Pushing the Limit

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
New York : Ember, 2019.
513 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.

A number of years ago a book club we had at the high school read Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I recall that I really liked Sanderson's writing - even though I'm not a huge fan of high fantasy.  So I was interested when  student recommended Skyward to me.  The student had it on his reading list for student readers working on the Lincoln Award for this year.     

I enjoyed reading this science fiction adventure tale, but didn't love it.  The strengths of Skyward are many, though.  Sanderson is great at plotting, character development, and descriptive action.  The story is also good for having a believable, strong central female character.

The basic plot of the story revolves around Spensa who goes by the name "Spin." She lives on a planet where humans crash-landed a few generations before and where they are under threat from the mysterious space-craft flying Krell.  Humans on this planet depend on skilled fighter pilots to protect them from the alien Krell who frequently launch attacks from space using their sophisticated and deadly spaceships.  The humans have capable space/jet fighters but seem to be losing a war of attrition.  Spin - whose father was a superb pilot until a pivotal battle where was lost and accused of cowardice - wants to be a fighter pilot and redeem her family name.  She enters the prestigious fighter training academy and the story unfolds from there.

There are some surprising plot developments, and the battle sequences are thrilling.  The parts that didn't grab me are the banter between the pilots in training and their crusty trainer, and the revelation that Spin comes from a group of humans that seem to have supernatural powers on which the survival of Defiant may depend.

In spite of my not being wowed by the book, I would still recommend it to science fiction fans.

Still Our America

Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago by LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman, with David Isay
New York : Washington Square Press : Pocket Books, c1997.
203 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

This book is one that is being used as a major text in classes at our high school - part of an "Injustice Project" unit. I wanted to read it since I wondered if it might be dated - having been produced from 1993 - 1996 and published in 1997.

In spite of the book being 20+ years old, it was a compelling read.  I really loved that the adult organizing the book, David Isay, wanted it to be the genuine work of young people who lived in the Ida B. Wells housing projects in Chicago.  The book came out of an award winning WBEZ radio program Ghetto Life 101 which featured recordings and interviews made by the two young authors who were 13 and 14 years old when the project began.

I will be curious how students respond to the book.  A lot has changed since the mid 90s: the high rise projects of the book have been torn down, the crack/cocaine violence has been replaced by other inner city violence, the Internet was a baby, and cell phones did not exist.  A lot is still relevant though - extreme poverty and unemployment falling heavily on Black people, gun crime, wealth inequality, etc.  Also the book just pulls you into the world of the the two authors - they are smart, unpretentious, honest, and aware.  Also the book features great photos by John Brooks, another young man living in the Chicago projects at the time.

I am going to keep my eyes out for something similar to this book, but one that is more contemporary - something like Bus 57.  However, if asked for an interesting read about inner city life in the late 20th century, I'll definitely recommend Our America.

Public Transportation

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater
New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017
305 p. ; 22 cm.

A friend read this book and told me I should read it.  I'm glad she did.  It's a timely and interesting non-fiction YA book.

The basic "story" of the book involves two teens from different worlds in Oakland, California whose lives intersect on a city bus when one - a genderqueer student who looks like a boy but wears skirts - is set on fire by another student - a lively, friendly African American young man from another school.  The act was a rash "prank" intended more to harass and perhaps humiliate the targeted student, but it ended up seriously injuring the victim, and was treated as a felonious, adult hate crime.

The book delves into the different world of these two young people and manages to convey the terrible nature of the crime and its effects, while also richly fleshing out the perpetrator.

There is a lot to mull over in this book.  The roles that race, gender identity, family, poverty, policing and criminal justice play in our society.

I really like that the book jumps right in with the crime, and then proceeds to introduce us to the main protagonists in this drama.  It also helps us see the ways that criminal justice serves and does not serve both victims and perpetrators.

This would be a great book to use in a class room to open up discussions of racial justice, criminal justice, gender identity, privilege and income inequality.

In addition to being a relevant read, it's also compelling and well written. I would recommend it.