tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10481863847772763252024-03-04T20:12:21.281-08:00High School BooksA high school librarian reviews books he is reading.Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.comBlogger310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-56048299483678290772022-05-19T08:20:00.001-07:002022-05-19T08:20:17.637-07:00Who Are You?<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbLF1tAkJy06W9dsBOCpjf53ZYwxGANvKNDuBjsIthuZXaCyIuQ9TbEK5P1jbA5EDsD2zvRHAjBztFT0ij7y0vJzQlNeTkbJrOL7DK-vWVy3bgL5wjBgoQy7RNgJ6xSuDPebwFw_o7_Qdyyatfop9aK3stdOvwLxRzgt_N-btejLUJNYhGJ6lP8xltA/s360/game%20changer.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbLF1tAkJy06W9dsBOCpjf53ZYwxGANvKNDuBjsIthuZXaCyIuQ9TbEK5P1jbA5EDsD2zvRHAjBztFT0ij7y0vJzQlNeTkbJrOL7DK-vWVy3bgL5wjBgoQy7RNgJ6xSuDPebwFw_o7_Qdyyatfop9aK3stdOvwLxRzgt_N-btejLUJNYhGJ6lP8xltA/s320/game%20changer.gif" width="217" /></a></div><br />Game Changer</i> by Neal Shusterman</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York, NY : Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2022.</div><div style="text-align: left;">387 p. ; 21 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This will probably be my last posting here. Why? Because in just over a week, I'll be retired from my high school library job! I wanted to end this review blog with a recent book, and one I liked--<i><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9780061998683&appid=4" target="_blank">Game Changer</a></i> is that book.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The best thing about this book is its appealing set up. Ash, a young white guy who plays high school football makes a hit and - the shock of the hit - propels him into a slightly different universe. Further hits in later games send him into other alternate universes, each one more radically different than the original universe he started out in. In these alternate universes Ash is a somewhat different person with memories that match that new universe (while he retains memories of previous ones too). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As Ash figures out who he is in these new circumstances (worlds where segregation never ended, where he is gay, where he is rich, etc.) he has to confront how much of him is essentially "him" and how much who he thinks he is, is the result of circumstance. Also given the disturbing nature of these worlds (the racist segregation world persists throughout) Ash also wants to get back to the original universe he came from. He sort of does and let's just say getting there is an adventure.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Shusterman manages to keep the plot believable, especially in how he wraps it up. He also has an ambitious scope for his novel - taking on racism, sexism, poverty, relationship abuse, etc. I think it stretches the novel a little thin at times, but given the wackiness of the plot, the humor and the likeability of the main character - I think it's overall an effective effort. And with a Netflix deal in the works, this one is likely to be in high demand. I would recommend it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-57358556710259306222022-05-06T13:04:00.002-07:002022-05-19T07:45:06.698-07:00Whose Selection?<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidN4Pwri_zN3giS9Hz3M5p6C4PphJKzM0Ex3JSAgbRv4tCtYqYJra4XIIbmmGE0Vqc2EFaJNiEZwJSTxOZxPKR8oxVsUdRS3DcxNCVQcCy-SbobcSQmv8B--jsCnZpf5toLpvuuMmaOorYJtJqetvthFSFjzuXEjt8qxTZz818n8gEUc4GixzRMyPrmQ/s360/selection.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="239" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidN4Pwri_zN3giS9Hz3M5p6C4PphJKzM0Ex3JSAgbRv4tCtYqYJra4XIIbmmGE0Vqc2EFaJNiEZwJSTxOZxPKR8oxVsUdRS3DcxNCVQcCy-SbobcSQmv8B--jsCnZpf5toLpvuuMmaOorYJtJqetvthFSFjzuXEjt8qxTZz818n8gEUc4GixzRMyPrmQ/s320/selection.gif" width="212" /></a></div><br />The Selection</i> by Kiera Cass<div>New York : HarperTeen, 2013, c2012.</div><div>327 p. ; 22 cm. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was not planning to read <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=0062059947&appid=4" target="_blank">this YA novel</a>, but about two months ago a student returned it and said she loved it and I should read it. So did I have a choice? Not really. </div><div><br /></div><div>I can't say I loved the book, but I certainly did enjoy reading it. It was fun. It's kind of a <i>Hunger Games</i> meets <i>The Bachelor</i> - no, seriously! In the fictional world of the hero - 16 year old girl America Singer - there is a post-war county that is a Monarchy where the laws are harsh, poverty is endemic, and the country is divided up by caste - 8s are the lowest and 1s the highest. America's family is a 5. So that's the world she lives in. In this world, instead of a yearly mortal combat competition as in the <i>Hunger Games</i>, there is a once-in-a-generation chance for 35 randomly selected, eligible young women to compete for a chance to marry the prince of the land and eventually become queen - a grand version of <i>The Bachelor</i>. Just being in the competition has status and monetary benefits, and becoming royalty means attaining the highest status there is.</div><div><br /></div><div>The hero of this tale already has a beloved (a lowly 6!) and only enters the competition to help her family out. But the prince turns out to be a much better person than she had imagined. Through complicated twists, she finds herself wondering who she really does/should love. All this while competing against a selection (sorry!) of the best and worst of competitors. There's love, drama, intrigue and even danger (rebels twice storm the palace where the competition is being held). Do you wonder how it turns out? Well you'll have to read it to find out - no spoilers here. However, I will warn you that the novel ends without resolution as it sets up for the next installment in the series.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is is a serious read? Nope. Was it a fun read with some nice touches? It was! So if you're looking for a little escapist fun, this might be just the thing.</div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-29328046640663510032022-04-29T06:07:00.005-07:002022-04-29T06:07:44.961-07:00Better Than Hollywood Stars<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianu-TFcqR2id9jH7yQB5tcXvQ_neAYDzhgRvQvn-A6oUK-cutXO6EauwvkNS_l22V3RLeJoPYGsMKKhra0hGsxG9wQAf19uq360cPEEJ3YhK9rO2vhKwNDbiV4g4Jyzablf5rPUIMmVUmGtmeIhegOT6AcvGv9LIb3XF89QdO1h8gRKhTG3y_ar_QTQ/s360/Star%20Power.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="276" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianu-TFcqR2id9jH7yQB5tcXvQ_neAYDzhgRvQvn-A6oUK-cutXO6EauwvkNS_l22V3RLeJoPYGsMKKhra0hGsxG9wQAf19uq360cPEEJ3YhK9rO2vhKwNDbiV4g4Jyzablf5rPUIMmVUmGtmeIhegOT6AcvGv9LIb3XF89QdO1h8gRKhTG3y_ar_QTQ/s320/Star%20Power.gif" width="245" /></a></div><br />The Secret Life of Stars</i> by Lisa Harvey-Smith<div>New York : Thames & Hudson, 2021.</div><div>182 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.</div><div> </div><div>This is a light (but super informative) read. At times the over-anthropomorphizing of stars is a bit much, but that's the only fault I have with this really good introduction to the wild variety of stars that astronomers and astrophysicists study.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the sun to massive black holes and all the weird variations in between,<a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781760761585&appid=4" target="_blank"> this book</a> offers a tempting exploration through what is currently known about stars and also introduces readers to some of the stellar mysteries that astronomers hope to unravel when they get the chance to employ tools like the new <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/" target="_blank">Webb telescope</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Harvey-Smith does a great job explaining some pretty complicated concepts about how stars produce their light and heat and how elements are created in the collapse and explosions of huge stars. I would recommend this to both astronomy fans and to students who are just curious about the stars and current astrophysics.</div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-29039060478171082052022-04-18T13:03:00.006-07:002022-04-18T13:03:41.319-07:00Sad Sadie<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CpLLxAiQQ3nHaSqS0hbQgcAouPFpox5KcqODpehAcJd6fT6rhXPL79zpPoIUvRC5wopLg5caQZPlzeEdA3qIV-yLekuO1Ks-nLMArRN8uElgkfu4k0d1a7aR1Us-uIKfe4tQZN7LWwRYfcvuaPdi-Styx7-483PMJho9Nlj9c3jS_OIhQC9H_h6_Ng/s360/sadie.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="233" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CpLLxAiQQ3nHaSqS0hbQgcAouPFpox5KcqODpehAcJd6fT6rhXPL79zpPoIUvRC5wopLg5caQZPlzeEdA3qIV-yLekuO1Ks-nLMArRN8uElgkfu4k0d1a7aR1Us-uIKfe4tQZN7LWwRYfcvuaPdi-Styx7-483PMJho9Nlj9c3jS_OIhQC9H_h6_Ng/s320/sadie.gif" width="207" /></a></div><br />Sadie</i> by Courtney Summers <div>New York : Wednesday Books, 2018. </div><div>311 p. ; 21 cm.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think I picked up <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781250105714&appid=4" target="_blank">this book</a> after a student returned it last month and said they liked it. It's a thriller dealing with a dead girl and a her missing older sister. The novel is woven from two strands. The narration from the missing older girl - Sadie - and the transcripts of a fictional podcast "The Girls." The podcast is one that was set in motion when the producers heard of the murdered young girl and her missing older sister. We follow the podcast host as he tries to figure out - through visits, research and interviews - what happened to Sadie.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the narration from Sadie we figure out that her young sister was probably raped and killed by someone she may know and she has taken off in a car to see if she can find him. Along the way she interacts with people and tries to figure out who killed her sister and where he lives. We also learn that Sadie has been the victim of pedophiles and is in search of revenge for both her sister and herself. You might be wondering about parents. Her father has never been in the picture and her mother is a long-time addict who abandoned Sadie and her little sister.