A biography fit for a queen.
One of history’s most influential rulers became queen just out of girlhood and led her country during a time of great change.
Victoria, until recently Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, became queen through a series of tragedies and accidents. Her father, the Duke of Kent, died when she was an infant, so she and her German-born mother moved into Kensington Palace, where Victoria grew up as part of the royal family but suffered the machinations of her mother and her late father’s assistant. Although Victoria was just 18 when she became queen, she was old enough to act on her own behalf—and did so. During her reign, she worked with various prime ministers, saw her country and its empire through multiple wars, and presided over a nation coping with vast technological and social change. Reef is an accomplished biographer for young readers, and this is one of her best. Victoria’s personality comes through in the lively narrative, though Reef never shies from the public and personal controversies that Victoria brought on herself. All the necessary context for understanding her life and times is woven through without ever getting in the way. The text is enhanced by a plethora of contemporaneous illustrations, making this a handsome volume. The backmatter includes a list of British monarchs, family tree, extensive source notes, bibliography, and picture credits.
A biography fit for a queen. (index) (Biography. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-71614-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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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