This is a beautiful book that pivots between the story of resistance workers during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam and 2011 as a grand-daughter trieThis is a beautiful book that pivots between the story of resistance workers during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam and 2011 as a grand-daughter tries to help her Oma find a bone-marrow match. In this graphic novel, a blackbird, whose speech bubbles are in black functions as a kind of Greek chorus in this history-mystery story. Art is the connection between Jewish siblings separated when their parents were sent to a concentration camp. An excellent read for both ELA and social studies classes. ...more
I love survivor stories, and this one was a page-turner. An eleven-year-old boy is in a small plane crash with the adventurous father he adores, the fI love survivor stories, and this one was a page-turner. An eleven-year-old boy is in a small plane crash with the adventurous father he adores, the father's girlfriend, and a pilot. His experiences of being pushed beyond his comfort zone--physically by his father and mentally by his mom's boyfriend--help him in his push to survive this tragedy. Reminded me of Paulsen's Hatchet and Greci's Surviving Bear Island. He deals with his PTSD by surfing the big waves off Topanga Beach. ...more
I got to hear Raymond Santana speak at the ALAN workshop last week. He was one of the exonerated five in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger. He waI got to hear Raymond Santana speak at the ALAN workshop last week. He was one of the exonerated five in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger. He was arrested at age 14 and spent 7 years in prison. The title of the book reflects the reason he wrote it. He said he wrote it for the kid who was wrongfully committed and caught up in the system. He wants to show them that there is hope. I was touched by his message and read the book that night. The illustrations by Keith Henry Brown are really good and help impress upon the reader the author's youth at the time and how frightening and manipulating the interrogation was. Some pages just have a single sentence, so it is a quick read. ...more
This was a nostalgic read for me, as it was published during our first years in Alaska. It is a humorous account of two missionaries, Helen and RicharThis was a nostalgic read for me, as it was published during our first years in Alaska. It is a humorous account of two missionaries, Helen and Richard Teeter in the Bush. ...more
The main tension in this book comes from the protagonist--who is exploring their two-spirit identity--wanting to wear a ribbon skirt to the pow-wow, bThe main tension in this book comes from the protagonist--who is exploring their two-spirit identity--wanting to wear a ribbon skirt to the pow-wow, but is dealing with the challenge of finding the materials and facing their own fears about how others will react. Complicating the situation is a friend with whom they've had a falling out. Any middle schooler dealing with the messiness friendships will appreciate this book. This book has a similar theme to the picture book Raven's Ribbons. ...more
I heard this author speak when I was in Pittsburgh for the Annual Convention of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. I was intrigued by the womI heard this author speak when I was in Pittsburgh for the Annual Convention of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. I was intrigued by the woman-centered focus of her fiction, so I bought The Garden while there (and got her signature too!). Clare Beams is a vivacious presenter. The premise--a group of women who have had numerous miscarriages are at a doctor-run retreat where an experimental treatment is supposed to help them. Next to the grand country home where they are staying is a secret garden with magical powers. The natural tension is in whether the main character and her two friends will carry their babies to term. Having had one miscarriage and two births myself, I appreciated the nuances of each stage of pregnancy they go through, and I also liked the garden. The protagonist, Irene, is quite mean to the doctors and other women, which I didn't enjoy. I feel like the tension was building up to a more elaborate conclusion than what transpired, though the ending was not entirely unsatisfying. I think there needs to be more writing like this that privileges the intricacies of women's reproductive lives. ...more
Wow! This is my first time reading a work of Cherokee futurism, and it was an amazing experience. The materiality of the book--the gorgeous cover, theWow! This is my first time reading a work of Cherokee futurism, and it was an amazing experience. The materiality of the book--the gorgeous cover, the fine paper, the typeface, the art, and even the all-black pages separating the chapter--added to the experience for me. Stevie is an endearing character who reflects her cultural values of caring for family (her younger brother has health issues) and community. Like all seniors, she is eager to start a new life when going away to college with her two best friends. Her way of negotiating an apocalypse (can't share a significant plot point because of spoilers) is refreshing as well as page-turning, especially in the last third of the book. Personally, I really connected with her job in the museum (I worked at the University of Alaska Museum when I was an undergraduate). One of the frequent delights of the book is hearing some of my favorite Indigenous authors alluded to in perfect moments. Rogers is not just doing a great job of world-building in the future world but building an Indigenous literary world for us in the present day. I received this book in my box at the ALAN workshop in Boston in November 2024, where I also got to hear Rogers speak. Loved Man-Made Monsters and looking forward to anything and everything she writes in the future. ...more
I liked Tommy Orange's first book, There, There, so I was excited to read his second book. The writing drew me in right away--such varied and beautifuI liked Tommy Orange's first book, There, There, so I was excited to read his second book. The writing drew me in right away--such varied and beautifully crafted sentences! It was interesting that the prologue to this novel was a nonfiction overview of the Sand Creek massacre. It made sense, though, in helping the reader to understand the intergenerational trauma that plays out across the generations. I had to look back at the family tree dozens of times to orient myself as I was reading. Different chapters have different points of view, including one all in second person. My favorite was the chapter from Opal Viola Bear Shield's POV--what a grounded, courageous, and graceful young woman. To be honest, the later chapters, in which Orvil and Sean are battling their addictions, were so hard to read. I felt like I was living through it with them, and it was so depressing, and yet another mark of the author's skill in dragging the reader down into some really difficult places. I feel changed by having read this book. I have much more empathy for what intergenerational trauma really means and a deepened sense of the impact of our settler colonial history. As Jude Star says on page 35, "Stories do more than comfort. They take you away and bring you back better made."...more
Besides wanting to read more from Robin Wall Kimmerer after reading her amazing book, Braiding Sweetgrass, I also was attracted by the title of this bBesides wanting to read more from Robin Wall Kimmerer after reading her amazing book, Braiding Sweetgrass, I also was attracted by the title of this book. I recently discovered serviceberries growing by our vernal pond, and it did indeed feel like a gift. I then remembered when Denise Lajimodiere gifted me with a ziploc bag of Juneberries (another name for serviceberry) that she had picked in the Turtle Mountains. I wasn't familiar with that berry at the time, and I was entranced by the complex flavor, which Kimmerer describes much better than I ever could: "Imagine a fruit that tastes like a Blueberry crossed with the satisfying heft of an apple, a touch of rosewater, and a minuscule crunch of almond-flavored seeds" (p. 6). There's so much more than just the berries themselves in this book--Kimmerer traces the movement of the serviceberry as it circulates through a gift economy and compares it to our current "cutthroat capitalism." There's a lot to think about in this slim volume, which is why I savored it a little at a time in these winter mornings while drinking coffee. I highly recommend reading it, and I'm putting her book about moss on my summer reading list. ...more
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