My Time Among the Whites by Jennine Capó Crucet

MY TIME AMONG THE WHITES by Jennine Capó Crucet is a series of essays about the author’s Latinx experience. I have been moved by her writing in the past, particularly the difficulties of being a first generation college student which she featured in her earlier novel, Make Your Home Among Strangers. Here, she revisits some of that time and those feelings as well as writing about events like how her name was chosen and about her marriage to a white man with the difficulties of honoring both of their families’ traditions at the ceremony. Crucet also comments on the American Dream (especially as a child of Cuban immigrants), on her relationship with her father, and on wanting to be a writer and professor. These essays, which the author calls "notes from an unfinished education," will provide another perspective as we continue to work on ideas related to equity this year at school. Here are just a few examples of comments that will prompt reflection: “How many times did you see version of yourself in charge of your learning community?” and “If something feels unfair to you as a white person, it’s likely that equality is actually being achieved in that moment.” Crucet writes openly and frankly about belonging and about being viewed as different; she thereby elicits a range of emotions from humor to anger to hope. Booklist recommends MY TIME AMONG THE WHITES for teen readers, saying “Crucet's culture clash with her foreign-born parents and school experiences will resonate with young people of color.”

10/11/19 Update: Crucet's novel was assigned for Freshman classes at Georgia Southern.  Hard to believe that some students had such an extreme and negative reaction.  They need a second semester assignment - and a chance to discuss Crucet's newest work along with DiAngelo's White Fragility.

Reading, Reading, Reading!!

Happy Labor Day – here are a couple of great resources to help with the "work" of developing a love of reading! 

 

HOW TO RAISE A READER by Pamela Paul (My Life with Bob) and Maria Russo is a fabulous resource from the editors of The New York Times Book Review.  In this very helpful text geared to parents, Paul and Russo use four sections (Born to Read, Growing a Reader, Your Middle Grade Reader, and A Reader for Life) to offer ideas and titles for young people from babies to teenagers. As a high school librarian, I was most interested in the fourth section where the authors point out that “literature can provide powerful company” and “many lifelong readers remember adolescence as a time of intense immersion in books, a period in which you read to help figure out who you were, what you believed in, and where you stood in the world.” They define a Young Adult (YA) book as one which “plunges the reader directly into the experience of being a teenager – that confusing, exhilarating, hormone-fueled, high stakes time when you really don’t know what the future will hold for you or what adulthood is really like.” In addition, they mention several sites like Book Riot, The YA Bookshelf, and Girl Plus Book, which help readers stay informed about new YA titles. Paul and Russo also offer a lengthy lists of themed books (dealing with fear and bravery, kindness and empathy, family stories, etc.) for ALL ages. The choices are informed and varied – we plan to check the YA recommendations against our high school collection, but a quick review says we have many they recommend on our shelves already. Please stop by if you would like to discuss HOW TO RAISE A READER with any of our librarians.

 

JIM TRELEASE'S READ-ALOUD HANDBOOK is now available in its 8th edition, revised and updated by Jim Trelease and Cyndi Giorgis.  This title is truly a “classic” work worth consulting by anyone with children younger than 8^th grade. Trelease has spent decades advising on children’s literature.  In 2010, Penguin named THE READ-ALOUD HANDBOOK as one of the 75 most important books it had published in its history. This new edition has chapters about the Importance of Dads and on the Impact of Electronic Media on Reading. Giorgis is currently a professor at Arizona State University where she, too, promotes the importance of reading aloud, especially to younger children. 

 

Another 2019 title worth considering is Meghan Cox Gurdon’s The Enchanted Hour; this first book from the Wall Street Journal’s children’s book reviewer received a starred review from Library Journal.  

A Door in the Earth by Amy Waldman

A DOOR IN THE EARTH by Amy Waldman (The Submission) is a complex text. In this novel, a recent Berkeley college grad and Afghan-American named Parveen is inspired by the earlier efforts of Dr. Gideon Crane to bring medical care to women in Afghanistan.  She decides to take a risk and retrace his steps, to live in a remote village for a few months in order to better document changes in attitudes and experiences for these women. Of course, the changes and observations which Parveen makes about the contrasts between her earlier life and current circumstances are fascinating, too, such as when she reflects on the items in her suitcase or on returning to a pre-digital life. Thinking about the absence of the written word, Parveen muses, “reading was perhaps the only learned behavior that became as involuntary as breathing. It couldn’t be unlearned, couldn’t be switched off, … Only now did she feel … how much work, how much filtering, her brain had been doing to withstand it.” And flashbacks allow for incorporating provocative comments by her professor: “Might opens the door for mission, which in turn justifies might.  Controlling land and bodies paves the way for saving souls, and saving souls solidifies control over land.” 

If there is any criticism of this novel it is that Parveen seems unwilling or unable to trust the evidence of her own eyes and, as a result, parts of the novel move slowly. However, Waldman is masterful at helping readers to appreciate the Afghan culture, particularly the role of women. While reading, many will recall the popularity and subsequent controversy associated with Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea – I was surprised to learn that Jon Krakauer had written Three Cups of Deceit, one of the many texts that Waldman consulted when writing this. Her references to media portrayal by “usual prominent white men (Charlie Rose, Tom Friedman, Tom Brokaw, David Brooks)”, the military, and America’s use of “kind power” are certainly thought-provoking and Waldman’s latest novel is a title worth considering as an addition to our Global Voices class’ syllabus.  A DOOR IN THE EARTH received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus.