Author: Ariel Henley
Published: 2021 Ariel and her twin sister Zan were diagnosed with Crouzon Syndrome when they were infants. When a baby has Crouzon Syndrome, the bones in their head fuse together prematurely, which means as they grow their skull cannot expand like it needs to. In order to stay alive, Ariel and Zan needed a lot of surgery involving doctors breaking bones in their faces. These recovery to these surgeries were painful, but what made it worse is that their faces never looked "normal." Throughout their childhood, Ariel and Zan were stared at, ridiculed, and bullied for the way their faces looked. All they wanted was to look "normal," but each surgery brought risk and pain. Is it all worth it? A Face for Picasso is a heartbreaking real-life Wonder story. I absolutely loved Ariel's voice and her truth.
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Author: Rex Ogle
Published: 2022 Rex Ogle does it again with another memoir, this one focusing on his relationship with his abuela. Told in verse, Rex writes about how his abuela's house was like a safe haven from his abusive home. His abuela believed in him and was always there for him. Rex Ogle was inspired to write this book about his abuela because currently she has dementia and sometimes she forgets who he is. This is their story. Abuela, Don't Forget Me was just as good as Free Lunch and Punching Bag. Such a powerful story of the relationship between grandmother and grandson. Author: Rex Ogle
Published: 2021 Rex Ogle continues his story from Free Lunch in his newest memoir Punching Bag. Ogle writes about his abusive childhood and some of the horrible things he had to go through. He writes about how his baby sister was never even able to be born and how his mom blamed him for her death. He writes about how his mom and his stepfather, Sam, would physically fight each other so hard and how Rex himself was hit too. This story is absolutely heartbreaking. It is a tough read at some times due to the subject matter but I think middle schoolers would be able to handle it. I predict this will be a very popular read at our library. Author: Rex Ogle
Published: 2019 There are a lot of hard things going on in Rex's life. He lives his mom, his younger brother, and his mom's boyfriend Sam. His mom and her boyfriend get into fights all the time, physical fights that leave his mom injured. They also take their anger out on Rex, and he gets hurt too. While Rex has always had friends, this year his friends aren't really acting like his friends so he sometimes finds himself sitting alone at lunch. Lunch is awful anyways because this year is that his mom has put him in the free lunch program. This means that everyone else gets to walk through the line and pay for their meals, but he has to stop by the lunch lady and has to tell her his name and she has to get out this big red binder and put a checkmark down. It is definitely very noticeable, and people look at him differently when they see him do this. Free Lunch is the true story of Ogle's childhood in an abusive home and all the things he had to worry about that many other people wouldn't even think of. I was heartbroken for this child and what he had to go through. Author: Tiffany Jewell
Published: 2020 This Book is Anti-Racist is a fantastic book for young adults (and adults!) to read to understand what is means to be antiracist and how to actually do the work. It is split up into different sections focusing on understanding your own identity, making sense of the world, taking action when it comes to racism, and working against racism when you may be in a position of privilege. I loved the personal stories Jewell weaves into the book, along with examples from history and our world today. There are writing prompts at the end of every chapter for readers to really focus in and reflect on their lives and the world around them. This book is a fantastic book that everyone should read! If you are wanting to educate yourself on Black Lives Matter or understand that being "not racist" is not the same as being antiracist, this is a great introduction. Author: Juan Pablo Villalobos
Published: 2019 Juan Pablo Villalobos writes the true stories of eleven different teenagers who are refugees from Central America. These stories are about their experiences leaving their country and making their way to the United States. Many leave their countries due to gang violence and drugs. Many talk about the freezer they are put in, which is the room Immigration puts you in after they are caught. In one girl's story, she talks about how there is not enough room for everyone to sit down in the freezer and they are there for days at a time without enough food. Some dealt with very dangerous situations trying to cross borders, including crossing a rough river with an infant. One writes about how he had to ride in the luggage compartment on a bus with other people, feeling like he was suffocating in the small space. The Other Side is split up into eleven different stories about kids and their different journeys to the United States. This is a great nonfiction book. I loved how it was split up into the different stories. Author: Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
Published: 2020 Stamped, as the author Jason Reynolds repeatedly tells us, is not a history book like we are used to reading. Instead, this is a book that contains history all the way up until now. The goal of this book is to get readers to understand why our world is the way it is when it comes to race starting way at the beginning with the world’s first racist in the 1400s all the way up until now with the Black Lives Matter movement. There are three types of people: segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. Segregationists believe that the races aren’t equal and should be separated. Assimilationists believe that non-white people are equal and are fine as long as they act like white people. Antiracists believe that all races are equal and should be allowed to be who they are. Reynolds writes about people from history belonging to all three categories who had an influence over how race was and still is viewed in our world. Stamped is a very important book. The way Reynolds presented his information was very easy to understand. Very good nonfiction read. Author: Diane Guerrero with Erica Moroz
Published: 2018 Diane was fourteen-years-old when she came home to find that her undocumented parents had been detained and were deported soon after. Because Diane was born in the United States, she is a citizen, but her brother and parents were not, and they lived in fear of being deported every single day. With her family gone, Diane relied on the kindness of her friends' families to take her in and let her live with them. No government agency ever even checked in with her to find her a place to live. If not for her friends, she would have been homeless or put into foster care. Diane, who is best known for her roles in Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, writes about how her family decided they needed to leave Columbia for a better life. When they got to the United States, they tried to become citizens but were taken advantage of and lost thousands of dollars and made no progress. A Family Divided is a much-needed account of what it is like to live undocumented in the United States and how a young girl can rise above all the challenges in her life to achieve her dream.
Author: Gayle E. Pitman
Published: 2019 The Stonewall Riots were a series of riots by members of the LGBTQ community in 1969 that were a major starting point in the modern LGBTQ movement. By presenting objects that relate to LGBTQ history starting from the 1800s and going up through the riots in the 60s, the author tells the story and gives the context readers need in order to understand what led to the Stonewall Riots. I loved the format of this book. It really gave us a complete story. Fantastic for readers who like history or are interested in LGBTQ issues. |
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