Moving and inspiring; Wallenberg’s is a name to remember for all time, and Borden has done an admirable job of ensuring...
An exceptional individual is brought at last to the up-close-and-personal attention of young readers.
Raoul Wallenberg, born into a distinguished Swedish family in 1912, was destined for greatness. Outgoing, intelligent, artistic, fluent in multiple languages and deeply imbued with strong moral courage, he traveled the world from a young age. A sense of his life’s purpose developed while on business in Budapest in the mid-1940s. There he witnessed firsthand the Nazis’ brutal treatment of Hungary’s Jews. Eventually assigned to the neutral Swedish legation in Budapest, Wallenberg, on his own and with fellow outraged diplomats, labored tirelessly and at great personal risk to provide special documents and to adopt other measures that brought thousands of Hungarian Jews under royal Swedish protection, thus sparing them from deportation and death. Borden describes this hero’s extraordinary life and exploits in free verse, which makes for fast-paced, exciting (though sometimes choppy) reading. Her research has been impeccable, and she has included a wealth of personal and historic detail. The contemporary photos, documents and maps are excellent and place events in lucid context. Readers will be fascinated by the story of this laudable man—and shocked by his ignoble capture and mysterious imprisonment by the Russians at the end of the war. Details about Wallenberg’s final days remain unknown.
Moving and inspiring; Wallenberg’s is a name to remember for all time, and Borden has done an admirable job of ensuring readers will. (epilogue, author's note, bibliography, sources) (Biography. 11 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-618-50755-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
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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