hope) is a master class in simplicity. But the true star of this book is the writing, which describes a boy who could live in any decade on his journey of self-discovery. This is a story that will be read and reread, and for some, it will be the defining book of their adolescence.

Buy it. Read it. Share it. (afterword, resources) (Graphic fiction. 12-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-62779-641-5

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: June 14, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020

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10 ULTIMATE TRUTHS GIRLS SHOULD KNOW

A smart and solidly written guide to life as seen through stained-glass windows.

Expanding on the author's popular, titular blog comes this guidebook for teen girls.

Kampakis' book begins with an arresting assertion: “There are two things no one can prepare you for. One is how fun it is to be a girl. The other is how hard it is to be a girl.” The upside includes things like slumber parties with meaty talks, dancing in the kitchen, unfettered squealing with delight...but then there's the darker side: emotional wrestling with mean girls, cliques, teen sexual mores and dealing with social media debacles. While she covers a wide spectrum of teen-girl conundrums, Kampakis doesn't short shrift any, delving in deep with a firm but deftly sensitive resolve, illustrating her points with anecdotes and leavening her message with dashes of humor. She packs the pages with advice on building confidence, creating a “good reputation” (or restoring one), how to be and spot a true friend, creating healthy relationships with teen boys, and developing patience and fostering perseverance. The book reveals the author's strong religious bent, with frequent references to God, quotes from the Bible and invocations of Satan, leaving some passages sounding as if they're written by a hip Sunday school teacher. Miniquizzes and discussion questions invite readers to sort out their feelings and insecurities and home in on their aspirations.

A smart and solidly written guide to life as seen through stained-glass windows. (Nonfiction. 12-16)

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-529-11103-6

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014

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