Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson. 192 p, Nancy Paulsen Book/ Penguin Books for Young Readers. October, 2023. Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.
Happy Monday! It has been a minute since I posted a daily book talk. I thought I had enough energy to return to school after my health travails last school year, but I truly do not. I am sad about this, because I enjoy interacting with students. I don't have the energy to do all the things that teachers do, let alone keep up with these posts, during the evenings and weekends. I take care of Boo, feed and walk him and am in bed at ridiculously early hours each night. I think I lost all my immunity while on sick leave last year!
Today's book talk is Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson. Eleven-year-old Sage is at a crossroads.. She loves to play basketball, but her friends who are girls are distancing themselves from her and her baller frienda are as well. She's trying to decide where she belongs as her Bushwick neighborhood burns down. Her mother is looking to move the family out, but Sage isn't so sure she wants to move.
This character- driven novel will make you ponder much. It is short and lyrical and touches upon the reality of many working class families.
Pride: a Pride and Prejudice remix by Ibi Zoboi. Unabridged audiobook on 6 compact discs. 6.5 hours. Performed by Elizabeth Acevedo. HarperAudio, September, 2018. 9780062855046.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorites. I try to reread it every few years, usually with my ears. Ms. Zoboi's 2017 debut, American Street was a favorite book of 2018. So when I learned of this remix, I was excited! I got the book and then learned that the audio was not only available, but performed by Elizabeth Acevedo, who knocked my socks off with Poet X. What could go wrong?
Absolutely nothing! This was a pure delight from beginning to end. Fans of the original will love discovering how the author modernized and adapted the classic. Readers who have not read Pride and Prejudice will enjoy the romance and setting.
This book is a love letter to Brooklyn in general and Bushwick, in particular. The setting is so vivid; as is Zuri's fierce love for her neighborhood and its culturally diverse denizens. The story is narrated by aspiring poet Zuri Benitez, the second eldest of the five Benitez sisters. She's upset by the gentrification of Brooklyn, and especially upset by the Mcmansion that was recently constructed across the street from her apartment. She already hates the rich family about to move in. The feeling is reinforced when she meets the Darcy brothers, especially Darius. She is dismayed by her older sister's instant infatuation with Ainsley. Themes of race and class are explored here as Zuri and Darius trade barbs as each resists attraction to the other.
Acevedo brings Zuri's fierceness to life in a terrifically paced performance. Read Pride with your ears or your eyes; but just read it. It's wonderful!
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya. 239 p. Viking/ Penguin Young Readers Group, May 16, 2017. 9781101997239.
Thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora lives and works with his large extended family. They own and run a Cuban American restaurant, La Cocina de la Isla, walking distance from the apartment complex where they all live. Arturo's grandmother, and founder of the restaurant, is the glue that holds the family together. She founded the restaurant with her now deceased husband and has recently passed the reins of running the restaurant to Arturo's mother. Arturo's family gathers at the restaurant each Sunday for dinner where they engage in spirited conversation and bicker good-naturedly. The clan is hosting a new addition for the summer. Carmen and her father have moved into the complex. Arturo views her as family and is confused by the sudden rush of feelings for her. Arturo has two best friends, who will be off to separate camps for the summer soon while Arturo begins work at the restaurant as a junior dishwasher.
Arturo is an endearing narrator and clearly adores his family, especially his Abuela. He's also charmingly awkward with Carmen. When Wilfredo Pipo invades the restaurant to introduce himself one day, everyone takes an instant dislike to him and his oily ways, even Abuela, who likes everyone.
Turns out, they have good reason to suspect Pipo, he plans on gentrifying the neighbor and La Cocina de la Isla is not on the blueprints. He's pushing them out. What's more, the rest of the neighborhood seems charmed by the idea. Arturo's aunt wants to do something and Arturo's mother has a more wait and see attitude. Arturo's scared and he and Carmen team up to get to the bottom of things.
There's a lot to like about this debut. It's a gentle story of family, connection and growing up. Reading it was like being enfolded into Abuela's warm hug. It was like meeting a family for the first time but feeling like I've know them forever. Arturo's voice is earnest and awkward and at times, hilarious but always genuine.
