Review of My Name Is Jason. Mine Too, by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

Biography, Poetry, Teen Nonfiction 0

My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.

Our Story. Our Way.

by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

Atheneum, 2022. (First created in 2009.)
Review written February 26, 2023, from a library book
2022 Cybils Finalist – Poetry Collections

My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. is from the same two Jasons who created the award-winning Ain’t Burned All the Bright. This book came first, and was recently reissued. It’s a memoir in poetry and art — about two young guys who moved to New York City after college. One dreamed of being a poet and the other an artist. They were twenty and twenty-two years old.

It wasn’t an easy road for them. They were hungry. Their parents weren’t thrilled. And they thought maybe they were making a big mistake.

Now, I’m an old fogey. There’s probably lots of symbolism in the art that I’m not getting. But together with the words, there’s something powerful going on here. The book paints a portrait of two guys, trying to be adults in the world and yet also make art.

And wow! One of them went on to become the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

I hope there will be more collaborations in the future with these two Jasons.

jasonwritesbooks.com

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Review of Sisters in Science, by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

Sisters in Science

Marie Curie, Bronia Dluska, and the Atomic Power of Sisterhood

by Linda Elovitz Marshall
illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso

Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. 36 pages.
Review written March 31, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

I’ve read several books about Marie Curie, but I had never heard about her older sister Bronia who made her career possible.

And Marie also made Bronia’s career possible. This picture book explains that the sisters made a pact.

Yet, to achieve their dreams, Marie and Bronia needed to study in a real university, one that accepted women, like the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

But how could they possibly pay?

They concocted a plan:

Bronia would start at the Sorbonne immediately, while Marie would work as a tutor to pay for Bronia’s education.

When Bronia finished, they would switch. Marie would start, and Bronia would pay.

Marie and Bronia made a pact!

The book goes on to tell about both their lives and how they helped each other at crucial times.

Besides Marie’s stellar achievements, which most of us have heard about before, we learn that Bronia and her husband founded a hospital in Poland. And the x-ray machines that Marie developed were used there.

I love that this book about sisters is illustrated by twin sisters. The lovely illustrations make heavy use of scientific symbols, giving wonderful effects.

rhcbooks.com

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Review of Abuela, Don’t Forget Me, by Rex Ogle

Biography, Poetry, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Abuela, Don’t Forget Me

by Rex Ogle

Norton Young Readers, 2022. 198 pages.
Review written February 26, 2023, from a library book
Starred Review
2023 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award Finalist

Rex Ogle is the author of the amazing Free Lunch and Punching Bag, both of which were Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Those books tell about his difficult childhood and difficult teen years, dealing with poverty and abuse.

This book doesn’t continue the story so much as look at the story again, this time in the light of the constant in his life — his abuela.

Abuela now has dementia. Rex Ogle wrote this about writing this book:

A few years ago, after a particularly difficult call with Abuela – in which she forgot who I was halfway through – I sat down and cried. Then I wrote out a few words. Those words led to fragments of sentences. Those fragments led to verses. Those verses formed a poem, and before I knew it, the memories were flying out of me, all of them in verse.

In the foreword to this book of poems, he writes this tribute:

My abuela is the woman who encouraged me to read and write at an early age. Who bought groceries when my mom was unemployed and we were living on food stamps. She is the woman who offered her home to me when the violence at my mom’s became too much. Abuela is the woman who got me off the streets after my father kicked me out for being gay. She told me if I wanted to be a novelist, then I should pursue it, that if I worked hard, I could accomplish anything. By every definition of the word, my grandmother is an angel. My own personal fairy godmother. Abuela is the only parent I’ve ever known who showed me truly unconditional love, kindness, and support.

This book is another version of the author’s childhood and teen years. In this version, his abuela shines as a bright and beautiful example of unselfish, generous, unconditional love – going to a kid who needed it.

nortonyoungreaders.com

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Review of Spare, by Prince Harry

Biography, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

Spare

by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
read by the author

Books on Tape, 2023. 15 hours, 40 minutes.
Review written April 15, 2023, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I’ve never been much of a celebrity-watcher, but I did watch Diana’s funeral so many years ago, and along with so many others, my heart went out to Harry, losing his mother far too soon. When he wrote a book, telling his story his own way rather than through an intermediary, I wanted to hear it, wanted to hear that his heart had healed.

And yes, this is a story of healing.

