Scan barcode
richincolor's review against another edition
3.0
Take a moment to admire the cover. Go on. Cute, isn’t it?
Open Mic is an anthology with a colorful mix of stories in different mediums. Gene Luen Yang discusses the problematic casting of Avatar: The Last Airbender movie using comics to tell his story. G. Neri lays out a cultural map of Berlin using a blend of humor and free verse poetry to describe a multi-cultural family in a place not quite ready for diversity. Debbie Rigaud creates a snapshot of the relationship between Simone and her great-aunt Ma Tante.
One story in particular stood out to me: Mitali Perkins’ story gave me a glimpse of her teenage life. The story centers around Mitali and her two sisters playing the Game of Guys and being perfectly comfortable with who they were. Recognizing Mitali in her own story, I realized how personal each of the stories in Open Mic were. The autobiographical thread running through the short stories and poems is a story in itself. The story told is, like the title says, a story of life between cultures.
My main complaint is that of length. This would have been so much better if there had been, well, more. Only ten stories? The last work, Naomi Shihab Nye’s gorgeous poem “Lexicon,” left me wishing Open Mic would continue on. The value in this sort of anthology is that it’s so rare — an anthology written about and by people who have actually experienced life between cultures. These are voices that need to be heard. Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of ten voices, there were hundreds? Thousands? Here’s hoping many more such anthologies will follow.
Recommendation: Borrow it from the library when it comes out.
Open Mic is an anthology with a colorful mix of stories in different mediums. Gene Luen Yang discusses the problematic casting of Avatar: The Last Airbender movie using comics to tell his story. G. Neri lays out a cultural map of Berlin using a blend of humor and free verse poetry to describe a multi-cultural family in a place not quite ready for diversity. Debbie Rigaud creates a snapshot of the relationship between Simone and her great-aunt Ma Tante.
One story in particular stood out to me: Mitali Perkins’ story gave me a glimpse of her teenage life. The story centers around Mitali and her two sisters playing the Game of Guys and being perfectly comfortable with who they were. Recognizing Mitali in her own story, I realized how personal each of the stories in Open Mic were. The autobiographical thread running through the short stories and poems is a story in itself. The story told is, like the title says, a story of life between cultures.
My main complaint is that of length. This would have been so much better if there had been, well, more. Only ten stories? The last work, Naomi Shihab Nye’s gorgeous poem “Lexicon,” left me wishing Open Mic would continue on. The value in this sort of anthology is that it’s so rare — an anthology written about and by people who have actually experienced life between cultures. These are voices that need to be heard. Wouldn’t it be great if, instead of ten voices, there were hundreds? Thousands? Here’s hoping many more such anthologies will follow.
Recommendation: Borrow it from the library when it comes out.
livcg's review against another edition
3.0
After the first few pieces, I was tempted to abandon this collection. So glad I held on - the two longer poems near the end ("Under Berlin" by G. Neri and "Lexicon" by Naomi Shihab Nye) were stunning! Fav bit of prose was Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich's "Confessions of a Black Geek." I could see myself using those and a few others in the classroom, easily.
Recommend for: exploring different perspectives, quick lit, discovering authors.
If you liked: The Hate U Give, Long Way Down, An Abundance of Katherines
Recommend for: exploring different perspectives, quick lit, discovering authors.
If you liked: The Hate U Give, Long Way Down, An Abundance of Katherines
kayceereads's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4/5 stars
I picked up this book on a whim on my last library visit and I am very happy that I did. Open Mic is a middle grade short story collection with a wonderful array of authors that speaks about race, sexuality and culture through own voices. Most of the stories are imbued with humor and warmth even as the issues are difficult for the characters. My star rating is the average of all the stories.
The collection has stories from: David Yo, Gene Luen Yang, Cherry Cheva, Debbie Rigaud, Mitali Perkins, Varian Johnson, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, G. Neri, Francisco X. Stork, and Naomi Shihab Nye.
All of the stories were well written and relatable. My favorite of all was Brotherly Love by Francisco X. Stork which tells the story of Luis, a young boy, who has an eye opening conversation with his older sister about their older brother and accepts something about himself in the process. I felt that story deeply.
