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andee_zomerman's reviews
758 reviews
Long Way Down: The Graphic Novel by Jason Reynolds
5.0
The original is one of my favorites, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the GN version. I loved it.
While I do enjoy imagining the characters while reading prose, the illustrations added made the story even more real. Interpretations may have been different from mine, but powerful nonetheless.
Recommended to anyone who loves the original or whom has never read before. Frame-worthy artwork that gutted me as much as Reynolds' words did the first time.
While I do enjoy imagining the characters while reading prose, the illustrations added made the story even more real. Interpretations may have been different from mine, but powerful nonetheless.
Recommended to anyone who loves the original or whom has never read before. Frame-worthy artwork that gutted me as much as Reynolds' words did the first time.
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Cheryl Willis Hudson, Wade Hudson
4.0
In 2016, so many lives were rocked off of their foundations when Trump was elected president. In an elementary school at that time, I had 5 year old black and brown children crying to me, "But, Mrs. Z, he HATES us!"
They weren't wrong.
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a response from authors, poets, and illustrators we trust, putting a hand on children's shoulders, letting them know to push on. (When I'm sure they were wondering how to push on, themselves.)
Recommended for every age. If a child is too young to read, read the words to them.
They weren't wrong.
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices is a response from authors, poets, and illustrators we trust, putting a hand on children's shoulders, letting them know to push on. (When I'm sure they were wondering how to push on, themselves.)
Recommended for every age. If a child is too young to read, read the words to them.
Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
4.0
Nick and Charlie - meet cute story but why 3 volumes??? I need a one and done. Now I need the next 2 to get the whole story. Part 1 was good enough that I will continue.
Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel in Verse by Jane Yolen
3.0
A book in verse. A girl of poetry, leaving an abusive home to find her voice. Where? The house in the woods with chicken feet, the house of Baba Yaga.
I'm always interested in Baba Yaga stories, the witch in a pestle and mortar. This is a quick read and an encouragement to teen girls to find their voices.
I'm always interested in Baba Yaga stories, the witch in a pestle and mortar. This is a quick read and an encouragement to teen girls to find their voices.
Runner by Carl Deuker
4.0
Such a fantastic read. Perfect for your kid who likes action/adventure. No one decides they want to commit crimes. It just - happens. So when you live with your dad who has no money and your job is cut in hours, what do you do when bills are due and you'll be out on the street if the rent isn't paid?
Chance decides that running a backpack on errands for a whole lot of money may not be so bad. After all, he doesn't know what he's picking up and delivering. But when the obvious becomes known, should he give it up?
Recommend for grades 7 and up.
Chance decides that running a backpack on errands for a whole lot of money may not be so bad. After all, he doesn't know what he's picking up and delivering. But when the obvious becomes known, should he give it up?
Recommend for grades 7 and up.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
5.0
Any time a book sends me off to find other books to dive more into a subject, it gets 5 stars from me.
I had learned about the Dust Bowl and the horrors of what over farmed land can do to society. What I didn't know a ton about was what happened after fellow Americans made it to the California border. We know Americans today can treat "outsiders" like crap for not being "one of their own". And in the last 5 years - we know we treat fellow countrymen the same.
While Hannah took some liberties with dates, the stories she tells happened to many. My own grandparents in their 20s left farming in the midwest for the charm and work in Southern California. Oh to have them here now so I could ask more questions than I was ready to ask as a teenager.
I highly recommend. I could not put the book down.
I had learned about the Dust Bowl and the horrors of what over farmed land can do to society. What I didn't know a ton about was what happened after fellow Americans made it to the California border. We know Americans today can treat "outsiders" like crap for not being "one of their own". And in the last 5 years - we know we treat fellow countrymen the same.
While Hannah took some liberties with dates, the stories she tells happened to many. My own grandparents in their 20s left farming in the midwest for the charm and work in Southern California. Oh to have them here now so I could ask more questions than I was ready to ask as a teenager.
I highly recommend. I could not put the book down.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
4.0
The story of Mallard, a light skinned community where dark is bad and appearing "white" is good. It seems like far to reach fiction, yet the more I read about racism in communities of color - the more disgusted I am about the notion of skin color determining who you are.
When twins, Desiree and Stella, take leave of their small town as teenagers, life becomes different for the both of them. Desiree goes on to marry a dark man and has a beautiful daughter with "blue/black" skin. Stella cuts off all contact and passes over to white. One suffers. One lives in luxury. (I bet you can guess which is which.)
When the twins' daughters meet by happenstance, ideas and stigmas fall into place. What happens when nothing you knew is true? A good story about race and what it causes us to be.
When twins, Desiree and Stella, take leave of their small town as teenagers, life becomes different for the both of them. Desiree goes on to marry a dark man and has a beautiful daughter with "blue/black" skin. Stella cuts off all contact and passes over to white. One suffers. One lives in luxury. (I bet you can guess which is which.)
When the twins' daughters meet by happenstance, ideas and stigmas fall into place. What happens when nothing you knew is true? A good story about race and what it causes us to be.
Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao
3.0
A cute story about a Chinese girl who "rents" a boyfriend to impress her parents and get them off her back as they push her toward marrying the community rich jerk.
The author's note in the beginning states, renting a significant other is popular in other cultures when clients trying to please the traditional parents want something different. There is much to learn in this story; culture, definitions of success, pleasing parents. Plus, it's just a cute story.
The author's note in the beginning states, renting a significant other is popular in other cultures when clients trying to please the traditional parents want something different. There is much to learn in this story; culture, definitions of success, pleasing parents. Plus, it's just a cute story.