Compelling, caring, and inspiring.
Movingly and authentically evokes the power of personal narrative.
Connection, concern, and vulnerability warm every page of the letters Francis, a teacher of English language learners in North Carolina, writes to some of her former students from Latin American countries. The young people are addressed by given names only; there are identifying details about their life histories, but it is unclear whether they are composites or actual youths who granted permission to be included. Francis interweaves selected life episodes of her own that mirror the teens’ situations. A smuggler brought her from Guatemala to the U.S. when she was 15, the oldest of five children of a single mother who struggled with addiction before finding religion. Many of her challenges and successes reflect joys and difficulties many teens of different backgrounds face; others (like driving a truck to sell oranges around town at age 9) will resonate with some and be eye-opening for others. Initially, her education came second to survival; later she faced homesickness, self-doubt, and setbacks like an unplanned pregnancy. Francis’ advice is validated by her own experiences, and she doesn’t gloss over her heartbreak at her students’ stories—one arrived wearing an ankle bracelet from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Francis is empathetic and supportive; she sees their passions, character traits, and achievements. In simple, stirring prose, she gives teens the incomparable gift of her genuine attention while accepting that she can’t meet their every need.
Compelling, caring, and inspiring. (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-218-00256-5
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Seidlitz Education
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
