Tag Archives: Reading

Deep in the sugar cane plantations of Barbados, naturalist Christopher Wilde and his newly appointed eleven-year-old manservant Washington Black burst out of the treetops on a flying balloon named ‘The Cloud Cutter’. They are fleeing from Faith plantation, where Washington, a slave, has just witnessed the death of a white man, meaning he could very well be next. The pair journey across the world together, chasing after ghosts, until Washington must take up the mantle and chase after Christopher’s. A whip-smart marine illustrator and aspiring scientist, Washington Black may be physically free from the constraints of slavery, but its history refuses to let him go.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (which Edugyan would go on to chair in 2023), Washington Black takes a look at what comes after slavery. Young Washington is taken from his world and his family by this White Savior, who ultimately leaves him. Washington, reeling from his abandonment with nothing else in the world, must create his future while facing systemic and racial challenges wherever he goes. Washington has a brilliant mind for marine biology but cannot exist in the same scientific circles as his white counterparts of the 1830s. It simply isn’t done. Even as a free man, slavery has left a mark on his life, physically, emotionally, and in his pursuit of meaning. This adventure novel takes its readers on a trip around the globe. Adult Book Club Groups will explore new locales, meet strange characters, and discuss how our destiny is unwittingly shaped by those around us.

If you’re interested in requesting Washington Black for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 10 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Edugyan, Esi. Washington Black. Vintage. 2019

The prolific author, Caroline B. Cooney is best known for her suspenseful YA books, most notably her 1990 novel, The Face on the Milk Carton. A lifelong learner, when Cooney turned fifty, she moved to Manhattan for school, inspiring the setting for today’s spotlight Code Orange. Cooney’s novel takes place in 2004, a time when the city is still marred by the tragedy of the September 11th attacks, but recovering. Exploring through the eyes of a native New Yorker who feels an immense sense of pride and civic duty, we see how a child’s psyche can be unmistakably shaken by threats on his home, especially when he believes he is the key to the terrorist’s next attack.  

A biology assignment. An old book. An envelope. Scabs turning to dust. Before Mitty Blake can realize what’s happening, he’s possibly infected with one of the world’s oldest and most deadly diseases. Smallpox! Just days ago, Mitty was a laid-back teenager, who didn’t care about schoolwork or history. And now he’s fighting for his life, afraid that he is about to subject New York City and the world to an outbreak that could leave millions dead in its wake, especially if the wrong people were to find out his secret.

Cooney writes in a young teen voice that’s not only realistic but fun! Despite the weight of the world on his shoulders, Mitty is funny, charming, and a little self-deprecating. What makes Code Orange stand out from other YA thrillers, is that commitment to well-researched science. Not only does Cooney include a bibliography at the end, but her work was commended by the National Science Teachers Association as an “Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12”. The reader learns all about smallpox and effective ways to research alongside Mitty as he goes on his adventure. Written in 2005, Code Orange is surprisingly still relevant. Mitty’s fear of quarantine and what viruses can do to the body gives an interesting reflection to the COVID-19 pandemic that would come almost 15 years later. And like in the novel, the CDC is still on guard for threats of smallpox bioterrorism. Students and Adult Book Club Groups can compare how Cooney described the spread of the disease through New York City against how it happened in real-time, and discuss what has and hasn’t changed in the past 20 years regarding how we handle illness, internet safety, and the duty to our home.

• Check out the story that inspired Code Orange

If you’re interested in requesting Code Orange for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 23 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Cooney, Caroline B. Code Orange. Random House. 2005

On October 12th, 1972, a chartered plane of 45 college-aged rugby players and friends crashed deep into the Andes mountains. And 10 weeks later, sixteen would make it home. Among those in the crash were Nando Parrado, his mother, and his sister. But only Parrado would survive. Now a successful businessman, Parrado and his co-author Vince Rause, tell his personal story of the crash in today’s spotlight Miracle in the Andes. Expanding from the famous account, Alive by Piers Paul Read, the pair focus on the emotional toil, and teamwork that got the boys through the most impossible of circumstances instead of the more sensational aspects. Like many of his fellow survivors, Nando now travels as a motivational speaker, relaying his experience of survival and suffering to connect with others and heal emotional wounds. 

