A Review of 'From Somalia, With Love' by Na'ima B. Robert

"My name is Safia Dirie.  My family has always been my mum, Hoyo, and my two older brothers, Ahmed and Abdullahi.  I don't really remember Somalia-- I'm an East London girl, through and through.  But now Abo, my father, is coming from Somalia to live with us, after 12 long years.   How am I going to cope?  Safia knows that there will be changes ahead but nothing has prepared her for the reality of dealing with Abo's cultural expectations, her favorite brother Ahmed's wild ways, and the temptation of her cousin Firdous's party-girl lifestyle.  Safia must come to terms with who she is-- as a Muslim, as a teenager, as a poet, as a friend, but most of all as a daughter to a father she has never known.  Safia must find her own place in the world, so both father and daughter can start to build the relationship they both long for.  From Somalia, With Love is one girl's quest to discover who she is-- a story that, while rooted in Somali and Muslim life, strikes a chord with young people everywhere."

When I was in the middle of student teaching, this book was one that sat on the book shelf.  I made eye contact with it a few times, but I never picked up this book at the time.  When I learned that my mentor teacher was leaving that school to pursue her Ph.D. and she was going through her things and giving things away, I went back to get this book, but it was already gone.  So I found this book a different way and read it on my Kindle.

I think I started reading this book after I was offered a job at the school where I currently work and I was looking for books I could use for a unit on identity.  I think I will use this book for literature circles rather than teaching this book on its own.

Growing up in the schools that I went to and where I student taught, I knew a lot of Somalian people, but I really didn't know a thing about their culture.  This book was helpful in that it started me on that path to learning more about Somalia and Somalian people (although of course everyone is different, no matter what country you come from).  And besides that, it helped me understand a bit more about what it's like when you arrive from your home country in a new one... what adjustments need to be made and more importantly, the changes that one typically goes through when you move somewhere entirely different.  You can't be one person in one place and be that same person when you move permanently to another place.  That's what I've experienced in the short time I lived abroad and what I have been learning the more I read about experiences like this.  While I didn't know it at the time, this has really started my reading journey about immigration.

This book is, I would say, good for younger readers-- between 6th and 8th grade, I would say.  But it would also work for high school students.  I would like to use this book in my classroom, so I'll have to let you know how this book goes over with them.

Overall, I give 'From Somalia, With Love':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl: A Memoir' by Carrie Brownstein

"From a leader of feminist punk music at the dawn of the riot-grrrl era, a candid and deeply personal look at life in rock and roll.

Before Carrie Brownstein co-developed and starred in the wildly popular TV comedy Portlandia, she was already an icon to young women for her role as a musician in the feminist punk band Sleater-Kinney.  The band was a key part of the early riot-grrrl and indie rock scenes in the Pacific Northwest, known for their prodigious guitar shredding and their leftist lyrics against war, traditionalism, and gender roles.

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is the deeply personal and revealing narrative of Brownstein's life in music, from ardent fan to pioneering female guitarist to comedic performer and luminary in the independent rock world.  Though Brownstein struggled against the music industry's sexist double standards, by 2006 she was the only woman to earn a spot on Rolling Stone readers' list of the '23 Most Underrated Guitarists of All-Time.'  This book intimately captures what it feels like to be a young woman in a rock-and-roll band, from her days at the dawn of the underground feminist punk-rock movement that would define music and pop culture in the 1990s through today."

This book was not what I expected it was going to be.  The first time I saw Carrie Brownstein at work was when the show Portlandia was just starting to pick up.  I was not even remotely aware of Carrie's past in the music industry.  It was fascinating to read about, especially because I don't have experience in creating a band and rising to any amount of success.

One big takeaway I have from this book is how life can be so different for women who create rock music over the men who create it.  I feel like I should have known this, but rock music is very male-centered.  I didn't realize that Carrie Brownstein and the rest of Sleater-Kinney and other all-female rock bands really had to carve their place in the world.  I guess I'm in a position where I can take this for granted because I can benefit from their music now and dabble.  So I appreciated Carrie's honesty in the real struggles that she went to to make this dream happen for herself.

