Monday's Not Coming

Jackson, Tiffany D..  Monday's Not Coming.  2018.  Katherine Tegen Books, and imprint of HarperCollins.  New York, NY. 


Book Talk:
Monday and Claudia have been best friends since Kindergarten.  Attached at the hip, the two girls revel in every shared moment.  They think of themselves as sisters, and call themselves twins.  They share so many things - but not everything.  Claudia's parents are upwardly mobile, middle class working adults who are doing their best to give their daughter every advantage they can afford.  Monday's mother lives in Public Housing, and does what she can.

Claudia arrives home from her Grandmother's house the day before 8th grade starts, looking forward to the beginning of a great year and high school applications.  Claudia expresses mild anxiety because Monday has not been heard from all summer.
When Monday never shows up for school, nobody except for Claudia notices.  Nobody can answer the question "Where is Monday" and it seems as if nobody cares to find out what happened to Monday.
How can a teenage girl vanish and nobody notice?

Book Awards:
Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent 2019
Walter Dean Myer Honored Book


Author Website:
http://writeinbk.com/


Note from Bettina:
Many, many years ago, I taught in Washington DC.  As a newly minted teacher, I was excited to have my own classroom and a chance to change the world.  I was rudely awakened to the harsh realities of life where every meal, every day, every life - is not a given. I taught in a neighborhood much like Ed Borough.  The neighborhood that fed into our school has been torn down and replaced by new upscale housing.  The elementary school - with bars over the windows, no air conditioning, and an open air drug market across the street - has become a charter school and looks nothing like the building where I worked. 


I saw young kids forced to make choices no 8 year old should ever have to make.  As a teacher, I had some of the most gifted, amazing, bright students it has ever been my privilege to work with.   Some of them have made it to adulthood, and are bright shining stars, making change and living wonderful lives.  Others never made it out alive.  Monday's Not Coming struck so close to home for me.  While this story is fiction, it rhymes with so many real life stories.  It has taken me over a week to be able to sit down and write this review.  And I cried many times while writing it, remembering the young voices and talent that have been silenced forever.

This is an excellent work, Tiffany.  Thank you for giving voice to the voiceless and telling stories that need to be told.  I look forward to reading your stories for years to come.

Image Source: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1046101307

Finding Langston

Cline-Ransome, Lesa.  Finding Langston: A Novel.  2018.


Langston and his father have moved to Chicago from Alabama in order to find a new life for themselves after Langston's mother has died.  In this strange new world where Langston lives, his father is gone from sunup to sundown, working in a factory.


Langston finds himself with no friends, and he is forced to fend for himself in the time after school before his father gets home.  While Langston struggles to stay hidden from his gruesome new classmates, he finds himself constantly in their line of fire.


And then came the magic day when Langston found the public library.
He discovers authors of color, and he discovers poets of color, and he hears how others have put into words what his heart has been feeling.


When Langston discovers his namesake, he finds the bridge between himself and his mother, and a bridge to their neighbor Miss Fulton. 


Will Langston discover the path that leads to new friendships?


Author Web Site: http://lesaclineransome.com/


Finding Lagston is a 2019 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book.
Winner of the 2019 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Image Source: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1050454489

The Poet X

Acevedo, Elizabeth.  The Poet X.  2018.  Harper Teen, Harper Collins Imprint.  New York, NY.

So many stories

Are echoes of my own.

I hear voices that remind me of how I became.

Who I am today.

I will never forget the confusion and pain of adolescence.

Words and poetry were the core of her strength.

Music and notes were the power of mine.

Her story ended with power and peace,

the love of her parents entwined, making her stronger.

Xiomara finds her voice and shares her story.

Her power will help you find your own.

Printz Award Winner for 2019.

Author Web Site: http://www.acevedowrites.com/

Image Source: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1081338628

The Unwanted

Brown, Don.  The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees.  2018.  Houghton Mifflin-Harcourt.  New York, New York.

This beautifully illustrated graphic novel follows the story of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, explaining the rise in power of Bashar-al-Asaad's father in 1970, and the impact that this continuing tyranny has had on the people of Syria.  As Asaad has tightened his hold on power, dissent has grown, and the oppression of the people of Syria has become interminable.  Rebels and the Military openly battle in the streets.

The story follows refugees as they attempt to flee Syria - how they leave, the obstacles that they encounter, and the realities that cause thousands of refugees to lose their lives every year in a quest to work and raise their families in a safe place. 

This phenomenal novel does a fantastic job of putting into simple language the reasons why people are fleeing Syria as fast as they can, without pushing any particular political agenda.  An absolute must read for anyone who is looking to better understand the cause of the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

Winner of the 2019 Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults Award, presented by the American Library Association. 
http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2019/01/unwanted-stories-syrian-refugees-wins-2019-excellence-nonfiction-young-adults



Author Website: http://www.booksbybrown.com/

Image Source: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1050454489