I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached

Grades 6 and up--

This stunning graphic novel is compact, but powerful. The artwork is similar to the stark black and white drawings of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and illustrate the divided world in which she lives: Beirut, Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s. Written like a list poem, with each page or so beginning with “I Remember,” Abirached tells the story of her life growing up in a war zone.

Intended audience: Young adults interested in history.

Audience to whom it may appeal: I think this book could appeal to upper elementary students to grandparents, of all genders, races and religions. Its universal themes of memory and perseverance through struggle have the potential to provide connections for many.

Strengths: The artwork is visually very appealing. The solid black and white images are simple but captivating. The poetic style and repetition makes it accessible for a wider variety of audiences.

Weaknesses: Without much historical context, this book might be hard to understand, but it can also stand on its own as a story of a young girl’s life and all of the things she experienced. Although the prose and dialogue are relatively simplistic, there are historical and cultural references that will likely be missed by students with little background knowledge.

Special considerations: The book is a companion to A Game for Swallows which focuses on one particular night during war time.

VERDICT: This book would make a great addition to either the graphic novel or history section of any upper elementary through high school media center. The accessible format will appeal to lower readers, while the historical content might entice higher level readers to try a new format: graphic novel.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Click on the pics to make them big enough to read!

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

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From the moment I picked up American Born Chinese, I was excited to read it cover to cover. I had paged through the novel looking at the pictures and reading the inside flaps, but I couldn’t wait to dive into the story itself. I knew that the book was divided into three parts and going into the book, I was most excited to read about the story of Jin Wang: the partially autobiographical, realistic fiction portion of the novel. I was hesitant to read what appeared to be a folktale and a blatantly racist representation of a Chinese individual. However, I was determined to give the other two parts a fair shot and I was pleasantly surprised.

Although I taught my intersession course on comics and graphic novels, I remain to have very minimal experience with visual texts. At first, I will admit, I thought that reading graphic novels was a little like cheating. How was I supposed to “use my imagination” if the pictures were already there? Where was the challenge? However, teaching my intersession class and reading this novel really helped me to understand the unique role of the graphic novel. Yang was able to represent so much more of his message with pictures that would have been impossible or just plain confusing if written out in language. Given that the story is all about identity and the diversity of cultures, it seemed fitting that he use a medium that is universal: pictures. And the way they have been so beautifully drawn, no translation is needed whatsoever.

The story thread of the Monkey King was really interesting to me. Having no familiarity with Chinese folktales, it made me want to learn more. I felt this element of the story showed the pride Yang has in his heritage while the other two showed the difficulty he had with combining his heritage with his newfound culture; a challenge for so many adolescents (and adults) today. Now that I have read this novel and seen one version of the monkey king tale, I plan on reading more about the Chinese folktale.

At first I was completely shocked at Yang’s blunt use of racial stereotyping in the character of Chin-kee. I thought to myself, “how could someone who is promoting pride in his heritage be so blatantly racist in his portrayal of his own culture?” However, it didn’t take long to realize Yang’s purpose: blatant stereotyping would stand out and make readers think. Yang is aware that this language is used to describe and mock Chinese people on a regular basis and he wants his readers to see what this looks and feels like. It is extremely offensive and I truly believe that was Yang’s intent. It really made me think about the stereotypes I see and hear on a regular basis and what I might do to contradict those racist actions. I really appreciated his bold choice to use a stereotypical character to get his ideas across.

As far as the medium goes, I feel that a graphic novel was a great choice for this particular trio of stories. Yang was able to easily shift from story to story with a simple shift of background. His ability to use visual cues to illustrate emotion and inner thoughts really helped me to understand the characters on an entirely different level. In a way, the increase in visual cues allowed me to have a deeper comprehension of the story as well as the changes each of the characters experiences throughout the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Yang is an incredible storyteller through images and ideas and I am grateful he was willing to put his thoughts and feelings on paper so that others might begin to understand his experience. I would highly recommend this book, particularly to someone who has little or no experience with graphic novels. Happy reading!

