Paradise Book Report

AMERICAN STREET  by Ibi Zoboi Cultural diversity in literature has never been more important than it is now. People all over the country and the world are becoming increasingly aware of the depth of systemic racism and are urgently seeking ways to develop critical awareness to challenge oppressive narratives and to seek out underrepresented voices. Karen Jensen, librarian and inclusivity advocate, notes that “It would be good to acknowledge upfront that an able bodied, white cishet neutral is assumed in society and in publishing…” (Brock 2019, pp. 12). Our national demographics and student populations are more culturally diverse than ever, but the publishing industry has lagged behind, and diverse characters and authors remain disproportionately underrepresented. As Jensen goes on to emphasize, “inclusive collections are the goal because all patrons deserve representation.” But why does representation matter? Richard Delgado argues (Hughes-Hassell 2013) that counter-stories, t

THIS BOOK IS GAY  by Juno Dawson was challenged in Wasilla, Alaska after a 10-year-old kid pulled it from the lower shelves in the juvenile nonfiction section of the public library. His mother was mortified by the sexually explicit slang and cartoon illustrations and initiated a request for reconsideration for the book to be moved to the adult section of the library. Anchorage Daily News (2015) reported, “About 15 or 20 people came out to a reconsideration committee meeting last Thursday but were turned away by city officials who said the meeting wasn't public and a small conference room couldn't hold them all. ‘They literally locked the door on us,’ said Christina Hancey, one of the parents at the meeting.” This case is interesting because the public seemed to have little understanding of the reconsideration policies of the library and felt that they were being excluded from the process. The article also states that “Campbell filed a formal ‘reconsideration’ request wit

Kindred  by Octavia E. Butler - Graphic Novel Adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings This was my first introduction to the work of Octavia E. Butler, and as a fan of science fiction, my only regret is that I hadn’t read her sooner. This graphic novel adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings is a raw and disturbing tribute to Butler’s vision. Through the conceit of time travel,  Kindred  exposes the truth that, as much as we’d prefer to imagine that the stain of slavery in the United States is ancient history, modern Black people may encounter the ugliness of racism in the present in a way that feels like involuntarily traveling back through time. When she is transported to the antebellum South, Dana is startled by the casual use of racial slurs and violence, and she finds herself needing to quickly adapt to her surroundings in order to survive. Since the novel’s protagonist is married to a white man who also gets pulled back in time with his wife, their status as equals