Though first, it’s a story of pain. It was heart-wrenching to hear how many years went by before he stopped believing that his mother had simply staged her own death and built a life for herself elsewhere and would one day call for him.

There are stories of romances with good people who couldn’t hold up to the horrendous persistent invasive attention of the press. (Prince Harry doesn’t like the press.) But the story of him meeting and falling in love with Meghan Markle simply shines with love.

He finally got therapy. He stood up for himself and sued the press. And he withstood basically being cast out of the royal family.

The end says that a large portion of proceeds from this wildly best-selling book are going to charity, but I hope he keeps some for himself and his family, as the story also includes how the royal family is no longer paying for his security or any living expenses. And I would have rolled my eyes about that before I heard this story. The work of the royal family is public relations. And that includes raising money for charity. That he’s continuing that work he was born into, despite being cast off, is admirable.

I’m left after reading this book wholeheartedly wishing for him and his family health, happiness, and continued deep love for one another. And goodness, I hope the press will start leaving them alone.

This one’s worth a read, and like all audiobooks where the narrator has an English accent, it’s well worth hearing with Harry’s own voice reading it to you.

archewell.com

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Review of The Tryout, by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, Starred Review 0

The Tryout

written by Christina Soontornvat
illustrated by Joanna Cacao
colors by Amanda LaFrenais

Graphix (Scholastic), 2022. 272 pages.
Review written January 12, 2023, from a library book.
Starred Review

I will keep saying it: Graphic novels are the perfect format for memoirs of middle school. And memoirs of middle school are perfect reading for kids currently going through it, to understand they are not alone. The Tryout will take its place with Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, and Shannon Hale’s Real Friends as wonderful encouraging books for middle school readers, looking at the middle school years from the perspective of adulthood.

This graphic novel memoir tells about Christina Soontornvat’s experiences in middle school in a small town in Texas, where she and her best friend Megan were among very few students of color. Her father was from Thailand and her mother’s whole family from Texas. Megan’s father was from Iran. They’d been kindred spirits for years, and both decided to try out for cheerleading.

But they didn’t have classes together, and when they both decided to try out for cheerleading, Megan chose a different partner. Was Christina going to lose that friendship?

The tryout itself was the same as happened at my high school — the kids tried out in front of the student body, in this case, the whole seventh grade. Yes, that was as much pressure as you can imagine. Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao beautifully portray the anguish all the potential cheerleaders experienced.

With these books, it’s always fun to see pictures at the back of the author when she was actually in middle school, and I really enjoyed these. Yes, she survived the experience!

A wonderful graphic memoir about middle school that kids are going to love.

scholastic.com

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Review of The Light We Carry, by Michelle Obama

Biography, Nonfiction Review, Personal Growth, Starred Review, True Stories 0

The Light We Carry

Overcoming in Uncertain Times

by Michelle Obama

Crown, 2022. 318 pages.
Review written January 16, 2023, from a library book
Starred Review

Michelle Obama is a treasure. This book doesn’t contain profound new insights, but it does contain words and stories to inspire you to be your best, and to see the best in other people. She doesn’t pretend any of this is easy, but she tells stories about persevering when things are difficult.

I like the title, because Michelle Obama is exceptionally good at seeing the light in everyone. Everyone carries light inside them, and she is good at finding it in others. This is reflected in this paragraph talking about her book tour for Becoming:

When I looked out into those audiences, I saw something that confirmed what I knew to be true about my country and about the world more generally. I saw a colorful crowd, full of differences, and better for it. These were spaces where diversity was recognized and celebrated as a strength. I saw different ages, races, genders, ethnicities, identities, outfits, you name it — people laughing, clapping, crying, sharing. I sincerely believe that many of those people had turned up for reasons that stretched well past me or my book. My feeling was they’d shown up at least in part to feel less alone in the world, to locate some lost sense of belonging. Their presence — the energy, warmth, and diversity of those spaces — helped tell a certain story. People were there, I believe, because it felt good — it felt great, actually — to mix our differentness with togetherness.

She talks about living life in relationship with others — friends and family you let into your life. And there may not be anything earth-shaking there, but it is inspirational.

Here’s another paragraph I liked:

All I can do is try to draw closer to your uniqueness, to feel linked by the small overlaps between us. This is how empathy works. It’s how differentness starts to weave itself into togetherness. Empathy fills the gaps between us, but never closes them entirely. We get pulled into the lives of others by virtue of what they feel safe and able to show us, and the generosity with which we are able to meet them. Piece by piece, person by person, we begin to apprehend the world in more fullness.

