An author known for highlighting courageous women shows herself to be among them.
A verse memoir in which the author reveals how “a stranger stole my freshman year at college, / my claims to imagination and faith in the future.”
Six weeks after arriving at college in the early 1970s, Atkins was back home in Massachusetts, trying to cope with having been raped. Her emotionally unavailable mother—“Put it behind you”—discouraged any talk of what had happened. In spare, deliberate free verse, Atkins describes starting over at the University of Massachusetts, struggling to focus, and living at the mercy of her memories. Writers featured prominently in Atkins’ life. She was especially drawn to Sylvia Plath even as she grappled with contradictory rules for girls: “Anything can be provocative. / Anything can be called the victim’s fault.” Therapy allowed Atkins to begin to confront the details of the day that split her “life into before and ever-after.” Her realization that as a white woman she should have been more aware of racial history and politics led her to wrestle with complicated feelings about being raped by a Black man after going to “a neighborhood that wasn’t hers” to “observe, maybe take notes.” As she came to realize that she wasn’t responsible for his actions, Atkins ultimately reclaimed control of her narrative. Although occasional time shifts may be jarring for some, Atkins encourages deep connection, and readers who have experienced sexual trauma will feel seen.
An author known for highlighting courageous women shows herself to be among them. (author’s note, booklist) (Verse memoir. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781665977548
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
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
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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