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By:
Katie DeKoster,
on 2/29/2012
Blog:
Book Love
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29 days ago, I challenged myself to read only books written by or about people of color. This challenge was partly inspired by Black History Month, and partly due to a realization that since leaving my classroom in Baltimore, I had pretty much stopped looking for books that reflected the faces of "my" students.
I can almost guarantee that I would not have read most of these books without taking on this challenge, and boy-oh-boy would I have been missing out! In an effort to summarize this month of reading, here are a few awards and a few "similar interest groups" for quick reference.
Favorite YA Read of the Month: Tie between
Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis and
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena
(these two couldn't be more different, but I'll remember them both for a long, long time)Favorite MG Read of the Month:
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani
(love, love, love this book)Favorite New-to-Me Author: Ashley Hope Perez - I thoroughly enjoyed
What Can't Wait and am eagerly awaiting
The Knife and the Butterfly. I can't help but feel a TFA bond with Ms. Perez and I'm so thankful that teachers like her exist!
Favorite Blast from the Past:
American Girl - Cecile's New Orleans seriesFavorite Illustrations:
Heart and Soul - The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
(Abigail Halpin is pretty fabulous too, but Kadir Nelson's paintings were just breathtaking)
Favorite Book that Brad Pitt Should Turn into a Movie: Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Novels in Verse:
-
Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
-
The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle
-
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Lately I've noticed lots of complaining about the plethora of covers featuring girls in fancy-schmancy dresses. And yes, those covers do get old after a while.
(Except the dress on the cover of The Selection - that dress is so Carrie Bradshaw, I will never get tired of it!) But are the girls in pretty dresses really the problem?
This month I was really reminded of something that I used to be much more cognizant of:
all of the faces, on almost all of the covers, are... well... white.
When I took on my February
personal challenge to read only books written by or about people of color, I had a pretty short reading list. I knew I wanted to read
Mare's War and
The Mighty Miss Malone, but after that... ? Building up my reading list for this month took a little research. I scoured blogs like
Reading in Color,
Fledgling, and
The Brown Bookshelf for suggestions. While I did find some absolute
treasures, it really is shocking how few books are published each year by/about people of color. And that deficit is pretty darn obvious if you just scan the covers in the YA section at your local bookstore.
I think there are several reasons for the lack of "color" on YA covers. First, there just aren't a ton of books being published featuring non-white main characters. Second, sometimes the books that
are published "hide" the ethnicity of their main characters. Take Marie Lu's
Legend. This book is
outstanding - one of my favorites so far this year. But looking at the cover, you would never know that June's
dominant ethnicity is Native American. I wonder how (or if?) a cover reflecting that face would have affected the public's perception of
Legend?
So what's your take, book lovers? Do you really notice race or ethnicity when you're scanning book covers? Does that factor really even matter when choosing a new book? And why do you think so many of our YA covers are so
pale?
A few weeks ago I was reading The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. Set in 1996 and filled to the brim with 90s references, a question kept coming back to me - Is this historical fiction?
Just the other day I finished Ninth Ward by Jewell Rhodes Parker. Set in 2005 (only 7 years ago!), it made me ask the same question again - Is this historical fiction?
The most basic definition of the genre - "fiction set in the past" - leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Sarah Johnson, a professor at Eastern Illinois University, half-joked that one could say, "All novels are historical, but some are most historical than others."
Sidenote: If you're looking for more info on this topic, I was thoroughly engaged by her entire article, "What are the Rules for Historical Fiction?"
Personally, I think the genre of historical fiction is much broader than I used to believe. In fact, I feel pretty comfortable labeling both
The Future of Us and
Ninth Ward as such. So what do you think, book lovers? Does a novel need to be set at least a certain number of years in the past? Does it need to focus on a specific event in history?
Where do you draw the line?
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult, Atria, 2011, 480 pp, ISBN: 1439102724
Jodi Picoult, how can you do this to me EVERY SINGLE TIME?Recap (Caution - This is a pretty detailed recap! I don't tell you end, but there's a lot of info here!
):
Zoe and Max have been married for almost 10 years, and want nothing more than a baby to complete their family. Yet after another failed round of in vitro fertilization, Zoe learns that she and Max aren't exactly on the same page anymore. In fact, when Zoe expresses her desire to try for another baby, Max leaves her and files for divorce.
