Compelling, caring, and inspiring.
Movingly and authentically evokes the power of personal narrative.
Connection, concern, and vulnerability warm every page of the letters Francis, a teacher of English language learners in North Carolina, writes to some of her former students from Latin American countries. The young people are addressed by given names only; there are identifying details about their life histories, but it is unclear whether they are composites or actual youths who granted permission to be included. Francis interweaves selected life episodes of her own that mirror the teens’ situations. A smuggler brought her from Guatemala to the U.S. when she was 15, the oldest of five children of a single mother who struggled with addiction before finding religion. Many of her challenges and successes reflect joys and difficulties many teens of different backgrounds face; others (like driving a truck to sell oranges around town at age 9) will resonate with some and be eye-opening for others. Initially, her education came second to survival; later she faced homesickness, self-doubt, and setbacks like an unplanned pregnancy. Francis’ advice is validated by her own experiences, and she doesn’t gloss over her heartbreak at her students’ stories—one arrived wearing an ankle bracelet from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Francis is empathetic and supportive; she sees their passions, character traits, and achievements. In simple, stirring prose, she gives teens the incomparable gift of her genuine attention while accepting that she can’t meet their every need.
Compelling, caring, and inspiring. (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-218-00256-5
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Seidlitz Education
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Small but mighty necessary reading.
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 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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