A must-have resource with fine backmatter that enhances its presentation.
Vaccines are often a focus of controversy as well as the subject of misleading information, making this authoritative resource all the more valuable.
Science journalist Haelle (The Informed Parent, 2016) provides in-depth coverage of the history of vaccines, how they work, and why they are needed. She also explores the complicated issue of how they have become controversial, providing fascinating background information on the flawed research that has led some to link them to various adverse outcomes. Along with a 1982 television broadcast that erroneously reported that the DPT vaccine caused seizures and brain damage, the book also describes British doctor Andrew Wakefield’s criminally misleading study that implicated the MMR vaccine in the apparent rise in autism. The relatively challenging text also incorporates information on common thinking patterns—cognitive biases—that lead people to readily embrace unscientific reasoning. Because this effort is so well-researched, articulate, and thoughtful in its presentation, and because it provides unbiased information on a critical topic of current concern, it represents an essential purchase for collections serving young adults.
A must-have resource with fine backmatter that enhances its presentation. (source notes, glossary, bibliography, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 12-adult)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5124-2530-7
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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