It’s not like I did not know the foster care system in America was bad, I just figured it was because, well, just look around you. But it will never cease to amaze me just how depraved our society here in the “good ol'” USA is when it comes to its treatment of children who are not a part of the dominant culture. I have to commend Roxanna Asgarian for digging deeper into this horrifying story: when six Black children were murdered by two white women who adopted them. I remember the sensational headlines splashed across the internet. A despicable tale in its own right, but the story of how those children came into the foster care system and the failures of that system take front and center here. Asgarian focuses on the families ripped apart by poverty and the utter injustice of it all is so staggering I seriously don’t know how some people who shape our policies sleep at night, I guess on a bed of dollars while the rest of society is forced to fight for scraps and just a single shred of dignity, if they even get that. She also dives into the history of the foster care system and its seedy history of ripping marginalized families apart, for example ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) is highlighted here and discussed at length.

This is important reading and I hope you read it, because these children and their families demand to be heard and seen. The LEAST we can do is listen.

#ExcellentNonfiction #Nonfiction #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeReporting #InvestigativeJournalism #ReadMoreBooks #ReadMoreNonfiction #ImportantReads #AlwaysReading #alwayslearning

A big part of fourth grade social studies standards in California is learning about the Gold Rush, so I was immediately enthralled by the premise of this book. Two Chinese siblings are left orphans after their mother and father die. Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush, this is a story about survival, grief, and sibling bonds, but ultimately I was not taken with it. It was pretty relentlessly bleak, which I guess fits in with the times. For me, I don’t mind bleak but truly remarkable authors have a way of infusing humor in places where even the light does not touch. Still, Zhang has talent and I will read her next book. This was her debut, and it definitely got me interested in what she has to say. Plus this unique perspective of an American Western novel was refreshing since it’s one we rarely hear about, and one I am trying to incorporate in my teaching more and more every year. #bookstagram #literaryfiction #litfic #bookstagrammer #goldrush #cahistory #historicalfiction #ChineseAmericanHistory #Debutauthors #alwaysreading #awardwinningbooks

Here is my March and April Wrap up.

Tiring months, but rewarding ones, and now I countdown till the end of the year. May always tends to be a busy month as state testing begins and that summer energy settles. But I am thoroughly done with all this rain.

Stands outs are Yolk and We Were Once A Family.

Many others were good or just fine, but honestly my mind is a fog of just trying to get to the next day. Not in bad way necessarily, but all teachers know this time of year starts to become quite a stretch to the finish line. I find myself not being able to read much as the distractions mount and tiredness seeps in. But so close! And as always reading is my comfort blanket.

#bookstagram #wrapup #readingwrapup #alwaysreading #middlegradebooks #fiction #nonfiction #moodreader #backlistbooks

Another rainy day, means a rainy photo. I thought this sequel was better than the first. I understand a lot of people’s gripe with the first one was that it confusing and kind of all over the place. Well if you can push through it, this one clarifies a lot of things the first one had trouble working through. The cast of characters is smaller and the world wider. It feels more focused. I loved it. There are times I have to stop myself when I read YA and be like “Viv, this was written with teens in mind, you are 35 get a grip.” But I love YA. There’s an earnestness you don’t find in adult fiction all the time that I appreciate. Bloodmarked was fast paced, action packed, and such a ride. I can’t wait to see how this story closes.

#Bloodmarked #Legendborn #YA #YAFantasy #ReadMoreBooks #RainyDayReads #FastPacedBooks #ActionPackedBooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

#TransRightsReadathon is underway, and here are some books I am hoping to dive into this week. Lots of #bookstagrammers across the web are posting wonderful organizations and mutual aid funds you can donate to to help out our transgender siblings. Follow the hashtag for more information and donate any money if you have the ability to do so, and finally make sure you’re listening to transgender voices and activists!!! It is strange to me when I talk to people I know and they don’t understand something and why it is wrong, but then don’t seek out information from the source or group being affected. Have questions? Confused? The answer is quite simple. Listen.To.Transgender.People. (and please actually listen, if it is not your lived experience, then sit back and shut up)

Here is what I’m hoping to get into:

the ship we built, by Lexie Bean: Rowan discovers a way to share his secrets: letters. Letters he attaches to balloons and releases into the universe, hoping someone new will read them and understand. But when he befriends a classmate who knows what it’s like to be lonely and scared, even at home, Rowan realizes that there might already be a person he can trust right by his side.

Freshwater, by Akwaeke Emezi: An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born “with one foot on the other side.” Unsettling, heartwrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater is a sharp evocation of a rare way of experiencing the world, one that illuminates how we all construct our identities.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon: Vern – seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised – flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world. But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.

Wishing for sunnier days in southern California, yeah yeah yeah, we need the rain, but I am sick of it. So here I am posting this sunny picture.

Anyways! The World We Make is the second and final installment of N.K. Jemisin’s cities duology. Overall, I enjoyed this series fine, but it was not mind blowing like The Fifth Season. I know it is unfair to compare the two, because they are completely different so please be the judge yourself if you have read neither! That being said, I will gladly visit any world Jemisin creates, and I did enjoy the uniqueness of this story but it just didn’t land for me. Alas, you can appreciate and respect something without having to love it. You could tell that Jemisin was simply out of gas for this one, and I don’t blame her. Creating anything at the height of the pandemic was a challenge for anyone.

I will say I can’t wait for her next novel. She is a writer that stands apart in the genre and I love being immersed in her stories. I know a lot of people that loved this series, so it give it a shot for yourself if you’re curious.

[ID: My hand holds the novel The World We Make by NK Jemisin against green plants. It is sunny outside.]

#nkjemisin #Sciencefiction #Urbanfantasy #GreatWriters #SFF #FantasyBooks #bookstagram