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the novel is a mystery, a road trip, a podcast, and a revenge tale - one that will leave you with as many questions as answers when you finish.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think <i>Sadie</i> is a good novel and I'd recommend it for someone wanting a thriller/mystery dealing with murder/family troubles/ and sexual abuse. However, I just never really found myself taken with the book. I think there were too many times where the plot felt a little overwrought and many times where I got confused about who was who (after all there are several abusive men involved and one of the villains has several aliases). The who podcast set-up also didn't resonate with me, but it might with other readers. I'd say it's a solid read, but one that just didn't appeal so much to me. </div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-15099003172566229302022-03-09T08:33:00.003-08:002022-03-09T08:33:25.177-08:00Very Memoir<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTk5Kp-_zuQ4SSVaLisGL9C5W_ihRVucB2LM5qIQRVf84S9YYWC5IZjbUoD3_BOHmir_MweXeFcfOKkj9Z_3Q9khSJm4baR1Cw9trOVspNue7ugHZrzxCO_O9yR4Qiwhy8VIsgVELUqXr0P34lnERd4swz880EIVZdwdSFg5slDbolT2FPSLRNQEOVVg=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTk5Kp-_zuQ4SSVaLisGL9C5W_ihRVucB2LM5qIQRVf84S9YYWC5IZjbUoD3_BOHmir_MweXeFcfOKkj9Z_3Q9khSJm4baR1Cw9trOVspNue7ugHZrzxCO_O9yR4Qiwhy8VIsgVELUqXr0P34lnERd4swz880EIVZdwdSFg5slDbolT2FPSLRNQEOVVg=s320" width="223" /></a></div><br />Genderqueer</i> by Maia Kobabe</div><div style="text-align: left;">[Saint Louis, Mo.] : The Lion Forge, LLC, 2019.</div><div style="text-align: left;">
239 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 21 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's a lot to like and admire about <i><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781549304002&appid=4" target="_blank">Genderqueer</a></i>. This graphic novel memoir reveals with great honesty Kobabe's life of coming to terms with eir (Kobabe uses e/em/eir pronouns) gender identity. Assigned female gender at birth, this graphic novel follows Kobabe's intensely personal (often painful) struggle to figure out what eir gender/sexuality/identity is. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The thing I like so much about this memoir is that it really opens up to the reader how intense and real the gender struggle can be for someone who does not fit into the more "normative" categories of gender and sexuality. Kobabe, a very sensitive person, is often tormented as e figures out what e thinks/feels about dating, coming out, pronoun use, clothing use, appearance, family dynamics, friendship, seeing the doctor, etc. A reader can learn so much about how many obstacles to self-realization exist in our society. However, the book is ultimately hopeful as Kobabe gets closer and closer to figuring out and embracing eir true self.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My only hesitancy about the book, is it's intense preoccupation with self. Of course, it's a memoir, but there were times when I just wanted the author to look beyond eirself and reflect on the lives of others who are in similar or even worse situations - but that's probably just me!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-88520591538866687142022-03-08T09:11:00.002-08:002022-03-08T09:11:41.842-08:00Dystopia Now<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVMkKjLMh5ab3ld8Tv0AUa99GXcNSOYEsdTqFJ80pBt6HtZoihB3ez82g2D0nbaxQiaYX4f4COx6x0xrcfvOURzliDP1xVvVovqOOVkYBVMDq8WPBkq-QKjoudv0p57Rtw4_HRaKEdS6n4dC24LXNmIK0uuc5zs7lS58vqoQ03EoKuSo5QqeYY1QmYXA=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVMkKjLMh5ab3ld8Tv0AUa99GXcNSOYEsdTqFJ80pBt6HtZoihB3ez82g2D0nbaxQiaYX4f4COx6x0xrcfvOURzliDP1xVvVovqOOVkYBVMDq8WPBkq-QKjoudv0p57Rtw4_HRaKEdS6n4dC24LXNmIK0uuc5zs7lS58vqoQ03EoKuSo5QqeYY1QmYXA=s320" width="211" /></a></div><br />The Looting Machine</i> by Tom Burgis</div><div style="text-align: left;"> New York : PublicAffairs, c2015. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> xi, 321 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is a powerful book that examines the power and endurance of the entrenched systems that pillage the resources of Africa. It is an indictment of the many legal (and illegal), but grossly unethical networks of banking rules, corporate laws, governments, militaries and paramilitaries that vacuum up the untold wealth fuel and mineral wealth of the African continent and keep it in the hands of a tiny minority of wealthy and well-connected people (while immiserating the vast majority of citizens in those countries where the wealth is found.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is not exactly the kind of book most students would pick up and read cover-to-cover, but it would be VERY useful to students doing any research on globalization, world poverty, corruption, mining, economics, especially in relation to the nations of Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, etc. It is a great resource for understanding how even when liberation governments come to power, they are often overtaken by the global systems of off-shoring, international finance/loans, and powerhouse nations like the US and China that seek to control profits gained from extractive industries.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The author Tom Burgis deserves great deal of credit for doing dogged (and intrepid) research as he visits both the glittering high-rises of corporate/financial power (e.g. Hong Kong, New York, and Harare) conflict-torn sites (e.g. Nigeria, Congo, Zimbabwe) of mining and extraction.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a complicated and painful book to read, but one that anyone who lives in more wealthy countries should read since the wealth of Africa is deeply entwined with the wealth of those better-off countries.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-1614237258000173282022-02-08T10:01:00.005-08:002022-02-08T10:01:48.931-08:00Powerful Debut<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxGSx8KutBAcJfCgpH-Cl5yGg2Fni_h9bMK8nuv_hSJjtfuO-B6jp5gNXo6wukI1HbfmrYTDeSxvRjdZV3BTDNG4gVzePTcj8cCzOYFsxS6X44D918ig6ESG3HrDpwPsQsrnIExEaq-GHGCQsSKQmu7k_spOpOskf42NGM94pc80-w7o1rC59aXPvkRA=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="233" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxGSx8KutBAcJfCgpH-Cl5yGg2Fni_h9bMK8nuv_hSJjtfuO-B6jp5gNXo6wukI1HbfmrYTDeSxvRjdZV3BTDNG4gVzePTcj8cCzOYFsxS6X44D918ig6ESG3HrDpwPsQsrnIExEaq-GHGCQsSKQmu7k_spOpOskf42NGM94pc80-w7o1rC59aXPvkRA=s320" width="207" /></a></div><br />Black Girl Unlimited</i> by Echo Brown<div>New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2020.</div><div>294 p. ; 22 cm.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a super creative and really well written debut YA novel. The subtitle of <i><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781250309853&appid=4" target="_blank">Black Girl Unlimited</a></i> is <i>The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard</i>, and it's back cover states, it is "Part memoir, part magic" - and these are two good clues to the power of this novel. This is no Harry Potter wizardry, but instead a kind of rare natural/supernatural inheritance of access to the power and mystery of the "in between zone." </div><div><br /></div><div>The novel deals head on with hard issues of sexual assault, drug addiction, poverty and crime - but does it in a way that is not despairing, but also not falsely optimistic. The hero of this novel is the main character, Echo Brown (see, there's the part memoir) who is academically talented and motivated. She only gradually realizes that she is a wizard and that her power as one is limited but can grow. One of the coolest aspects is that as a wizard she can occasionally stop time and use that stopped time to try and influence others for the better.</div><div><br /></div><div>The novel is a great story of the power of determination, bravery, family ties, intellectual curiosity and bravery in the face of addiction, poverty, racism and violence. </div><div><br /></div><div>My only hesitations with the novel (which I was surprised to not see brought up in reviews) are the heavy use of vernacular from characters in her poor neighborhood (including her Mom and brothers). And then there is an unfortunate description of one of the most powerful elderly women wizards as being "a quarter Cherokee on her mother's side" according to everyone in Echo's neighborhood, and who is also said to have "learned all her magic stuff from her grandmother." </div><div><br /></div><div>That said, it's a powerful novel about obstacles and triumphs facing a young black girl as she comes of age and gets in touch with her inner strength and power.</div><div> </div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-44362035170251284662022-01-12T09:36:00.000-08:002022-01-12T09:36:07.436-08:00It's Confusing Down There<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3qQ0sXA9CUAQSq3iarY-sQ_Ju2eygzWrhxQFdArdFRVlvhWY9qpeXVQQMst2W3Ysn4fi4LLzn9BuIFtXJKEP0-2CgVUWxT58ql1mf6vfeoow33IdEgRUVr3PyM9iMed3w6LJJzWaWTFRr7etv-Izdioqn5PRYM7e0gTijp-BEwD91QwptdR-blKLJzA=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3qQ0sXA9CUAQSq3iarY-sQ_Ju2eygzWrhxQFdArdFRVlvhWY9qpeXVQQMst2W3Ysn4fi4LLzn9BuIFtXJKEP0-2CgVUWxT58ql1mf6vfeoow33IdEgRUVr3PyM9iMed3w6LJJzWaWTFRr7etv-Izdioqn5PRYM7e0gTijp-BEwD91QwptdR-blKLJzA=s320" width="210" /></a></div><br />The Man Who Lived Underground</i> by Richard Wright</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York, N.Y. : A Library of America Special Publication, [2021] </div><div style="text-align: left;"> xii, 228 p. ; 22 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When you see that there is <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781598536768&appid=4" target="_blank">a "new" Richard Wright novel</a> out in the world, well of course you <i>have to</i> read it - which is exactly what I did! Apparently this compact novella appeared as a short story, but in its full form was rejected by Wright's publisher. It seems the opening set up of the hero, a Black man named Fred Daniels, being arrested and tortured by police into confessing to a double-murder he's innocent of was just too much. The scene is still excruciating, but not so shocking in this age of learning about police abuses of power. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Though this portrayal of racist police violence and terror is horrifying, it serves as the launching off of the main action of the book: Fred Daniels escapes the police and goes to live for a number of days in the sewers beneath the city. Here he wanders through the maze of the city's underground digging and tunneling into several places where he wrestles with guilt, greed, corruption and disillusion. He is able to peer into a Black church service, view a savings vault, and jewelry storage area. In his isolation and darkness he also begins to become a bit unhinged.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I liked a lot about this book, but I have to say that the movements and the descriptions of the underworld actions of the protagonist are pretty confusing. How he chisels through bricks and squirms into basements is hard to follow. The passage of time is not clear, and extreme changes in the main character make it seem like he is underground for months, when in fact it is only three days. I wish the writing had been a little more exact; I think it would have really added to the power of the book.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These issues aside, the book is also wonderful for including a long essay - "Memories of My Grandmother" - that is an exquisite revelation of Wright's thoughts about his writing, discussing origins, influences, the blues and jazz among other things. It's well worth the read.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm glad I read this novella and I will definitely recommend it to any student interested in Richard Wright. </div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-52348913265192980522022-01-06T10:36:00.006-08:002022-01-06T10:36:37.938-08:00Bent Twisted Broken<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBK5jNr7MaHoQC7MXQCkrlZzPLuj8UKDWPmL5gwUM-2zGirgTyo21VmrWzlBMgY1fUg7CZr8BmeLyJDz5cH1JeQFBc6FHMW3mdg-7_iiigv-cORN3cwTBDvazN4i46kxYBmhLt1Z5Q66rJ-BHAiW_0NSWpHVznZuP0q9LWLgCMupjJQ_yTvDZstrjG5A=s308" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="200" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBK5jNr7MaHoQC7MXQCkrlZzPLuj8UKDWPmL5gwUM-2zGirgTyo21VmrWzlBMgY1fUg7CZr8BmeLyJDz5cH1JeQFBc6FHMW3mdg-7_iiigv-cORN3cwTBDvazN4i46kxYBmhLt1Z5Q66rJ-BHAiW_0NSWpHVznZuP0q9LWLgCMupjJQ_yTvDZstrjG5A" width="200" /></a></div><br />Bent Heavens</i> by Daniel Kraus</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Square Fish, Henry Holt and Co., 2021.</div><div style="text-align: left;">1st Square Fish ed. </div><div style="text-align: left;">291 p. ; 22 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Pretty much everything I wrote about Kraus' earlier novel, <i><a href="https://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2017/03/yeah-im-scowling.html" target="_blank">Scowler</a></i>, applies to this novel. I wanted to like <i>Bent Heavens</i>, but I found it profoundly unsatisfying on several levels. I feel bad being so negative because Kraus explains (in an author's note at the end of the book) that he wrote this as a protest against the torture regime implemented under the Bush-Cheney administration. It feels odd to dislike this book so much since it got starred reviews in <i>Booklist </i>and <i>School Library Journal</i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The premise of the book is interesting. High schooler Liv's father (a high school English teacher) had a complete mental breakdown years previous when he insisted he was abducted by aliens. Then after being released he actually disappears and has been gone for two years. He left behind gruesome contraptions for trapping said aliens. Liv and her loner friend, Doug, check the traps weekly until one day, they catch an alien! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Instead of turning the creature in to the authorities, Doug suggests torturing it as a way of both punishing it for what the aliens did to Liv's father and possibly getting it to reveal what happened (it can't speak but can squeal and whimper). There's a lot of gruesome beatings, cutting, and hurting that goes on in a torture shed on Liv's property - and I just NEVER believed Liv would go along with it. I also think that Doug is that stereotype oddball loner type that supposedly is predisposed to sadism. By two thirds of the way through the book, I had guessed at the "wow" plot twist that ends the novel and so was neither surprised nor moved (unlike reviewers).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, obviously I did not like this novel. Instead of the heavy handed torture, a more subtle use of torture like that endorsed by Bush-Cheney would have been more pointed - e.g. forced nudity, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, water-boarding, etc. Also having the alien able to communicate in some basic ways would have been more effective, too. Instead the plot zig zags into the nonsensical and absurd which left me wondering if I even read the same book as the people who starred this mess.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-25993045175867965232021-12-14T13:25:00.004-08:002021-12-14T13:25:52.205-08:00Picture It!<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrOPrajohGZPw2JE4bGqCraEfWoAPgwXxVs3spn4PmA-4wI4CpURItXC2xdmBoj7O0Ndt8wg4-cXNgU-_RCl-ysCcrodO9ydYZHE-img2PWraMt44eVbjZ-u_BUubaYfnHcNkGT62v-tiyeBm_UWhcEXRtD7YrLBeHqbqrWZDjzK8cad5hIv-dwSc7mw=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="360" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrOPrajohGZPw2JE4bGqCraEfWoAPgwXxVs3spn4PmA-4wI4CpURItXC2xdmBoj7O0Ndt8wg4-cXNgU-_RCl-ysCcrodO9ydYZHE-img2PWraMt44eVbjZ-u_BUubaYfnHcNkGT62v-tiyeBm_UWhcEXRtD7YrLBeHqbqrWZDjzK8cad5hIv-dwSc7mw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />A soldier's sketchbook : the illustrated First World War diary of R.H. Rabjohn</i> by R.H. Rabjohn/John Wilson</div><div style="text-align: left;">Canada : Tundra Books, [2017] </div><div style="text-align: left;">112 p. : ill. ; 22 x 24 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm always interested in WWI, the war that turned the European violence inward instead of outward and ripped the façade off the elegant civilization of Europe at a cost of the deaths of millions of combatants and many civilians.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This WWI book is a special addition to the literature of that "Great War." It consists of <a href="https://www.warmuseum.ca/collections/artifact/1029426" target="_blank">the sketches from the war done by R.H. Rabjohn</a>, a soldier from Canada, who saw combat from April 1917 until the end of the war on November 11, 1918. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXRAPA7Dys8DiEno9f7gIABwIdflJYsIT7M5AvXzfhSYastBShOzEYzXSmD07RBJ3-MKb6o4HDBI-x0d16fsYeYwSc3ayEYHRUfeqTIl2kFv5WYGtwa7B4_18NJLDa2bBEcabEEfRobRx_L-r07wys33p7OGkMX2zAbCoTLFA6VeomIArqcXNO7Sk1RA=s8688" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5792" data-original-width="8688" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXRAPA7Dys8DiEno9f7gIABwIdflJYsIT7M5AvXzfhSYastBShOzEYzXSmD07RBJ3-MKb6o4HDBI-x0d16fsYeYwSc3ayEYHRUfeqTIl2kFv5WYGtwa7B4_18NJLDa2bBEcabEEfRobRx_L-r07wys33p7OGkMX2zAbCoTLFA6VeomIArqcXNO7Sk1RA=w465-h309" width="465" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It was Rabjohn's official duties as a soldier-sketch artist that allowed him to carry a sketch book (something that was prohibited to other soldiers). He also kept a diary and the author, John Wilson, has done a fine job of organizing the sketches and diary entries into a logical and easy to follow whole. Doing drafts and support work at the front meant that Rabjohn was frequently in great danger and witnessed first hand the horrors of trench warfare that marked WWI. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Given its visual appeal, shortness, and direct narrative, this book would be a great way of introducing World War I to teens and hopefully would interest some in wanting to know more about this nation shattering event - the tragic consequences of which continue into the present.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-79952561233675098952021-12-10T08:03:00.002-08:002021-12-10T08:03:24.624-08:00Piece of My Heart<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4TRGCfZadcaOmGjMh963OOwu9vQLGW8Ce3LEESGu3eNLCwB3HpAFKMerEUlekU_-hGjOINx5-LrX_FGcHw4ypvcYJI2KnnKqYSW6Gwfu5ntcyoHImxXWY_T4Oe6WS2WmQF88NX0Aupxfgve4UHhKIndsH5yNjQYPMvSqLYedT_kb32A3y5B138kMjVQ=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4TRGCfZadcaOmGjMh963OOwu9vQLGW8Ce3LEESGu3eNLCwB3HpAFKMerEUlekU_-hGjOINx5-LrX_FGcHw4ypvcYJI2KnnKqYSW6Gwfu5ntcyoHImxXWY_T4Oe6WS2WmQF88NX0Aupxfgve4UHhKIndsH5yNjQYPMvSqLYedT_kb32A3y5B138kMjVQ=s320" width="252" /></a></div><br />Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing</i> by Ann Angel</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Amulet Books, 2010.</div><div style="text-align: left;">vii, 120 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 27 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is another outstanding biography for young people, which again confirms my suspicion that the best biographies are those written for young adults. I'm thinking <a href="http://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-poet-swonder-full-i-fe.html" target="_blank">e.e. cummings</a>, <a href="http://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2014/10/wonderful.html" target="_blank">Georgia O'Keeffe</a>, <a href="http://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/ahead-of-her-time.html" target="_blank">Yoko Ono</a>, etc. One of the strengths is that these biographies are lean and specific - and if (as in the case of <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=0810983494&appid=4" target="_blank">this biography of Janis Joplin</a>) they include great photos and graphics then it's hard to put them down. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I really liked the breezy and yet serious tone of this biography. Breezy, in that it tries to convey the liberating influence of the times (1960s) and the excitement of a talented woman coming into her own, but serious in following Joplin's struggles with bullying and boredom as a teen, insecurity as a rising star, and addiction as she became extremely famous (addiction that would kill her by overdose as a young woman).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also enjoyed learning about Joplin's roots in Port Arthur, Texas, and her rise to fame based solely on her natural talent and hard work developing that talent. It's really hard to believe that she did not come from any musical or singing background. I also appreciated reading about the widespread and fertile cultural landscape of the 60s as cafes, music venues, and coffeeshops proliferated. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a sad story, too, of course as we follow Joplin's phenomenal rise to fame, the encouragement of excesss from fans and the industry, and her battle with alcoholism and heroin addiction - a wicked combination that would prove to be fatal to her when she was still very young. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a super biography that I would recommend. Oh, and the title of this post, is the title of <a href="https://youtu.be/SCngPse1iiI" target="_blank">one of her well-known songs.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-1482449182195985762021-12-07T13:10:00.000-08:002021-12-07T13:10:04.128-08:00Art Lives!<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYBgM6WZqUSTsk2exHWEYiHqm79HsewUhxHHrQL8gO9AwH9aJQaOw6oer_xM-32NHQlkq2W5OZ13VAcumK2XCa0vRUWklUmLhEMztbPO_h-u6TMSxQsrA3woHQjRmoGhk2FftUWd0qf_dxmP6DYw7J_-8qeE6J0WKQSIgUyukcqtMRKksGuAjAeG5m0w=s360" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYBgM6WZqUSTsk2exHWEYiHqm79HsewUhxHHrQL8gO9AwH9aJQaOw6oer_xM-32NHQlkq2W5OZ13VAcumK2XCa0vRUWklUmLhEMztbPO_h-u6TMSxQsrA3woHQjRmoGhk2FftUWd0qf_dxmP6DYw7J_-8qeE6J0WKQSIgUyukcqtMRKksGuAjAeG5m0w=s320" width="210" /></a></div><br />Shadowshaper</i> by Daniel José Older <div>New York, NY : Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., c2015. </div><div>297 p. ; 20 cm. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had been wanting to read this book for quite a while. I was going to read it during Hispanic Heritage Month, but a students checked out the copies we had (which is great!). So when they came back in I checked it out to myself and read it.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Shadowshaper</i> is the debut novel writers dream of - it was a "Top Ten" on ALA and YALSA lists, a "Best Book of the Year" at NPR and Publishers Weekly, and received stellar reviews, etc. The praise was not undeserved. It's a wonderfully creative novel - <a href="https://socialjusticebooks.org/shadowshaper/" target="_blank">undergirded by concerns </a>of ethnic heritage, sexism, gentrification, cultural appropriation - that manages to be a supernatural thriller, urban fantasy, and coming of age story all at once.</div><div><br /></div><div>At the heart of the story is Sierra a Puerto Rican teen artist/muralist living in Brooklyn. As the story unfolds she learns that her powers are not just artistic, but connected to an age old spiritual power that allows her to bring spirits into her works of art - literally bringing them to life. This of course would be a ho-hum story without an evil force that seeks to destroy shadowshapers like Sierra so as to gather all that power into himself. It is a life-and-death danger and Sierra must confront it head on with the help of a another shadowshaping artist - Robbie - and her friends and brother. The battle between the forces of Sierra and her allies and their nemesis provides the action of the novel.</div><div><br /></div><div>For some this action will be what draws and holds them in the story. For me this was the weakest part of the novel. The climactic battle scenes feel like they owe too much action movie staging. I found the most moving parts of the novel were the beginnings of Sierra's understanding of her powers and the descriptions of the art works coming to life, and her meeting with her grandmother's spirit. But that's me, and I recognize that the gruesome creatures and the bone-crunching fights will be what keeps many readers going right to the satisfying end.</div><div><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-22906061992570432752021-12-02T11:16:00.002-08:002021-12-02T11:16:36.858-08:00Cold (blooded) War - US Style<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhixl0PjFZDNxVAMgAUTC-5lS7iRX1JpPp-UdByQBEn-OuJoQM-oYZVrgDnosMQ5nNkeHpRU0vEcs7qqAPQmEzSzueWCm26Kl_ZoPqok6Tmps_6ESNwDSod4KKtAulMVStv4xG3e3VtLS2n/s360/jakarta.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="232" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhixl0PjFZDNxVAMgAUTC-5lS7iRX1JpPp-UdByQBEn-OuJoQM-oYZVrgDnosMQ5nNkeHpRU0vEcs7qqAPQmEzSzueWCm26Kl_ZoPqok6Tmps_6ESNwDSod4KKtAulMVStv4xG3e3VtLS2n/s320/jakarta.gif" width="206" /></a></div><br />The Jakarta Method</i> by Vincent Bevins</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York: Public Affairs, c2020, 2021.</div><div style="text-align: left;">ix, 340 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's hard to say whether US citizens have very short memories or face such a powerful propaganda apparatus that it takes a bit of hard work and (soul-crushing honesty) to learn the dirty truths of US history and foreign policy. Considering this, books like <i>The Jakarta Method</i> are wonderful (and painful) antidotes to the flood of official misinformation and willful forgetting that plague the US. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">How many US citizens realize that their government actively helped and encouraged the slaughter of about 1 million unarmed, harmless, and law-abiding civilians in Indonesia in 1965 because of their actual or alleged connections to the completely legal and open communist party of Indonesia. And how many people who know of this vaguely or in more detail, know that it set the pattern for US sponsored/supported ruthless attacks on civilians in Asia, Africa, Central and South America? Bevins does a remarkable job of pulling together this lethal history from the overthrow of Iran to the rise of the extremist president Bolsonaro in Brazil. The reader learns about the deep connections of the Indonesian slaughter with slaughter and atrocities in Brazil, Guatemala, Angola, Vietnam and other states. The numbers and cruelty are truly appalling.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Bevins also does a good job in scoping out to consider the profound effects that such widespread and cold-blooded killing has had in shaping the world we live in now. He questions what it means to "win" the Cold War when the means were so depraved and terrible. He wonders about what kind of world we might live in if the pro-democracy, constitutional parties that leaned left or opposed US hegemony had been allowed to survive. Would we see the same appalling wealth inequalities that plague the world, would the rule of law be stronger, and would there be better human rights protections today? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">His book is profound and timely as both in the US and abroad many leaders are encouraging authoritarian rule and promoting lies and violence as a way to preserve their power.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It is a book I highly recommend.</div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-82833701155310149002021-11-12T06:19:00.001-08:002021-11-12T06:19:48.972-08:00No American Dream<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw8arVWIuOTKrr1NAWoiBMT9VZHBH2YgdkSCLVMijaV_ZWbLIpcVDCKVtXLlOVgYZ5PEOx5IJPho2exFUXDz_07yAr8aLlOVwOUp2hVkWGKDtH1SKlOwxmiqJhVC4Bk-UThJ2hPvrJkLK/s360/american+street.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="238" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggw8arVWIuOTKrr1NAWoiBMT9VZHBH2YgdkSCLVMijaV_ZWbLIpcVDCKVtXLlOVgYZ5PEOx5IJPho2exFUXDz_07yAr8aLlOVwOUp2hVkWGKDtH1SKlOwxmiqJhVC4Bk-UThJ2hPvrJkLK/s320/american+street.gif" width="212" /></a></div><br />American Street</i> by Ibi Zoboi </div><div style="text-align: left;">New York, NY : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2017]</div><div style="text-align: left;">324 p. ; 22 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9780062473042&appid=4" target="_blank">American Street</a></i> is a super book. I'm glad to see it got a lot of recognition - starred reviews and a <a href="https://www.nationalbook.org/books/american-street/" target="_blank">finalist for the National Book Award</a>. The book is the story of Fabiola, high school aged young woman who was born in the US, raised in Haiti and has returned to the US with her mother so they can rejoin the mother's sister and her three girls in Detroit. Of course, nothing goes smoothly: the mother (not a US citizen) is detained at the NYC airport by ICE while Fabiola is sent on to Detroit and tries to fit in to her aunt's family - a family full of love - but also serious troubles (debts, drug dealing, a dead father, and a crumbling neighborhood). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The novel follows Fabiola as she tries to navigate the huge, strange country that is the United States, the dicey/lively city of Detroit, and the complicated relationships of her three cousins, who both form a formidable front, though each young woman has a striking and different personality. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There are many sources of dramatic tension in the novel. Fabiola desperately wants to get her Mom out of ICE detention, she also falls hard in love, and she has to prove herself to her streetwise cousins, etc. In her desperation to get help for her mother, she makes the mistake of becoming an informant to a narcotics detective and things get VERY complicated and VERY dangerous. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I won't give away the twists and turns of the plot, but after the first chapter things get very interesting. Readers are also easily introduced to the worldview of vodou through the perspective of Fabiola who believes in it and sees the world through that lens - to the point where there is a blurred boundary between the real and the magical/spiritual in many scenes. In a lesser writer these could be a real weakness, but in this novel they add to its richness.