While I love to escape into a good fiction story, I spend a a lot of my time reading nonfiction. I love it because, even though the tale is constrained by facts, I still can be transported to different times and places and see the world through others' eyes. It has to be well-written nonfiction, though. No matter how interested I am in a topic, I don't want to read about it in a textbook. Narrative nonfiction - where the author becomes historian, scientist and storyteller - is the best kind there is. You learn while also being entertained. Below are a few titles listed on the HHS summer reading list that I really recommend.
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel WIlkerson - I'll admit that it took me a while to pick up this book. I knew its topic - the "Great Migration" of African Americans from the southern to the northern states in the decades between the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement - was important. But I was afraid the book was going to be boring, or heavy; either way, hard to get through. I was so wrong. The author focuses on three families, exploring their lives in the South, why they fled and where they went, and what happened when they got there. The descriptions of lives limited, and often cut short, by poverty and racism in the South were heartbreaking. The stories of of the hopes people brought North with them, the opportunities they found and - more often - the obstacles they faced were eye-opening. The North was no shining star of freedom and equality, with housing and job policies set to restrict African Americans to low-paying jobs and crowded ghettos. The book helped me understand that many of the problems we have today - from crime-riddled cities to racial disparities - stem from the unfair and cruel practices of times past. All of history has contributed to where we are today, I know that. But a book like this makes the connection so obvious and hard to ignore. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery - This book by a well-known animal researcher and writer has a mouthful of a title, and is promoted as focusing on the inner workings of the mysterious octopus. While it reveals so many interesting facts, it also tells us a lot about the researchers themselves, in particular those working at the New England Aquarium in Boston. The author spent many months there, learning from the experts and observing the marine life in the huge central tank. How many of us have gone there on field trips, likely mirroring the author's awe as we stared into the tank? I consider this book a love letter of sorts to the aquarium and to the scientists who study, care for and protect all of the wildlife we love. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - This book about a young lawyer fighting to overturn the wrongful convictions of African Americans has been adapted for young adults and made into a movie. In my opinion, any version is worth your time. The book shines a light on the many flaws of our justice system, from underpaid and under-invested public defenders to racist law enforcement twisting facts to fit their narrative to poor or mentally ill defendants who cannot advocate for themselves. If you're interested in social justice, racism, law enforcement or the law, this book is for you. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - This author could write about the printing of the telephone book and I'd read it. He's just that good at spinning facts into engaging, fascinating stories. He's one of my favorites, and I've devoured his books: Devil in the White City (about a turn-of-the-century serial killer), Dead Wake (about the sinking of a ship that led the US into WWI), Isaac's Storm (a hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas), In the Garden of the Beasts (the buildup of Nazi power), and Thunderstruck (the hunt for a murderer aided by a new invention). This book follows the life of Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Great Britain in World War II, focusing on just one year - one in which France fell to the Nazis, England was nearly destroyed by months of German bombings and the United States was still trying to stay out of the war. Churchill is a mythic figure, quite a character, and this book highlights what it is like to lead a nation through tragedy. Becoming by Michelle Obama - This memoir by the former First Lady, half of the first African American couple to occupy the White House, is very moving. Reading how she overcame obstacles growing up and how she dedicated her life to helping others was inspiring. Learning more about the decisions that led President Obama to make his historic campaign was fascinating. The book also highlighted how much has changed since the 2016 election. Mrs. Obama is an accomplished, articulate, caring, funny and strong woman. While some may turn away from this book because of politics, I recommend it to anyone interested in helping others and improving our world. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson - There are many books about people embarking on epic journeys in an attempt to overcome problems (Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Wild by Cheryl Strayed). This book is more about a guy who was curious about his abilities, the nature he was venturing into and the transcendent results many people claim from such a walk. The author, a humorist and essayist who has written on many topics including the history of the English language and living as an American in Europe, decides to take on the Appalachian Trail. The trail is a nearly 2,200-mile hike from Georgia to Maine, taking months to complete and disappointing many who try to make it the whole way. The book is informative - about the trail itself, what supplies and qualities it takes to hike it, etc - but it is also really funny. The author is someone we can all relate to and his traveling buddy is someone who'd be much happier eating takeout in front of the tv on his couch.
