See No Color by Shannon Gibney. November 1, 2015. Carolrhoda Lab. 192 pages. Ages 14 to adult.
Summary
Sixteen-year old baseball phenom Alex Kirtridge is having a major crisis of identity. Not only is she bi-racial; she was adopted by a white family and has two blonde-haired, blue-eyed siblings. Thanks to bullying from the black kids at school and comments from strangers, she is now acutely aware that not only does she look very different from her family, she is also not accepted by others who look like her because she does not act "black" enough. Her well-meaning parents make things worse by refusing to even acknowledge that Alex is black and refusing any discussion of the subject.
To make matters worse, she can no longer find solace or redemption in the game of baseball. Baseball has been practically her whole life, thanks to her former minor-leaguer father who is obsessed with turning his kids into baseball stars. But Alex finds that her maturing body is throwing off her game and realizes that she will probably never be the star her father wants her to be. At first she is upset, and worried about her father's disappointment, but eventually begins to realize she really doesn't love the game anymore anyway.
As all this is going on, two things happen to bring the all her issues with race and adoption to a head. First, her sister shows her letters from her biological black father that she never knew about, and then, she begins dating Reggie, the pitcher for an opposing team. Reggie is the first black boy who has ever shown an interest in her, and she constantly feels afraid he will realize how "white" she is and walk away.
My Thoughts
This is a poignant coming-of-age novel that might resonate with anyone who feels they don't fit in with their family, community, or peers for any reason, but obviously it would be of particular interest to children or parents of interracial and/or adoptive families. Another book that might be of interest is Black, White, Other by Joan Stenauer Lester. This book tell the story of Sara, the daughter of a Jewish-Irish mother and black father, who are now divorcing.
I have to say, I was a little disappointed in this book. I think is an important topic and that there is probably a definite need for stories like this considering the increasing number of interracial families, formed with or without adoption. But for me, the story fell a little flat and was too short and superficial. I didn't feel very connected to any of the characters and thought they, and their relationships, could have been more well-developed. I felt like the story ended prematurely, just when Alex was starting to deal with her identity issues. I would have liked for the book to be longer, and delve deeper into Alex's thoughts and relationships, and follow her as she began to form a relationship with her biological father and to see her force her family to stop being in denial about racial issues and begin to be more open and honest about it and deal with it rather than ignoring it.
I also felt that the whole baseball story with the domineering father obsessed with his kids becoming star athletes was a distraction. It was like two separate stories mashed together into one book. Of course real life is complicated and people often have more than one issue going on in their lives, but the two stories in this book did not seem integrated very well and I think it would have been better to focus on one issue or the other. Or perhaps a longer book would have allowed the story to encompass both issues in a more cohesive, integrated way, especially if one was made more of a backstory rather than fighting for equal focus.
One thing I did particularly like, which should come as no surprise, is that it showed Alex going to the public library and successfully getting help finding information about interracial adoptions, both books and online resources, showing that the library is indeed still relevant.
See No Color appears to be Shannon Gibney's first book.
So, I am at a crossroads and need to make a decision about how to move forward. I have been working in the library system for almost 3 years now, and I really enjoy it and feel that I have finally found my place. If only I had known this 30 years ago....
If I could go back and do things differently, I would major in early childhood education and get a MLS and be a children's librarian. I love working with all the families that come into the library, helping them find and select materials and getting to know the regulars. I love doing programming in particular.
While I am very happy with my current position working as a part-time library assistant in Outreach and have no immediate plans to change, I have this fear in the back of my mind that circumstances could change and someday I may need to work full-time to support myself. In our state, full-time public service staff are required to be certified and I need to take two college-level courses in library science in order to get paraprofessional certification.
Now, my dilemma is what classes to take and where. There is an MLS program in our area, but it is very expensive, has so many core requirements you have little chance to take classes you want to take, and doesn't seem to teach practical skills. So that's really not an option. But, there is also a program at the local community college for a paraprofessional certificate. It costs much less, and the courses sound infinitely more practical.
Then I recently found out about an out-of-state online MLS program that is half the cost of the local one, and has a curriculum that seems much more practical and flexible, and even if I only took the two classes, it would at least be graduate credit and carry more weight on my resume, and I would have the option of continuing on to get the MLS. I would like to have the degree, but I have a hard time justifying the expense when I know it is highly unlikely I would ever get a librarian position due to the over-saturated job market, being geographically restricted, and my age (those of us over 40 know that ageism is definitely out there). The other thing is that while this program is all online, it does require one in-person orientation at the beginning, which would incur fairly significant traveling expenses, and of course the hassle of writing admissions essays and getting letters of recommendation.
So, do I stick with the local community college classes that are much less expensive and less trouble and would get me the certification that would allow me to get a full-time program specialist or assistant position, or go to the extra expense and trouble to start the MLS program that I may or may not finish, and even if I did finish and get the MLS, I'd probably just end up with a paraprofessional position anyway.
I just don't know what to do....
Yesterday when I headed down to work the children's desk I expected it would be a fairly slow day since school was back in session after the winter break. I was a little worried I might have a little trouble finding enough work to keep my busy, but as it turns out, that wasn't an issue!
While the first hour was a little slow, the rest of the shift turned out to be incredibly busy! Very uncharacteristic for a Thursday afternoon, and even busier than when the kids were out of school on winter break. In fact, the only time I have seen it that busy is in the summer when we have groups visiting or a very popular program, or on weekends. Not a problem, just a little surprising.
