This collection of "notes" from Jose Antonio Vargas tells his story as an undocumented citizen in the United States. Vargas' mother organized for him to fly to the United States from the Phillippines when he was eleven years old. It wasn't until years later when he went to get his driver's license that he learned that his mother and grandparents had used fake documentation for Jose to get into the U.S. and that he was technically undocumented. Vargas goes on to become a successful and high profile journalist in the United States, but he trusted only a few people with his status along the way. Clearly, Vargas has revealed his status to the world now and lives with a great uncertainty. My mom recommended this book to me. I found it easy to read and a really important story to hear. Coincidentally, I am learning about the immigration process through a few avenues right now, and Vargas' voice is central to that learning. He quite clearly articulates what it like to feel American yet be denied American-ness. While some parts of Vargas' story were more tense and intriguing than others, they are all essential to his narrative. Highly recommend.
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In this book, famed radical activist Abbie Hoffman lays out how to live free in America in the 1970s. Chapter topics range from getting free food and entertainment, to how to start an underground newspaper, to how to construct a smoke bomb. Hoffman is so deeply against The Man to the point that he would rather you steal his own book than pay for it (unless you patronize a small independent store). I do not remember where I heard about this book, but I was excited to get my hands on it. Hoffman's philosophy is loud and clear in the guide book and I really learned a lot about the systems in America. As of my reading on 2019, it was vastly clear how much culture and structure has stayed the same since 1970 and how much has changed (for example, Hoffman explains how to get free airfare by discreetly slipping into the line to board the plane and flashing an empty envelope to the gate agent... as if that would get you a seat on a flight today). This is a good book for radicals of all ages, though not for the faint of heart. Bryan Stephenson is a lawyer working in and near Alabama. He and his nonprofit, Equal Justice Initiative, work to provide legal representation for individuals who have been wrongly sentenced to death or to life in prison. Stephenson structures the book around a single case, that of Walter McMillian, but includes many other stories as he goes. The sweeping connection between the cases in this book is that the people who are incarcerated should not be there. Walter McMillian's case alone is mind-boggling in how he was ever imprisoned to begin with. This book was recommended by a colleague when I said I wasn't too jazzed about starting the year with Reginald Rose's *totally important* Twelve Angry Men. She shared how Just Mercy had recently energized her regarding the play, so I had to give it a read. And by golly, this book is riveting. Stephenson's work is so important and his narrative is so clear that I could not help but recommend this book to more people than I have fingers. Give it a go. Former First Lady Michelle Obama's memoir starts with her life in South Chicago and takes the reader all the way to her last days in the White House. She tells vivid stories with tremendous heart. While there may still be some secrecy and discretion about some things political, this memoir feels wholeheartedly authentic. This book is on everyone's radar. After a few people told me they read it, I got on that AADL waiting list in the 400th position. Thankfully, my cousin-in-law had a copy I could read so I didn't have to wait a year at the library. I loved this book. I loved the first two sections about Michelle Obama's childhood-young adulthood and then the early years married to Barack Obama. I found her so relatable, inspiring, and powerful. She nearly brought me to tears a number of times throughout the book and I know I will be thinking and talking about this one for quite some time. In this latest book from celebrity Chelsea Handler, she opens up about her transition towards having a more serious impact in this world. Handler's book is structured around her progress with a new therapist in the years between her E! show and new Netflix ventures. I have been a fan of Chelsea Handler since her E! show for her apparent honesty amidst the veil across the celebrity community. Her words pack a punch and they continue to do so in this book. Handler's writing is relatable and entertaining. This book might be called a memoir or an autobiography. It is definitely a testimony. Chris Wilson grew up around Washington DC and started with a safe, happy childhood. Then some things changed. He ends up getting sentenced to life in prison at the age of seventeen. Despite his terrible odds of getting out of prison, Wilson works his butt off in the system, wins the court-date lottery, returns to civilian life in his thirties, and now has a few successful businesses. His story is incredible. A colleague recommended this book to our entire department, so I requested it at the library. The Master Plan was a quick read for me in part because the text isn't terribly difficult, but also because Wilson is so impressive, relatable, and compelling that I needed to read to the end. One of his lessons that has stuck with me already is the idea of proving yourself. It's his belief that people imprisoned should work to improve their skills and themselves while behind bars so that when they get out, they