This week I'm waiting on...
His Own Where (Contemporary Classics) by June Jordan
Re-Release Date: June 1, 2010
Nominated for a National Book Award in 1971, His Own Where is the story of Buddy, a fifteen-year-old boy whose world is spinning out of control. He meets Angela, whose angry parents accuse her of being "wild." When life falls apart for Buddy and his father, and when Angela is attacked at home, they take action to create their own way of staying alive in Brooklyn. In the process, the two find refuge in one another and learn that love is real and necessary. His Own Where was one of The New York Times' Most Outstanding Books and was on the American Library Association's list of Best Books in 1971.
June Jordan was a poet, essayist, journalist, dramatist, activist, and educator known for challenging oppression through her inspirational words and actions. She was the founder of Poetry for the People at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for many years. The author of over twenty books, her poetry is collected in Directed by Desire; her selected essays in Some of Us Did Not Die.
Sapphire is the author of American Dreams, Black Wings & Blind Angels, and Push, which has been made into a motion picture called Precious. -From Amazon.com
-To clarify: Sapphire did not write this book, she wrote the introduction for the re-release. I've heard really good things about June Jordan so I'm eager to read it. I like the cover too; how the front is a guy's shoes and pants (on second thought it could be a girl too) but the silhouette on the sidewalk could be a boy or girl with an Afro.
What are you waiting? Specifically, any POC books? Also, thank you to everyone who recommended YA books about POC by UK authors, I've added so many awesome-sounding books to my tbr list.
Cool Links
Women Writers of Color: Dia Reeves-The author of Bleeding Violet (amazing book, review coming on Friday along with an interview here on Saturday) talks about BV, cowboy boots and POC in fantasy. Dia is awesome so do stop by and check out the brief interview.
Cover Matter: The Survey Results-Do covers matter? Many readers say yes. Read this unscientific but very interesting and cool poll results. Many thanks to Thea & Ana for putting this together!
Girlfuture.com-Part shameful promotion, but even more importantly, I passionately believe in this website and what it's trying to do. Girlfuture.com aims to empower girls and present positive role models. I'll be doing a few book reviews for them, focusing of course on POC in YA. So far the only thing by me is a revised copy of my open letter to Bloomsbury and other publishing companies about whitewashing and its damaging effects. Very revised. I had to cut so much, it was awful (I can imagine authors scoffing at this, "cutting 500 words? That's nothing!", haha)
Some Thoughts on Bullying by Neesha Meminger-Powerful essay that's so inspiring and touching. Neesha has such a way with words. If you haven't yet, read the post and then read Shine, Coconut Moon which is a great book.
His Own Where sounds interesting. I'm not doing a WoW post but I wanted to share with you what I'm waiting for! The Other Half Of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier it's about biracial twins(one black one white) sounds good! http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Other-Half-of-My-Heart/Sundee-T-Frazier/e/9780385734400/?itm=1&USRI=other+half+of+my+heart
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of His Own Where, especially since it's a republication of a book from the seventies. I like that slightly retro feel you get reading a book from that era.
ReplyDeleteI always love stopping by to read your reviews and see what you are waiting for. I immediately placed We Were Here after I read your review this week and got it yesterday. I am anxious to see what you think of this one
ReplyDeletegirlfuture.com looks like a very cool resource - thanks for the heads up & all the other links. :)
ReplyDeleteKaz
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Oh, yay! I have such a girl-crush on June Jordan. I'm excited to see she's having a book put back into print. :)
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