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)

Jennifer Chan is Not Alone

 

From the Publisher:

Sometimes middle school can make you feel like you're totally alone in the universe...but what if we aren't alone at all?
 
Thanks to her best friend, Reagan, Mallory Moss knows the rules of middle school. The most important one? You have to fit in to survive. But then Jennifer Chan moves in across the street, and that rule doesn’t seem to apply. Jennifer doesn’t care about the laws of middle school, or the laws of the universe. She believes in aliens—and she thinks she can find them.
 
Then Jennifer goes missing. Using clues from Jennifer’s journals, Mallory goes searching. But the closer she gets, the more Mallory has to confront why Jennifer might have run . . . and face the truth within herself.
 
Tae Keller lights up the sky with this insightful story about shifting friendships, right and wrong, and the power we all hold to influence and change one another. No one is alone.

My Thoughts:

Tae Keller won a Newberry Medal for When You Trap a Tiger. This next book is about bullying and at the core it is about those personal insecurities that lead people to be bullies, even people who feel like they are good people at the core. It brought back all of the middle school ghosts of trying to fit even if the trajectory up was littered with people who once were friends. 

This is a painful story about the cost of being different. This is a reminder that the middle school trauma follows us into adulthood. How many people invite their bullies to coffee so they can write this story and get the "why" answered? This is catharsis for adults and a necessary mirror for middle grades. 

From one middle school teacher to other middle school teachers, this story is why "withitness" is so important. We have to read between the lines, see behind our backs, hear everything, check odd behavior and be intolerant of mean, bullying behavior in writing, "jokes," social media, texts and other forms of communication. It is about protecting what makes each student rare, gifted and magical. 

Author: Tae Keller

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

The Henna Wars (audiobook)

 

My Thoughts:

The audiobook is pleasant enough, but I also have the physical book to give away so I wanted to plow through the audiobook before I give away the book. In a way, this is like Cafe Con Lychee but with lesbian teens. This book takes place in Ireland, although Ireland feels a lot like anywhere on the continent USA. 

If students want to read about social justice issues, standing above bullying, stepping forward in culture, and coming of age LGBTQ romance, this book is for them. Like Cafe, one character sees the other as the enemy but the other character (in this case Flávia vs. Gabi) is really just misunderstood or perhaps misunderstands. The process of Flávia better understanding Nishat helps Flávia to be brave enough to be honest with herself and her family. It is the same with Gabi.

From the Publisher:

Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat decide to showcase their talent as henna artists. In a fight to prove who is the best, their lives become more tangled―but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush, especially since Flávia seems to like her back.

As the competition heats up, Nishat has a decision to make: stay in the closet for her family, or put aside her differences with Flávia and give their relationship a chance.

Lunch Every Day (Picture Book)

 

Publication date: September 7, 2021

My Thoughts:

The author's note on the back cover includes a picture of long time educator Jim Perez who has been running innovative bullying prevention programs in Southern California. This is a story about Jim as a bully in his younger years and the unasked for charity and grace that was shown to him. This kind of intervention of kindness and compassionate action is what helped him to become the leader that he is today, and this simple picture book says just enough of the story to show all of that about him. 

As a middle school teacher, this picture book is a great way to have conversations about why people do what they do. Even in the pre-service, teacher preparation program that I teach in, this is a great way to really talk about how punishment does not work, but compassion and action does. 

Another thought: what a great model text to use as a way to start an oral history project in the classroom and focus on one pivotal story that changes the trajectory of your interviewees life. It also can help students try and learn from their own pivotal moment by writing and/or drawing. 

From the Publisher:

Every day Jimmy takes ‘Skinny Kid’s’ lunch at school. No way will he be caught dead standing in that FREE LUNCH line. Even when he’s called into the principal’s office, Jimmy just shrugs. “Yeah. Whatever.” Until a surprising act of kindness stops him in his tracks. For a split second a door cracks open into Jimmy’s heart. Who knows? Maybe he’ll just kick that door right open.