In the months that follow, Max moves back in with his big brother Reid and his wife Liddie, while Zoe spends more and more time with her friend Vanessa - a school counselor who had hired Zoe in the past for her skills as a music therapist.
As time passes, Zoe realizes that her feelings for Vanessa have progressed beyond friendship. In fact, she has fallen in love, a sentiment that is whole-heartedly reciprocated by Vanessa.
When the two women decide together that it's not too late to have a child together, Zoe approaches Max to ask permission to use their three remaining embryos. After all, he made it very clear that he had no desire to start a family when he left her.
What Zoe doesn't yet understand is that, in their time apart, Max has given his life to Jesus and the pastor of his church isn't about to let Max give his "pre-born children" away to his "deviant ex-wife."
The court case and evolution of relationships that follow are something that no one involved will ever forget.
Review:
Can I just take a moment to tell you how much I love
Jodi Picoult? Seriously, this woman is brilliant. She does meticulous research for each of her books, and somehow always manages to present all sides of an issue without ever revealing where she stands. She doesn't shy away from controversial issues, or an anti-happy ending. Plus, her story telling methods are incredibly creative. From the graphic novel elements of
The 10th Circle to the audio CD included with
Sing You Home, she isn't afraid to partner with expert artists who can make her stories even more captivating.
Sing You Home, which will hit bookstores on March 1, is yet another stunning example of this master story-teller at work. Right away, the reader is knotted to the heartstrings of Zoe Baxter, a music therapist who is absolutely desperate for a child. When Max leaves her, only days after scattering the ashes of their stillborn child, one would think that the reader would hate him for such a heartless move, but I actually empathized with him instead. Max knew that he was no longer enough for Zoe, that no matter how much he loved and supported her, she would never be happy without a baby.
When Zoe fell in love with Vanessa, I was actually pretty shocked! Even though their relationship is the basis for much of the book, I hadn't known that before starting. Regardless, Zoe and Vanessa's relationship felt authentic and real. It was easy to see how well they complimen
Happy Friday! If you are not familiar with the Blog Hop, it is a weekly meme/
BOOK PARTY hosted by Jenn at Crazy for Books. Jenn has also started something new this week: a weekly question for everyone participating in the Hop. For my (full) answer, check out the "About Katie" link at the top of this page! For my (short) answer, I am a 6th grade teacher turned school librarian. A YA book blog was one of the assignments for my very first library class. I immediately fell in like with the people, ideas, and energy of the book blogging world, and knew I had to continue even after the class was over. So, here I am!If you are new to Book Love, welcome! I am so happy you found me. Have a look around and please leave a comment or two if you see something you like. I love meeting new Book Lovers!
If you're feeling chatty, here is my
Blog Hop Question of the Week: What is one book that you
Loved so much that you would
Never want to see it made into a movie?
For me, this is an easy question:
The Hunger Games. Now don't get me wrong, you couldn't pay me enough to
not go see the movie whenever it comes out. However, I just loved this book so very much that I am terrified the movie version will only ruin it. Who in the world could possibly be chosen to play Katniss?? I just don't think anyone could do her justice.
How would you answer that question, Book Lovers? I can't wait to hear what you say!
I love books. Obvi.
And I love talking to people about books. However, I haven't been in a book club since high school.
There are soooo many books I want to read, and I kind of dislike the idea of other people dictating what I have to read next. On the flip side, I read quite a few books in my YA lit class that I wouldn't have picked up on my own... and I loved them. So I readily acknowledge that it's always a good idea to branch out of your reading comfort zone.
Lately, I have really had the urge to start a book club. I would love to read, meet, and discuss with a group of people who read "grown up" books, and I could certainly use recommendations in that area! I found this post a while ago on Book Lust Forever and I think it may have been the catalyst for my current train of thought. I love Nancy Pearl and she offers some solid guidance for book clubs.
So here's my question for all of you: Do you Book Club? How did your current group get started? How do you choose what to read? How do you guide the discussions? What advice would you give to a book club that was just starting out? I can't wait to hear what you think!
And for your viewing pleasure... Did you know that Nancy Pearl, the ultimate Book Lover, has her very own action figure? Amazing.
