A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic.
In this young adult adaptation of his adult title Dreamland (2015), seasoned journalist Quinones narrates a fast-paced exposé of the opiate epidemic.
The story begins and ends in Portsmouth, Ohio, a leader in both societal decline due to addiction and, years later, hope for recovering addicts. Quinones lays out the causes of the epidemic as if bringing together puzzle pieces. Purdue Pharma’s ad campaign targeting physicians downplayed the addictive nature of painkillers; physicians overprescribed them, most—but not all—with sincere intentions of helping their patients. A seemingly endless stream of Mexican drug dealers sought out the addict population as customers for their imported black tar heroin, which provided the same euphoria but with less cost and inconvenience. Presented as victims are the addicts—predominantly white families, at first poor and rural, later from privileged backgrounds. The efforts of law enforcement and public health officials to tackle the problem are detailed. Personal profiles crafted from interviews keep things interesting, and the technical descriptions of the various drug forms and the history of opiates are informative. Although the author describes the radical about-face by lawmakers who took a “tough on crime” approach to drugs when victims were predominantly black, readers may finish the book with the impression that Mexicans have wreaked havoc on innocent white lives.
A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic. (epilogue, photographs, reading guide, source notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0131-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A chilling look at a time when the government waged war on civil liberties, with the public a complicit ally.
Brimner brings to life a shameful episode in American history when citizens working in the film industry were accused of disloyalty and subversion and persecuted for defending their First Amendment rights.
In 1947, tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States were at an all-time high. The House Committee on Un-American Activities, which included members with ties to the KKK, called Hollywood actors, directors, producers, and screenwriters to answer accusations that they were Communists. Ten who appeared refused to answer questions, citing their Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly. The “Hollywood Ten” were afterward denied work by all Hollywood studios. Brimner vividly chronicles the hearings and their fallout, braiding stories of individuals into the overall narrative. Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo worked under pseudonyms; director Edward Dmytryk, unable to work covertly, later cooperated with the committee and named names. Drawing heavily on hearings transcripts, Brimner also includes a great deal of historical background to put the story in context. He notes that the origins of HUAC were rooted in America’s first “Red Scare” following the Russian Revolution, and he challenges readers to consider if things are all that different today, citing contemporary examples. The many archival photographs included are testament to the overwhelming whiteness of both Hollywood and Congress.
A chilling look at a time when the government waged war on civil liberties, with the public a complicit ally. (bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62091-603-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
The best social justice guidebook we’ve seen in some time—but still disappointingly imperfect.
Styron (Reading My Father, 2011, etc.) encourages teens to take change-making into their own hands in this engaging, approachable, and informative handbook.
The book is broken down into four sections: The Why, The Who, The What, and The How. The second section highlights “a few great moments in US protest history” and “teenage rebels with a cause!” The book goes on to cover climate change, immigration, LGBTQIA rights, race, religion, women’s rights, intersectionality, and (briefly) disabilities. Most of these topics in turn feature a short comic, an introduction to the subject matter (including brief background history and contemporary issues and actions), interviews with contemporary figures from the various movements, and a few spotlights on contemporary activists and organizations. The final section includes everything from how to be an ally and using social media for activism to how to stage a walkout or sit-in. Overall, the content is impressively intersectional, but the uncritical highlighting of some creators (e.g. an interview with Lena Dunham) and protests (e.g. the Boston Tea Party, which utilized cultural appropriation on occupied land) and scant attention paid to the history of disability rights and current concerns in an age of threatened health care as well as other content-related choices make it impossible to recommend this volume wholeheartedly.
The best social justice guidebook we’ve seen in some time—but still disappointingly imperfect. (table of contents, glossary, resources) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47937-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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