by Elizabeth Rusch ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
A riveting must-read.
Detailing how threats to democracy—some long-standing, others recent—deprive Americans of all political stripes of the power to participate in their governance, this users’ manual offers new and future voters ways to make their voices heard and their ballots count.
The challenges are sobering, and Rusch lays them out clearly. Citizen voters don’t elect presidents; the Electoral College does, and twice in 20 years it has elected the candidate who lost the popular vote. Like sparsely populated, early-primary states, “battleground” states essential to securing Electoral College victory play an outsize role in selecting presidential candidates; meanwhile, other states get little attention. Each state has two senators, regardless of population; today, half the Senate represents just 16.2% of the U.S. population. With election spending now a financial arms race, issues wealthy donors care about are prioritized over those of other constituents; time politicians must devote to fundraising leaves significantly less for legislating. Gerrymandering, with a long, bipartisan history and now technologically weaponized, engineers House legislative districts to ensure one-party control. Voter-suppression efforts target youth and minorities. Rusch has some hope to offer: To address these and many other challenges, initiatives for restoring democracy—some from teen activists—are described and resources provided. Effective infographics and references support the streamlined text. Rusch unites a passion for democracy with a belief in the power of young people to help restore it.
A riveting must-read. (bibliography, online resources) (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-17692-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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by Elizabeth Rusch ; illustrated by Elizabeth Goss
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by Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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More In The Series
by Ashley Fairbanks ; illustrated by Bridget George
by Howard Zinn ; adapted by Rebecca Stefoff with by Ed Morales ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 2023
A refreshed version of a classic that doesn’t hold up to more recent works.
A new edition of late author Zinn’s 2007 work, which was adapted for young readers by Stefoff and based on Zinn’s groundbreaking 1980 original for adults.
This updated version, also adapted by Stefoff, a writer for children and teens, contains new material by journalist Morales. The work opens with the arrival of Christopher Columbus and concludes with a chapter by Morales on social and political issues from 2006 through the election of President Joe Biden seen through the lens of Latinx identity. Zinn’s work famously takes a radically different perspective from that of most mainstream history books, viewing conflicts as driven by rich people taking advantage of poorer ones. Zinn professed his own point of view as being “critical of war, racism, and economic injustice,” an approach that felt fresh among popular works of the time. Unfortunately, despite upgrades that include Morales’ perspective, “a couple of insights into Native American history,” and “a look at the Asian American activism that flourished alongside other social movements in the 1960s and 1970s,” the book feels dated. It entirely lacks footnotes, endnotes, or references, so readers cannot verify facts or further investigate material, and the black-and-white images lack credits. Although the work seeks to be inclusive, readers may wonder about the omission of many subjects relating to race, gender, and sexuality, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, Indian boarding schools, the Tulsa Race Massacre, Loving v. Virginia, the Stonewall Uprising, Roe v. Wade, Title IX, the AIDS crisis, and the struggle for marriage equality.
A refreshed version of a classic that doesn’t hold up to more recent works. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781644212516
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2024
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by James W. Loewen ; adapted by Rebecca Stefoff
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