Review: I am not a fan of Superman. I find him boring and one dimensional, but I am curious to see what Gene Luen Yang was going to do with this iconic superhero in his retelling of a popular 1940s radio drama. Superman Smashes the Klan takes on racism and white supremacy while also touching about the plight of immigrants' decision to assimilate in order to 'fit' in America. This graphic novel does a great job in explaining these difficult and important topics.

  The Lee family has moved from Chinatown to the Metropolis suburbs in 1946. Mr. Lee is excited to start his new job while Mrs. Lee struggles to remember to speak only English. Siblings Roberta and Tommy are also trying to settle into their new community. Roberta and Tommy face overt and subtle racism and they both have very different ways of dealing with microaggressions. Roberta is an introvert and the constant references to her otherness makes her withdraw further into herself. Tommy, due to his uncanny pitching skills, joins a local baseball team and wins friends, but uses self deprecating humor to deflect racial microaggressions and finds assimilation much easier. The theme of fitting in is a constant source of contention between Roberta and Tommy. 

  Yang does a great job in showing how systemic racism works in various and (unfortunately) authentic ways for instance one of their father's coworkers implies that the Lee family eats dog. A more overt and visual example is the a cross set ablaze on the Lee's front lawn by the Klan of the Fiery Kross (a hate group analog to the KKK) in order to intimidate them and drive them away. Interestingly, Superman's involvement in the Lee's story parallels Roberta's story. Like Roberta, Superman is not using all of his powerful abilities in hopes of fitting in Metropolis. He has a hard time accepting his own alien roots, because of his own fear and the xenophobia of others. The plot moves at a snappy pace full of action and a nice balance of humor and potential romance for Roberta.  

  The artwork of the graphic novel is a blend of manga and western artwork. The backgrounds echo the historical fiction setting and compliments the dialogue well. Superman is larger than life in his physical appearance but he is also approachable and relatable. The back matter which includes historical context and Yang's own family immigrant story is important and gives the graphic novel more depth. If more Superman graphic novels were written like this I may change my mind about him. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There are some racist slurs and racist depictions in the book, which are discussed and explained in the graphic novel's back matter. Recommended for Grades 6 and up.

If you like this book try: Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds, Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed by Laurie Halse Anderson

Review: Clap When You Land grapples with family secrets, toxic masculinity, and grief among its many themes. The book is in verse and written from alternating perspectives of Camino and Yahaira. In clear and distinct voices we are introduced to both young women who are very different but they have one thing in common: their father. 

    Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and yearns to go to Columbia University in New York City, where her father works most of the year. She works as her curandera aunt's assistant who helps those with medical issues and can not afford hospital expenses. Camino is a well aware that her future is limited in the Dominican Republic and had high hopes that her father would sponsor her to come to the United States. 

    Yahaira Rios lives in Morningside Heights and idolizes her father. She is a chess champion, a game her father had taught her and a metaphor for how Yahaira must act in order to successfully navigate the world. She has not spoken to her father since the previous summer, when she found out he has another wife in the Dominican Republic. Camino and Yahaira do not know of each other's existence and their lives collide when their father dies in an airplane crash with hundreds of other passengers heading to the Dominican Republic. 

  Camino and Yahaira grieve the tragic death of their vibrant father, which also coming to terms with a complex and messy family, which he has kept a secret for almost twenty years. Both girls express the limitations they have when it comes to socio-economic privileges. Interestingly, both girls struggle to confront and defend themselves against toxic masculinity. Camino is stalked like a prey by a local pimp who is waiting for the desperate moment to 'save' her and sell her as a profit. Yahaira also has no control of her body when a stranger sexually molests her on a public train. Acevedo brings their fear, terror, and anger into sharp, clear prose. Though absent in the story, the half sisters' father is three dimensional and flawed but well loved. 

  Some readers have mentioned that it was hard separating Camino and Yahaira's chapters, but I had no such problem. Both girls live in very different environments and have very different upbringings. Camino's verses flows like water using many Spanish words that do not interfere with the rhythm. Yahaira's section is much more urgent with more breaks and spaces to indicate her thought and emotional processes as if she is playing a game of chess. 

  There are two poems that I loved in this book that really struck a chord with me. The first poem is about gender expectations of Yahaira's parents on how she should behave. This poem highlights the dichotomy that girls continue to struggle with today. The second poem is claiming a nationality that you feel in your soul and in your bones though the land may not claim you because you are not native to it.

 Clap When You Land is my favorite Elizabeth Acevedo book thus far. It is emotional, raw, honest, and a must read.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Words of Caution: There is some strong language, a scene of attempted sexual assault, and a scene of groping on a public train. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.

If you like this book try: Turtle Under Ice by Juleah Del Rosario, Untwine by Edwidge Danticat, Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall 

Review: The Prettiest by Brigit Young brings the #MeToo movement to middle school in an accessible, inclusive, and ultimately empowering story about fighting against toxic masculinity and sexual harassment. 

