The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Another selection on the September LibraryReads list is THE WATER DANCER by Ta-Nehisi Coates.  Our students read and discuss Coates’ award-winning Between the World and Me, but this is something very different, involving magical lights and superpowers. I was expecting more traditional historical fiction due to its Southern plantation setting and focus on the institution of slavery. Although Coates does use aspects of the historical period to explore the tension between duty to self (should one escape and make a better life) and duty to family, the novel also contains elements of fantasy and seems somewhat more akin to Colson Whitehead’s writing (our students also read The Intuitionist, for example). Wall Street Journal reviewer Sam Sacks says, "there's a lot of talk in this novel, but not enough tale." Coates extensively researched the Underground Railroad and speaks in the video below with PBS NewsHour’s Jeffrey Brown about the differences between history and myth:

Coates has an extensive tour planned; specifically in Chicago, he will be speaking at a FAN event to be held at Evanston High School on Friday, October 4 beginning at 7:00 pm. More info about Ta-Nehisi Coates and his new book is available from CBS this morning, NPR’s Fresh Air, and this New York Times review.  THE WATER DANCER received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Each month LibraryReads posts a list of 10 recommended titles; this post and some subsequent ones will be an opportunity to comment on several of the those recommendations. The favorite overall was RED AT THE BONE by Jacqueline Woodson, a new coming of age novel set mostly in Brooklyn about several generations in one family. Melody is the youngest, now sixteen which is basically the same age as her mother Iris when she found out she was unexpectedly pregnant. Those two share narration duties with Melody’s father, Aubrey, and her grandmother, Sabe, married to Po’Boy. Woodson is adept at exploring the idea of fate: “Knowing that there’s so much in this great big world that you don’t have a single ounce of control over. Guess the sooner you learn that, the sooner you’ll have one less heartbreak in your life.” Personally, I found the story to be well-written, but mostly descriptive. I think students would look for more action. RED AT THE BONE received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.