will have a positive track record for employment. While I did not explain that lesson as well as Wilson does, I see it as creating a platform of responsibility so that when you ask for things, others know they can trust you. I live this lesson with students often. Many students do not build a platform of responsibility before asking for exceptions, then are upset when they aren't granted special requests. But that is not how this works. Anyway, the book is great and a few students have already zipped through it and loved it. Highly recommend. Rankine's "American lyric" takes several angles at what it means to be a citizen in this country as a person of color. She writes in prose, staccato anecdotes, poetry, and more. The variety of styles reflect the varied content and Rankine's nuanced purpose in writing this collection. I read this book because it was recently approved by the school district to read as a whole-class text, but there has been a suggestion that teachers would need to be instructed on how to teach it before they lead their class through it. This made me hella curious. What kind of book do I need to be instructed on how to teach? What is in it that is more sensitive than the vulgarity and brutality of the novels I already read with students? Sure, after reading the book I am eager to discuss it with my colleagues, but I do not know that it warrants top-down instruction. Give it a read and decide for yourself. Braving the Wilderness brings up currents events happening in the world and society, and sheds light on some alternative ways to act and respond the the bullshit. In a world where you are either with us or against us. Sometimes that just isn’t the case and there are grey areas and Brene Brown helps you to understand that you don't always have to respond especially if you don’t know much about the topic in conflict. She does this by giving personal experiences that are very relatable. This book was given to me by my mom because Brene Brown is her favorite author. She is always a topic in the household when speaking truth to bullshit is required. I would give this book five stars, for the style in which it was written and the message provided. In my opinion everyone should read this book, it would probably make society a kinder place. -ES, grade 10 Activism Coming of age Feminist Many people see graphic novels as childish and light but through this reading experience I discovered quite the opposite."March" by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell perfectly executed how to make this inspiring story incredibly powerful in the graphic format which conveyed the proper mood and emotion. In March we take a first-hand look at the struggles of the Civil Rights era through the eyes of United States Congressman John Lewis. This graphic novel brings the unjust trials and tribulations forced onto black americans by white americans in the rather recent civil rights era to the forefront of the readers attention by following Lewis' life from his hard working farming childhood, to his college years where he joined the civil rights movement for black americans to eliminate social segregation based on racial discrimination. It also follows his present day life as a U.S. Congressman while preparing for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. This novel gave me an in depth look at the crucial role John Lewis played in negating the harmful effects of segregation using non-violent methods like his idol Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. although the same non-violent ways were not always used in return. I chose this book because I’m always intrigued to learn more about Black history when given the chance. This book did not disappoint at all especially with it being a graphic novel it helped me better understand what was going on and kept me interested. I give this book a 5/5 because I got to learn about the amazing sacrifices in the fight for basic civil rights for black americans by Congressman John Lewis. It’s truly inspiring story that proves classic values such as hard work pays off to be true. I can for sure say I recommend this novel. -CJH, grade 12 X by Ilyasah Shabazz is an in-depth look at the popular activist Malcolm X’s life before the reform and the protest. Before going through a religious reform, after seeing his father be murdered and his mother taken away by government officials, Malcolm Little decides there isn’t much left to do in his life, and runs away to a life of dancing, pretty girls, and reefer. Soon he starts a stint of robbing rich families to sell items for cash. After a run-in with the law, facing jail time, Malcolm decides that it’s about time he turns his life around, and finds that reform through religion, and finds religion through another man locked up. I found this book while browsing through a pile of older books I had. I had bought the book a few months before but never had the time to read it, so I figured that would be a good way to get my reading in. I immensely enjoyed the book, because instead of having to read a boring biography, I got to read the story as if it was a flashback, all in the first person and making it almost seem like it was a fictional book. After reading, it was hard to process the fact that that’s what a religious reformer’s life was like before he began his career, but it was still, all in all, a very nice story because now I know all the hardships that Malcolm X had to face before he rose up and became the man we all know him for. -AJ, grade 10 |
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June 2020
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