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A review by mindfullibrarian
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
4.0
This middle grade #ownvoices novel about a Cuban-Jewish immigrant in the 1950s is a poignant story of fitting in and recovery. Ruthie Mizrahi is based on the author as a child, and the emotions of the real-life trauma are unmistakable in the story. This is a powerful tale and readers will feel all of Ruthie's pain, sorrow, and joy as she works her way through the year - from accident to body cast to bed-ridden to discovering art and finally recovery. Her friends and neighborhood are a depiction of the melting pot that America truly is, and it is a delight to have this authentic and culturally diverse book to add to middle grade shelves. Recommend for all elementary and middle school libraries.
*my one and only objection to anything in this book is a small one, but worthy of mention from a current school librarian and former special education teacher. Ruthie mentions and objects numerous times during the book to being placed in the "dumb" class in school because of her beginning English skills. While I understand this was the term used at the time in the 1950s, I do cringe a bit thinking of this word being used during a read-aloud of this book in schools, or having students encounter this word and depiction of special education while reading independently. If I were reading this to students, I would either 1) discuss how "dumb" was used during that time period, but now we all know that that is not what special education classes are, or 2) replace the word during read-alouds. In my mind, this is worth mentioning to students during booktalks and such.
I received a digital ARC of this title for review - all opinions are my own.
*my one and only objection to anything in this book is a small one, but worthy of mention from a current school librarian and former special education teacher. Ruthie mentions and objects numerous times during the book to being placed in the "dumb" class in school because of her beginning English skills. While I understand this was the term used at the time in the 1950s, I do cringe a bit thinking of this word being used during a read-aloud of this book in schools, or having students encounter this word and depiction of special education while reading independently. If I were reading this to students, I would either 1) discuss how "dumb" was used during that time period, but now we all know that that is not what special education classes are, or 2) replace the word during read-alouds. In my mind, this is worth mentioning to students during booktalks and such.
I received a digital ARC of this title for review - all opinions are my own.