Meticulous research and outstanding storytelling make Supreme Court arcana and the fight for equality come to life.
A biography of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that illustrates her lifelong commitment to promoting civil rights.
The author has expertly selected cases for this readable volume that will pique the interest of teens. The gripping first chapter introduces Savana Lee Redding, the eighth-grade honor roll student who sued after being strip-searched at school and eventually won in the Supreme Court, due partly to Ginsburg’s explaining to her uncomprehending male fellow justices the humiliation the girl felt. Subsequent chapters intersperse black-and-white photos and details of Ginsburg’s life with fascinating cases focusing on free speech, marriage equality, gender-based pay and benefit discrimination, and other hot-button issues. Readers learn about her early years as a Jewish girl in Brooklyn, hard work and academic stardom, college years at Cornell (where she met her husband-to-be), egalitarian marriage, and distinguished legal career spent in dogged pursuit of equality. Many examples of how Ginsburg herself experienced or witnessed discrimination are included. The last chapter explores the justice’s recent role as a popular media and cultural icon. The author carefully shapes the most salient facts into a narrative that brings both protagonists and issues to life, deftly situating each case in its historical context; the result is far more than just a biography or history. It’s a complex interweaving of both.
Meticulous research and outstanding storytelling make Supreme Court arcana and the fight for equality come to life. (The Bill of Rights, source notes, bibliography, photo credits, index) (Biography. 12-18)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-544-97364-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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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