Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Penguin, 2014 352 pages I don’t read a lot of poetry, and I’m not entirely sure why. When my poetry-loving friends put up Facebook posts sharing a favorite line or two from what they’re currently reading, I always think, “How beautiful. I really should read more poetry.” Maybe verse is not … Continue reading Brown Girl Dreaming
Inside Out and Back Again
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai HarperCollins, 2011 272 pages The Vietnam War is kind of a nebulous area in my historical understanding. I know something about it--but only from an American perspective (how and why the U.S. got involved, our casualties, protests on the homefront). I know virtually nothing about the war … Continue reading Inside Out and Back Again
Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse Scholastic, 1997 227 pages I first read Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust several years ago (maybe around 2005?) and remembered it as an inspiring book, good fodder for Read Like a Girl. What I didn't remember is that it's also one of the rawest, heaviest books I've … Continue reading Out of the Dust