“I come from a plane that fell into the mountains.” When Nando Parrado woke up, there was darkness. From an affluent area on the warm coast of Uruguay, he was a member of a rugby team flying to a friendly match in Chile, but now there was only darkness, pain, and incredible cold. Stranded amongst the remains of their plane, the survivors had to brave the freezing Andes wholly unprepared. The looming mountains were no place for them, and they were doomed to be snuffed out if someone didn’t act fast. With his mother and sister now buried beneath the snow, and no rescue in sight, Nando’s sole focus in life was to make it home to his grieving father, even if that meant hiking the vast Andes in rugby cleats. On the mountain, the team had to do the unthinkable to survive in this moving story of perseverance, sacrifice, and love.      

The ill-fated Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 has spawned books, documentaries, and the award-winning movies “Alive” (1993) and “Society of the Snow” (2023). Parrado’s Miracle in the Andes uniquely chronicles the indomitable human spirit in the bleakest conditions. He showcases how the community and camaraderie of the rugby team ultimately kept them alive. And it was because of their humor, strength, friendship, and trust forged on the rugby pitch that they made it home. Parrado’s insights into the human condition and mind during the ordeal are the highlights of this book. While trying to survive the harsh climate, the young men have deep theological and political discussions about life and their Catholic upbringing. Our Book Club copies also feature a 2022 introduction by Parrado and photograph inserts that chronicle their daily lives, their rescue, and beyond. Adventurous Book Clubs will find the moral quandaries presented in this book challenging but captivating. Why do some survive and others do not? Are we obligated to do everything we can to stay alive, even if that means breaking taboo?

Further Listening:

• “You’re Wrong About” Podcast: Survival in the Andes with Blair Braverman

If you’re interested in requesting Miracle in the Andes for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 5 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Parrado, Nando. Miracle in the Andes. Penguin Random House. 2006

Chanel Miller. You might not know her name, but you know her story. Identified only as “Emily Doe”- her Victim Impact Statement has been viewed over 18 million times, translated worldwide, read, and referenced on news stations and the halls of government. In her beautiful and heartbreaking memoir, Know My Name, Miller comes forward for the first time as the sexual assault victim of Brock Turner to tell her story under her own name. This 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner shines with a cover of striking teal laced with cracks of gold, reminiscent of the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi– an act of giving new and beautiful life to what was once broken.

In 2015, Chanel Miller woke up in a hospital bed. Standing over her was a Stanford Dean and a Police Officer- they told her she was found passed out with a man looming over her at a party the night before. Still confused and groggy, Chanel was probed, examined, photographed, and asked if she wanted to press charges without telling her what for. Trying to be helpful… Chanel agreed. What followed was over a year of protracted trial dates and a bloodthirsty media waiting to tear her apart. Her assailant found guilty on all three felony counts of sexual assault, only served three months in county jail. Any longer, and the judge worried that it could affect the “bright future” in store for the ambitious swimmer Brock Turner. Basing the sentencing on a theoretical future and disregarding the real harm he caused to another person with a future of her own.

The case of The People V. Brock Allen Turner sent shockwaves across the United States and college campuses. Pushback from the sentencing led to California enacting laws to expand protections for victims, the people prevailing where the system had not. Through Know My Name, we see the fallout Chanel experiences from agreeing to pursue the case. Feelings of total isolation, threats of violence, and the loss of dignity were thrust upon her by a system crafted against survivors. But her story is also about the love and hope she found in her family, this new community of survivors, and the people working for change.

Luckily, Miller’s story does not begin or end with Brock Turner’s actions that night. She is a daughter, an older sister, and a friend. She is an artist and a writer. She is a young woman in the 21st century. Miller’s story of going through the trial process is fascinating and heartbreaking. She was constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing, being too emotional, or not emotional enough. Her empathy and fear for Turner’s mental state are regarded as actions of passivity. As a survivor, Miller was especially vulnerable; as a young half-Chinese woman with no legal experience, she was taken advantage of by the systems of power. But the people fought back. Book Club Groups who were fans of memoirs like Educated and The Glass Castle can discuss the changing tide of how we react to and define violence towards women and how this novel gives a voice to millions of voiceless people. In Know My Name, Miller is smart, funny, and most of all, human. Holding a BA in Literature, Miller has been surrounded her whole life by incredibly intelligent women writers, and it shines in her own writing. Today, she continues to write and create art with her critically acclaimed 2024 Middle-Grade Fiction Book, Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All.  

More from Chanel Miller:

• Short film: “I Am With You”
• 60 Minutes: “Chanel Miller’s Story“
• Chanel’s Victim Impact Statement (also printed in the book)

If you’re interested in requesting Know My Name or your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 8 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Miller, Chanel. Know My Name. Penguin Random House. 2019