Fiery and engaging, a powerful portrait of the liberating power of art.
An inspiring fictionalized verse biography of one of Cuba’s most influential writers.
Newbery Honor–winning Engle (The Surrender Tree, 2008) here imagines the youth of Cuban-born Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814-73), a major 19th-century writer who was an abolitionist and feminist opposed to all forms of slavery, including arranged marriage. From Sab, her subject’s 1841 abolitionist novel, Engle loosely deduces her artistic development, not only including the two arranged marriages she refused in real life, but the budding writer’s struggles at home. There, “Tula” was subjected to the discriminatory views of her mother and grandfather, who sought to educate her only in the domestic arts since, according to Mamá, “Everyone knows that girls / who read and write too much / are unattractive.” Denied the education her brother received, Tula laments, “I’m just a girl who is expected / to live / without thoughts.” Engle’s clear, declarative verse animates the impassioned voice of Tula as well as other major figures in her life—her sympathetic brother, Manuel, the orphans she comes to love and entertain with grand plays meshing themes of autonomy and racial equality, and her family’s housekeeper, Caridad, a former slave who is eventually inspired by Tula’s wild tales of true emancipation to leave her confining situation.
Fiery and engaging, a powerful portrait of the liberating power of art. (historical note, translated excerpts from Avellaneda’s work, bibliography) (Historical fiction/verse. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-80743-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
A compelling ode to self-resurrection and Black sisterhood that finds much-needed light in the world’s darkness.
Two acclaimed, award-winning creators team up to present this moving, introspective poetry collection celebrating the possibilities of Black girlhood complemented by atmospheric mixed-media illustrations.
Showcasing varied poetic forms such as free verse and tanka, Watson reflects on coming of age as a Black girl in a society that habitually flattens Black experiences into easily digestible stereotypes. The opening poem, “Where I’m From,” is inspired by the work of Puerto Rican writer Willie Perdomo, and it peels back the layers of Watson’s identity, creating a harmonious alchemy of personal and cultural history that incorporates familiar touchstones and inheritances like “east coast hip-hop and island tradition.” Themes of resilience and perseverance are interwoven throughout, exploring how Black girls’ existence is often a testament to survival. Some poems contemplate the trauma that results from systemic racism and misogynoir; “A Pantoum for Breonna Taylor” notes how white supremacy weaponizes the basic necessity of rest: “Breonna, who reminded us that Black women / are not even safe in our sleep.” But Watson doesn’t dwell in despair; she finds safety in the healing power of love. Other poems, including “Lessons on Being a Sky Walker,” are rallying cries, encouraging Black girls to honor their roots and cherish their versatility. Watson’s reconstructions of childhood delights and teenage wounds examine the collision of race, gender, and class. Holmes’ tender, vibrant art enhances the poems.
A compelling ode to self-resurrection and Black sisterhood that finds much-needed light in the world’s darkness. (Poetry. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593461709
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
A must-read reminder that transformation is made possible through community.
Explores historical threads of race, faith, and family as they weave together in the transformation of youthful, imprisoned Malcolm Little into empowered, purpose-driven Malcolm X.
Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, partners with rising literary star Jackson to explore 20-something Malcolm’s growth through reading, debate, and dialogue. This dedication and rediscovery of purpose, made manifest through newfound faith, would catapult him to the global stage as the chief spokesman for the Nation of Islam under the tutelage of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Refusing to establish his transformation as the marker of an unjust prison system’s rehabilitation strategy, this fictionalized retelling spotlights the relationships, perspectives, lessons, and questions delivered by Black men imprisoned around him and the critical embrace of a family that never abandoned him. “Wake up, Malcolm” is a cue that resounds throughout, linking the familial legacy of Malcolm’s parents, who held ties to ministry and served roles in the racial uplift mission of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association. Readers will make connections to persistent injustices faced by Black communities—and the beautiful ways which, despite that terror, Black families have found to craft visions of freedom and lives of dignity and love. This novel showcases the ways that becoming is a social process requiring care, commitment, and community but is ultimately world-changing work.
A must-read reminder that transformation is made possible through community. (more information, timeline, Malcolm X’s reading list, authors’ note) (Biographical novel. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-31329-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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