Book Review: Jackpot by Nic Stone

My mother always told me to not judge someone, that we must walk a mile in their shoes to understand what they are going through. And this is a story about that and about how hard that can be.

Rico works in a convenience store - making money to help pay the bills at home - to put food on the table and a roof over her family's heads.

Zan is the school rich boy - the guy with the "perfect life" with a silver spoon in his mouth - nice clothes, huge house, great car. 

(Here you need to imagine the sound car tires make when you hit the brakes suddenly)

But the truth here is that we need to understand each others' stories before we can understand each other. 

Circumstances throw Zan and Rico together after Rico determines that she sold a winning lottery ticket to an old woman who visited the store. The ticket hasn't been cashed in and Rico thinks that the woman's dementia is standing in the way of riches. Rico offers to help trace the old woman. 

As they work to find the woman, Zan and Rico learn more about each other -- slowly. And their preconceived notions begin to fall away. 

Assumptions are a perilous trap and one that we all occasionally fall into. You are young, I am old. What assumptions do you have about me? What assumptions do I have about you? How can we take off those blinders, learn each others' stories, and make our world feel like a safer place to be?

 

Book Review: Brown Girl Dreaming / Jacqueline Woodson

This is a memoir -- in verse -- of the evolution of an author -- who happens to live in brown skin. How can a book get any better than that?

This book is so gently written. It will take you back to the 1960s and early 1970s when Woodson was just beginning her life. She was born in Columbus, Ohio - but spent most of her early life between places, the north and the south: Brooklyn, NY and South Carolina. And while the stark different between her grandparents red stone house with a porch for sitting and a yard big enough for gardening and playing AND living in Brooklyn where there is only one tree, people are crowded together and the air smells of city - the biggest difference was how a brown person had to walk so differently through each of these places. There was a freedom in NYC to walk through the neighborhood (though not past a certain street) that was different from the back-of-the-bus life in South Carolina. The vestiges of Jim Crow still colored the world in the mid sixties.

But this is more than living and growing as a person of color. Here Woodson shares her evolution as a writer. Her love of words and her different way of learning to read. She shares her love for her family. And finally, she draws a verbal picture of growing up in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. Here you will find a life filled with double dutch and fireflies, friends and bullies, family joys and sorrows, living between two worlds, Christianity and Islam, words, words, words. 

One of my favorite quotes: 

"If someone had taken
that [picture] book out of my hand 
said, You're too old for this 
maybe
I'd never have believed
that someone who looked like me
could be in the pages of the book
that someone who looked like me
had a story."

You can find a print copy of this book in the South library. Nashua Public Library also has print copies and you can borrow the audiobook from Overdrive.

Nancy Drew: The Palace of Wisdom / Kelly Thompson

Nancy Drew has been around for a LONG time. My mother read both the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys mysteries as a child. She shares how she couldn't wait to get the next Nancy Drew book. Her brother was gifted the Hardy Boys books. They would each read their book and then they would trade. I can imagine my mom snuggled under her covers reading these books. There was no heat in the upstairs of her home so she would hold the book in one hand and when that hand got too cold, she would switch hands. 

The first Nancy Drew book was published in 1930 which was even before my mom was born. The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books were all authored by ghost writers. Over time, Nancy Drew has changed to meet the changing culture and tastes of more current readers. There are also The Nancy Drew Files which include a touch of romance (gag). I wish I still had one or two of my mom's Nancy Drew books so that I could compare the old titles to the new editions. I really want to see the differences. 

And all that leads to this book right here. Now we have a Nancy Drew graphic novel. The story was interesting and engaging. There is totally danger, mystery, friends working together (and some kissing). This is the first in the series and I can't wait to see what the next issue offers. 

This book is offered in print in out school library.

 

Book Review: Ordinary Hazards / Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes begins her memoir like this:

"Cards on the table:
I have a PhD in avoidance,
which kept me running from
the past for years.
I was particularly fond of 
parroting Scarlett O'Hara:
"I'll think about it tomorrow."
But now my need
for light and truth is greater than
my fear of murky memories.
Time to grab my flashlight
and step into the tunnel."

In this memoir in verse, Nikki Grimes tells the story of her growing up with a mother who was an alcoholic and had mental illness. Nikki's mom would stop taking her medications and start drinking then Nikki would find her mother talking to people who were not there. Eventually the mental illness played a part in Grimes entrance into the foster care system. The constant crisis that defined Grimes childhood robbed her of her childhood.

Nikki also had a sprinkling of adults in her life that cared deeply for her. Her father, a musician who was unable to raise her, also fed her books, took her places, introduced her to artists and encouraged her. There was a period of time with one foster family that offered her an oasis of calm and belonging. A teacher nurtured her reading and writing.

