Hawaii by James Michener
This classic, published in 1959, purchased after visiting Hawaii in 2010, was the lfinal book on my to-read shelf. I read through everything else during the height of the pandemic (March 2020 through February 2022), saving this 1036-page book for last. It starts slow, and ends rather weakly, but the parts in the middle are quite good. The book traces the history of Hawaii from its prehistoric formation (no people in that chapter, so I only skimmed it), through the arrival of the original Hawaiians, the American missionaries, the Chinese, and the Japanese, up to 1954, just before statehood. James Michener creates memorable characters that one can care about. Parts of the book may be politically incorrect today, but it is (well-researched) historical fiction, accurate for the time it was written.
A few memorable quotes from the last part of the book:
page 903: In truth, all men are brothers, but as generations pass, it is differences that matter and not similarities.
page 947-8 - Hoxworth Hale: "Why don't the people down there [in Honolulu] trust us to know what's best for these islands?" he asked in some bewilderment. "You'd think they'd bear in mind all we've done for Hawaii."
page 951: In obedience to Gresham's Law of social change, when the moderates were driven out, the radicals moved in, and from 1944 on, a group of ultra-tough labor men quietly penetrated the islands, and among them were many communists, for they had seen from afar that the situation in Hawaii made it a likely spot for the flowering of the communist creed.
page 973 - Aunt Lucinda explains, "So poor Whipple Janders, when he ran off with the air corps man, was only doing what could be expected, because he had Hawaiian blood from both sides of his family."
Yay for Big Brothers! by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Shennen Bersani
This science nonfiction picture book presents various animal family groups, in double-page spreads of inviting, realistic illustrations, with the tasks an older sibling might do for or with a younger sibling. The reader is then asked to recognize if or identify how they might engage in the same behavior with human siblings. The book ends with a glossary, additional facts, and some questions and answers, as well as a bibliography. I wish the book had addressed sisters too, not just brothers, and considered using some wording (at least for one animal group) that would acknowledge children with no siblings (perhaps a cousin, aunt, etc., who could do the same things).
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
This is a beautiful love story set in 1936-37 rural East Texas, at the site of the 1937 New London School explosion. Naomi is an orphaned Mexican-American girl, living with her elderly grandparents in San Antonio, when Henry, her white stepfather, who now works in the oil fields, takes her back to New London along with his children, her younger twin half-siblings.
While married to second husband Henry, Naomi's mother has several miscarriages that threatened her life, and her doctors advise her not to have more children. Henry molests Naomi when she is seven, implying that she could "save" her mother that way. Ultimately he impregnates her mother with the twins, whose births lead to her death. He leaves for the oil fields, but comes back for the children about ten years later, after he's "born again" and quits drinking.
In New London, Naomi does all the cooking and cleaning, but does go to the high school for whites (Henry enrolls her under his surname, Smith). Her beauty arouses jealousy from the girls and lust from the boys. She meets Wash, an African-American boy who works around the school grounds, and they fall in love, which they try to keep secret. Naturally they each experience all the racism typical of rural Texas in the 1930s - and today.
Meanwhile, Henry has returned to drinking, and his pastor suggests he marry Naomi to counter his lustful urges (and gossip). The book ends in tragedy, centered around the school explosion (which was caused by natural gas leaks from a tap into a residue line), but much more, and much worse.
Yes, there are descriptions of sexual acts and feelings in the book - little Naomi is abused by her "religious" stepfather, remember? Despite all the complaints by the "Christian" nationalists and other right-wing fundamentalists that this is "pornography," what really triggers them are 1) an interracial love story, 2) the overt racism displayed by nearly every white person in New London (Naomi's friend Muff is a partial exception, as she's not overt), and 3) the villains are Christians - Henry, supposedly "born again," and his overbearing Pastor Tom.
This book was a much-deserving Michael Printz Honor Book in 2016, for excellence in young adult literature. It *IS* appropriate for young adults who can think for themselves and haven't been brainwashed by their parents or churches. I'm sad to say this book was banned from school library shelves in my racist, radical right-wing rural Republican town, for "sexually explicit content." Surprisingly, I was able to check out the book from the young adult shelves at the local county library in March 2022, when the controversy here arose. However, after I returned the book, it was moved to the adult section.
ETA 17 January 2025: Now the book is completely gone from the local public library. Unbelievable.
We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
This is another book I read because it was banned from school library shelves in my racist, radical right-wing rural Republican town, for "sexually explicit content." It was not available in my local library, either, but I was able to borrow the e-book from another library.
I didn't like We Are the Ants as much as another one that was banned, Out of Darkness. I'm not too keen on fantasy, and the premise of this book is that the main character, gay teenager Henry Denton, is frequently abducted by aliens he calls "sluggers." On a recent abduction, however, they've offered him a choice: the world will end in 144 days, but he can stop that with the press of a button.
Trouble is, Henry isn't sure the world is worth saving. His boyfriend Jesse committed suicide the previous year. His dad is not in the picture, and his mother struggles financially. He's losing his beloved grandmother to Alzheimer's. His brother is a jobless dropout who just got his girlfriend pregnant. He is bullied at school (he's called "Space Boy" due to the alien abductions), primarily by a jock who secretly hooks up with him for trysts.
Henry has a scientific bent, though, so he looks for the pros and cons on saving the planet. His and Jesse's longtime friend, Audrey, is a plus, as is the new boy at school, Diego.
Rather than being a typical "coming out" story, this book deals with other important issues faced by many teenagers - depression, bullying, suicide, abuse, grief, and dysfunctional families, as well as positive relationships, love, and acceptance. The sexuality of the characters is not a major aspect of the book, and is certainly not a reason for banning it.
No comments:
Post a Comment