I recommend this read and will be passing it on to the middle school teachers I know as well as adding it to my library.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
I picked up this book on a whim on my last library visit and I am very happy that I did. Open Mic is a middle grade short story collection with a wonderful array of authors that speaks about race, sexuality and culture through own voices. Most of the stories are imbued with humor and warmth even as the issues are difficult for the characters. My star rating is the average of all the stories.
The collection has stories from: David Yo, Gene Luen Yang, Cherry Cheva, Debbie Rigaud, Mitali Perkins, Varian Johnson, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, G. Neri, Francisco X. Stork, and Naomi Shihab Nye.
All of the stories were well written and relatable. My favorite of all was Brotherly Love by Francisco X. Stork which tells the story of Luis, a young boy, who has an eye opening conversation with his older sister about their older brother and accepts something about himself in the process. I felt that story deeply.
I recommend this read and will be passing it on to the middle school teachers I know as well as adding it to my library.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
evermore84's review against another edition
4.0
Open Mic is a quick, humorous read in which ten different authors share how their cultural identity shaped their experiences growing up. It gives readers a chance to walk in someone else's shoes for a while and learn what it's like to grow up in a different culture. I enjoyed every piece, and I appreciated how several different formats were used to tell their stories. I tried to pick a favorite selection, but I think they were all fairly well-written and entertaining. I wish it had been longer and included even more voices! This would be a great addition to a K-12 school library or a public library YA collection.
crystaleec's review against another edition
5.0
Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices
Edited by Mitali Perkins
Published on September 10, 2013
Published by Candlewick Press
Source: Net Galley
Using humor as the common denominator, a multicultural cast of YA authors steps up to the mic to share stories touching on race.
Listen in as ten YA authors — some familiar, some new — use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Henry Choi Lee discovers that pretending to be a tai chi master or a sought-after wiz at math wins him friends for a while — until it comically backfires. A biracial girl is amused when her dad clears seats for his family on a crowded subway in under a minute flat, simply by sitting quietly in between two uptight white women. Edited by acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins, this collection of fiction and nonfiction uses a mix of styles as diverse as their authors, from laugh-out-loud funny to wry, ironic, or poignant, in prose, poetry, and comic form.
In her introduction to this book, Mitali Perkins makes it clear that its goal is to use humor “to break down barriers and draw us together across borders.” Each story in this volume is as different as the author who wrote it—different cultures, locations and experiences—but all of them show how even those we perceive as being “different” share embarrassingly laughable moments.
From David Yoo, who writes about a young Chinese boy who decides to use all of the Chinese stereotypes to his advantage, and soon finds himself in over his head, to Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetic account of growing up Palestinian-American, there’s something for every teen’s taste. I would recommend this book for older teens, just because there are some mild references to sex, but I think anyone over the age of 13 will relate to at least one of these hilarious stories. Even though I didn’t grow up “between cultures,” as Perkins calls it, I can definitely relate to the embarrassment that each of these characters faced. That, I think, speaks to the power of this simple book. By laughing together, we come together.
Edited by Mitali Perkins
Published on September 10, 2013
Published by Candlewick Press
Source: Net Galley
Using humor as the common denominator, a multicultural cast of YA authors steps up to the mic to share stories touching on race.
Listen in as ten YA authors — some familiar, some new — use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Henry Choi Lee discovers that pretending to be a tai chi master or a sought-after wiz at math wins him friends for a while — until it comically backfires. A biracial girl is amused when her dad clears seats for his family on a crowded subway in under a minute flat, simply by sitting quietly in between two uptight white women. Edited by acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins, this collection of fiction and nonfiction uses a mix of styles as diverse as their authors, from laugh-out-loud funny to wry, ironic, or poignant, in prose, poetry, and comic form.
In her introduction to this book, Mitali Perkins makes it clear that its goal is to use humor “to break down barriers and draw us together across borders.” Each story in this volume is as different as the author who wrote it—different cultures, locations and experiences—but all of them show how even those we perceive as being “different” share embarrassingly laughable moments.