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Since the COVID-19 pandemic has made life more challenging for all of us, Hanover High's summer reading has been changed this year to offer more choices for students and eliminate a required assignment. The recommended titles include a variety of genres, topics and lengths. This week, I'm going to review a few of the FICTION titles that I have read and really enjoyed.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely - This engaging collaboration by two writers - one white and one African American - explores racism and police violence, issues that could've been pulled from the news today. When Quinn, a white teen, sees a white police officer brutalize a Black teen, his sense of justice is turned upside down. The fact that the police officer is a trusted family friend makes the situation even harder. But the book is not just told from Quinn's point of view; the Black teen, named Rashad, tells the story too. In this way, you get to explore the incident and its repercussions not just through one lens. It's a quick read that's hard to put down and the ending offers hope for healing that might help with issues we're facing in real life. Internment by Samira Ahmed - When a book or movie is called "dystopian," it usually invokes images of a post-apocalyptic society, where law and order have broken down in the wake of a terrible catastrophe like nuclear war. Books like 1984, The Hunger Games and The Road are considered dystopian. So is Internment. Unfortunately, the premise of this story feels a little too easy to imagine. It's the near future, and the U.S. government has imprisoned all Muslim-Americans in internment camps, including 17-year-old Layla and her family. Even though they are citizens, they are stripped of their rights and possessions and considered enemies of the state. This echoes what happened to Japanese-Americans during World War II, when the U.S. declared war against Japan and considered anyone with Japanese ancestry to be the enemy even if they hadn't been in Japan for generations. It also draws on the hate and fear directed at Muslims after the September 11th attacks committed by radicals in the name of their religion. This is a fast-paced, thrilling story of tolerance and reason triumphing over fear and hate. It also highlights the danger we face when we stay silent in the face of injustice. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay - When a Jewish girl and her family are rounded up in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, the girl locks her brother in a cabinet to keep him safe. She believes she'll be back soon to let him out and resume their lives. But she never returns to the apartment and is haunted by her decision forever. Her story is uncovered by a modern-day French woman who moves into the apartment and learns she was never taught in school about this terrible roundup. Her discovery that the French government helped kill thousands of its own citizens changes her life. A heart-breaking and powerful story. With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo - Emoni, the main character of this story, is an unwed teenaged mother trying to juggle the demands of parenting, work, school and her feisty grandmother. While you might think you can't relate to her experience, I would argue you'd be wrong. Hers is a story of falling short of expectations, pushing through disappointment to pursue your dreams and overcoming financial and social obstacles - things we can all relate to no matter our culture, gender or class. Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - Part historical fiction, part fantasy, this story imagines that the famed network to freedom is a literal train running beneath the earth. I thought this idea would be hard to accept, but the author does an amazing job weaving the imaginary with the truth. The story follows Cora as she risks everything to flee from a life of brutal slavery, bringing to life the hardships of her captive life and the dangers she faced on the way to freedom. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson - During the Great Depression, when the country was sunk into desperate poverty, sometimes the only hope and diversion people could find came from books. But some rural towns were far from a library, so the government organized a group of women to deliver the library to them. These pack librarians rode horses and mules, miles each day, through rough terrain and bad weather, bringing hope via the printed word to the hopeless. In this fictionalized account, Cussy is a young woman considered an outcast in her Kentucky community because she suffers from a rare genetic disorder that turns her skin blue. She finds purpose and joy as a pack librarian., but also faces intolerance and physical danger from those suspicious of her color or the government program. Both the pack librarians and the Blue people of Kentucky are true stories. This book tells a story of tolerance and resilience in a new light. After a much too-lengthy hiatus, I'm back with new reviews. My goal is to post a few each week to help HHS students and staff discover books that might interest them. Some connect to current events, whether the pandemic we're coping with or the racial justice movement sweeping the country. Others may be ways to escape real life.
A timely read that I recently finished was The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. Written by a Civil Rights lawyer, this nonfiction book explores how our legal system‘s decades-old War on Drugs has unfairly impacted African Americans, leading to more arrests and harsher punishments than white drug users have faced. It compares the restrictions that ex-cons face after release - limits on voting, jobs, low-income housing, and more - to the Jim Crow laws that oppressed Blacks after slavery was abolished. It is an eye-opening, disheartening look at an often unjust justice system. It pairs well with When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matters Memoir by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors. This short memoir recounts the experiences of one of the founders of BLM. Growing up in an impoverished minority community, Patrisse's brother was targeted by police and, once in the system, he was unable to find jobs, housing and health care that would help him get back on his feet. As a result, he often ended up back in jail, in a system that seemed to criminalize - instead of treat - his mental illness. The memoir makes the case for more social services and fewer prisons, and sheds light one of the biggest activist groups operating today. For a break from the world's challenges, I turned to Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Angram, the actress who played the child villain of the classic TV show Little House on the Prairie. A funny memoir about growing up in Hollywood, coping with the real-life hatred of the show’s fans and hitting your professional peak as a teen. It’s also a story of the resilience of the author, who has become an activist for sexual abuse survivors. For science fans, I recommend Spook by Mary Roach, a nonfiction exploration of the afterlife, by a writer who humorously focuses on science topics you won’t see in textbooks. She’s also written about life in space (Packing for Mars), death and dead bodies (Stiff - my favorite), the human body (Gulp) and going to war (Grunt). She’s irreverent and engaging, but also can be a little graphic for some readers. For example, in Stiff, Roach visits a place where dead bodies are buried so scientists can study decomposition, which could help police determine how long ago someone died. In Packing for Mars, she discusses how we'd handle certain bodily functions during the months-long spaceflight to the planet. |
AuthorMrs. McHugh is a librarian and instructional technology specialist. She loves talking books and pop culture with her students at Hanover High School. Archives
February 2024
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