Love and Resistance

 

My Thoughts:

When I was in high school, my parents moved to Hawaiʻi island and set up a mini ranch in Volcano. I was in charge of the chickens or rather retired hens. What I learned from these old biddies (or birdies) is that the pecking order is part of the social culture of the flock. If I separated the low hen on the pecking order, the biddies already had the next lowest hen in mind. More shockingly, if I put another hen in isolation with the lowest hen, the lowest hen gleefully would become the top hen and do the same thing that was done to her. What I learned from these observations in the hendom is that social justice is antithetical to pecking order. However, these are hens, not humans. I still have hope for humans. However, social justice and equity in education has been a lifelong endeavor for me and I am entering my 31st year in education. In my observations in the middle school culture, I have also seen that how you react to the bully is also complex because they may be bullied at home, or they may be hurting too, so a hard stance on "not in my classroom," but also a hard stance on no to the behavior, not no to the person is necessary so that all middle schoolers can continue to fully form into 3 dimensional whole humans with their identities and self worth intact. 

This book by Kara H.L. Chen comes pretty close to understanding that weird dynamic of facing bullying without becoming the bully.  If students like this book, another book that you can give them is Queens of New York by E.L. Shen for more of what I call the strong "systems of support" that is seen in Love and Resistance. 

A darker read set in a middle school, students can also be given Jennifer Chan is Not Alone by Hawaiʻi born Korean American author Tae Keller. And yes, the reason I revealed that Tae Keller is from Hawaiʻi is that even in a minority majority school system like Hawaiʻi, bullying still happens. This story is really about the cost of being different, and how the "be invisible" strategy that Olivia uses in Love and Resistance does not work.  I realize that my three books I talked about in this post are all from Asian American authors who write about Asian American characters, but I think that is only as purposeful as the books I choose to read. 

From the Publisher:

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang is at her fourth school in seven years. Her self-imposed solitude is lonely but safe. At Plainstown High, however, Olivia’s usual plan of anonymity fails when infamous it-girl Mitzi Clarke makes a pointed racist comment in class. Tired of ignoring things just to survive, Olivia defends herself.  

And that is the end of her invisible life. 

Soon, Olivia joins forces with the Nerd Net: a secret society that's been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror for months. Together, they plan to unite the masses and create true change at school.

But in order to succeed, Olivia must do something even more terrifying than lead a movement: trust other people. She might even make true friends along the way . . . if Mitzi doesn’t destroy her first. 

Publication Information

Author: Kara H.L. Chen

Publisher:  Quill Tree Books (July 4, 2023)