A readable combination of advice and inspiration.
Michigan governor Whitmer highlights career achievements and life lessons in this young adult adaptation of her 2024 work for adults.
This book weaves self-help advice together with personal anecdotes from the Democratic politician’s childhood and political career (including the infamous, failed conspiracy by a far-right militia group to kidnap her in 2020). The chapter titles, which are the same in the original and YA versions, convey a strong sense of the content: for example, “Don’t Let the Bullies Get You Down” and “Seek to Understand.” Much of the text is also the same, although this edition includes passages offering important contextual explanations and directly addressing younger readers’ concerns: “If I could go back and talk to my ten-year-old self, I’d tell her to share with a trusted adult what was going on. Ask for help. Advocate for herself.” The fragmented presentation leads to some jarring transitions, for example, when one chapter ends with a slapstick tale of Whitmer’s slipping on ice and falling “right on my butt,” and the next one begins “On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered.” Most successful are the many anecdotes spotlighting the governor’s principles and the ways she’s worked to serve her constituents. While the lack of sources is a weakness, the conversational style will appeal to readers interested in politics and those seeking insights on leadership and attaining success.
A readable combination of advice and inspiration. (Q&A with Whitmer’s daughters, resources, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781665983761
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
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
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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