A solid reference work that shows aspiring female game developers the legacy they’d be joining.
A collective biography of women pioneers and stars of the gaming industry.
Repeated questions from girls about whether it was worth it to enter this field in the light of things like Gamergate, the racist and misogynistic mid-2010s harassment campaign that still affects online gaming communities, prompted Kenney, a game developer with an impressive resume, to highlight the triumphs of women in the industry and demonstrate that women have been influential players in the industry for many decades. The brief biographies are tightly focused on the women’s careers and what brought them to gaming, with interests in storytelling, puzzles, and, naturally, computers frequently recurring. They open with a framing of the individuals’ best-known accomplishments and number of years in the industry. Kenney infuses humor where she can as a counterbalance to industry jargon and the unavoidable repetition in the women’s stories. While most of the women appear to be White in the stylized illustrated portraits and lack racial descriptors in their chapters (Kenney cites 2019 data that, of the fewer than 25% of game designers who identify as female, 81% are White), Asian and Black women are also represented as well as trans women. Sidebar paragraphs spotlight even more women in the industry. Perera’s arresting full-page portraits rendered in shades of purple and orange with black and white accents open each entry; spot art adds further visual interest.
A solid reference work that shows aspiring female game developers the legacy they’d be joining. (glossary, bibliography, notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7624-7456-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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