andee_zomerman's reviews
758 reviews

I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame by Brené Brown

3.0

I did like this book, though I don't know that it is up to the caliber of Brown's more recent works. However, a lot more years have passed with a lot more shame research, so that makes sense. I think I would have appreciated this more had I read it when it first came out. If you are a Brown fan like I am, it is still worth your time. However if you are just starting to read, I would go with Daring Greatly or Rising Strong.

Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds

5.0

The poetry and the illustrations and the feelings and the words and damn this Covid and damn this violence and damn this White supremacy. Where else do I go with this. Own this book. And listen to the kids reading the book in audio book form.

Recommended for everyone.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

3.0

This book went in waves from great to meh to why? for me. I enjoyed the essays where Gay writes about her own experiences. But most felt like book reports and movie reviews. Once I found out most of these essays were previously published in periodicals, it made more sense.

I, too, am a bad feminist for sure. It was good to have that affirmation.

Boogie Boogie, Y'All by C. G. Esperanza

5.0

I totally loved this appreciation of street art. Spray paint can be used for good or bad - and the culture of graffiti art have become masterpieces. Read this for the super fun way Esperanza shows love - but sit with the illustrations to truly appreciate.

Recommended for everyone.

Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert

5.0

Colbert deserves every award for this non-fiction tale of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Diving into other racist tragedies as well, the story of Black Wall Street is built up and humanized so we are still truly devastated by the murders committed over a few days in 1921.

I also appreciated the hideous explanations of WHY most of America had never heard about this until HBO's Watchmen series covered it. (We are a nation who learns by media, after all.) I hope we, especially those in public schools, can remedy this.

Also among my favorite parts was the Afterward. Thank you, Brandy Colbert, for your words in print so that the horrific events of 2020-2022 (Please, God, not longer) are recorded. Your background references were spot on. And the racism still in place 100 years after the massacre needs to be shared in every way possible.

Recommended for middle school and up.

Fat Girls Hiking: An Inclusive Guide to Getting Outdoors at Any Size or Ability by Summer Michaud-Skog

3.0

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

What a delightful book about the "non-outdoorsy stereotype" saying screw you to social norms and getting out to enjoy nature and each other. Started small, and then with a facebook group, and then with chapters all over the country, this book includes personal stories as well as trail hints.

I love the practical advice given that all hikers should know. And while my family isn't obese, we do have physical problems that could use hints about accessibility on trails. As a fellow Portland, OR resident, I appreciate this book and can't wait to share it with all of my friends!

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

3.0

Last night, as I neared the end of the story, my husband asked me what the book was about. I just stared at him. I knew - but I didn't know how to explain it. This is obviously something I need to remedy before giving a book talk!

A fantasy genre - Jam lives with her two parents and hangs with her best friend, Redemption. A monster/angel escapes from her mother's painting to hunt. What is it hunting? Another monster in a land where monsters are supposedly gone.

There are many diverse topics in the story: transgenderism, polyamorous relationships, selective mutism, gender fluidity, abuse - I'm sure I'm missing some. It was a lot and yet, didn't take over the story.

I think 6th grade and up would appreciate the book. I'd say for more advanced readers because the plot is not spelled out for you...you have to dig.

Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman by Kristen R. Lee

3.0

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this story.

Though it's long, I love the title. How many "disenfranchised freshman" (among other classes) are there? Especially Black students at a mostly white institution. One where the rich can buy their way in.

I know students of color will relate. As an older, white woman it angered me. I think a lot of our students will get encouragement from it.

Who Was Frederick Douglass? by April Jones Prince, Who HQ

5.0

I always joke that adults should read these books meant for mid-elementary aged kids. But they are full of information and even I learned from this copy. (I really didn't know when Douglass remarried it was to a white woman.)

Everyone should read the Who/What Was/Is series. So much info in a little bit of time.

New from Here by Kelly Yang

4.0

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for review.

Kelly Yang does it again. She can grab historical fiction or current events to teach kids social justice and compassion when they think they are just reading for enjoyment.

In New From Here, most of the Wei-Evans family moves from Hong Kong to San Francisco at the start of the coronavirus believing the virus will never hit the states. Dad and dog stay back in Hong Kong to work. Mom loses her job right after the move, so job hunting is on the list for her while the kids get settled in new schools. Again...at the start of COVID.

The kids are the caretakers in this book (adults will need to read with a suspension of disbelief). We read the story from Knox's point of view. Confused by Dad so far away, new friends, watching his brother deal with racism, and dealing with his own ADHD is a lot for one kid. But family sticks together, and that's just what the Wei-Evans' do.

Always love Kelly Yang. Recommend for grades 3 and up.