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As you can tell, I'll definitely be recommending this book to readers.</div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-15105520537285297222021-11-02T08:13:00.002-07:002021-11-02T08:13:59.158-07:00Stunning Science and a Couple of Stunning Mistakes<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilP7FU41Hvs43k5MS_zHkzNThNxkSGtFDRosRqmiFWvPLnBFavPmeIM9eJ9QGzjRYYrolBCu8MAu2wELzq81u6WNGxAd1DNQun5pEpwEKPPoLx8BmvJ_I02VHgFS7igF-M4YzGmb5Bp-EV/s360/Universe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilP7FU41Hvs43k5MS_zHkzNThNxkSGtFDRosRqmiFWvPLnBFavPmeIM9eJ9QGzjRYYrolBCu8MAu2wELzq81u6WNGxAd1DNQun5pEpwEKPPoLx8BmvJ_I02VHgFS7igF-M4YzGmb5Bp-EV/s320/Universe.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />The Universe in Your Hand</i> by Christophe Galfard</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Flatiron Books, 2017, c2016.</div><div style="text-align: left;">First US edition</div><div style="text-align: left;">386 pages ; 22 cm</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Christophe Galfard tries and mostly succeeds in leading the lay reader through the current state of knowledge about cosmology and astrophysics - taking the reader through Newtonian, Einsteinian and quantum physics along the way. It's an ambitious undertaking, and I think Galfard succeeds better than most at creatively introducing the reader to mind-bending worlds of quantum fields and some of the truly bizarre quandaries and realms of modern cosmology - dark matter, dark energy, and string theory. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">His was one of the first books I've read about quantum fields where I started to just appreciate and even accept the way in which our "common sense" understandings of the world (which works fine on most of the scales we evolved in) are just not capable of reckoning with the way particles are manifestations of the quantum fields. It's heady stuff, and I'll probably reread those sections later to try and take in more of what they offer. Given the positives about this book, I have to qualify it with the following observation.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There is such a glaring mistake early in the book that I'm a bit befuddled that editors and early readers didn't check it. Galfard describes the future demise of our sun as being one where it "explodes, firing all the matter it was made of into outer space" (6). A while later he describes this ending as "spreading into space all the atoms the Sun has forged throughout its life while creating some more - the heaviest ones of all, such as gold" (19). This was so unlike any scenarios of the sun's demise I had ever read that I thought maybe I had misread previous books and explanations - or that the latest science was radically different. I searched books and online astronomy sites, and so far, I've found nothing to indicate that the sun will blow away all its mass or that a star of the sun's size can forge anything heavier than carbon in its last stages. From what I've read it will end up as a white dwarf that will then last for billions and billons of years as it slowly cools. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So I'll suggest the book for its navigation through quantum realities and string theory, but hedge my praise based on the beginning of the book.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-3124325851596884182021-10-04T08:35:00.001-07:002021-10-04T08:35:20.654-07:00Tough and Tender<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKjugZEcEtEgpJlh_xzxGaNV_W5jMGLrvHtzjIEd3q8LbW_p7F66RB63foDPxZrJ_zGkK3cPZSC-CjBIdoeL1_I3H-jLo8NymL35sqWmHdInJHEXIJg4nnrRMZV0FP9dxAuSNcxC73cfy/s475/closest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKjugZEcEtEgpJlh_xzxGaNV_W5jMGLrvHtzjIEd3q8LbW_p7F66RB63foDPxZrJ_zGkK3cPZSC-CjBIdoeL1_I3H-jLo8NymL35sqWmHdInJHEXIJg4nnrRMZV0FP9dxAuSNcxC73cfy/s320/closest.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />The Closest I've Come</i> by Fred Aceves</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York, NY : HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2017]</div><div style="text-align: left;">310 p. ; 22 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm a sucker for a book with heart, and this novel had me pretty early on. It's about a Latinx young man growing up poor in Tampa, Florida and struggling to find love, a way out of his impoverished neighborhood, and a way out of the restrictions of having to keep up a tough macho front. He also is trying to survive a negligent alcoholic mother and her racist and abusive boyfriend who lives with and sponges off of them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What are the things I especially liked about this book? I love that though Marcos, the main character, is smart and at times humorous, he is not constantly throwing out witty, hip comments and comebacks. In some YA books the protagonist feels like an attempt by the author to come up with a contemporary Holden Caulfield that doesn't ring true. In this novel, Marcos is so believable. He is also believable in his struggle to become a more authentic human being - we get glimpses of his true feelings through his inner thoughts and those feelings get expressed imperfectly (as they do with most people growing up). I also love the romance (or desired romance) that forms a core of the novel. It doesn't follow the conventional route in resolving itself and that is refreshing. I appreciated the portrayal of teachers in the book; they are not stereotyped as saviors or villains, but as people who have a tough job and can be really kind. The book also deals with race and cliques in ways that don't feel incredibly heavy handed or unrealistic.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also love a book that bluntly reveals the struggles of being poor as just the matter of fact situation someone finds themselves in. Marcos just gets by with having to wear crummy shoes and just enough clean t-shirts to look good at school. One of his buddies - the academically most successful of the bunch - starts dealing drugs for an aunt in order to make more money - a decision that is treated realistically. Finally, I should mention that the book helpfully portrays the complicated situation a young person can find themselves in when an adult in their household is physically and emotionally abusive.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Would I recommend <i>The Closest I've Come</i>? I definitely would. I think it would satisfy a lot of different kinds of readers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-67916337839060963312021-09-23T10:33:00.001-07:002021-09-23T10:33:10.339-07:00Shadow and Bone Shines<i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8576zWRs9g0Qxkv_fWP7bP68C__Rxt-5I2fMbtIpCbaOVQ9npfL5sx4d_QRE-MB-LVVCNG9_NrbRzYwAfgZ2UA7csSeQRYJoaHyGt1_7q38TNwOT7wBBfk6bzzMhSPS_-c5BkYJyxMEv_/s475/Shadow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8576zWRs9g0Qxkv_fWP7bP68C__Rxt-5I2fMbtIpCbaOVQ9npfL5sx4d_QRE-MB-LVVCNG9_NrbRzYwAfgZ2UA7csSeQRYJoaHyGt1_7q38TNwOT7wBBfk6bzzMhSPS_-c5BkYJyxMEv_/s320/Shadow.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />Shadow and Bone</i> by Leigh Bardugo<div>New York : Square Fish, 2013.</div><div>358 p. : map ; 22 cm. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you've seen any of my other posts, you'll know I'm not a huge fan of fantasy/high fantasy novels. It's not that I dislike them; it's just that they don't completely thrill me. That being said, I really did enjoy reading this first novel of the <a href="https://www.leighbardugo.com/book/shadow-and-bone/" target="_blank"><i>Shadow and Bone</i> trilogy</a>, the opening book of the larger <a href="https://grishaverse.com/" target="_blank">Grishaverse</a> series of books by Leigh Bardugo. </div><div><br /></div><div>The writing is strong in <i>Shadow and Bone</i>; Bardugo is really good at creating atmospheric settings and has a good ear for dialog. She's able to create her imagined world with subtlety and suggestion. Also the plotting and action builds and accelerates as the novel goes on, so that by the end I found myself racing along to see what would happen and did not want to put the book down.</div><div><br /></div><div>The novel has been extremely popular (becoming <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80236319" target="_blank">a Netflix series</a> in March of 2021) - receiving <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/leigh-bardugo/shadow-and-bone/" target="_blank">favorable reviews</a>, and becoming a NYT's bestseller.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a fantasy novel I'd be glad to recommend and we have many more of her novels in the collection so that a fan of Bardugo would have a lot more to read.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-13491623104106717202021-09-15T08:00:00.002-07:002021-09-15T08:00:26.926-07:00Really Big, Really Small - and Just Right<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQwr3XVrQgGEJuXac755LJAZy4eD9-ETtueJR1cRl3vMxW8470jkpVEcupaXUhE_x0JjHD4SHKJx_Iz0gFo7oLTkoy09-XgveygjBBIRzbcaKbueTVQcNwOk7ik2gYAQufC-duDJpZxcg/s600/Cosmic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="389" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQwr3XVrQgGEJuXac755LJAZy4eD9-ETtueJR1cRl3vMxW8470jkpVEcupaXUhE_x0JjHD4SHKJx_Iz0gFo7oLTkoy09-XgveygjBBIRzbcaKbueTVQcNwOk7ik2gYAQufC-duDJpZxcg/s320/Cosmic.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br />The Cosmic Mystery Tour: a High Speed Journey Through Time and Space</i> by Nicholas Mee</div><div style="text-align: left;">Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019. </div><div style="text-align: left;">207 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 21 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was an ambitious little book. I say "little" in that 207 p. is fairly brief for an attempt to introduce the wonderous scope of current science about forces, particles, fields, gravity, time, the elements, supernovae, galaxies and - well - the whole universe! The book looks at the very small and the very large - from fermions and bosons to a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 8 trillion suns (yes, that's 8 TRILLION!) