Jennifer Hubert's Blog, page 11
July 27, 2017
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
High school senior Justyce McAllister is feeling the heat of being an African American man in 2017. The news is full of stories of unarmed black men being shot by white cops. He’s arrested by a police officer for just walking down the street, when all he was doing was trying to keep his drunk […]
July 6, 2017
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Welcome to Reading Rants: Summer Reading Edition! I decided to re-read Betty Smith’s classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, partially because of this NYC reading challenge When the winning book turned out to be one I had recently devoured, I took a dive into ATGIB instead because a) I found this pretty, pretty paperback edition […]
June 20, 2017
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
In the late teens and early 1920’s, many young American women were thrilled to find paying work outside the home in factories that sprang up in the wake of WWI. Two of these factories, Radium Luminous Materials in Newark, New Jersey and the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois, manufactured glow-in-the-dark wristwatches. The factories employed […]
May 21, 2017
Something New by Lucy Knisley
Not being a big fan of weddings in general, it took me awhile to pick up Lucy Knisley‘s charming graphic memoir about her own wedding experience. What I should have remembered is that Knisley has a knack for drawing me in to whatever she’s drawing (pun intended)–whether it’s food, travel or family, and Something New […]
May 14, 2017
Yvain: The Knight of the Lion by M.T. Anderson, illustrated by Andrea Offerman
Yvain, a little (ish) known knight from the court of King Arthur, wishes for adventure and gets more than he bargained for when he kills a local lord in battle and then promptly falls for the dead lord’s lady, Laudine. Luckily he is saved from this uber-awkward situation by Laudine’s maid, Lunette, who convinces her […]
May 11, 2017
Thornhill by Pam Smy
Two eerie tales intertwine in this gorgeously illustrated gem. Mary’s story unfolds through the pages of her diary, dated the spring and summer of 1982. An orphan, Mary lives with several other girls and their caretakers at the Thornhill Institute, where she is terrorized by another girl so malicious that she won’t even write her […]
April 9, 2017
Be True to Me by Adele Griffin
I don’t know about you teen peeps, but when the April thermometer stays stubbornly in the 30’s and 40’s and I’m ready for warmer weather, there’s no better antidote than sending myself to a steamy place via a book. And Adele Griffin‘s delicious new title about a love triangle set on Fire Island during the […]
March 24, 2017
The Girl In Between by Sarah Carroll
An unnamed girl in an anonymous city tells the story of her and her Ma, a homeless addict who tries to stay clean for her daughter but never quite succeeds. The girl and Ma move from tent to alley to abandoned building, constantly dodging the frightening Authorities in their official yellow vests. They are finally […]
March 10, 2017
American Street by Ibi Zoboi
When Haitian-born Fabiola arrives at her cousins’ house on the corner of American Street and Joy Road in Detroit, she dreams of starting a new life. But after her beloved mother is detained at the airport, Fabiola’s dreams begin to fade. Her aunt and three cousins (Chantal, Donna and Pri) are strange and intimidating, with […]
February 27, 2017
Vincent and Theo: the Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
Vincent and Theo, Theo and Vincent. More than friends, more than brothers, these steadfast siblings kept each other alive through their devotion to art and to each other. Theo was the prosperous younger brother, becoming a profitable art dealer at a young age due to his savvy business sense and sharp eye. Vincent was the […]
