A Particular Kind of Black Man by Tope Folarin

A PARTICULAR KIND OF BLACK MAN by Tope Folarin is a distinctive reading experience.  Although it is possible to read this debut work in a few hours, Folarin raises life issues and creates characters who will haunt his readers for much longer. The story is told by Tunde Akinola, born in 1981 to parents who had immigrated from Nigeria due to a college scholarship for his father. The family (including a two years younger brother, Tayo)  live in Utah for several years, but, despite optimism and effort, his father never capitalizes on the opportunity. The reader must ponder to what extent that is due to some basic character flaw and/or the challenging circumstance of being one of the few black men in the area. It is all too much for Tunde’s mother who returns to Nigeria, leaving Tunde with deep-seated feelings of abandonment.  The many vignettes presented here range from 1987 to 2004, paralleling Tunde’s time at middle school, high school, and college; they are interspersed with transatlantic telephones calls to his grandmother in Nigeria.  The writing feels so immediate and intimate that the reader cannot help but appreciate and relate to Tunde’s struggle for a sense of identity and belonging. Tope Folarin, a Rhodes Scholar and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, is most definitely a writer to watch. 

A PARTICULAR KIND OF BLACK MAN received a starred review from Booklist and is on Time magazine’s list of “32 Books You Need to Read this Summer.”

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin

ILLEGAL by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin with illustrations by Giovanni Rigano is an extremely informative and moving graphic novel.  I am definitely recommending it to our Geography teachers, although it should have wide appeal to anyone interested in this crisis. This is a very quick but impactful read which will build empathy and prompt discussion. Following up with a role-playing and/or simulation involving refugees like the one from World Relief Seattle or using lesson plans from Teaching Tolerance would be very memorable.  The Refugee Project has a series of amazing interactive maps built on data from the UNHCR which could also be used. And, PBS POV in conjunction with its lesson plan for the documentary 4.1 Miles, suggests checking out The Refugee Center for volunteer opportunities. Our high school students have worked successfully with Chicago’s RefugeeOne. The list could go on and I hope that ILLEGAL’s publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, will add more to the UK based groups that appear in the text.  Colfer, Donkin and Rigano’s graphic novel received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and VOYA. Perhaps the authors and illustrator will collaborate further on telling the story of life in the camps or as a resettled immigrant?  

Indian Summer by Marcia Willett

INDIAN SUMMER by Marcia Willett is a relatively gentle read which uses multiple story lines to explore a theme about the imperfections in what it means to be human.  Archie and Camilla inherited a sprawling property in Devon, the West Country of England.  Also living nearby is Sir Mungo Kerslake, a famous director and Archie’s brother.  The farm area has been worked for a long time by two other brothers Philip and Billy, now aided by their grandson, Andy.  A renovated cottage has recently been let to Emma who has two very young children and a husband serving as a doctor in Afghanistan. It all seems very peaceful and perhaps even dull to James, an aspiring author looking for a setting for his next novel.

In some ways, the valley, filled with friends, happy memories and good food and wine is indeed restful, but there is more than a hint of violence.  Many of those characters are dealing with secrets and betrayals; others with painful recollections of love affairs and deaths.  I originally picked up INDIAN SUMMER because of the beautiful, colorful cover and the author’s reputation. I will look for more by Marcia Willett whose writing has been compared to works by Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde Pilcher, two other personal favorites.    


Escape to a totally different climate is involved in SOUTH POLE STATION by Ashley Shelby.  Set around 2004, this novel involves a community of eccentric characters (another review labels them as “brilliant misfits” or “nerds and oddballs”) who are literally forced to spend time with each other at a scientific outpost at the South Pole. There is plenty of debate about climate change and the value of science vs. art since a main character, Cooper Gosling, is at the station due to a National Science Foundation grant for Artists and Writers. Thirty year-old Cooper is mourning her brother and trying to re-ignite her painting.  Varied motivations exist for the other community members but debut author Shelby aptly (and often humorously) describes the claustrophobic, insulated atmosphere and the many rituals involved in surviving in such an isolated place. This work made me think of another debut novel, Bleaker House (although that is set in the Falkland Islands, it also involves an artist/writer finding herself), and about a young adult novel, Up to This Pointe (a coming of age story which is set at the South Pole).  SOUTH POLE STATION received a starred review from Library Journal and seems particularly timely given all of the recent news about icebergs breaking away from Antarctica.