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What I liked about <i>The Cosmic Mystery Tour</i> is that it succeeds in being readable, interesting and keeping up a brisk pace. After reading it, I found myself ruminating on the vast expanses of the cosmos, along with the strange and remarkable subatomic world that is so hard to fathom.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In spite of a few parts that are just hard to follow (the explanation of the fundamental particles being one of these) most of the book does a great job of being very accessible to the lay reader.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If I had a student ask about a good overview of modern science regarding the universe/cosmos, I'd definitely recommend this little gem.</div><p><br /></p>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-19771049385572132692021-05-28T09:50:00.001-07:002021-05-28T09:50:07.815-07:00Long Book Sad War<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6jYQcPrDFXjxbo7hvCGe-CdbsLcfLfN7sgZszGw8bLpYOD3BWr9RAbqHLXvdDnHbCs3wA9WV5CxbNedORZQEJaNdKa5G-QewGQjV5aZx4cALtGQpxJDpWR6HvzpdXRaY7FPSQW7fnPQb/s499/hemingway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6jYQcPrDFXjxbo7hvCGe-CdbsLcfLfN7sgZszGw8bLpYOD3BWr9RAbqHLXvdDnHbCs3wA9WV5CxbNedORZQEJaNdKa5G-QewGQjV5aZx4cALtGQpxJDpWR6HvzpdXRaY7FPSQW7fnPQb/s320/hemingway.jpg" /></a></div><br />For Whom the Bell Tolls</i> by Ernest Hemingway</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995, c1940.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> 471 p. ; 21 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have to be honest, I didn't really plan to read <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=0684803356&appid=4" target="_blank">this book</a>, but after watching the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/hemingway/" target="_blank">PBS series on Hemingway, </a>and then reading a <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=0313322740&appid=4" target="_blank">book from our library about the Spanish Civil War</a>, I was curious to read this novel of his. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I found the PBS series problematic in many ways. It overly lionized Hemingway, and tended to minimize what an awful and incredibly sexist person he was. But there was great footage and lots of other information worth taking in about this really important literary figure. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I initially sat down to read just excerpts of the novel, but the writing is compelling and I ended up enjoying reading it, even when I felt like the movement of narrative was overly ponderous. Like Mario Vargas Llosa in the documentary, I too felt that the love affair in the novel was overwrought, immature and something of a distraction. However, the portrayal of characters in the guerrilla band that the main character works with and the ludicrous characters running the war for the Republic are really strong points of the novel. Hemingway's ability to convey the moral degradations and salvations of people at war are also striking. And knowing as we do that the fascists triumph in Spain, it is sometimes exquisitely painful to read this novel that was written before the outcome was determined. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I can't say I would recommend this book to a student, but occasionally students pick Hemingway for their senior literary research paper and I'm glad I'll have read this as a point of reference going forward. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-70332345320180184132021-05-12T11:29:00.002-07:002021-05-12T11:30:23.181-07:00A Terrible Beauty<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DyRWTDD8SChit-pvTVoN7Tj4i2cCcJFR3cD0tVn5aSJjz_ALdY5V5wPvs9GRj1ojD9-FQnGT40ESJZ4DU4BnFPjZ_yxWXBbcWUqRI29j0dBfaVDjTFNpnAXDtL570yTHGA4ZelkJAlfK/s360/vangogh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="238" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DyRWTDD8SChit-pvTVoN7Tj4i2cCcJFR3cD0tVn5aSJjz_ALdY5V5wPvs9GRj1ojD9-FQnGT40ESJZ4DU4BnFPjZ_yxWXBbcWUqRI29j0dBfaVDjTFNpnAXDtL570yTHGA4ZelkJAlfK/s320/vangogh.jpg" /></a></div><br />Vincent and Theo: the Van Gogh Brothers</i> by Deborah Heiligman</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Goldwin Books, Henry Holt and Co., 2017.</div><div style="text-align: left;">454 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9780805093391&appid=4" target="_blank">This book</a> brings up some of the problems I find with the whole YA book marketing enterprise. This is a superb book - one that <i>anyone</i> with the slightest interest in the visual art of painting should read, and by anyone I mean young person, young adult, middle-aged adult, or senior citizen. <a href="https://deborahheiligman.com/books/vincent-theo-van-gogh-brothers/" target="_blank">It is a wonderful book</a> that lovingly tells the story of artist Vincent Van Gogh and his slightly younger brother Theo, who devoted himself to supporting and championing the work of Vincent. But it is packaged as a YA nonfiction selection - and <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805093391" target="_blank">has deservedly won awards</a> in that category. It may seem I'm nitpicking, but it really seems wrong to me that this book didn't get equal promotion as an adult nonfiction book - it's that good! Also, as much as I hate to say it, it's length (454 pages) is just going to turn off a lot of younger readers - even those with an interest in art.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With all that said, I can say that I loved this book. I learned a lot from it (e.g. how Theo correctly pushed Vincent to add more color to his palette which was originally muted and grounded in earth tones). The book really opens up the terrible mental anguish and affliction that Vincent suffered and also does justice to the truly inspiring (and sometimes difficult and contentious) love between these two brothers. Both Vincent and Theo emerge from this telling as very, very human and also very heroic figures. One finishes the book with a great appreciation for how doggedly Vincent worked at teaching himself and practicing his art and how unstinting Theo was in supporting him. Importantly, Heiligman gives credit to Theo's wife Jo, who also (in spite of being married to Theo for only the last year and a half of his short life) ensured that Vincent's work and legacy was championed and preserved.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another positive feature of this book is that it includes excellent end material: a descriptive list of prominent characters, a timeline, copious notes, and a thorough index.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll add in closing that I was surprised at the emotional impact of the book. Heiligman's retelling of Vincent and Theo's deaths (just six months apart) left me teary eyed. This is a wonderful book and it is one that I'll be recommending to young and older readers alike.</div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-51684930864658606412021-04-29T08:40:00.007-07:002021-04-29T08:40:56.260-07:00Define Short<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMucogXQIZAE68lu61HXDSyVC2dCIpEdirLuqtFSSib6V4RzT43kE2F1l7v4Y9l3iznfU-65ap3dsF4nHG_yAtLSnptvnAVo6Jp5y2bxeBRlDaNmoCaSelBLwg5LLJg-zkwJNvSJ0SVVA_/s360/Mongols.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="227" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMucogXQIZAE68lu61HXDSyVC2dCIpEdirLuqtFSSib6V4RzT43kE2F1l7v4Y9l3iznfU-65ap3dsF4nHG_yAtLSnptvnAVo6Jp5y2bxeBRlDaNmoCaSelBLwg5LLJg-zkwJNvSJ0SVVA_/s320/Mongols.jpg" /></a></div><br />A Short History of the Mongols</i> by George Lane</div><div style="text-align: left;">London : I.B. Tauris, 2018.</div><div style="text-align: left;">xvi, 236 p. : ill., maps ; 22 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is the second "Short History of" book I've reviewed,<a href="http://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2020/11/remission.html" target="_blank"> the previous one being on the Weimar Republic</a>. I liked that one, but found <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781780766065&appid=4" target="_blank">this history of the Mongols</a> to be too much information for me to take in. I can't fault the author too much for that, since I think my own ignorance of the period (ca 1206 - 1300) covered in the book made its broad scope overwhelming for me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Additionally, the events of this period are very convoluted and complex. I think most readers like me will be able to follow along with the rise of Temujin to become the great Genghis Khan, but will be a bit overwhelmed trying to keep track of the rise and fall of his descendants and their khanates - ending with the famous <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/kublai-khan/" target="_blank">Kublai Khan</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I think this short history would be a great resource for a student with some prior knowledge of the Mongol Empire, or doing research on that empire. I think it's a useful resource to have in the library, but will be of limited interest to the general young adult reader.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><br /></p>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-65626010154119531342021-04-27T10:25:00.002-07:002021-04-28T15:47:13.542-07:00Boldly Going <div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaZMt8JUMTzysbDKD7GRmu1vAnUypcIvfdnnukXbgy1OcnNMqejrU9a9WGSOPn_S-LfNuEnlFL55VGq_bsoQfvkbk0BmOa7y_RQAezTx0XmZou_RfXwFW1LUG9LWrA7mNkD73EdymN9Cp/s360/AboutArt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaZMt8JUMTzysbDKD7GRmu1vAnUypcIvfdnnukXbgy1OcnNMqejrU9a9WGSOPn_S-LfNuEnlFL55VGq_bsoQfvkbk0BmOa7y_RQAezTx0XmZou_RfXwFW1LUG9LWrA7mNkD73EdymN9Cp/s320/AboutArt.jpg" /></a></div><br />This is What I Know About Art</i> by Kimberly Drew</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Penguin Workshop, [2020]</div><div style="text-align: left;">63 p. ; 16 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9780593095188&appid=4">This short, little book</a> packs a punch! I'm always on the lookout for small books that I can drop for a student, hoping that the size and design will not scare them off. This is one of those.