An informative graphic travel journal that offers important perspectives on being an immigrant and American identity.
Artist Khor recounts their spring 2016 road trip from Los Angeles to Chicago in this graphic memoir.
Growing up in Malaysia, Khor knew two versions of America: “The first was Los Angeles, full of beautiful people and sunlight and open roads,” and the other was the America in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, “filled with dusty roads and big hopes.” After living in the States for 10 years, they and Bug, their “tiny adventure dog,” embark on a journey along historic Route 66, hoping to better understand the American dream. Through bright, expressive watercolor illustrations, Khor portrays the memorable locations they pass through, including a former gold-mining town in Arizona where several Hollywood films were shot; Amarillo, Texas, which has become a haven for refugees; and kitschy attractions including dinosaur statues and the Blue Whale of Catoosa. They detail both the amusing (going to the bathroom outdoors) and emotional (loneliness and exhaustion) challenges of being a traveler. Khor’s pilgrimage is as much an exploration of themself as it is of nostalgic Americana. Their travels inspire them to share insights into their path to atheism, their anger with xenophobia and racism—which are provoked when they find a motel labeled “American owned”—and the meaning of “home.” Many of Khor’s observations will resonate with those who have questioned national identity and the sense of belonging.
An informative graphic travel journal that offers important perspectives on being an immigrant and American identity. (Graphic memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-7852-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Not exactly evenhanded but still a solid and timely foundation.
Updated edition of a frank, left-leaning 2016 guide.
The past four years have brought significant changes to electoral practices and procedures—on local as well as national levels—and there is an acerbic tone to the fresh examples and observations that Fleischer incorporates into his wide-angled overview of how elections work…or are meant to. Building around chapters on registering to vote, casting ballots, and getting involved in the political process as a volunteer or candidate, he offers broad looks at how the U.S. government has been organized and reorganized as well as relevant topics from the development of political parties to how primaries, the Electoral College, the legislative process, and campaign finances have been gamed (mostly by conservatives) through the years. His brave effort to encompass the widely divergent rules of down-ballot elections as well as state and national ones does here and there force him into generalities, but he has plenty of illuminating stories to tell. Moreover, along with frequent sidebar glances at third-party races, the long history of voter suppression, fake news and ways to counter it, and more, he appends refreshed, annotated lists of helpful information sites, both nonpartisan and otherwise. If, as he argues, just showing up is the key to making the electoral process more democratic, this searching study makes an effective spur.
Not exactly evenhanded but still a solid and timely foundation. (source notes, additional resources, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-7896-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
Nuanced, courageous, and urgently necessary—but better performed than merely read.
A theatrical consideration of contemporary masculinities sandwiched by supplementary material.
In truly cathartic theater, the play’s the thing, providing a subtle vehicle for audience engagement. Artist/activist Cappiello’s SLUT (2015) did just that, spurring frank discussions of cultural misogyny and consent. Her latest drama aspires to spark conversations about manhood and masculinity and is deliberately challenging but never didactic. Rather, it provides audiences and readers with space for discussing complicated constructs. It aims to promote roles for actors of color; three characters—Marcus, Derek, and Evan—are black while the remaining two—Nick and Andrew—are not described by race. The action unfolds on a minimalist set where a cast of five NYC high school juniors negotiate their tenuous understanding of gender and sexuality. Scenes are preceded by projected text messages and punctuated with confessional monologues touching on everything from casual homophobia and penis size to familial relationships and consent. Informed by conversations with teenage boys, Cappiello relies on raw dialogue and rapid pacing to create realistic young voices—and to jolt audiences awake. Primed by introductions and followed by reams of pedagogical tools and commentary, the play itself accounts for a mere third of the book. While its accompaniments aren’t groundbreaking, the mix of new (the play’s original cast) and established (Eve Ensler) voices provides valuable context and models productions to emulate.
Nuanced, courageous, and urgently necessary—but better performed than merely read. (Drama/nonfiction. 15-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-948-34018-2
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Dottir Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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