From David Yoo, who writes about a young Chinese boy who decides to use all of the Chinese stereotypes to his advantage, and soon finds himself in over his head, to Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetic account of growing up Palestinian-American, there’s something for every teen’s taste. I would recommend this book for older teens, just because there are some mild references to sex, but I think anyone over the age of 13 will relate to at least one of these hilarious stories. Even though I didn’t grow up “between cultures,” as Perkins calls it, I can definitely relate to the embarrassment that each of these characters faced. That, I think, speaks to the power of this simple book. By laughing together, we come together.
whiteyrainbow's review
3.0
extremely humorous but for some reason is unable to garner five stars. I really liked it though
sorokowskij's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed each of the short stories in this collection. New and familiar voices meld together to create an important and diverse book.
crystalreading's review against another edition
4.0
Review copy: Library
Open Mic provides glimpses into that territory of straddling two cultures. Ten different authors used a bit of humor, remembrances from their past, and their writing talent to create a unique collection of works that spoke to me in different ways. I appreciated that there were even a variety of forms. The book contains poetry, non-fiction, a comic, and short stories to show readers what it can be like to live between cultures.
At the very beginning, Mitali Perkins shares a few rules about the humor in the stories. To view the rules, visit her guest post over at Cythia Leitich Smith's blog. She seems to believe that humor can make conversations more pleasant, less serious. I would have to agree.
As I look back over the ten stories, I notice that although many of them contained humor, a significant number of them were dealing with pretty serious issues. The line, "I thought I knew the face of racism" from "Confessions of a Black Geek" speaks volumes. Gene Luen Yang's comic is a fascinating look into a bit of activism delivered in a matter of fact tone. Other stories, simply tell about life as a teen and include some of the complications of living between cultures and facing typical teen issues.
The pieces that wrung my heart the most were "Confessions of a Black Geek" by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, "Brotherly Love" by Francisco X. Stork, and "Lexicon" by Naomi Shihab Nye. The face of racism is exposed in one and a heart is broken, a boy sees himself through his sister's eyes in another, and the other shows the soul of a loving man, friend to all.
Others in this collection came with more laughter than tears. I loved the amusing game that a family plays on the subways and the stereotype defying characters in several stories. There are playful moments mixed with everyday events and on occasion ugliness. Overall, the stories are upbeat and encouraging. Beyond sharing cultural issues, the stories also speak to anyone who has been an outsider for any reason.
I would definitely recommend this book to readers of young adult lit. The pieces are fresh and meaningful without being preachy. I would love to see more works like this and am hoping for a second volume.
The original review was posted at http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-open-mic.html
Open Mic provides glimpses into that territory of straddling two cultures. Ten different authors used a bit of humor, remembrances from their past, and their writing talent to create a unique collection of works that spoke to me in different ways. I appreciated that there were even a variety of forms. The book contains poetry, non-fiction, a comic, and short stories to show readers what it can be like to live between cultures.
At the very beginning, Mitali Perkins shares a few rules about the humor in the stories. To view the rules, visit her guest post over at Cythia Leitich Smith's blog. She seems to believe that humor can make conversations more pleasant, less serious. I would have to agree.
As I look back over the ten stories, I notice that although many of them contained humor, a significant number of them were dealing with pretty serious issues. The line, "I thought I knew the face of racism" from "Confessions of a Black Geek" speaks volumes. Gene Luen Yang's comic is a fascinating look into a bit of activism delivered in a matter of fact tone. Other stories, simply tell about life as a teen and include some of the complications of living between cultures and facing typical teen issues.
The pieces that wrung my heart the most were "Confessions of a Black Geek" by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, "Brotherly Love" by Francisco X. Stork, and "Lexicon" by Naomi Shihab Nye. The face of racism is exposed in one and a heart is broken, a boy sees himself through his sister's eyes in another, and the other shows the soul of a loving man, friend to all.
Others in this collection came with more laughter than tears. I loved the amusing game that a family plays on the subways and the stereotype defying characters in several stories. There are playful moments mixed with everyday events and on occasion ugliness. Overall, the stories are upbeat and encouraging. Beyond sharing cultural issues, the stories also speak to anyone who has been an outsider for any reason.
I would definitely recommend this book to readers of young adult lit. The pieces are fresh and meaningful without being preachy. I would love to see more works like this and am hoping for a second volume.
The original review was posted at http://readingtl.blogspot.com/2014/02/review-open-mic.html