Through all of this Nikki Grimes had a love of words and read and wrote constantly.

This memoir in verse was a joy to read, despite the abuse and hardship. This is a story of survival.

My favorite quote:

"Library Card

A magic pass
I used to climb into
other people's skin
any old time
I needed."

You will find this book on SORA through both Nashua South and through Nashua Public Library. I am looking forward to borrowing this from Hoopla through NPL to hear Grimes read her own story.

Book Review: All The Things We Never Knew / Liara Tamani

 

A friend just asked me for a beach read - and this is a story that will fit that request. Today I grabbed All the Things We Never Knew , went onto the back deck, and enjoyed the sun, the gentle breeze (and tried to ignore the pollen - achoo!)

Anyone who knows me - knows that I am not a fan of love stories - at least love stories that aren't deeper than luv. But this story is more. Here you will certainly find love: love for a boyfriend/girlfriend, for a friend, for family. You will visit that love in all of its complications, lies, misconceptions. And you will see truth and the impact of that truth. 

What else does this book offer? Basketball. Lots of basketball - girls teams, boy teams and pickup ball. 

And you will find art. Collage to be specific: Now I want to make a collage. I guess I will put it on my ToDo list for the summer. Check out MyModernMet for some inspiration.

And here you go - I love the beginning of this book:

"Nobody ever warned me about love. Nobody ever warned me that when the greatest thing in the world hist you too hard, too fast, the blast can crush the organs in your belly, send heat flying up the right side of your face, and make your heart forget how to beat normally."

You can find this book on the shelves of the Nashua South Library.

Book Review: Almost American Girl / Robin Ha

Sometimes we fall into reading a book by happenstance. This book is incredibly well rated and on many lists of good books to read. Consequently, I purchased two copies for the library - one in print and a second in SORA. However, when I went to put the print copy in the catalog - I didn't know where it should go so I read it. (Also, Paling's class is doing a memoir assignment which this book is perfect for so I had to hurry up.)

Robin Ha's graphic memoir is a fun read and really connects with both the teen and the immigrant experience. Ha shares her teen years when her mother moved her from Korea to the United States (her mom told her they were going for a visit and they ended up staying.) I loved how the author shared the feeling of not understanding a new language - the speech bubbles were full of squiggly lines for the words that Ha had not understood. Some speech bubbles are all squiggly lines, others have some words in them that she understood but there would be a word that was mystifying to her and she illustrated that word with the squiggly lines. But language was not the only difficulty in the immigrant experience - everything was new - food, clothing, pop culture and of course all of the new people and experiences. I think that we each feel this "newness" of a situation or a place (like going to high school for the first time or enrolling in college) but maybe not as acutely as an immigrant who is immersed in both language and cultures that is very different from what they are accustomed to.

The other part that felt very true to me was that, as a teen, Robin Ha, had very little control of her life. Her mother was making decisions for her that were not necessarily the decisions that she would make for herself. Ha did a really great job of sharing how this impacted her, and at the same time, how she still needed her mom's support both for her physical needs but also for mental support.

Finally, I love all of the Korean culture that this book shares. 

This book is a little gem and a really fast read. 
 

Book Review: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You / Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

"To know the past is to know the present. To know the present is to know yourself." (Ibram X Kendi in the introduction of this book)

Why do we need to know about history? 

Why are social studies classes important?

Why do we pay attention to the social sciences?

I am sure that there are many answers to these questions, but for me I want to know about history so I can do my part in preventing history from repeating itself - at least in the ways that people in power have made choices that harm others. Also history gives us perspective on how we have arrived in today's world. And our social sciences lend a pathway into peoples' minds and realities.

Right now we are hearing a lot about racism and antiracism. Again here are some words from Ibram X Kendi, "A racist idea is any idea that suggests something is wrong or right, superior or inferior, better or worse about a racial group. An antiracist idea is any idea that suggests that racial groups are equals." 

In today's world we hear about the school to prison pipeline, we hear about black people being killed or maimed in disproportionate numbers to the percentage of people of color living in our society. We hear about people of color worried about driving-while-black or walking-while-black and parents of black children teaching their youth how to respond to police officers when they are approached. As a white person, this was never a part of the conversation in my home when I was growing up.

What can we do to make our world a better place for everyone to live? How can we make sure that we all feel safe? How can we learn about how we got to where we are today? How can I walk in the world with an antiracist presence?

Stamped is a great place to start. Here Reynolds and Kendi break things down so we understand the history that led to our present. This book is perspective changing, and Reynolds writing style is personable and enjoyable to read (no dry text book here!)

Try it and let us know what you think.