Ken Burns and The Vietnam War

THE VIETNAM WAR by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns is the book accompanying the new documentary film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick which premieres on September 17; here is the official trailer:

There is more information on the pbs site about schedules, making of the film and an opportunity to share more stories. The book is told in chronological order, ranging from 1858 and the French presence to April, 1975 and the US departure.  Frankly, it is hard to believe that it has been more than 40 years since the Vietnam War ended and 58,000 Americans died, but writing in their introduction Burns and Novick acknowledge that Vietnam was a war of many perspectives and they vow to “faithfully reflect those seemingly irreconcilable outlooks.”  The text which is filled with many photographs, offers perspectives from soldiers, the homefront, Washington, Saigon and Hanoi. THE VIETNAM WAR received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus and we will have a copy in the library soon. You can already read a short excerpt on the publisher's web site.

Ken Burns is appearing in Chicago this week and some of those discussions will be aired on pbs’ Chicago Tonight. Expanding beyond a solely American story, both the book and film are likely to receive awards while stirring memories and emotions from a divided time in our nation’s history.

THE REFUGEES by Viet Thanh Nguyen

THE REFUGEES by Viet Thanh Nguyen is an extremely well-written collection of emotional stories which received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.  Although somewhat sophisticated for many of our high school readers, THE REFUGEES does explore themes of assimilation, family, identity, and loneliness.  Viet Thanh Nguyen provides selections such as “Black-Eyed Women” which is a ghost story about losing a brother during the family’s horrifying boat escape or “The Other Man” in which a gay couple invites a Vietnamese refugee into their home and he struggles with language and cultural differences.   

As I prepared the review for this book, I was surprised to see the number of recently published books about refugees, particularly those intended for younger students.  If you are searching for lesson plans about refugees, consider this one for high schoolers which also deals with media bias and was made available last week by the Choices Program at Brown University.   

Viet Thanh Nguyen received numerous awards, including the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, for The Sympathizer which some of our students have used as a main text for Junior Theme.  Enjoy THE REFUGEES, since as Nguyen says, “Stories are just things we fabricate, nothing more.  We search for them in a word besides our own, then leave them here to be found, garments shed by ghosts.” 

September Young Adult Fiction Titles ...

I have been reading some newly available Young Adult Fiction and even though they are from different publishers there was certainly similarities and a great deal of teenage angst over relationships in each.

My favorite was The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely.  Normally, I would shy away from a book with “love story” in the title, but this one is not so much about romance as it is about family, belonging, the legacy of Vietnam, coming of age and responsibility, Alzheimer’s, and racial identity.  Sounds like almost too much, but award-winning author Brendan Kiely effectively raises important questions while offering an entertaining travelogue.

The main characters are Teddy Hendrix, his grandfather, Gpa, and his school friend, Corinna.  The three embark on a cross country trip from LA to Ithaca, New York in order to help Gpa more firmly retain his memories of Gma and an earlier time.  Along the way, music and playlists from the 60’s and 70’s are cleverly incorporated into the The Last True Love Story in a very enjoyable way.  One recurring theme in the book is “the point of living is learning how to love” so readers do learn about the courtship between Gpa and Gma, plus flashback to their marriage during the Vietnam war era.  All of which contrasts with the growing attraction between Hendrix and Corrina. She is from Guatemala and struggles with identity both as an adoptee and as a person of color, yet she is able to reach outside herself and help Gpa and Hendrix as they deal with the range of emotions and behaviors associated with Alzheimer’s.  The Last True Love Story received starred reviews from both Kirkus and School Library Journal. Students will find something to relate to in this story, which will definitely encourage discussion and reflection.   

 

In addition, I read a preview of Kids of Appetite by David Arnold.  This title also shares the adventure of a road trip where main characters Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco take off in reaction to his Mom’s decision to remarry and her need to flee an abusive situation. Along the way, Vic and Mad need to confront a murder and plan to disperse his dad’s ashes. The preview of a few chapters was intriguing, but less memorable than expected from the author of Mosquitoland which won numerous awards. Kids of Appetite received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Voya. I am certainly curious to read the entire book which will be available on Tuesday, September 20.  

Finally, I began The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker by Kat Spears.  I have very much enjoyed her other novels, like Breakaway or Sway, but this one was simply too “high school” for me.  The characters, especially Luke Grayson, were rather immature and so very self-centered (and therefore almost caricatures) that it was difficult to feel any empathy for them. Sadly, Luke moves to a new school in an insular community and is subjected to bullying from other students and from adults (like the police chief and principal) who should know better.  Luke receives little, if any, support from his family and no-one except for Roger, who employs him and is a bit of a social outcast, seems willing to listen. I thought that Kat Spears’ earlier works (reviews linked above) were stronger than The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker  and would recommend beginning with those other titles instead.   

Do you have a new Young Adult (YA) title that you have really enjoyed?  Let us know as we have begun booktalking them to classes and want plenty of popular works to be available.  Some past student favorites are shown on this ever-changing Libguide: http://newtrier.libguides.com/independentreadingsophomore212