It’s worth the wait on the Holds list.

michelleobamabooks.com
crownpublishing.com

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Review of Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile

Award Winners, Biography, Graphic Memoir, History, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

Victory. Stand!

Raising My Fist for Justice

by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and Dawud Anyabwile

Norton Young Readers, 2022. 204 pages.
Review written January 18, 2023, from a library book
Starred Review
2023 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner
2023 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
2022 National Book Award Finalist
2023 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
2022 Cybils Award Finalist, High School Nonfiction
2023 Capitol Choices Selection

This graphic novel memoir tells the story of world-record-breaking track star Tommie Smith, who raised his fist on the gold medal podium of the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 to protest racial injustice in the United States.

The book weaves in scenes from that pivotal race through the whole book, while telling the story of Tommie’s life. He started out as the seventh child of a sharecropping family in Texas, and left with a busload of other Black folks to California. There, he got to go to school regularly, and his life changed.

I love the way graphic novel memoirs show you the emotions of the characters. We see Tommie grow and develop into an athlete. He won a college scholarship in three sports — football, basketball, and track. But when he began breaking records in track, that became his focus.

At the same time, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining steam and Tommie wanted to bring attention to the cause, using the platform of being a world-class athlete.

But when he raised his fist during the anthem at the Olympic games, he was sent home immediately and his athletic career ended. He also became a target of hate and couldn’t even find a job for a while.

I like the way the book describes his emotions and thoughts while standing there on the platform. “We had to be seen because we were not being heard.”

Eighty seconds.
That’s how long we stood
there as the anthem played.

Those fists in the air were
dedicated to everyone at home,
back in the projects in Chicago,
Oakland, and Detroit,
to everyone in the boroughs
of Queens and Brooklyn,
to all of the brothers
and sisters, fathers and mothers
in Birmingham, Atlanta, Dallas,
Houston, St. Louis, New Orleans,
to everyone struggling, working
their fingers to the bone
on farms across America,
to everyone holding out hope
that things will get better . . .

. . . that was for you,
from John and me.

This is a powerful story of someone who gave up so much in order to make a statement about people who were being overlooked.

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Review of A First Time for Everything, by Dan Santat

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Graphic Memoir, Starred Review 0

A First Time for Everything

by Dan Santat

First Second, 2023. 320 pages.
Review written March 12, 2023, from a library book
Starred Review

Here it is! Yet another book that convinces me that the absolutely perfect material for the graphic novel format is the middle school memoir. A First Time for Everything joins books like Smile, Real Friends, El Deafo, and many others that all brilliantly express the emotions and awkwardness of middle school — showing kids that they are not alone.

Caldecott-winning artist Dan Santat got to go to Europe the summer after his eighth grade year. It was an experience that changed his life.

First, he expertly shows some of his humiliations in middle school, so we understand his lack of self-confidence. Some girls who always tease him are along on the trip, but so are some kids from other parts of the United States, including a girl who seems to think he’s cool.

And they see Europe! They start in Paris and travel to places like Switzerland, Salzburg, Vienna, and London. The adults on the trip give them a lot of freedom (the Author’s Note in the back comments on that), and we really get the feeling of a kid experiencing Europe, meeting new people, and learning about himself.

I lived in Germany for ten years and visited many of the places portrayed in this book, so I loved that aspect of reading it as well. It made me want to go back. So much. (But then, most things do.) And when I do, I’m going to drink a Fanta and think of Dan Santat. (Well, and my kids. They love Fanta, too.)

This book is completely wonderful. He managed to put on the page the awkwardness of middle school plus the wonder of Europe plus the challenge of trying new things — and the way all that makes you grow. You could see the kid Dan gaining confidence and liking himself more as the story went on.

dansantatbooks.com
firstsecondbooks.com

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Review of The Woman All Spies Fear, by Amy Butler Greenfield

Award Winners, Biography, Starred Review, Teen Nonfiction 0

The Woman All Spies Fear

Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life

by Amy Butler Greenfield

Random House Studio, 2021. 328 pages.
Review written February 26, 2023, from a library book
2022 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist
2022 Cybils Award Winner – High School Nonfiction
Starred Review

Okay, I meant to read this book once it was named as a Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award last year. When this year it won the Cybils Award for High School Nonfiction, that intention took on new urgency. On top of that, a book for younger kids about Elizebeth Friedman, Code Breaker, Spy Hunter, by Laurie Wallmark, was a 2021 Sonderbooks Stand-out and a 2023 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book. And I watched a PBS documentary about her online, “The Codebreaker.” This book for older readers gives many more details about her fascinating life.