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had no idea what to expect from this book, but it was a pleasure and an education. The book is essentially the art-map story of Kimberly Drew's journey from from being a financially pinched and very smart (but unknown) Black college student who feels the pressure to pursue a "realistic" major (e.g. architecture, engineering, medicine) even though what she loves is art. On the recommendation of a professor, she applies for and lands an internship at the Harlem <a href="https://studiomuseum.org/" target="_blank">Studio Museum</a> that changes her life and launches her on the way to become a force in the art world. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The only drawback of this book is that it lacks an index and has no photographs/illustrations to accompany all the amazing artwork Drew introduces to the reader. And there is A LOT of art she discusses and most of it is stunning, and not widely known. If she ever puts together a YA book of these artists and their works, I'll buy it in a heartbeat. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To help me (and you if you're reading this) find/remember the artists she touches on I'm diverging from my usual review and posting the following list of art/artists/collectives in the order that they come up in the book. Where possible, the first reference is to Drew's <a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tumblr - Black Contemporary Art.</a> Just a glance there will show you how superb many of the artists she highlights are!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">Any omissions or link/spelling mistakes are mine. I hope you'll read her little book and visit her big world of activism and art. You won't be sorry.<br />___________________________________________________________</div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Glenn Ligon</b> - </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Glenn+Ligon" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Glenn+Ligon<br /></a><a href="http://www.glennligonstudio.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.glennligonstudio.com/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Jean-Michael Basquiat</b> - </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Jean-Michael+Basquiat" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Jean-Michael+Basquiat<br /></a><a href="https://www.thebroad.org/art/jean-michel-basquiat" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.thebroad.org/art/jean-michel-basquiat</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">
(Los Angeles)<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Trenton Doyle Hancock</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/trenton+doyle+hancock" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/trenton+doyle+hancock<br /></a><a href="https://www.jamescohan.com/artists/trenton-doyle-hancock" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.jamescohan.com/artists/trenton-doyle-hancock<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Lorna Simpson</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/lorna+simpson" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/lorna+simpson<br /></a><a href="https://lsimpsonstudio.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://lsimpsonstudio.com/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Jamel Shabazz</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/jamel+shabazz" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/jamel+shabazz<br /></a><a href="https://www.annenbergphotospace.org/person/jamel-shabazz/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.annenbergphotospace.org/person/jamel-shabazz/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Samuel Fosso</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/samuel+fosso" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/samuel+fosso<br /></a><a href="https://www.walthercollection.com/en/collection/artists/samuel-fosso" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.walthercollection.com/en/collection/artists/samuel-fosso<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Nick Cave</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/nick+cave" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/nick+cave<br /></a><a href="https://jackshainman.com/artists/nick_cave" style="font-family: inherit;">https://jackshainman.com/artists/nick_cave<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Mickalene Thomas</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/mickalene+thomas" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/mickalene+thomas<br /></a><a href="https://nmwa.org/art/artists/mickalene-thomas/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://nmwa.org/art/artists/mickalene-thomas/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Stephen Wiltshire</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Stephen+Wiltshire" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Stephen+Wiltshire<br /></a><a href="https://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Coco Fusco</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/coco+fusco" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/coco+fusco<br /></a><a href="https://www.cocofusco.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.cocofusco.com/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: #4d5156; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Guillermo Gómez-Peña</b></span> – </span><a href="https://www.guillermogomezpena.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.guillermogomezpena.com/<br /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><u style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Creative Time</b></u><span style="font-family: inherit;"> - </span><a href="https://creativetime.org/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://creativetime.org/<br /></a></div><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Tribute in Light” – </span><a href="https://creativetime.org/projects/tribute-in-light/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://creativetime.org/projects/tribute-in-light/<br /></a></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gran Fury’s “Kissing Doesn’t Kill” – </span><a href="https://creativetime.org/projects/kissing-doesnt-kill-greed-and-indifference-do/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://creativetime.org/projects/kissing-doesnt-kill-greed-and-indifference-do/<br /></a></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ “Untitled” – </span><a href="https://creativetime.org/projects/untitled-1995/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://creativetime.org/projects/untitled-1995/<br /></a></div></blockquote><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Felix Gonzalez-Torrres</b> (Foundation) - </span><a href="https://www.felixgonzalez-torresfoundation.org/about/foundation-statement" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.felixgonzalez-torresfoundation.org/about/foundation-statement<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Blues for Smoke</b> exhibition - </span><a href="https://whitney.org/exhibitions/blues-for-smoke" style="font-family: inherit;">https://whitney.org/exhibitions/blues-for-smoke<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Rodney McMillian</b> - </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/rodney+mcmillian" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/rodney+mcmillian<br /></a><a href="https://vielmetter.com/artists/rodney-mcmillian" style="font-family: inherit;">https://vielmetter.com/artists/rodney-mcmillian<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Alma Thomas</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Alma+Thomas" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Alma+Thomas<br /></a><a href="https://americanart.si.edu/artist/alma-thomas-4778" style="font-family: inherit;">https://americanart.si.edu/artist/alma-thomas-4778</a></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Kerry James Marshall</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Kerry+James+Marshall" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Kerry+James+Marshall<br /></a><a href="https://jackshainman.com/artists/kerry_james_marshall" style="font-family: inherit;">https://jackshainman.com/artists/kerry_james_marshall<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Zoe Leonard</b>’s “1961” – </span><a href="https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/33792" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/33792<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Guerilla Girls</b> - </span><a href="https://nmwa.org/art/artists/guerrilla-girls/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://nmwa.org/art/artists/guerrilla-girls/<br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Dread Scott</b> – </span><a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/dread+scott" style="font-family: inherit;">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/dread+scott<br /></a><a href="https://www.dreadscott.net/" style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.dreadscott.net/</a></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.dreadscott.net/" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Black Lives Matter at Black Contemporary Art</b> – <a href="https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Black+Lives+Matter">https://blackcontemporaryart.tumblr.com/search/Black+Lives+Matter</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-202327544999334932021-04-21T10:56:00.000-07:002021-04-21T10:56:10.125-07:00Misrule of Law<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAJW9zlseRnoneid4sKuQA1qV4JETjGEyToaIQ9b6mrAsU5k_8p4K-BJO3a-srxVzqKmPiek9ber_beGBRRRpZJeG3xRp2T13pTLxZX5sn5bDra37uNfei_OQVZxiVPSJ6QOiospVdgFL/s360/Enemy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="260" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKAJW9zlseRnoneid4sKuQA1qV4JETjGEyToaIQ9b6mrAsU5k_8p4K-BJO3a-srxVzqKmPiek9ber_beGBRRRpZJeG3xRp2T13pTLxZX5sn5bDra37uNfei_OQVZxiVPSJ6QOiospVdgFL/s320/Enemy.jpg" /></a></div><br />They Called Us Enemy</i> by George Takei [also Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott ; art by Harmony Becker]</div><div style="text-align: left;">Marietta, GA : Top Shelf Productions, [2019]</div><div style="text-align: left;">204 p. : chiefly ill. ; 23 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781603094504&appid=4" target="_blank">This graphic novel </a>is a super addition to books on the internment/incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII. As most people know, Pres. Roosevelt (FDR) ordered the seizure and imprisonment of Japanese Americans shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which officially launched the US into the Second World War. This act was clearly racist, unconstitutional and immoral - though it took about 40 years for the US government to admit it was wrong and pay restitution to survivors. It took even longer for the <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/did-the-supreme-court-just-overrule-the-korematsu-decision" target="_blank">Supreme Court to condemn (in 2018</a>) its complicity in this crime (re the <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-korematsu-v-us" target="_blank">Korematsu</a> ruling of 1944). All this is covered in the book, but the heart of the book is in Takei retelling the story from the viewpoint of a child experiencing his family's ordeal of being arrested, transported and imprisoned in two different internment camps.