Unraveled by Maxine Bedat

UNRAVELED by Maxine Bedat is subtitled “The Life and Death of a Garment” and Bedat uses nine chapters and a pair of jeans to discuss the various aspects of the clothing marketplace from growing cotton in Texas, through manufacturing (of both a textile and clothing), marketing, and distribution. She also includes chapters which cover purchasing decisions, disposal of used and donated clothing (Americans “throw out more than eighty pounds of textiles per person per year”) as well as offering suggestions for future action. I was originally curious about UNRAVELED because there has been a great deal of student interest in this topic recently, with several students completing Junior Themes related to fast fashion and sustainability in the last few years. I have since learned that Bedat is Director of the New Standard Institute, a research and action think tank. Her work has been covered in numerous publications including The New Yorker, Vogue, Fast Company, The Nation and so on. I plan to definitely purchase and recommend UNRAVELED as it covers a 2.5 trillion-dollar industry which impacts all of us; consider the many people Bedat consults: “agronomists, climate scientists, historians, fashion executives, factory executives, and material scientists; labor experts, organizers and laborers; political scientists, toxicologists, psychologists, marketers and economists.” UNRAVELED contains extensive notes and a helpful index; related texts include: Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas and The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth Cline.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams is a recent work of historical fiction focused in part on words that were omitted from the Oxford English Dictionary. Main character Esme is the daughter of one of the editors and this is her coming of age (really, a coming of awareness regarding lower classes and women) story, too. Set initially in the 1880s during Esme’s childhood and moving forward to the time of the women’s suffrage movement in England, THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS received a starred review from Library Journal. It is a bit on the longer side (about 400 pages) and rather slow paced, but it a delightful debut novel which will be a rewarding read for those who enjoy lexicography, language and its history.

Black, White, and The Grey

BLACK, WHITE, AND THE GREY by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano is “The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant.” Bailey, a Black chef, and Morisano, a White entrepreneur join forces to renovate and open a formerly segregated Greyhound bus station as The Grey, an innovative restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. At the end of each chapter they share a favorite recipe. And with promotional blurbs from chef Marcus Samuelsson and others, this is clearly a text which deals with wine, food and the influence of African American cuisine, but it is much more. This text touches not only on the cooking and business side of running a restaurant, but also on “race, class, and culture” and the many uncomfortable conversations all of that involves. Together Johno and Mashama relate their story in an honest, intimate way – sometimes in alternating paragraphs, as if they were sitting beside the reader and interrupting each other. Unfortunately, my access to BLACK, WHITE, AND THE GREY expired before I could completely finish it, but I look forward to doing so.

One Great Lie by Deb Caletti

ONE GREAT LIE is the latest young adult novel from award-winning author Deb Caletti (see especially A Heart in a Body in the World). Unfortunately, this most recent title which dealt with misogyny and sexual harassment was disappointing to me and I honestly did not finish it.  Thanks to a scholarship, the main character (Charlotte, a recent high school graduate) heads to Venice and a summer writing program run by Luca Bruni, a famous writer who is also rumored to be inappropriately involved with young women. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a reference to a female Italian poet, generally from the 1500s or 1600s. While interesting and informative, that also reinforced the sense of impending trauma, calling to mind the famous painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Charlotte is also seeking to learn more about a female relative and poet from that time period – I wish the historical part of the story had developed earlier and more fully. I have sincerely enjoyed numerous titles by Deb Caletti so while I had reservations about ONE GREAT LIE, please note that it did receive starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT by Marianne Cronin is the story set in a Glasgow hospital of two terminal patients - one aged 17 years and the other 83 – who become fast friends and retell the stories of their lives through pictures.  This debut novel is an interesting juxtaposition of two rather quirky characters and it's generally positive and humorous, although not especially memorable. It will make for an entertaining movie. Booklist described Cronin’s well-written novel as “A strong and intriguing read-alike for John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.” I respectfully disagree because Lenni felt very immature at times (more like an 11 year-old than a 17 year-old). Margot, while full of vigor and the more nuanced perspective that comes with age, shares tales of numerous broken relationships and rather random life choices. It is wonderful that these lonely characters have found friendship and support in each other, if only for a short time. THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT was a Library Reads selection for June.  

The Ground Breaking by Scott Ellsworth

THE GROUND BREAKING by Scott Ellsworth is subtitled “An American City and Its Search for Justice” and is about the Tulsa Race Massacre and its aftermath. Ellsworth, an award-winning author and formerly a historian at the Smithsonian Institution, currently teaches at the University of Michigan. He begins this text by describing Greenwood, Tulsa’s African American district in 1921, as “a wonder, a living and breathing Black edition of the American Dream. But … it is also a mindset, a bearing, a way of engaging with the world. In an age when people of color are constantly being told that they are lesser beings, here is a community who knows that they are just as good as anyone.” In his first chapter, Ellsworth details the events of late May and June 1, 1921 – the mob violence, use of incendiary bombs to set the district on fire, the looting and killing. He then turns to the efforts he made (over 50 years later in the late 1970s) to learn about those events, including interviews and scouring primary sources like police records and newspapers from the time and a written account by Greenwood resident Mary Parrish, “easily the single most important source on the history of the riot.” Other sections of the text focus on efforts at rebuilding, searching for the graves of those who died, obtaining reparations, and getting wider attention. The Washington Post published the first national story (after 1921) in 1982 after Ellsworth’s Death in a Promised Land was published and it was more than a dozen years after that - and after the Oklahoma City Bombing - until the state legislature agreed to fund a Commission to look into the riots in Tulsa. A harrowing and truly fascinating account, THE GROUND BREAKING contains copious notes and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Library Journal ("A must-read for all who are interested in how history continues to impact the present"), and Publishers Weekly.

The Burning -- Young Readers' Edition

THE BURNING by Tim Madigan has recently been released in a Young Readers’ Edition, adapted by Hilary Beard. This non-fiction text explores “Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921;” it parallels Madigan’s earlier work which was already in our collection. Every year, we have at least some students who research this historical event and its sickening aftermath; having this new edition, plus a chapter by chapter discussion guide is a big plus to further understanding. And, that guide refers to a nineteen-minute Ted Talk, The Danger of a Single Story, which we often watch with students:

THE BURNING includes background information and a chronological accounting of events from varied perspectives, plus an index, chapter notes, and an author’s note from Madigan which refers to other incidents. There are also several pages of suggested resources on Black Wall Street, lynching and racial violence, Reconstruction, the Tulsa Race Massacre itself and over a dozen recommended books related to these topics. Profession reviewers like School Library Journal suggest that this newly adapted edition of THE BURNING could be used with students in grades 6 and up.  It received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus.