Real talk about sexual abuse and harassment that neither sugarcoats nor catastrophizes.
A guide for recognizing, reporting, and combating sexual abuse and sexual harassment for those who have experienced it and those who wish to offer support.
After an introduction that provides the history of the #MeToo movement, the first chapter covers the basics of relationships, power, consent, and boundaries. It is a good starting point for readers who are unsure if they are ready for the explicit content contained in subsequent chapters; each chapter with difficult material opens with a warning about potential triggers. Chapter 2 provides definitions and examples of sexual abuse and harassment; a minor quibble is that the information is not presented in alphabetical or any other discernible order. Chapter 3 explores myths about sexual abuse. Chapter 4 focuses on how to ask for help, noting that it is not easy nor is justice always served. In Chapter 5, allies learn how to help individuals while Chapter 6 offers ideas for advocacy. The book includes stories that bring the topics to life; each is clearly marked as being fiction, based on an actual story, or true. The tone of the book is serious, empowering, and reassuring, with accessible, easy-to-read prose. The colorful design that includes non–gender specific illustrations featuring artists’ mannequins adds visual appeal to a somber subject. Bondy is gender-inclusive in her language and information.
Real talk about sexual abuse and harassment that neither sugarcoats nor catastrophizes. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5415-8159-3
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style....
As she does in previous volumes—Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008) and The Grammar Devotional (2009)—Fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be “annoying, boring, and confusing” and takes on the role of “grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar.”
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style. Fogarty works hard to find amusing, even cheeky examples to illustrate the many faux pas she discusses: "Squiggly presumed that Grammar Girl would flinch when she saw the word misspelled as alot." Young readers may well look beyond the cheery tone and friendly cover, though, and find a 300+-page text that looks suspiciously schoolish and isn't really that different from the grammar texts they have known for years (and from which they have still not learned a lot of grammar). As William Strunk said in his introduction to the first edition of the little The Elements of Style, the most useful grammar guide concentrates attention “on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.” After that, “Students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work.” By being exhaustive, Fogarty may well have created just the kind of volume she hoped to avoid.Pub Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8943-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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