December 31, 2014

Teens and Poverty

Teen Librarian Toolbox has highlighted books on hunger and poverty in teen literature. Karen Jensen makes a good point that we think of YA books as mostly aspirational stories of characters with great privilege, beauty, and wealth, but there are many titles that present the reality of teen poverty, as well. And YA literature should be a space for readers to both experience lives similar to their own and to learn about diversity, to stretch and to be held.

I have been thinking of lot about the gross excesses and need that are starkly obvious at this time of year and how ambivalent we feel about it all and how overwhelming consumerism and struggle are. 2014 in America was about many things, including oppression and protest and record numbers of homeless people in shelters.

For another fictional look at the news, at outrage and protest, try Kekla Magoon's How It Went Down, which is about a black teen shot and killed by a white man and the aftermath of it all.

Posted by kathryn at 03:39 PM

If you liked this, then try...

Let's not let paranormal and dystopian YA overshadow the beautifully written and heartbreaking realistic fiction in the teen lit world!

I have a few recommendations for you if you prefer the latter:

If you liked the unlikely romance of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, then try Like No Other, by Una LaMarche far superior, in my humble opinion.

If you liked and were empowered bySpeak by Laurie Halse Anderson and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, then please give Wildlife by Fiona Wood and Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero a try.

If you liked and cried over The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, then try Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts.

Posted by kathryn at 03:24 PM

December 17, 2014

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, a first novel by Isabel Quintero, is told in diary entries that include conversations, poems, and even a zine. High school senior Gabi Hernandez’s voice is lively and her life is full and complicated. She copes with her intense feelings about her identity and body and her chaotic family, first by binge eating and later, by reading and writing poetry. As an example of bibliotherapy, Gabi was many times more effective for this reviewer than Meg Wolitzer’s Belzhar (Dutton Juvenile, 2014.) While Gabi has the right to be as dolorous as Belzhar’s Jam, this novel is buoyant where Belzhar was leaden. Gabi is a survivor who deals with her struggles with humor, enthusiasm, and joy. While her own character is the fulcrum of the story, Gabi‘s friends and family are vivid, infuriating, and entertaining. They include her friend, Sebastian, recently openly gay, her best friend Cindy, newly pregnant, her mother, also pregnant and controlling of Gabi’s behavior, her little brother, and her meth-addicted father.
This is also one of the few Young Adult novels that deals with weight and overeating in an authentic, empathetic, and sensitive way. Aside from Quintero’s thoughtful and enjoyable storytelling, the novel satisfies readers looking for diversity. Adolescence is the crucial stage of identity formation, and teens (and adults!) will relate to Mexican-American Gabi’s ambivalence about her mother’s traditional ways. Fans of the CW telenovela Jane the Virgin might be interested in this book.

Speaking of Jane the Virgin, star Gina Rodriguez just decided that she's a feminist! Information is powerful!

Posted by kathryn at 04:28 PM
Recent Entries
Teens and Poverty
If you liked this, then try...
Gabi, A Girl in Pieces
Other Web Logs
News
Books
Children's Room
Teen Book Buzz
Archives
June 2015
May 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
January 2012
December 2011
September 2011
May 2011
April 2011
October 2010
September 2010
June 2010
April 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
April 2008
January 2008
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
November 2006
October 2006
Takoma Park city seal THE LIBRARY IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK
Call the desk at 301-891-7259
Contact the director by e-mail