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KIN

ROOTED IN HOPE

A striking work that reshapes the narrative around enslavement.

The lineage of a Black family comes to life through powerful poems.

Embarking on genealogical research can be daunting but thrilling. But that is not always the case for many Black families, their heritage interrupted by the enslavement of their ancestors and marred by the atrocities they endured. Carole Boston Weatherford invites readers to explore the past through her own family’s history. Beginning with her adolescent indifference and, later, her determined curiosity, she lays the groundwork for how the Lloyd family’s Wye House, in Maryland, came to be the site of mass cruelty. While the Lloyds passed down property, positions, and people as they amassed wealth, the enslaved began losing parts of their legacies. Writing chronologically, the author pieces together the history of enslavement, her strength and resolve palpable as she tells of her family’s triumphs despite the conditions they were forced to bear. Raw, stark, digitally rendered scratchboard illustrations multiply the depth of her profound words. The imagined thoughts of Weatherford’s kin and the personification of the things—among them Wye House and the Chesapeake Bay—that “witnessed” generations of enslavement will give readers a new perspective and inspire questions similar to those she intersperses throughout.

A striking work that reshapes the narrative around enslavement. (author’s and illustrator’s notes, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 9-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023

ISBN: 9781665913621

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023

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SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS

Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.

If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?

For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.

Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016

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  • Kirkus Reviews'
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  • Newbery Medal Winner

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THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON

Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick.

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  • Kirkus Reviews'
    Best Books Of 2016


  • New York Times Bestseller


  • Newbery Medal Winner

An elderly witch, a magical girl, a brave carpenter, a wise monster, a tiny dragon, paper birds, and a madwoman converge to thwart a magician who feeds on sorrow.

Every year Elders of the Protectorate leave a baby in the forest, warning everyone an evil Witch demands this sacrifice. In reality, every year, a kind witch named Xan rescues the babies and find families for them. One year Xan saves a baby girl with a crescent birthmark who accidentally feeds on moonlight and becomes “enmagicked.” Magic babies can be tricky, so Xan adopts little Luna herself and lovingly raises her, with help from an ancient swamp monster and a chatty, wee dragon. Luna’s magical powers emerge as her 13th birthday approaches. Meanwhile, Luna’s deranged real mother enters the forest to find her daughter. Simultaneously, a young carpenter from the Protectorate enters the forest to kill the Witch and end the sacrifices. Xan also enters the forest to rescue the next sacrificed child, and Luna, the monster, and the dragon enter the forest to protect Xan. In the dramatic denouement, a volcano erupts, the real villain attempts to destroy all, and love prevails. Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. Luna has black eyes, curly, black hair, and “amber” skin.

Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-61620-567-6

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Algonquin

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

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