There was a steady stream of patrons in and out, and most stayed for a while, and everyone seemed to need help! Several needed help locating materials, placing holds, some needed reader's advisory, one person had major account issues with both her and her child's cards due to several overdue and lost books, a school group came in to check-out biographies, and the usual general questions, tidying up, and pulling requests.
One issue came up with a patron who really needed to print out her confirmation for her FAFSA, but didn't have any money. With a child in college, I can certainly sympathize with the stress and urgency of submitting the FAFSA and felt this was a case that justified us giving her a little help. However, I had never dealt with a situation like this so I had no idea HOW to over-ride the system and get it to print out without her having to pay for it first. Luckily, one of the assistant managers was working at the adult service desk nearby, so she was able to take care of it. Unfortunately, because it was so busy and so many people needed help, I was not able to observe what she did as I had to assist other patrons. But I will be sure the next time we have slow period to have someone go over that with me so I know how to do it the next time the situation arises.
One thing I didn't need to do today was shelve or sort carts because the new page started this week, and everything was all caught up! I got to meet her at the end of my shift, and as it turns out she has a good bit of experience working in libraries, so I thinks she will be a great addition to the team! Hopefully now with two pages we can stay on top of keeping the shelves straight and in order and keeping displays filled, in addition to getting things shelved in a timely manner. A good start to the new year!
The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki. August 1, 2012. Scholastic Press. 372 pages. Ages 10 - 14.
Summary
After their father abandons the family to pursue his dreams of Hollywood and their mother sinks into a deep depression, Neil Cady and his sister Bree are sent to live with their aunts in rural Pennsylvania.
Once there, Neil is befriended by a local boy named Wesley who tells him about the legend of Graylock Hall, an abandoned psychiatric hospital where several teenagers died mysteriously. A nurse who worked the graveyard shift, Janet Reilly, was believed by some to be responsible for the deaths. Legend has it she hung herself before the investigation was completed and that her ghost now haunts Graylock Hall, looking for new victims.
Neil and Wesley plan to explore Greylock Hall, and are joined by Wesley's older brother Eric. After Bree sees Eric, she decides to go as well. The foursome finds the abandoned hospital to be dirty and very creepy. As they look around and get briefly separated while checking different rooms in the youth wing, Neil finds Bree in Room 13, acting strangely. After he goes inside, the door mysteriously slams shut, trapping them and Neil feels something brush up against him, then he sees a mysterious female figure dressed in white with long brown hair. Finally, the door opens and they all eventually find their way out of the building.
Once safely back at their aunts' house, Neil convinces himself it was just his imagination. But then strange things start happening. Neil and Bree have the same nightmares of being drowned in the lake surrounding Graylock Hall, and awake finding puddles beside their beds. Neil thinks he's sees the mysterious girl in their house and in town. Neil and Bree finally come to the conclusion that they did not leave Graylock Hall alone. Who or what is it, and what does it want with Neil and Bree?
My Thoughts
This is a very fast-paced and creepy ghost story, perfect for the older kids who can handle it, or for adults such as myself who are not a fan of true adult horror, but like a good ghost story with a happy ending and no gore. This would not be a good book for more sensitive or suggestible readers. The suspense starts to build immediately as the tweens & teens break into Graylock Hall in the second chapter and have their first encounter with the ghost, and continues throughout the book. I thought the characters were relatable and I liked how they stood up to their self-absorbed father in the ends.
I decided to read this book after one of the tweens in my middle school book discussion group suggested it as a read-alike for Holly Black's Doll Bones. I found The Ghost of Graylock to be even creepier and spookier than Doll Bones, partly because it starts out with them exploring the creepy asylum right in the beginning. Also, I think what made it even scarier is that in Doll Bones the identity of the ghost and what she wanted were known right away, whereas in Graylock, they do not know who the ghost is or why she is haunting them until the latter part of the book.
I would recommend this for anyone requesting a good, scary story.
Other Books By This Author
Dan Poblocki has written several other supernatural thrillers for older readers, including The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, The Stone Child, and The Nightmarys, as well as a milder mystery series for slightly younger readers, The Mysterious Four, in which four friends solve all kinds of mysteries in sixclues or less.
Like many, I have the same resolutions to eat better, exercise more, and get in better shape every year. But this year I also decided to take the time to plan some professional resolutions as well:
(1) Read more. I do read quite a lot, but found that I have tapered off a little in
the latter months of this year. I attribute that to my job change. When I was
a page, I didn't have to make any special effort to select books to read; I
would read whatever caught my interest while I was shelving. Now that I'm
in Outreach, I have to take time to go into the library and choose something,
and I often don't think about it until after I've left. I need to make more of an
effort to check out something every week.
(2) Work on Reader's Advisory. This is the area I have the least confidence in.
Even though I read alot, there are still so many books out there I am not
familiar with. Working in youth services further complicates it because we
also have so many reading levels to consider, as well. I plan to start giving
myself assignments to put together reading lists to give myself more practice
in this area.
(3) Take at least one library science class. I have been thinking about this for awhile,
and started to, then changed my mind several times. Part of this is that I am
skeptical that I will really learn anything from a class that I don't already know
from work experience, and that I am very skeptical of online classes in general,
and I don't want to waste my money. But, if I ever decide I want a full-time
position, then I will need to have 6 credit hours of library science to get the
required state certification, so I just need to bite the bullet and hopefully I'll be
pleasantly surprised and actually get something out of it.
(4) Continue to develop and expand my storytime skills: use more non-fiction in
storytime, incorporate early literacy tips in storytime, continue to improve
existing storytime kits and develop 3 new ones, and get experience with,
or at least observe, storytimes and programs for ages other than preschool.
So these are my professional resolutions. What are yours?
