0 Comments
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
Categories
All
|