Honest, raw, and powerful.
Young Canadian artists share the challenges and joys of teenage life in this multimedia compilation.
This anthology of prose, poetry, art, and photography has unusual roots in “harm-reduction discussions and workshops on the topics of safe partying, substance misuse, mental health and community” with youth across Toronto. Edited by Lynch and Allen of The Neighbourhood Group Community Services, this work foregrounds lived experiences as truth telling. The editors selected works by 28 young people from a pool of over 300 pieces created between 2019 and 2024, organizing them into five themed sections: “I Think Sadness Finds You Too,” “I Wish That You Could Hold Me,” “For Now This Is What I Do,” “Maybe the Recipe Needed To Change,” and “I’m Doing My Best and That’s Good Enough.” Kevin Asiedu’s poem describes depression and accompanying feelings of meaninglessness. In another poem, S.M. confronts racism: “…how can ‘ALL LIVES MATTER’ if I don’t matter?” Elle Rosen’s photo contrasts images of butterflies and a pastel rainbow of jagged, glasslike shards with a dark, messy pool of pills spilling from a bottle. Ashwah Aslam pairs a dreamy image of Kashmiri tea, gladioli, and a henna-decorated hand with a reflective passage on immigrant identity, Pakistani heritage, and matrilineal bonds. This book makes a strong case for creative expression as a public health intervention, with potential to build community and open paths to compassionate understanding of young people’s coping mechanisms.
Honest, raw, and powerful. (editors’ note) (Anthology. 14-18)Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9781834020426
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
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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