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

Talk about a visceral reaction. This book was incredibly terrifying. But, I’m glad I read it because there is no cure for ignorance besides education. A Long Way Gone is an amazing example of a text that promotes social change in an extremely powerful way. There is no way that a documentary on child soldiers or a newspaper article could have the power this book has. Seeing war through the innocent eyes of a child is the most authentic, honest portrayal of war there is. The most powerful aspect of the text was the changes Ishmael experiences throughout the book. It is awful to watch him be stripped of his innocence one page at a time. At the beginning, we see him responding as a civilian: “I turned away, and my eyes caught the smashed head of another man…I felt nauseated. Everything began to spin around me. One of the soldiers was looking at me, chewing something and smiling. He took a drink…‘You will get used to it, everybody does eventually,’ he said” (100). At that point in the text, I too felt sick to my stomach and I remember thinking “there is no way he will get used to this.”

However, we see the power brainwashing and propaganda can have on someone who has lost all hope. During training, the soldiers are reminded of their loss and coerced into allegiance with the government: “Visualize the enemy, the rebels who killed your parents, your family, and those who are responsible for everything that has happened” (112). Their leaders tell them, “Our job is a serious one and we have the most capable soldiers, who will do anything to defend this country” (123).
It was absolutely horrifying watching Ishmael fall into these (what I thought to be obvious) traps. It makes sense that he had to distance himself from his actions and be almost empty, similar to an abuse victim: “I just sat with my head in my hands, thoughtless” (109).

For a good part of the book, I must admit I was angry with Ishmael. I did not understand how he could transform so quickly from an innocent child into a soulless killer. However, I pushed through and knew deep down that what I really felt was remorse and sadness for his loss of innocence. He was truly a victim. This is absolutely devastating. This particular passage sticks out in my head: “I didn’t feel a thing for him, didn’t think that much about what I was doing. I just waited for the corporal’s order. The prisoner was simply another rebel who was responsible for the death of my family, as I had come to truly believe” (124). In hindsight, Ishmael is realizing that he had created excuses for himself and pointed out his reasoning for completing such terrible acts. The fact that I know he was a victim of a horrible crime does not eliminate the goose bumps from the back of my neck as a re-read this passage.
Horrifying memories reenacted aside, this book was extremely powerful for me. Having little to no knowledge of the situation in Sierra Leone, this book gave me a very personal account of the horrors that occurred there during the civil war.

And last but not least, I was so incredibly grateful for Esther, Ishmael’s nurse. She showed an incredible amount of compassion for Ishmael and was willing to step completely outside of her comfort zone in order to help him. She helped him to begin his lengthy but crucial recovery in a very powerful way. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, young or old, for it teaches an amazing lesson about the resilience of the human spirit. Happy reading!

The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez

--> “As usual, after the strawberry season was over in Santa Maria, Papa decided to move to the San Joaquin Valley in Central California to pick grapes. Like the year before, we had spent the summer months picking strawberries for Ito, the Japanese sharecropper” (96).

Francisco’s family is constantly on the move, looking for work and avoiding the immigration authorities. This memoir, The Circuit, tells the stories of that constant movement, through the childhood eyes of Francisco himself. I really enjoyed this book for many reasons.

First of all, Jimenez does an excellent job of capturing the experiences of his childhood using child-like language and understanding. This is an extremely powerful way to tell a story because it really felt as though young Francisco was speaking with all the innocence of a child. For example, in this story, Francisco and his older brother Roberto are trying to help their parents build a home: “Late one evening, thinking the caretaker had left, Roberto and I sneaked into the dump…we went back several more times until we got enough lumber to complete Mama’s floor. We also found pieces of linoleum and laid them over the wood to cover the holes and slivers. The different shapes and colors made the floor look like a quilt” (30). If Francisco had written this from an adult perspective, it is likely he mayn’t have been so optimistic about scavenging a city dump. However, written in a child’s voice, the unfinished floor becomes a patchwork quilt.

