Review: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang
First Second
Published September 5, 2006

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About American Born Chinese

All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he’s the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl…

Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored … Continue reading

Banned Book Review: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
Vintage
Published June 24, 2007 (Orig. 1970)

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About The Bluest Eye

Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison powerfully examines our obsession with beauty and conformity—and asks questions about race, class, and gender with her characteristic subtly and grace.
 
In Morrison’s bestselling first novel, Pecola Breedlove—an 11-year-old Black girl in an America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others—prays for her eyes to turn blue: so that she will be beautiful, so that people will look at her, so that her world will be different. This is the story of the nightmare … Continue reading

Review: Accountable by Dashka Slater

Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater

Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed
Dashka Slater
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published August 22, 2023

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About Accountable

“Powerful, timely, and delicately written.” —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award-winning author

When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as “edgy” humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about the … Continue reading

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

Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Little, Brown, Books for Young Readers
Published March 10, 2020

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About Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

A remix of the National Book Award-winning STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING for ages 12 and up.

A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism–and antiracism–in America.

This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.

The construct of race has always been used to gain … Continue reading

Review: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

We Deserve Monuments
Jas Hammonds
Roaring Brook Press
Published November 29, 2022

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About We Deserve Monuments

Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in WE DESERVE MONUMENTS, a YA debut from Jas Hammonds that explores how racial violence can ripple down through generations.

What’s more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty … Continue reading

Review: The Misdirection of Fault Lines by Anna Gracia

The Misdirection of Fault Lines by Anna Gracia

The Misdirection of Fault Lines
Anna Gracia
Peachtree Teen
Published April 2, 2024

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About The Misdirection of Fault Lines

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants goes to the US Open in an emotionally honest and openhearted novel for fans of Yamile Saied Méndez and Jenny Han.

Three teen girls compete at an elite tennis tournament for a shot at their dreams—if only they knew what their dreams were.

Alice doesn’t belong at the Bastille Invitational Tennis Tournament. She needed a sponsorship to attend. She only has a few wins on the junior circuit. And now, she has no … Continue reading