Advice for teens is gleaned from the life of 16-year-old UCB Comedy performer Karp in this memoir.
Beginning with a Q-and-A session between Karp and Broad City actress Ilana Glazer, this offering goes on to discuss everything from white, Jewish Karp’s embrace of humor and feminism to her explanation of FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” which she feels is experienced by young people in regard to their use of social media and the difficulty many have in disconnecting themselves from it. She also parses bullying, pointing out that it’s rarely as clear-cut as is portrayed in popular culture, and frankly discusses sex education, advocating for the inclusion of much more instruction around rape. She displays a self-aware understanding both that some of her worries are problems of privilege but also that they are unfairly dismissed by some adults as teen angst. Teens will appreciate and easily identify with this multilayered experience of cultural power even if at times the writing feels a bit clichéd, as when she exhorts her readers to “Live your life the way you want to be living it” or to “Be the change.” Yet overwhelmingly, Karp’s conversational narrative is positive, direct, and embedded with a confidence that will appeal to like-minded youth.
A thoughtful blend of encouragement and entertaining personal stories. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6260-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Running Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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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 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
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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. 5, 2019
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