  What makes The Prettiest a standout for me is how the author is able to create full character arcs for each of the main characters. Eve struggles with self confidence and paralyzing insecurity and even though she is harmed by text messages ranging from Anti-Semitic vitriol to comments about her body, there is a part of her that likes the spotlight especially when the most popular boy in school begins to talk to her and asks her out. She has to come to terms with these conflicting emotions. Sophie Kane is the polar opposite to Eve. She is an ambitious young woman though she too is incredibly fearful of letting know the real her, the poor girl whose mom works as a waitress in a diner. She uses make-up, which ages her beyond her years, as an armor and mask to create an illusion of a perfect girl. She at first does not care about being objectified by the list just so long as it's rewritten with her in first place, but slowly accepts herself and attempts to not objectify her female classmates by their looks. Nessa is confident and has her eyes sight on Broadway, but she too hurts knowing her body type is never going to be an acceptable beauty standard. 

    Along with the personal character journey's, the list highlights the insidiousness of toxic masculinity and targeted bullying. Eve’s father believes there is nothing wrong with the list as it's "boys being boys" and glad that his daughter is ranked number one. Eve's older brother, Abe, and classmate Winston offer insights into the pressures of toxic masculinity and the complacency of being bystanders. I really appreciated how the girls came together and talked about the effects of normative beauty standards and that they come together against the majority boys who enforce them. I would have liked to see the perpetrators' own epiphany and discussion of what they did wrong and the actions by the school administration. This timely and diverse discussion of bullying and sexism is a must read for budding feminists and their parents. 

Review: All Boys Aren't Blue is an insightful and honest discussion of the intersections between race, gender, and sexuality. This memoir told in essays are centered in the author's own experiences as he navigates his own self-evolving identity in our world as a black queer young man. The memoir is divided into three sections following the author's childhood, adolescence, and current adulthood as he wrestles his pain and joy through life. He informs his reader that is not self involved to write a memoir at a very young age (33 years old), but had to write one in order to temporarily fill the vacuum of representation for young queer boys of color and to live his own truth. The journey of Johnson's activism is full of highs and lows as he understands the labels placed upon him by himself and by society. His essays and personal experiences touches upon many tough topics such as toxic masculinity, sexual abuse, institutional violence, and the dual fear of being both black and queer when both of these identities are neither safe. Though the topics are serious they add depth and realness to the essays and strengthens his call to all of us to help fight injustices in our society. I really appreciated his stance on the process of coming out to be cyclic instead of being finite and the necessity for inclusive sexual education that will help erase the stigma of queer relationships and ultimately help save lives. This is an important memoir that is a window for many and a critical mirror for black queer individuals. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: The author includes homophobic and racial slurs and gives his reasoning for including them. There is also a frank and graphic depictions of sexual abuse as well as consensual sexual situations. Drug use and a friend's death by Recommended for teens and adults.  

If you like this book try: How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones, No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell L. Moore

Review:  From the Desk of Zoe Washington is a timely and accessible read about institutionalized racism and injustice in the justice system for young readers. On her twelfth birthday, pastry chef Zoey gets a letter from her biological father, Marcus, whom she has never met and has been in prison her entire life. Despite her mother and step-father's wishes, Zoey is curious to learn more about Marcus and with the support of her grandmother writes back. Soon a tentative bond between Marcus and Zoe grows and Zoe's interest to learn more of Marcus' crime grows. After doing a brief search on the interest, Zoe uncovers that Marcus has been accused with murdering a college classmate. Marcus believes he is innocent and so does Zoe's grandmother, but what about Zoey and her parents? 

  I really appreciated how gracefully and sensitively this book handles a story about an incarcerated parent. Zoe is a compassionate heroine and though she is well aware her age is a barrier to finding the truth about Marcus, she becomes an activist by using her research skills, asking the tough questions that make adults around her uncomfortable, and utilizing her support network to the fullest extent. Zoe's frustrations with her best friend Trevor, who acts differently when he is with his friends, and her parent's differing viewpoints on Marcus make her relatable. I also loved the inclusion of the bakery aspect of the story as it highlights Zoe's creativity and balances out the serious topics with some lightness. I would definitely recommend this title to young readers who want to learn more about race and our flawed justice system.  

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is mention of murder but no graphic descriptions and details are described. Recommended for Grades 4 and up.

If you like this book try: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (Adapted for young readers edition), Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Ramee, The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon, and All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor

 During this past school year I participated in a seminar called Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) in an effort to educate myself about the social inequities and the systemic racism in our nation. SEED awakened a part of me that lay dormant due to the lack of vocabulary of how to express my frustrations and the shockingly repetitions of gas-lighting and internalized racism. I also discovered my own biases that I need to address. If you ever have an opportunity to participate SEED in the United States, I highly, highly recommend it. 

  I want to continue my journey of anti-racism. First to educate myself on the topic and then to find ways to implement it in my school curriculum. As our nation struggles to acknowledge that #Black Lives Matter, it is now evident that we have a lot of work to do to make our nation better and the work starts with us. There are tons of book lists created that offer suggestions on how to learn about race and racism and I urge you to take note of them and seek them out for yourselves. I really do hope these books remain in our forefront and in our social conscious. 

  I wanted to create a list for myself and hold myself accountable while I am on this journey. Given the fact that race is hard topic and we are still grappling with the Covid pandemic, I also want to practice self care. My goal is to read at least one anti-racist book per month. This is not a complete list as I am always adding more titles but a start. I hope you can join me.