I think one more important take-away was talked about closer to the end of her memoir.  After Carrie had been part of Sleater-Kinney for a while, she had more and more health complications come up and that made it hard for her to continue with Sleater-Kinney.  As hard as this was to read that something so important to her was coming to an end (largely by necessity), it was still a hopeful ending because she was able to find her next sort of life project, or professional project.  It's nice to know that when your big goal is accomplished or when it's no longer possible to continue with that dream, there can be something else that comes after.  Life is not over.

I think this is a read meant for those who are really into this feminist rock scene (I was very much an outsider while reading this), but nevertheless, I feel like I got a few gold nuggets out of this read.

I give 'Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl':

1/2

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Life On Mars' by Tracy K. Smith

"You lie there kicking like a baby, waiting for God himself
To lift you past the rungs of your crib.  What
Would your life say if it could talk?

--from "No Fly Zone"

With allusions to David Bowie and interplanetary travel, Life on Mars imagines a soundtrack for the universe to accompany the discoveries, failures, and oddities of human existence.  In these new poems, Tracy K. Smith envisions a sci-fi future sucked clean of any real dangers, contemplates the dark matter that keeps people both close and distant, and revisits the kitschy concepts like 'love' and 'illness' now relegated to the Museum of Obsolescence.  These poems reveal the realities of life lived here, on the ground, where a daughter is imprisoned in the basement by her own father, where celebrities and pop stars walk among us, and where the poet herself loses her father, one of the engineers who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope."

Okay, I'll admit, I read this book partially because I wanted to increase the number of books that I had read this year... poetry is a really good way to do this.  But my husband also read this book the first year of his undergrad and I think this book of poetry surprised him.  So I wanted to read something that he seemed to like.

But... I just couldn't get into it.  I didn't catch on from the beginning so by the time I reached the end, I hadn't bought in and I hadn't gotten what I wanted to out of this book of poetry.  Too many references I didn't understand, maybe.  

I'll leave this review disappointing and short, I suppose.  I don't think this book was meant for me to read.  And sometimes that's okay.  I recognize that.  I won't denounce this book as a bad read or anything like that, just simply 'not for me.'

I give 'Life On Mars':

Thanks for Reading.

--Jude

A Review of 'Exit West' by Mohsin Hamid

"In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet-- sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed.  They embark on a furtive love affair and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city.  When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors-- doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price.  As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice.  Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

Exit West follows these characters as they emerge into an alien and uncertain future, struggling to hold on to each other, to their past, to the very sense of who they are.  Profoundly intimate and powerfully inventive, it tells an unforgettable story of love, loyalty, and courage that is both completely of our time and for all time."

When I was in a book club, this was one of the books we read together.  We had heard really good things about this book, and so we were really excited to read it an dig in.

What we found was that we were left wanting more... and not in a positive way either.  We thought that since Nadia had such a strong start as a character... she had this fierce independence and was feisty from the beginning and then... I don't know what happened.  We were hoping that she would continue this trend because Nadia was such a great character to start.  But it turns out a lot of the attention was focused on Saeed.  I wonder if it would be better if each character had their own chapters, each written from their perspective.  I think that would have given each character, especially Nadia, more agency as characters.

It was an interesting concept of having people escape from their home countries through a series of magical doors.  I wonder if, from the perspective of someone who has needed to escape their home country, this is a wish that they have.  That they could just arrive at their final destination.  To just start settling and figuring out what their new normal is going to be.  I'd be interesting in hearing others' thoughts on this.

Overall, this was not as engaging of a book as I hoped it would be... I likely won't be rereading this.

I give 'Exit West':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year' by Esme Raji Codell

"A must-read for parents, new teachers, and classroom veterans, Educating Esme is the exuberant diary of Esme Raji Codell's first year teaching in a Chicago public school.  Fresh-mouthed and free-spirited, the irrepressible Madame Esme-- as she prefers to be called-- does the cha-cha during multiplication tables, roller-skates down the hallways, and puts on rousing performances with at-risk students in the library.  Her diary opens a window into a real-life classroom from a teacher's perspective.  While battling bureaucrats, gang members, abusive parents, and her own insecurities, this gifted young woman reveals what it takes to be an exceptional teacher.