Secondly, the structure of the text works really well with the genre and subject matter. With the text broken up into smaller stories, it is as if the reader is experiencing “episodes” of the author’s life—an extremely accurate representation of how memory works. One of the stories that particularly resonated with me was the story about Francisco’s younger sister spending his penny collection on gumballs: “‘Did you put the pennies in the gum machine at the store?’ [Mama] asked. When my sister nodded again, my heart dropped to my stomach. I felt my face on fire. Everything blurred. I stormed out of the house, slammed the door behind me, sat on the front stairs, and cried” (107). This memory was presented so authentically I could imagine myself there. This was obviously a really horrible experience for Francisco because it is a memory that sticks out above others. I also liked what this story said about ownership: children take pride in their creations and collections just like adults and once that is taken away, they too feel robbed. However, we also see what happens after the pennies are taken and the house burns down—Mama comforts him and he learns a valuable lesson: “Feeling a lump in my throat, I started thinking about Carl, my pennies, the house. Then, for a long time, I thought about my librito and what Mama had said. I could see in my mind every word, every number, every rule, I had written in my note pad. I knew everything in it by heart. Mama was right. It was not all lost” (112).

And last but not least, I learned something—and any book that follows with that statement is one worth reading. I learned an incredible amount about Mexican culture and the spiritual practices that various Mexican families practice. I learned more about La Virgen and La Llorona and about the struggle between western medicine and curanderas. “‘The doctor told us my son would die because we had waited too long to take him there. He said it would take a miracle for him to live. I didn’t want to believe him,’ she continued gaining strength as she talked, ‘but he was right. It took a miracle’” (44).

Most importantly though, I learned more about the incredible strength and resilience it takes to keep a family alive and safe. The constant movement and hard work of this family really made me question by own strength. What if I moved to another country where the only work available was manual labor that was excruciatingly painful and never ending? Would I have the determination to push through it in order to save my family? I would like to think that I would, but Francisco’s story is a tribute to how hard this might actually be.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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I absolutely, truly enjoyed this book. Alexie's partly autobiographical novel that relays the experiences of a teenage boy is so genuine and honest it is impossible to dislike.

The first-person style of the book makes it easy to dive into the reading. You really do feel as though you are reading someone’s journal and it makes you feel that much closer to the main character, Arnold or “Junior” Spirit. You know a book has been written well when you feel as though you know the characters well enough to care about what happens to them. And Arnold is hilarious. You will laugh out loud at least once.

Additionally, I will always enjoy a book that includes cartoons because sometimes words cannot express every feeling we are trying to evoke. Arnold’s drawings make this book much more real because I can relate to it. We all doodle and draw and make diagrams in order to express things more fully. It was wonderful to see an author do the same. Arnold explains his reason for drawing pictures: “when you draw a picture, everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, ‘That’s a flower’” (5).

Not only is the book genuine, candid, funny, and artistic, but it is also open minded. The book brings up issues of race, sexuality, culture, group association, family structures, alcohol use and abuse, legacy and self-fulfilling prophecies, and relationships. By deciding to leave the rez for school, Arnold has made the decision to grow up extremely fast and is not afraid to talk about how scary and overwhelming this can be. Arnold understands the challenge he is facing and knows what kind of ridicule he will face, but HE DOES IT ANYWAY. This is so courageous. I found myself asking, “Would I have the guts to do this? How would I react if my family and friends were harassing me for following my heart? Would I be able to stand the (metaphorical and literal) ‘boos’?” He is conscious of the weightiness of his decision. One of the questions he asks that I might pose to my students (and colleagues!) is: “Should a teenager be worried about his fricking legacy anyway?”

The race issues addressed in this book include very specific references to White teachers teaching at the all Indian school on the reservation. This is extremely powerful because it is the first time that Arnold is exposed to the racist nature of the reservation and is (rightfully) outraged by it. This conversation ultimately leads to his decision to leave the rez and attend school elsewhere. Difficult topics like this are what makes this book so important and memorable.

This is an important, enjoyable, honest read that I would recommend for any reader. The insight Alexie gives the reader is incredible and eye-opening. This book poses though-provoking, discussion-creating questions that I think everyone should be exposed to. This book allows its reader to begin to formulate an understanding of the meaning of belonging…something to which we can all easily relate. Happy reading!