In this third and final installment, the main character of Jared Christensen is writing letters to his besA fantastic end to the Dear Martin trilogy.
In this third and final installment, the main character of Jared Christensen is writing letters to his best friend Manny who died in the book Dear Martin. Jared was an insufferable and racist tool in Dear Martin but now that he’s in college (at Yale, though that is not ever explicitly stated in this book, there are clues for the reader to know this) and has experienced the death of his best friend as the result of racial profiling, Jared is trying to be a better human. Sometimes he gets it right, but many times he still gets it very wrong.
Nic Stone is an absolute gift to humanity and to the young people for whom she writes. Giving someone like Jared Christensen the grace we as readers feel he likely doesn’t deserve is how we learn to navigate a world where our digital silos have trained us to see people as either all good or all bad. Jared’s story reminds us that we all contain multitudes� especially as many of us (speaking for myself as a white person) are working to unlearn the racism (both overt and covert, systematic and individual) we have been taught in our homes and by society at large.
I’m grateful that Nic Stone and many of the POC characters gave Jared the grace he didn’t deserve, but I hope that white readers don’t assume that everyone will react this way and they use this book as an opportunity to see that there is always work to do. Jared didn’t have an epiphany after his friend died and then just automatically become a benevolent anti-racist hero. He was still messing up even to the last pages. Like we all do in real life. ...more
If two years ago you would’ve recommended I read a nonfiction book about the topic of tuberculosis, I would have given you side eye. But here I am in If two years ago you would’ve recommended I read a nonfiction book about the topic of tuberculosis, I would have given you side eye. But here I am in 2025 not only reading a book about it, but also telling you that it is an incredibly engaging and accessible read. I think the only person who could’ve enticed me to read a book about this topic is John Green� because his books are always so human and thought provoking. He doesn’t dare you or shame you to think hard about things or talk down to you; he just writes in a way that makes you want to be better and smarter about the world. And so he approaches this topic from a humanities lens rather than a science one. He shows the ways in which this disease has been “a failure of our social order, an invasion of injustice.� You see, we have the power to eradicate TB around the world. We just choose not to because the people that TB primarily afflicts are from low income countries.
So John Green set out to put a human face on this global problem. He tells the story of Henry, a boy he meets at a hospital in Sierra Leone that he immediately connects with because he has a son named Henry and he assumes they are the same age due to his “spindly legs and a big, goofy smile.�
As Green tells the story of the societal factors that once made it “fashionable� to have TB, to becoming mostly a disease of poverty, Green always comes back to Henry’s story, to ground his narrative in the present-day.
I encourage everyone who cares about public health to pick up this humanizing narrative. And as you can see here, it is a short read, coming in at only 198 pages. When the Penguin booth at ALA was handing them out I even asked if this was just a sampler because I was so surprised it was so short. But by the time you get to the last page, you’ll wish it was longer, not because the book feels incomplete, but because it’s such an engaging and important read.
And because so many of my friends are teachers and librarians, I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to middle and high school readers. If they like John Green’s YA novels, they’ll enjoy this book. ...more
A simple yet emotional story of a grandfather whose love for his grandchildren make them think he’s the greatest grandfather. In his own mind he bristA simple yet emotional story of a grandfather whose love for his grandchildren make them think he’s the greatest grandfather. In his own mind he bristles at this thought, but at as the story progresses, you start to see that for these kids, his time and love and storytelling make him the greatest for them. ...more
A cute story that will help kids conceptualize the mathematical concepts of remainders and prime numbers. Math picture books are pretty few and far beA cute story that will help kids conceptualize the mathematical concepts of remainders and prime numbers. Math picture books are pretty few and far between but this is a great one. ...more
My school library makerspace isn’t just low budget, it’s no-budget. I have gleaned many things that would have otherwise been thrown away or asked forMy school library makerspace isn’t just low budget, it’s no-budget. I have gleaned many things that would have otherwise been thrown away or asked for donations and kids make things out of items that would have been thrown away. So this book will be a great introduction to the spirit of our makerspace� to create something new out of items destined for the landfill. ...more
As a lefty myself, I love this book. And also, I love the heavy emphasis on how it used to be considered bad to be left handed for a long time but socAs a lefty myself, I love this book. And also, I love the heavy emphasis on how it used to be considered bad to be left handed for a long time but society grew and evolved. There is definitely an obvious comparison that could be made to that in this day and age but I will let you make that inference....more
Such a cool book! Just enough text to make it meaty but not so much that it's too dense for a picture book. Will definitely be getting a copy for my sSuch a cool book! Just enough text to make it meaty but not so much that it's too dense for a picture book. Will definitely be getting a copy for my school library. ...more
Women in their late 30s/early 40s, put this book on your TBR piles. Dr. Mary Claire Haver has written the only book you will need when you are in periWomen in their late 30s/early 40s, put this book on your TBR piles. Dr. Mary Claire Haver has written the only book you will need when you are in perimenopause. I have read several books and articles about menopause in the past year as well as following doctors like Haver on social media and this book is THE book that gives you the information you need that is easy-to-digest and empowers you as a patient to advocate for yourself at your next doctor's visit. Haver recognizes that while not ideal, patients have the opportunity to be educating physicians and changing the paradigm about hormone replacement therapy, which has been unjustly maligned for the past 20+ years ever since a wrongly interpreted study was released via press conference to the media back in 2002 that said it increases the risk of getting breast cancer. This book empowers patients to discuss this previously taboo topic with their doctors in order to return some quality of life from the laundry list of physical and mental health symptoms related to perimenopause. Because at a certain point, you have to ask yourself if it's worth the risk to gain back some quality of life....more
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