Heroine to thousands of parents and educators, Esme now shares more of her ingenious and yet down-to-earth approaches to the classroom in a supplementary guide to help new teachers hit the ground running.  As relevant and iconoclastic as when it was first published, Educating Esme is a classic, as is Madame Esme herself."

When I got my job teaching in East St. Paul, my 9th grade English teacher was so excited and brought all of her old things that she used to teach us (lots of Romeo and Juliet materials, but lots of other things too).  One of the things that she kindly gave me was this book.  On a weekend right before I was to receive my first ever set of students, I blazed through this book.

It was a really nice reminder why I wanted to be a teacher.  It was very affirming.  She came into her classroom and assumed the best of her students.  She believed in her students so fiercely that there was very little chance they wouldn't do well.  I truly believe that believing in students and supporting them until they have no choice but to succeed is an important piece to making sure that the people we're meant to be preparing for the future are ready to take on this challenge.  Especially because they've had success with other challenging things in their lives.

This book it partially responsible for pumping me up and making me remember why I wanted to be a teacher and more importantly, thinking about the kind of teacher I wanted to become.

I recommend this book for any new teacher, even if you're not teaching elementary school like Madame Esme is.  I will be interested in reading this again down the line after I have more experience under my belt.

I give 'Educating Esme':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'All That She Can See' by Carrie Hope Fletcher

"Feelings are part of life-- feelings are life.  If you take away what people feel, you take away anything meaningful.  Wanting to diminish the evil in this world is a good cause, one I have fought for the majority of my life, but not like this...

Cherry has a hidden talent.  She can see things other people can't and she decided a long time ago to use this skill to help others.  As far as the rest of the town is concerned she's simply the kind-hearted young woman who runs the local bakery, but in private she uses her gift to add something special to her cakes so that after just one mouthful the townspeople start to feel better about their lives.  They don't know why they're drawn to Cherry's bakery-- they just know that they're safe there and that's how Cherry likes it.  She can help them in secret and no one will ever need to know the truth behind her gift.

And then Chase arrives in town and threatens to undo all the good Cherry has done.  Because it turns out she's not the only one who can see what she sees...

A story of love, food, and a little bit of magic All That She Can See is an enchanting and beautiful novel that's guaranteed to be the most magical story you'll read all year."

I follow Carrie on YouTube, so when she announced that she was releasing her second fiction book, I was excited.  It's not that I loved her last book On the Other Side, but I saw potential in it, so I preordered this one.

This is another book that had mixed reviews.  I thought that this book showed improvement over her last novel.  The name combinations kind of drive me nuts, but I thought overall this story had an interesting concept behind it.  Cherry is a talented baker and she uses this odd bit of magic to infuse different foods with positive feelings in order to help people feel better.  Not to make everyone happy all the time, but cheer people up, balance their emotions.  So she spends a few months to a few years in different towns depending on how downtrodden to residents of the new place she's living in feel.  The more downtrodden, the longer she stays because there's a lot more work to do.  I thought this was a lovely thought.

Knowing the conditions that Carrie was writing this book in-- between rehearsals and performances, as she's an actress and has lately been in a few touring shows that keep her away from home-- several parts of this book felt rushed or incomplete.  And Carrie's books have a tendency to become kind of preachy... like, her characters feel so artificial at times.  They say things and it doesn't feel like they're delivering a genuine message like when she says something similar in her videos.

One part that I thought had potential but was missing something was the part about the Guild.  There is an organization that keeps tabs on people that can see emotions and especially if those people are messing with emotions using their abilities.  Cherry is caught by this group.  I feel like this group would have been better to read about if we were given some kind of clue earlier in the story, or if they showed up a bit more often.  Right now, it felt like it was tacked on at the end, like she needed a good way to end her story.

