A powerful, devastating, essential read for anyone who believes in true justice for all.
A collection of prose and poetry featuring the voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth and adults.
“I find myself growing up / in a judicial system / and not at home with my parents, / growing every day in prison / makes me feel less than human,” Carlos shares. Alisha writes, “I know how to count because I’m nine now / I’m counting four therapists, two psychiatrists, thirty days, eight needles, and one wish.” They are among the writers in this compilation who tell their heartbreaking stories, envisioning a brighter future for themselves and demanding changes to a broken, unjust criminal legal system. These compelling poems, essays, and interviews are the result of 20 years of outreach to over 1,500 incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youths and adults by the Washington, D.C.–based Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, an organization founded to “fulfill the vision of Glen McGinnis, a young man who discovered his love for reading while on death row in Texas for a crime committed when he was 17 years old.” (McGinnis was later executed.) The graphic depictions of abuse, neglect, solitary confinement, suicidal ideation, and violence are unsettling and vividly convey the writers’ experiences. The perspectives of family members, a former prosecutor, a public defender, and a judge are also included, rounding out readers’ understanding of these issues. Photographs of many contributors enhance the text.
A powerful, devastating, essential read for anyone who believes in true justice for all. (Anthology. 13-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-950807-34-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Shout Mouse Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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
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