Diversity Bingo 2017: February Update
February was a slightly slower reading month than January for me, but I did read two more books towards the #DiversityBingo2017 challenge.I'd also like to mention that I'm going to be meeting both of the authors of these books later in March, and I'm very eager to hear them talk more about their work! Angie Thomas, author of "The Hate U Give" will be at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washingon, DC on March 13th. Nina Lacour, author of "We Are Okay" is the keynote speaker at NOVA Teen Book Festival on March 11th. If anyone is in the area and wants to learn more about these books, I encourage you to attend!
That being said, let's get into the books:
Book: "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Rating: 4.75/5
This is by far one of the most important and currently relevant books to hit shelves this year. There has been quite a bit of hype and anticipation surrounding "The Hate U Give" because it was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
"The Hate U Give" is the story of Starr, a young black girl who witnesses her childhood best friend, Khalil, get shot right in front of her by an officer who pulled them over after a party. Starr is trying to hold herself together and maintain appearances in her two worlds: her private school world, where her boyfriend and best friends are and where she is only one of two black students, and her home world with her family in Garden Heights, a neighborhood with multiple gangs and bars across the windows of her dad's grocery store. But as the media and world follow Khalil's story and the court case, the world around Starr begins to cave in and she has to deal with the heartbreaking memories of what she witnessed.
Starr is a courageous, funny, and smart girl who feels so very real to the reader. Thompson did a fantastic job of creating a fully fleshed out character with passions, hobbies, and a distinct voice. The family aspect of this book is equally solid.
This is a novel that was needed. Unfortunately, while Starr's story is fictional, the inspiration behind it is not, and there is hardly a person alive in 2017 who has not heard the names Freddie Gray or Trayvon Martin or the others who have been shot down. "The Hate U Give" honors those lives and lets readers understand what is happening in the real world around them from a perspective of someone who has seen these tragedies firsthand. I think everyone should read this book- it's eye opening, comprehensible, and hopeful.
The only reason I'm docking a small chunk of rating is because Thomas skipped over writing a couple moments in this book that I think would have greatly aided in Starr's overall story. Namely, when Starr has to give her testimony before the court. There was quite a lot of build up to that moment. It would have been nice to see Starr in those moments and would have rounded out her character arc more fully.
2) Square: Free Choice
Rating: 5/5
I selected this book for the Free Choice square because the two female main characters are both part of the LBGT+ community, and thought it fit well with the rest of the DB2017 squares.
This is a fairly short book, coming in at 234 pages, but boy does it pack a punch. From the very first chapter I was utterly engrossed by Lacour's lyrical and lonely prose. Quickly Lacour builds up the world and personality of Marin, a young college freshman who is reeling from the recent losses and discoveries in her life. Marin is attempting to keep up appearances and behave in a "normal" way- she's going through the motions of eating, reading, watching documentaries. But over Christmas break, alone in her dorm on her empty college campus, the loneliness begins to catch up to her.
One of my favorite aspects of "We Are Okay" is that the story is not wholly plot driven. There is no Point A to Point B and the story is everything in between. Readers are simply immersed in Marin's isolated world as she reflects on the past few months and tries to deal with the present and her best friend. Speaking of friends, Marin's is a young woman named Mabel who is just as equally readable and interesting as Marin. Their friendship, in all of its form, is one of the best relationships I've read in a YA novel. It's a strong tie that is tested and yanked through different situations, and Lacour doesn't hide anything from the reader. We see it all- the endearing time they buy matching dresses from Forever 21, and the emotional turmoil they face after a death has driven room between them.
This is a haunting, emotional, and modern story of depression and friendship and love. In my opinion, Lacour's writing has grown immensely from previous books, and she has found a style that is uniquely her own here.
So, here's what my Bingo chart looks like now:
