A candid introduction to the multifaceted experiences of people with disabilities.
An overview of disability history and culture.
Leavitt, herself legally blind, begins by contrasting the impairment-focused medical model of disability with the social model, which incorporates the challenges that people with disabilities encounter in everyday life. Using person-first language, she applies the social model to a vast array of topics. Subjects include the treatment of people with disabilities throughout history; the meaning of disabled culture; assistive technologies and adaptations; and challenges faced by contemporary people with disabilities in work, school, and medical settings, such as ignorance, inaccessibility, and discrimination. She bolsters her exploration of physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities with statistics enumerating disabled populations in the United States and Canada. Sidebars highlight athletes, artists, and entrepreneurs with disabilities, and expressive cartoons illustrate common scenarios; both photos and art feature ethnic diversity. The author’s personal anecdotes provide additional insight. Unfortunately, Leavitt occasionally overgeneralizes: Although people may find learning braille challenging, she asserts that she learned it at age 10, “so how hard can it be?” and the preference of many autistic people for identity-first language is not addressed. However, her candid discussions of contemporary issues, such as low employment rates and medically assisted dying, are nuanced and hard-hitting, and her acknowledgement of disability in the LGBTQ+ community is refreshing. She ends on a hopeful note, offering ways for nondisabled readers to advocate for people with disabilities.
A candid introduction to the multifaceted experiences of people with disabilities. (glossary, resources, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1928-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
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
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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