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The child's viewpoint is in fact Takei's. He was about 5 years old when his family was ordered out of their Los Angeles home and deported by train to Arkansas. He captures the innocence of a young child taking in much of the experience as a grand adventure though being confused at the crying and hushed whispers of the adults. The book is also strengthened by the life of George Takei who was one of the original stars of Star Trek and who is currently a significant online personality with millions of followers on Facebook and <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I learned a lot in this book. It was especially painful to see how parents tried to figure out what was best to keep their families safe - as when loyalty oaths were offered to the detainees and some out of conscience refused to sign them. He also gives kudos to both the young Japaneses American men who chose to enlist and fight in the war and to those who refused and were imprisoned at Leavenworth. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I thought the book was really tight up until the very end. It felt a little jumpy and didactic in the last 20 pages or so as Takei keeps trying to hold up the successes of the US system of government when it finally confronts this injustice. That being said, it is a powerful and moving book and I would highly recommend it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-86606380417963443602021-04-16T07:13:00.003-07:002021-04-16T07:13:35.266-07:00Rise Above It<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwA2PtvSwL_-tCvrGyt_xkZfEDoe98FNh5D5ttWDhXoHNu6LF-Ppys9VUVbtIYPGx-e951xYTYOO7y5fBlhTh5Myl66IfKhLaT0xBM3zSgXxr19BDPojjFwlVDB_OvNli8BvN-1m1uhBv/s360/Eiffel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwA2PtvSwL_-tCvrGyt_xkZfEDoe98FNh5D5ttWDhXoHNu6LF-Ppys9VUVbtIYPGx-e951xYTYOO7y5fBlhTh5Myl66IfKhLaT0xBM3zSgXxr19BDPojjFwlVDB_OvNli8BvN-1m1uhBv/s320/Eiffel.jpg" /></a></div><br />Eiffel's Tower for Young People: the Story of the 1889 World's Fair</i> by Jill Jonnes ; adapted by Rebecca Stefoff.</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Triangle Square, 2019.</div><div style="text-align: left;">xi, 354 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">World's Fairs offer excellent subject matter for history writers. Think of <a href="http://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2015/08/terrific-fair-fairly-terrible.html" target="_blank">Eric Larson's macabre and fascinating bestseller</a> about the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. World's Fairs offer a glimpse into the way the dominant culture/s of the time viewed themselves, including who and what was celebrated. The fairs featured extravagance, spectacle, celebrities and adventure. The <a href="https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/universal-exhibition" target="_blank">1889 Paris World's Fair</a> was no exception. There were bitter rivalries between artists, the spectacle of the Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, a hall of inventions, superstar guests like Thomas Edison, and international rivalries, too. Above all there was the now iconic Eiffel Tower at the center of it all - and at the center of this accessible history - an adaptation for younger readers of Jill Jonnes' <i><a href="http://jilljonnes.com/eiffels-tower/" target="_blank">Eiffel's Tower</a></i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I like that this adaptation of <i><a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781609809058&appid=4" target="_blank">Eiffel's Tower</a></i> moves chronologically, but also builds on storytelling by giving ample time to central characters in the fair: Gustave Eiffel (of course), Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Thomas Edison, the painters James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Paul Gaugin. Vincent Van Gogh even gets a mention. Yes, so much was happening at that moment in history.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The book also presents the racism & colonialism running through the fair - exhibits of "model villages and streets" of Frances colonies and targets for colonization. The book also lightly touches on the contradictions of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show whose company included many Sioux Indians who Cody treated well as workers, but who were also part of the propaganda of the show celebrating the "taming of the US west." </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'd recommend this book for any student interested in history, especially late 19th century history - a fascinating time when Europe dominated the world not long before descending into the murderous self-destruction of WWI, a period covered in much more detail by Barbara Tuchman in <i><a href="http://highschoolbooks.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-sad-tower.html" target="_blank">The Proud Tower</a></i>. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1048186384777276325.post-66974713241392683922021-03-30T07:19:00.000-07:002021-03-30T07:19:04.091-07:00Roadtripping the Past and the Present<div style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK__USaqb8kN-lSU8YYldRW0N7UL_M8JJfiXbtp7rrxz_YE7li2rc3z6fsFf6gcoAkHa6zXUHuXCBYzE8lbTY6RWxp04zk8Ek3XXZb1dDCGOqez8MIYYEuKKqdzOtFxYOh0iyVLu8qVntk/s360/CrazyHorse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK__USaqb8kN-lSU8YYldRW0N7UL_M8JJfiXbtp7rrxz_YE7li2rc3z6fsFf6gcoAkHa6zXUHuXCBYzE8lbTY6RWxp04zk8Ek3XXZb1dDCGOqez8MIYYEuKKqdzOtFxYOh0iyVLu8qVntk/s320/CrazyHorse.jpg" /></a></div><br />In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse</i> by Joseph Marshall III</div><div style="text-align: left;">New York : Amulet Books, [2015]</div><div style="text-align: left;">165 p. : ill., map ; 21 cm. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is <a href="http://titlepeek.fsc.follett.com/tp/query?action=3&subnumber=1200304&isbn=9781419707858&appid=4" target="_blank">a little gem of a book</a>! I love a brief, emotional and enlightening book. Marshall succinctly retells the story of Lakota Indian and warrior, <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Ta-sunko-witko</span><span style="background-color: white;"> - known more commonly as Crazy Horse. </span> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marshall embeds the story of Crazy Horse within the story of Jimmy, a contemporary eleven-year-old Lakota boy growing up in South Dakota. This boy has light hair and blue eyes and so is teased and bullied by a couple of classmates. During the summer his beloved grandpa takes him on a road trip through South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana - tracing places in the life of Crazy Horse which the grandpa fills in with storytelling. As he teaches Jimmy about Crazy Horse's great character and courage, he also notes that Crazy Horse also was known as "Light Hair" when he was young - something that connects him with Jimmy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As they trace the places important in the life of Crazy Horse - Nebraska near <a href="http://outdoornebraska.gov/ashhollow/" target="_blank">Ash Hollow State Park</a>, Forts <a href="https://www.nps.gov/fola/index.htm" target="_blank">Laramie</a> and <a href="https://wyoshpo.wyo.gov/index.php/programs/national-register/wyoming-listings/view-full-list/608-fort-reno" target="_blank">Reno</a> in Wyoming, and battle sites like the <a href="https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/fetterman-battlefield" target="_blank">Hundred in the Hands (Fetterman Fight</a>) in Wyoming and the renowned <a href="https://www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm" target="_blank">Battle of the Little Bighorn (Battle of the Greasy Grass</a>) in Montana. They even visit Fort Robinson in Nebraska <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/new-fort-robinson-memorial-will-honor-crazy-horse-and-his-band" target="_blank">where Crazy Horse surrendered and was murdered</a>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Within all this history, is a lovely story of an elder passing on his knowledge to his grandson. The grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, is clear-eyed about the cruel nature of war and battle, and also keenly aware that courage also means protecting the vulnerable and those you love. By the end of the story, Jimmy is starting a new school year and - though fearful of the bullies - has a newfound strength in confronting them.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I definitely recommend this novel.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>Matthew Murreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13566763604676654512noreply@blogger.com0