Book Reviews: For Adults

Books are listed in alphabetical order by title. My Bookshop wishlist with recommendations for adults is found here. This list will be regularly updated as I read more books and review!

I encourage you to approach these topics and books with curiosity. I personally read and reviewed the books below in my own journey as a lifelong learner. I encourage you to also challenge yourself and avoid forming an opinion too quickly. With our deep seated biases and misconceptions, this work requires a willingness to do some difficult introspection and work on ourselves. Take notes, take time to process when it gets tough, and take action.

Topics include:

diversity (beginner)
diversity (intermediate)
diversity (for BIPOC) - for those who may identify personally with the stories
diversity (for normalizing) - more storytelling type education. These can be used as opportunities to understand other cultures and people
grief

Find other lists and resources here:

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Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir

by Robin Ha, illustrated by Robin Ha

Audience/age-range: preteen to teen, especially those who may identify as an immigrant and/or enjoy graphic novels. Adults would enjoy too.
Topic: diversity (for normalizing), diversity (for BIPOC)
My commentary: The author wrote and illustrated this novel about her experience immigrating from Korea with her mom. Quick flex that I was actually gifted a signed copy of this by my fellow 2nd generation immigrant friend (thanks, R). Though Robin is 1st generation, I am half Korean and related so much to it. For example, Robin struggles with finding her place in school, in her new blended family, and in how her adult caregivers don't really give her support she desperately needed for the drastic changes occuring in her life.

Dancing at the Pity Party, a dead mom graphic novel

written and illustrated by Tyler Feder

Audience/age-range: preteen to teen who lost a parent/adult caregiver and/or enjoys graphic novels. Author self-identifies as culturally Jewish (particularly brought up with funeral rites). Adults would enjoy too (written by Tyler as an adult, 10 years after losing her mom). Recommend for child life specialists who want to get in the head of a teen/young adult coping with grief and to think about how our work can be so powerful in navigating those end-of-life moments from the receving side
Topic: grief - loss of a parent, loss of mother, loss to cancer
My commentary: The author wrote and illustrated this novel grappling with her mom's cancer diagnosis and the journey of losing her quite quickly. Her mom was young (age 47) and Tyler was 19, a college sophomore, when she died. She was really close to her mom and it's a creative expression of her grief.

While an "easy read" as a graphic novel, it's also hard and I called my mom halfway through to cry to her that I got so sad thinking about losing her. It addresses common themes and topics that we grapple with when losing an important person. But it also interweaves the pain of remembering someone with your favorite, silly, specific memories together. And their quirks. All of the mess. My favorite of this is how she misses her mom's handwriting. I legitimately laughed out loud many times too.

I think the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" was particularly powerful in this. A lot of ideas, coping, and feelings associated with grief are really hard to describe. But Tyler illustrates it in sad, quirky, beautiful, funny, and poignant ways. She also discusses what is helpful and what isn't when supporting someone coping with loss, from euphemisms to anniversaries to awkward conversations. I highly recommend it!

This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work

by Tiffany Jewell, illustrated by Aurélia Durand

Audience/age-range: pre-teen to teen, especially those who do not identify with dominant culture. Adults too as a general introduction to anti-racist work, especially if you enjoy graphic novels.
Topic: diversity (beginner) - explores topics of identity, race, ethnicity, terminology, and more
My commentary: It reads really easily with lots of graphic illustrations and activities for reflection included at the end of each chapter. There's a glossary in the back but this is definitely a stepping block for you to "do the work" beyond this book. It reminds me of what a fun textbook would be like with historical lessons, eye-catching graphics, and engaging information. But it doesn't shy away from the importance of difficult topics, especially what it really looks like to take action steps of being a true ally. The title really says it all! If everyone were to take the contents seriously, I think BIPOC would have an easier time navigating society and slowly dismantling systemic oppression.

On a personal note, I gained knowledge on a new term "Folx of the Global Majority" which I love. I also gleaned a lot of insight into how someone else who identifies as biracial, mixed, ethnically mixed sees themselves and how those categories have evolved with our own understanding of our identities and as terminology changes. The author doesn't like using "half" for herself because she wants to be seen as whole. But for me, I think it best encompasses me to say half-Korean and half-Bangladeshi, which actually makes me feel more whole to always mention both sides.

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