Jacqueline Woodson’s 2014 poetic memoir Brown Girl Dreaming won a slew of awards: a National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, an NAACP Image Award, just to name a few. It is the beautifully told story of Woodson’s childhood, of the people and environments that formed both her and her dream of becoming a writer. It also offers glimpses into the civil rights movement and the experience of racism through the eyes of a child who witnessed […]
Nevertheless, She Persisted
…[R]efugees would not risk their lives on such a dangerous journey if they could thrive where they were. ~Melissa Fleming, office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Too many people in the West, particularly in the US, seem to think that refugees are moochers who want to selfishly come here to get something for nothing. We have little to no idea how refugees become refugees, and more tragically, we often just don’t give a damn. It’s not our problem, right? “If these people would […]
To The Extreme
Confessions is a psychological thriller/murder novel that keeps a fast pace and tight organization throughout. Told from the points of view of multiple narrators, the story focuses on the murder of a middle school teacher’s 4-year-old daughter and the fallout from that murder. Parent-child relationships, teacher-student relationships and the allure of revenge are the themes that run throughout. Chapter one is narrated by middle school teacher Moriguchi. It is the last day of the term, and she announces to her class that it is also […]
Need a Hero? El Deafo To the Rescue!
Well, I couldn’t have chosen a better book to raise my spirits in these trying times. Cece Bell’s Newbery Honor-winning graphic novel is pitched toward kids but will entertain and educate anyone who picks it up. El Deafo is Bell’s account of losing her hearing but finding her power in her childhood. I am the parent of two special needs kids, one of whom wears a hearing aid, and I found myself saying, “wow, I never thought of that,” as Bell recounts what it was […]
Sleeping Beauty, Environmental Warrior
Beauty is a complicated fantasy novel about fairy tales, feminism, environmentalism and the end of the world. It involves fairies, angels, humans, and time travel, and places a heavy emphasis on darkness vs. light, on creativity and destruction. There is a whole helluva lot going on, sometimes maybe more than the author can handle, but author Tepper, who died last year (because of course she did, it was 2016), certainly demonstrates great passion for her subject matter. The novel begins in 14th century Westfaire with […]
Happy Birthday, Zora Neale Hurston!
Thanks to Bonnie for sending me this book for the Cannonball holiday book exchange! Their Eyes Were Watching God is a love story and an odyssey. It is a feminist story about a woman named Janie who struggles to live the life that she desires, to fulfill her own dreams instead of being trapped in others’ dreams. In telling this story Zora Neale Hurston employed a language new to African American literature — the vernacular, the genuine language of African American communities, particularly of women. […]
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