Informative and rousing.
An overview of policing as well as its intersection with race.
In six chapters plus introduction and conclusion, Tyner, an educator and civil rights attorney, examines the institution of policing, including its history and role in public safety and history, as well as paths for addressing issues to create a more just and effective public safety system. Protests in the summer of 2020 reignited the movement for accountability, and Tyner looks at how we got here by tracing the history of the police as an institution in the U.S. From colonial policing systems and their role in surveilling Indigenous communities and slave patrols that reinforced existing power structures to the transformation to a professional organization, police forces evolved in response to changes in social structures and the law. Chapter Two, “Race and Policing,” helps readers understand how structural racism is intertwined with police brutality. Subsequent chapters explore different models of policing in different U.S. cities as well as abroad. Readers learn about methods of reform and possible strategies for crime prevention and community building. Tyner closes by emphasizing the inextricable role and power of community in shaping public safety values and outlines how teens can get involved and lead change at various levels. Effective callout boxes and infographics define and expand upon terminology and concepts presented in the main text, including Peel’s Principles, Miranda rights, and more.
Informative and rousing. (glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further information, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781728449630
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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