A solid reference work that shows aspiring female game developers the legacy they’d be joining.
A collective biography of women pioneers and stars of the gaming industry.
Repeated questions from girls about whether it was worth it to enter this field in the light of things like Gamergate, the racist and misogynistic mid-2010s harassment campaign that still affects online gaming communities, prompted Kenney, a game developer with an impressive resume, to highlight the triumphs of women in the industry and demonstrate that women have been influential players in the industry for many decades. The brief biographies are tightly focused on the women’s careers and what brought them to gaming, with interests in storytelling, puzzles, and, naturally, computers frequently recurring. They open with a framing of the individuals’ best-known accomplishments and number of years in the industry. Kenney infuses humor where she can as a counterbalance to industry jargon and the unavoidable repetition in the women’s stories. While most of the women appear to be White in the stylized illustrated portraits and lack racial descriptors in their chapters (Kenney cites 2019 data that, of the fewer than 25% of game designers who identify as female, 81% are White), Asian and Black women are also represented as well as trans women. Sidebar paragraphs spotlight even more women in the industry. Perera’s arresting full-page portraits rendered in shades of purple and orange with black and white accents open each entry; spot art adds further visual interest.
A solid reference work that shows aspiring female game developers the legacy they’d be joining. (glossary, bibliography, notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7624-7456-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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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