(Honey, if you're reading... hint, hint!)
Growing up in Indiana and then going to college in western Michigan, I was never surprised to hear someone remark that her favorite author was
Janette Oke. Historical fiction, lots of romance, and strong Christian themes throughout... who hadn't read the
Love Comes Softly series?
However, I am fully aware that those interests do not translate across all parts of the country! In fact, I have recently started wondering how much of a deterrent religious themes are for some readers.
That train of thought started after I finished
sistrsic92, a book that was primarily focused on eating disorders and family relationships, and whose protagonist was a PK (pastor's kid). I found very few reviews, and very little information in general, about the book, and wondered if the Christian sub-plot might be to blame. After I raised that question in my review, "
The1stdaughter" raised the very valid point that often the response to a book has more to do with the actual writing and marketing, than whether or not it's religious. In addition, she cited
Once was Lost by Sara Zarr as an example of a fabulous book that featured religious undertones, but also had great marketing, so it did extremely well in the mass market.
I think the same could be said of
Marcelo in the Real World. Marcelo has a special place in my heart. I think Francisco X. Stork did an incredible job of crafting a complex character, who was full of
faith and heart, and whom reading audiences fell in love with. I've also had several students who really got in the
Diary of a Teenage Girl series. If you aren't familiar, this series features very realistic portrayals of
(you guessed it!) teenage girls who are trying to cope with a variety of tough issues. Throughout the series, there is a definite Christian emphasis.
I actually thought twice about even putting the series in my classroom library. I know that my students come from a variety of religious backgrounds, and I do believe in a strong separation between church and state. However, I ultimately decided to keep the books on the shelf. The characters are going t
As a middle school teacher, I frequently find myself fighting a self-censoring battle between my students and the books that I'm reading. It's just so difficult to discern how young is too young when it comes to Young Adult literature. Here is a recent prime example...
13 Reasons Why came up in a YA lit class I was taking. Now just so you know, this is a book that at least 17.6 million people had told me to read, but I just hadn't ever gotten around to doing so. In this class, the teachers and librarians present argued back and forth about whether or not the text was appropriate for middle school students. I listened and thought,
"Hmmm... a girl takes her life because of some extreme bullying at school. I actually have a few fairly intense bullies in my class. It sounds like this book would be a great way to get my kids to really think about their actions..." and the very next day I checked it out of the library.
As soon as I started reading, I was hooked. Clearly those 17.6 million people were on to something. When I was barely half-way through, I did a book talk on it for my class and several girls wrote it down as something to look for in the library. Then I kept reading... and reading... and realized that there was no way that I wanted my 11-year-olds reading this book. Don't get me wrong, I think the overall message is fabulous! I just strongly believe that some of the more graphic scenes are really far too graphic for my kiddos.
For those of you who are wondering how I back-peddled... I quickly compiled a stack of other fabulous (and more age-appropriate) reads, each of which featured similar themes of peer-drama, female friendships, and bullying. I was very honest with my students, telling them that while
13 Reasons Why is a great book, I just wouldn't recommend it to them anymore. It wasn't that they weren't allowed to read it on their own, I just had a feeling that they would like it a lot more in a few years. Before they were able to really start grumbling, I whipped out my stack of alternatives, giving my most compelling book talks in an effort to put their attention on something else.
What have I learned? Well for starters, I will fully
finish the books that I'm reading before recommending them. But even then, how do you determine how young is too young for YA lit? Many of my students are only 11 or 12, but they have dealt with some extremely adult situations in their real lives. So where do you draw the line?
Bravo, Katie! I've loved reading your reviews and added a lot of books to my TBR pile.
I love a good theme!
Hi, new follower here. :) All of these books sound fantastic! I'm especially drawn to "The Whole Story of Half a Girl" (I love MG.) Thanks for the recommendations!
I loved The Knife and The Butterfly. It was very powerful!
Thanks for the recap/list! :)
I've heard such amazing things! My library ordered it, but it hasn't come in yet.
No problem! I'd been planning on doing this post bc I thought it would be fun to see most of the reviews in one place :)
Thank you! I do too :) I'm already trying to think of a theme fo a future month... Would you ever want to do one together?
Hi and welcome! Thanks for the comment :) I hope you get to read The Whole Story of Half a Girl!