Cats in Krasinski Square: a review

The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This recounting of the Warsaw uprising tells the story of a little girl from a family outside the ghetto trying to help support the jews inside who are resisting the nazis.

It's a story of small heros that deals with issues of privilege, passing, and resistance in a manner that is age appropriate. A great book for starting a conversation about social responsibility and how people who have safety can help those who are in dangerous situations. I'd recommend it to any kid, but especially to anyone looking for people's history.


View all my reviews.

Jokes and the Unconscious: A book review

Jokes and the Unconscious: A Graphic Novel by Daphne Gottlieb

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book isn't your typical graphic novel. It takes the mundane: a college aged girl loosing her father, and twists it into the surreal.

The story itself reads largely like a written novel with the art adding layers more than detail.

Paced by uneasy jokes, this graphic novel pushes its tale forward with all the pithy desperation of fight club complimented by haunting artwork.

If you're looking for Allison Bechdel, you won't find it here, but if you're up for a somewhat nihilistic walk through the grieving process, then the experience is well worth the read.
View all my reviews.

The Beat of Urban Hip Hop: A review

The Beat of Urban Art: The Art of Justin Bua by Justin Bua

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The author has developed the art of story telling through the combination of visual and written means. It's a story book for adults that features the history of hip hop through an autobigraphical lens. The composition of words and images is intriguing and brings with it all the vibrancy of city life in a highly stylized and idiosyncratic language.Fun and beautiful book.


View all my reviews.

Book Review: Butch is a Noun

Butch Is a Noun by S. Bear Bergman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As pride season is coming to a close, I’ve began reading Butch is a Noun and it’s been one of those books that I instantly connected with because was given to me at exactly the right moment. It’s jubilant, celebrative, and playful-everything pride should be, but it’s managed to save itself from tilting over into triviality, subsuming honesty for rhetoric, or recycling inspirational platitudes. A collection of personal essays by Bear Bergman, Butch is a Noun addresses topics that range from sex to community to his admiration of all the multi-faceted genders in his life. He is a story-teller, a gender theorist, and a synthesizer. Above all else, he is unwaveringly genuine. If you’re butch, or might be, or care about people who could be construed as, then I’d recommend giving it a read.


View all my reviews.