Elizebeth Smith was born in 1892 and got started in code breaking by working for an eccentric millionaire, looking for hidden codes from Francis Bacon in the works of Shakespeare. That search came to nothing, but it was there that Elizebeth met her husband-to-be William Friedman, who turned out to be an equally brilliant code breaker.

Elizebeth ended up using her skills for the government to unravel and create coded messages during World War I, during Prohibition against rum runners, and during World War II and beyond. She and her husband helped found cryptanalysis as a science, and trained the nation’s corps of codebreakers.

Her career spanned world wars that happened before computers were used to solve codes, and she brilliantly could spot and break multi-layered cyphers of many different types and in many different languages, using paper and pencil.

This book is packed with amazing stories of her skills, with plenty of personal details about what was going on in her life. Her husband ended up battling mental illness, but Elizebeth carried on, a working mother when that wasn’t the norm. It tells about interagency rivalry as well as national security secrecy that kept her from getting credit for her amazing work.

I enjoyed the frequent “Code Breaks” in the book that looked in more detail at a specific kind of coded message. Those gave me new appreciation for Elizebeth’s intricate level of skill, showing how messages would get coded in multi-step processes — and she would still break them. (Though I was able to solve the simple cypher the author put in the Acknowledgements.)

This book tells a wonderful story of a brilliant woman who, in a time when women’s brains weren’t valued, used hers to defeat bad guys.

amybutlergreenfield.com
GetUnderlined.com

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Review of If You’re a Kid Like Gavin, by Gavin Grimm and Kyle Lukoff, illustrations by J Yang

Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Current Issues, Starred Review 0

If You’re a Kid Like Gavin

The True Story of a Young Trans Activist

by Gavin Grimm and Kyle Lukoff
illustrations by J Yang

Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), 2022. 36 pages.
Review written October 25, 2022, from a library book.
Starred Review

This colorful and informative picture book tells the story of Gavin Grimm, a transgender boy who went to court to be able to use the boys’ restroom at his high school.

The book is framed in a way kids can understand, talking about choices you can make and choices you can’t make.

Here’s how they explain that Gavin is transgender:

And if you’re a kid like Gavin Grimm,
you don’t choose if you’re a boy or a girl.

But if you’re transgender like Gavin Grimm,
you might choose to talk about it.

To tell your family, “I know you thought I was a girl,
but I’m really a boy on the inside.”

To say, “I can’t keep the name you gave me. We have to pick a new one.”

To be honest about who you are.

But then Gavin faced another choice: What to do about the bathrooms at school. He went to school as a boy, and no one bothered him. But they had him use a restroom in the nurse’s office. After a while, he started using the boys’ bathroom.

The principal said it was okay, and that should have been the end.

But the book portrays that there were some who didn’t like it, starting with a teacher, who told people that he was really a girl. That started everyone talking about him. Other kids bullied and laughed at him. And they made him a topic of a school board meeting. Gavin then had another choice.

Gavin chose to speak up for himself. He went to the meeting at his school and told them where he belonged. He tried to make them see that he was just a kid, not a problem to be solved.

It didn’t work.

But he still had a choice. He could have used the girls’ bathroom, which didn’t feel right. Or he could have used the bathroom his school put into a closet, one that no other kid was forced to use.

And he could have chosen to stay quiet.

The spread with his choice has a wonderful sky at sunset behind Gavin — with the colors of the transgender flag.

But when you’re a kid like Gavin Grimm, you know the only choice you have is to fight back.

To stand up for yourself.
And your right to use the bathroom as yourself.
And your right to be in school as yourself.

Then it talks about how Gavin worked with the ACLU to continue to fight his own case and to try to help other transgender kids, too.

I wish that this book were only of historical interest! It helps kids understand why transgender kids want to be who they know themselves to be. And it encourages kids to make the choice to stand for what’s right. Even while acknowledging they shouldn’t have to.

harpercollinschildrens.com

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