Informative and well-sourced, this holds appeal for young activists.
In 2018, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg’s personal campaign against climate change moved beyond her family and led to student demonstrations around the world.
Former journalist Marcovitz ably introduces the Swedish teen who became Time magazine’s youngest ever Person of the Year in 2019. Strongly moved by a climate change video at age 11, Thunberg became totally focused on its devastating effects and seriously depressed. A diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome explained her hyperfocus, and she used this trait to challenge first the Swedish government and then world leaders. What began as her personal “School Strike for the Climate” became an international crusade as she was invited to address world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos and United Nations meetings in Katowice, Poland, and New York. The book chronicles her activism—spurred in part by the post-Parkland anti-gun protests in the U.S. and her parents’ own advocacy—as well as the sometimes personal public criticism she has faced, to which she once replied, “If they are attacking me, then that means they have no argument to speak of and their debate only involves attacking me. That means we’ve already won.” Marcovitz concludes with various examples of “the Greta Effect.” The straightforward, accessibly written text includes short pullout sections on a variety of topics and occasional photographs.
Informative and well-sourced, this holds appeal for young activists. (source notes, timeline, further reading, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68282-923-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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
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
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