The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow

THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY by Alix E. Harrow is a new book with an absolutely beautiful cover and an absolutely beautiful beginning. Harrow is a talented writer, describing a doorway as “a dividing point between here and there, us and them, mundane and magical” and commenting on the word Door: “There, look how tall and proud the word stands on the page now, the belly of the D like a black archway leading into white nothing.” She tells two parallel stories – one about Ade, a young girl living in the late 1800s, who meets a ghost boy from another world and then spends years looking for him, and another story about January Scaller, a troubled mixed-race child with a dog named Bad who is betrayed by her guardian, Mr. Locke. Both stories are imaginative and pull in the reader; I just did not like flipping between them. In addition, I thought that the pace of this debut novel really slowed and therefore found it difficult to stay interested at times, despite the wonderful writing and unique blend of historical fiction and fantasy. Booklist recommends THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY for teens, saying “Young adult readers will relate to January as she grows into herself and discovers the world around her.” I do think that teen – and adults – will enjoy these adventures and find much to consider in the commentary on social class. Readers just need to be patient as the novel unfolds, for “it is at the moment when the doors open, when things flow between the worlds, that stories happen.”

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.”

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING by Randy Ribay is excellent and I am highly recommending this newly available title.  The publisher, Kokila, is a Penguin Random House imprint “dedicated to centering stories from the margins with books that add nuance and depth to the way children and young adults see the world and their place in it.”  They have certainly succeeded with this coming of age novel which centers on a high school senior, Jason/Jay who was born in the Philippines, but raised in the United States by his Filipino father and American mother.  As a roughly 10-year-old child, Jay (with his parents and siblings) had visited family in the Philippines, where he developed a special relationship with his same age cousin, Jun. That young man and his younger sisters, Grace and Angel, led a privileged life due to their father’s role as a police chief.  But conflicts erupted in the family, causing Jun to run away and live on the streets, eventually being killed by anti-drug vigilantes sanctioned by President Duterte.  The sad news has a strong impact on Jay and he decides to spend his spring break returning to the Philippines, trying to learn more about his cousin’s death. In its starred review, Booklist says, “By deftly weaving key details into Jay’s quest for the truth, Ribay provides a much-needed window for young people of the West to better understand the Filipino history of colonization, occupation, and revolution.” PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING also received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal; the latter described the novel as “Part mystery, part elegy, part coming of age, this novel is a perfect convergence of authentic voice and an emphasis on inner dialogue around equity, purpose, and reclaiming one's lost cultural identity.” 

Because of the ties to World History, I have been actively encouraging Sophomore English teachers to consider adding PATRON SAINTS OF NOTHING to the curriculum.  Hopefully, the publisher will be able to support this effort with a discussion guide and other teacher resources.  NPR recently posted an interview with the author, Randy Ribay.

As a side note, my fellow librarians and I have been previewing other possible texts including Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo (set in 1930s Malaysia and recipient of multiple starred reviews) and Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson (achieved six starred reviews and was named a New York Public Library Best Book in 2017). These, too, will expand student horizons by introducing memorable characters and situations.