by Sook Nyul Choi ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1993
In a sequel to the autobiographical Year of Impossible Goodbyes (1991, ALA Notable), Sookan, now 15, is again a refugee. After 1945, the family was reunited in Seoul and established a comfortable home. But as the story opens, Sookan is in coastal Posan, studying at a refugee school. Separated from Father and her older brothers—whose fate they won't know for two years—by the bombing of Seoul, Sookan and her mother and youngest brother are living high on a mountain where she's awakened each morning by a poet shouting on a nearby peak. The earlier book hinged on political events and the cruelties and injustices of war; more quietly, this one examines war's sorrows and the courage and compromises of those growing up in its shadow. Sookan comforts an orphaned friend; mourns the Shouting Poet, though they've never met; and, despite her shyness, defies tradition to rendezvous with a male friend. Though each plans to enter holy orders, their love for poetry and music draws them into a poignant, chaste accord that reveals a great deal about the culture and their own character. Their parting, as Sookan heads for college in the US, leaves much unspoken, and is just one of the many separations and losses composing this book. Except for Sookan, the characters are less fully realized than before; instead, wonderfully telling scenes evoke the time, the place, and—more subtly—the deep- running emotions that these people, bound by custom and besieged by troubles, were so rarely free to acknowledge. (Fiction. 10+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-64721-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1993
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by Sook Nyul Choi & illustrated by Karen M. Dugan
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by Kathleen Glasgow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 12, 2019
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey
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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bryan Collier
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