Overall, there is a definite improvement to this story over her last story and I did get some enjoyment out of it.  Carrie has another book coming out in... I believe July.  It's called When The Curtain Falls and I have preordered it, so I'm looking forward to reading it.  I'm a little worried that there will be similar issues that Carrie is being pulled in too many different directions to really pay this book the attention it deserves to make it a really great read.

I give 'All That She Can See':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Lumberjanes: Friendship to the Max' by Noelle Stevenson

"What a mystery!

Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are not your average campers and Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types is not your average summer camp.  Between the river monsters, magic, and the art of friendship bracelets, this summer is only just beginning.  Join the Lumberjanes as they take on raptors and a sibling rivalry that only myths are made of.

This New York Times bestseller and Eisner Award-nominated series is written by awesome all-star Noelle Stevenson and brilliant newcomer Grace Ellis, and illustrated by the tremendously talented Brooke Allen."

Once I finished the first installment of Lumberjanes, I was so excited to keep reading this series!  The fun continues in this whirlwind of a graphic novel.

I'll keep things short here, because I really do believe that these books need to be enjoyed with as few spoilers as possible from start to finish.  I enjoyed how funny it is and how fearlessly themselves all of the characters are.  I love this about the entire series (or at least what I've had the privilege to read so far).  The other piece that I thought was absolutely fascinating was the inclusion of a mythology piece.  It was unexpected, but it worked, so it was very believable with the rest of the story.  And since these are stories that I had heard of before, even just in passing, it sort of lent credibility to help the rest of the story along.

I can't say enough positive things about this series.  I think they're best enjoyed in volumes so that you can settle in with this story, so if you can get ahold of a full volume, definitely do!

Overall, I give 'Lumberjanes: Friendship to the Max':

Thanks for Reading!

--Judes

A Review of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

 "Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage.  The play will receive its world premiere in London's West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-aged children.

While Harry Potter grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted.  As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

I bought this almost as soon as I heard about it and since that point, it's just been sitting on my shelf staring at me.  I don't know why it took me so long to read this.

This book comes with mixed reviews.  From what I could tell, people either really, really liked it or had extreme beef with it.  I'm... somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards having beef with it.

Overall, I thought the story was engaging.  Time travel is definitely overused and it's misunderstood enough where you can bend the logic behind it.  I thought that this play assumed too much about time travel, both that extreme things can happen if you change even one small detail from the past and that you can change things back to how they were "meant" to happen.  I think that when you include time travel in your story, you're demanding a lot of buy-in from your audience, just because time travel tends to work differently across different stories that we have access to.

As I was reading and watching reviews prior to reading this play, one major complaint was about how Harry was portrayed.  At one point as things have gotten more complicated between Harry and his son Albus, he essentially says that he wishes he [his son] had never been born.  He admits that he said this in a moment of weakness, but because of his past and because of his experience of family (a very fragile experience to say the least), it's very unlikely that he would have actually said and even momentarily meant to say something like this to his son, of all people.  Not after experiencing abuse his whole life from a variety of adults in his life.

A lot of the dialogue was just awkward... like, I would read some of the lines and I couldn't even imagine what they would sound like as part of an actual show.

One thing I did appreciate was the friendship between Scorpius and Albus.  It was nice to see the products of good and evil, so to speak, come together.  Something I'm still wondering though is... why does Gryffindor and Slytherin continue to be mortal enemies of each other?  Obviously Voldemort is dead and there has been several years of healing... you'd think there would be more of an opening for inter-house friendships... I guess it just felt like so much hadn't changed even though the cast of characters passing through Hogwarts was very different from when Harry went to school.  Hogwarts should be a totally different place.  That's been my experience of schools whenever students come through.

Overall, I'm glad I read this, but I won't be reading it again.  It was nice to be brought back into Harry's world in a way that I won't be able to ever again with the original series.  I'll never be able to read the books for the first time again.  But it felt like the writers of this play only had a passing knowledge of Harry's world, so I likely won't be making a return trip.

I give 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude