by Virgie Tovar ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2020
Informative, affirming, and necessary.
An inclusive, compassionate guidebook that champions girls and women of all ages and challenges the status quo.
Tovar pens a guide for learning to accept and love oneself, inside and out, despite cultural messages to the contrary. While providing historical and cultural context for hurdles to self-acceptance faced by girls and women of color such as sexism, racism, and fatphobia, Tovar encourages readers to show up as their best selves within their communities and to make suitable and necessary changes to themselves, their communities, and society at large. Tovar, a proud, fat babe and fat activist of Mexican and Iranian descent, uses anecdotes from her own life and merges them with findings from scientific and sociological studies to amplify her points. With journal prompts following each chapter, Tovar includes the often missed element of some self-help or motivational books—actionable suggestions for how to make the shifts in lifestyle or mindset that readers may desire or need. This element supports readers in becoming more empowered and mentally, emotionally, and physically healthier versions of themselves. Her style is educational and accessible without being condescending; her warm, friendly tone treats readers as her equals and as whole people while acknowledging that we are works in progress. A fantastic introduction to/reminder of self-love and self-advocacy.
Informative, affirming, and necessary. (endnotes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68403-411-6
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Instant Help Books
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
by Virgie Tovar
by Hannah Testa ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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by Shavone Charles ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
by Leo Baker ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
by Chella Man ; illustrated by Chella Man & Ashley Lukashevsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2021
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author.
Deaf, trans artist Man meditates on his journey and identity in this brief memoir.
Growing up in conservative central Pennsylvania was tough for the 21-year-old Deaf, genderqueer, pansexual, and biracial (Chinese/White Jewish) author. He describes his gender and sexual identity, his experiences of racism and ableism, and his desire to use his visibility as a YouTube personality, model, and actor to help other young people like him. He is open and vulnerable throughout, even choosing to reveal his birth name. Man shares his experiences of becoming deaf as a small child and at times feeling ostracized from the Deaf community but not how he arrived at his current Deaf identity. His description of his gender-identity development occasionally slips into a well-worn pink-and-blue binary. The text is accompanied and transcended by the author’s own intriguing, expressionistic line drawings. However, Man ultimately falls short of truly insightful reflection or analysis, offering a mostly surface-level account of his life that will likely not be compelling to readers who are not already fans. While his visibility and success as someone whose life represents multiple marginalized identities are valuable in themselves, this heartfelt personal chronicle would have benefited from deeper introspection.
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22348-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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More In The Series
by Shavone Charles ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
by Leo Baker ; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
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