A Sentence Served

Percy Carey lived a life that felt like the average life of a gang-banger, and then also seemed utterly spectacular. In Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, he tells his story, including his rise from the streets and his fall from grace. 

Percy got his first taste of attention from his time on Sesame Street, but it wasn't until he decided to be the baddest emcee that he had a true dream. Yes, he grew up on the streets, but they weren't the kind of streets you hear about. He had an amazing, strong, butt-kicking mother who would do anything to protect her children. He had a good stepfather, and lived in a neighborhood where the mantra "It takes a Village" is more like a lifestyle. But there was another element to his life and world that couldn't be ignored: the gangs. 

Percy was a smart guy, and even though it set him apart, he loved to read and write. When he declared his intention to emcee, he knew it would lead him places, included the ultimate battle. Whether living on the east or the west coast, his life was tumultuous, dangerous, and exciting. And for a smart man like Percy, that excitement was what he was ultimately looking for. Unfortunately, it had consequences he could never escape; far deeper than prison or parole, he suffered a fate he could never have imagined. 

Here is the important thing about this story. It isn't just a glorification of life on the streets. Money, fame, girls, objects, drugs, lifestyle. All those are there, but there is more. That life can't live forever. It burns out quick, and Percy learned that lesson the hard way. After the shooting left him paralyzed, he even found he had no place int he legitimate world. He tried, he really did, but he had no skills. The legit world didn't want him. So he went back to the world he knew: drugs, the streets, and a crew to watch your back.

I liked this story so much because I was constantly surprised. I went into it expecting a story of a kid on the streets who wanted to be Dre or Snoop, but instead ended up in a wheel chair. And yes, this story is that, but it is also so much more. This story is full of paradoxes and confusion as to how Percy got here, but more importantly, it is a story of how our surroundings shape us. If this kid had been born someplace else, he could have become a lawyer or a politician as opposed to learning about law in jail in order to get his sentence reduced. It takes a village, but that village can also define us, and I hope this story is a lesson to its readers of how to break out of that definition. This isn't a pretty story all tied up in bows, but it is a gritty, dark, fabulous story of a man who had to fall before he could pick himself up. 

A March Upon Me

We all learned about the Civil Rights movement, but our generation didn't live through it. We never had segregated bathrooms or restaurants that would take the money of one race and still not let them sit at the counter. However, just because we have never lived through THE Civil Rights Movement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others, it doesn't mean we haven't experienced the battles for Civil Rights first-hand. We watch the rights of one group or another trampled upon regularly, but what kind of person are each of us? Would you stand up against injustice? Or would you be a quiet bystander? Or would you fight to maintain the status quo?

Congressman John Lewis is no standard politician. He was part of the Civil Rights movement that led to the end of segregation in our country. In this simply amazing graphic novel, he tells his story of how life on a sharecropper's farm led to a life of freedom, movement, and justice in a world that didn't like the color of his skin. 

The story starts with a mother and her young boys entering Lewis' office to show the boys where their history started. Lewis, still in the office, begins to answer the boys questions and tells them how he came to be a part of the march on Washington, and how he left that farm in Alabama to serve a higher purpose. It is the first part of a truly inspiring story that I am waiting with bated breath to continue. I have known about John Lewis, but I don't think I could have asked for a better rendition of his life than we get with this story- it is full of history, anecdotes, real sentiments and emotions, and so much more.

The beauty of this graphic history is how it draws out the true nature of nonviolence. We have all known about nonviolent protest and how successful it has been in our history, but have you ever thought of how those people remained so passive and polite when they were being beaten for simply believing they had a right to sit at the local restaurants counter? Seeing this training they all went through was so hard to experience through these words and illustrations, it kept me talking about it for a long time after I was finished. Luckily, my husband had read the story before me and was a captive audience, because this book left a need to talk in me once I had finished. 

Do the people who did and said these awful things every regret their actions? The police who beat passive protestors, are they ashamed of their actions? How do they tell the story to their grandchildren? Do they tell them of how they brought their billy sticks down upon a legend like John Lewis? My husband and I talked about this story for hours, pondering the movement, the purpose of nonviolence, the people behind the fight for Civil Rights, and so much more. If we could be so captivated, I think anyone can. Whether you are a lover of graphic stories, history, strong leaders, or just a good story, this is one for you. Simply amazing, and I really hope the sequel is available soon, if for no other reason than to continue those amazing conversations I enjoyed so much!

History Made Accessible

No student should leave their high school without having learned about Charles Darwin and the work he conducted. From evolution to natural selection, Darwin is iconic for a true understanding of organisms and science of the five kingdoms. In this graphic adaptation of The Origin of Species, Michael Keller has taken this relevant book and created a version that preserves the language and true feel of Darwin's studies while making it graphically appealing. I think even Darwin would be proud of this story.

I am not going to go into depth with the story of Darwin and the Beagle because if you are looking at this adaptation, you understand the relevance of the book to begin with. But I do have to say I thought the original story was beautifully captured in this adaptation. Everything from the connections he made to come to the idea of natural selection to the controversy surrounding his theories was beautifully depicted either through the words themselves or beautiful illustrations that told the story in a different and equally as strong manner. Our students don't truly understand the risks Darwin was taking in coming forward with these theories, but this book does that controversy justice. The language holds true to the original, but with the illustrations, I think this story is finally accessible to your average young adult students. 

I have been looking into graphic novels, but in particular, into non-fiction graphic novels, as a means to draw students into more challenging works. For instance, I loved the graphic novel Primates, and plan to delve into Feynman as soon as possible. These books are truly opening doors to information many of our students would not otherwise access. While they would benefit from this information in its original form, they might not necessarily choose a book written so long ago. This type of adaptation bridges that gap, and I am grateful for it. I look forward to finding more adaptations like this! So if you have a student studying biology who really needs to know about the life and studies of Darwin but won't read Origin? Pick up this book!

Just Like You

"I swear to you fat is not an emotion. I wish you could hear that... it'd spare you lots of self abuse."

Typically, Young Adult authors are adults. Sure, they have lived through high school and their awkward teenage years, but they aren't currently entrenched in them. Perhaps they have glorified those times, or maybe they view them like being the lone survivor of a zombie plague- all alone and waiting to be devoured by the beasts surrounding you. Either way, they aren't part of the target audience for whom they write their books. So can they make the young adults they write for believe they lived through the same situations? Yep. With one book. In Dear Teen Me, a collection of letters from the authors to their teen selves, you will get a glimpse of just how much they can connect to the teens they write for.

"You know there is no way in hell a guy like him would ever kiss a girl like you, you think."

There are moms who left. Left behind was a girl who had to raise her younger siblings and needed her grandmother to buy her first bra for her. Dads who left an never called, creating an almost obsessive need for attention of any kind. There was a dad who suffered from mental illness in a way that devastated her childhood. And there were great parents who loved, comforted, angered, yelled, supported and loved some more.

"Here's the thing: You're a freak. Always were. Always will be. One day you'll love this about yourself. But right now you hate it."

There are band geeks, theater dropouts, book nerds, smart kids, dancers, jocks, chubby kids, and so much more. Some had a defining moment like when Big Bern (scary Sister Bernard Agnes) recognized you were a fish out of water and suggested you spend some time in the library, the exact spot where you finally fit in. Some just floated through, realizing only now that they missed an amazing opportunity. But they all have something in common. They had no idea who the hell they really were and who the hell they were going to be one day. And that was OK. Because eventually, they would know. 

"The goose egg on your forehead will heal, but the loose thread in your moral fiber is probably still there to this day."

There were bullies. Some were expected, and some were unexpected. Those were inexplicably sadder. Sometimes the bullied became the bully just to turn the tide a little bit. There were cruel taunts and jabs that will stay with you forever. But there were friends. A girl who let you know it is OK to stop worrying about homework and tests and just be free. Friends who want to play Dungeons and Dragons or belong to the breakdancing group right along with your rhythm-less self. And did you know Lauren Oliver and Elizabeth Miles were friends in school?! How awesome and crazy is that?!

"Keep dancing by the highway, you splendid little dork."

There are first crushes, first kisses, and attempts to lose your virginity. There are milestones and drudgery, but it is all that time you need to spend finding yourself, losing yourself, and finding yourself again. This is all the advice you wish someone had told you when you were a teenager, but then you stop and realize even if they had told you, you would have ignored them and made those same mistakes again. This book should not only be read by students from middle school through their young adult years, but also adults as well. Parents, teachers, and just the woman debating whether or not to go to her high school reunion because she was once an awkward young girl who dreaded every day of high school. I loved this collection. Loved it. And there is nothing you will ove more than watching someone realize those very authors you look up to were struggling through the same horror show you went through during adolescence. (And not Rocky Horror Picture Show, kind of horror either. There was no bustier and singing. This was more like Jason and hockey mask). 

"PLEASE stop pretending you don't know the answers in math class! It's okay to be smarter than they boys. Really. They'll get over it."

Ladies: Champions of the Primates

Having just read Endangered by Eliot Schrefer, it seemed fortuitous that I would wander into a local bookstore to find this little gem facing out at me from a shelf in the children's department. Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas is a graphic, slightly fictionalized history of the three women who started with Louis Leakey and transformed the world's knowledge of the great apes.

Jane Goodall is probably the most well known of these three women, and she was the first woman Leakey was successful in sending to study the great apes. When his former secretary wasn't successful with the chimpanzees (or terribly interested), Goodall, a woman with no formal degree or experience in conducting such a study, was sent. It was there that she conducted some of the most groundbreaking research ever done on the chimpanzees.

Dian Fossey didn't wait for Leakey to discover her, she hunted him down and demanded to be sent to study the mountain gorillas. Leakey, still convinced women are better at this kind of research, put her study together and sent her. It was there that the gorillas became the life and death of Dian Fossey. Her refusal to back down from dangerous people's protection of the poaching of the gorillas was her undoing, but even in death, she is a champion for these beautiful animals.

 Birute Galdikas is the least known of these three women. Having come to Leakey after Fossey and Goodall, she was most interested in the illusive orangutans. Lucky for these creatures, their ability to fade into the mist also made them difficult to hunt, which was a protection in and of itself. Galdikas herself was as illusive as her orangutans, but the research she gathered is still unmatched.

This was a lovely little graphic non-fiction mini-biography of how these ladies came to study the great apes and forever shape the way the world viewed them and connected them to the human species. While the book is short and the stories are brief, it is a great starting point if you have a student interested in the study of the great apes. This would be a great paring with Endangered or "Gorillas in the Mist". After they have a taste of these three amazing (and very different) women, it would be fabulous to send them off for further research. I really enjoyed this little book, and I am so glad I happened to stumble upon it! 

A People's History of American Empire

A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn, Paul Buhle, and Mike Konopacki is a fresh perspective on United States history. With its graphic novel format, it unveils fresh complexities about “traditional” historical narratives. Too often history is taught and presented from the dominant and hegemonic perspective.

A People’s History of American Empire is a very different comic book history. Based on Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States (as well as Zinn’s own life ) this is a graphic depiction of the times in American history where the nation failed to live up to the standards of liberty and equality for all. Mainly this concept involves the quashing of people within the United States (Indians, African Americans, immigrants, and laborers), wars in foreign lands (Phillipines, Vietnam, and Iraq) and intervention into the self-determination of other nations (Iran, El Salvador, and many more) for the benefit of powerful and wealth American elite. A comic version of Zinn narrates the book frequently turning over the story to characters contemporary to the events described. Scattered in this narrative are stories of the social movements in America such as Civil Rights, labor, and anti-war.

I tutor a senior who is interested in politics and history and will have him read this book (This could be an appropriate book for the right 10-12th grader). This book causes the reader to question the history they have learned from most textbooks. While I did not agree with all of Zinn's perspectives, I felt challenged about the ways that I think about U.S. history and teach history. This book could also be the source of many essay topics and future research papers for tutoring. I found myself wanting to do research about some of the new events that I knew nothing about (talk about cultural memory erasure).

While I enjoy reading young adult fiction very much, I discovered while reading this book that I do not read enough non-fiction books that are suitable for middle or high school students. Hmmm. Look for more LmC blog posts on non-fiction materials. Got any suggestions for me?