Ricki – Unleashing Readers

Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American by Laura Gao

March 30, 2023 by Ricki

Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American
Author: Laura Gao
Published: March 8, 2022 by Balzer + Bray

Goodreads Summary: After spending her early years in Wuhan, China, riding water buffalos and devouring stinky tofu, Laura immigrates to Texas, where her hometown is as foreign as Mars–at least until 2020, when COVID-19 makes Wuhan a household name.

In Messy Roots, Laura illustrates her coming-of-age as the girl who simply wants to make the basketball team, escape Chinese school, and figure out why girls make her heart flutter.

Insightful, original, and hilarious, toggling seamlessly between past and present, China and America, Gao’s debut is a tour de force of graphic storytelling.

Ricki’s Review: I read this book last year and immediately knew I wanted to use it in my class. It fit into so many topics that we discuss in class, and it is a powerful memoir. Gao offers a nuanced look at discrimination, specifically against Wuhanese Americans related to COVID-19, and she also offers insight into issues that many immigrants face in the US. I love the book description that she is trying to figure out “why girls make her heart flutter.” Gao’s sexuality is a part of the book, but it isn’t the plot driver. This normalization is important in literature, and I think readers expect that when a character is LGBTQ, it will be the main focus of the text. Instead, Gao’s life—told with a great level of humor, even when topics are tough—is depicted through images and words in a way that will connect with readers.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be interesting to have students depict the themes of this book visually.

Discussion Questions:

What are some of the themes of this text?
How does Gao integrate images and words to tell her story?
What aspects of this book connected with you?
What did you learn about discrimination related to Wuhanese Americans?

Flagged Spreads:

Recommended For:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/27/23

March 27, 2023March 27, 2023 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Trent’s Favorite Books He Read When He Was Eight

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Every Child Needs Space to Play” by Mark Angelo, Author of Can We Play Baseball, Mr. DeMille?

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

This is my week off! To learn more about any of these books, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

A Thing Called Snow by Yuval Zommer is about two animals who are searching for snow. It’s a sweet book that my almost 4-year-old really loved.

I am so mad I didn’t know about this book sooner. It’s really cool! Milo’s Museum by Zetta Elliot tells the story of a child named Milo who doesn’t see herself in the museum, so she creates her own.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak is a beautiful story about the changing of seasons.

I reread Promise Boys by Nick Brooks to teach it to my class last week. They absolutely love it, and so do I!

Ricki

I am reading Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh. I am excited because I’ve heard it is great!

Tuesday: Student Voices: Christina Diaz Gonzalez’s Visit to Kellee’s Middle School

Thursday: Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American by Laura Gao

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 3/13/23

March 13, 2023 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros

Thursday: Blog Tour, Giveaway, and Author Guest Post!: “Let Nonfiction Sing” by Margarita Engle, Author of Destiny Finds Her Way: How a Rescued Baby Sloth Learned to be Wild

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I am off this week! To learn more about any of these books, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

My book club chose this (adult) book (What My Bones Know), and I thought it was a powerful memoir. Stephanie Foo shares how her abuse as a child led to C-PTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder). I learned a lot from her story.

Everyone’s been talking about this (also adult) book (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab), so I had to try it! I enjoyed it, but I felt like it was really long. It felt a bit repetitive in parts (but I suppose that’s the point of the story!).

I loved The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum. It reminded me so much of my childhood! I liked the first three-quarters the most, and then there’s a turn in events, and I kind of hoped it hadn’t taken that direction. That said, I loved every minute of this book!

Ricki

I am going to be rereading Promise Boys by Nick Brooks because my class is reading it! I’ve linked my previous review!

Tuesday: Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/27/23

February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano, Illustrated by Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I’m off this week; I’ll see you next week for my update 🙂

To learn more about any of books I read, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I had to take the week off. I’ll return in two weeks!

Tuesday: Educators’ Guide for The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 2/13/23

February 19, 2023February 13, 2023 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Tuesday: Educators’ Guide for Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton

**Click on the picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I am off this week! Feel free to check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I enjoyed reading Last Pick by Jason Walz. This graphic novel is sure to be popular among young people. I appreciated the incorporation of disability without centering disability as the main focus of the text.

I reread All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson in preparation for my class this week. I love this book. It is so honest and powerfully written.

Ricki

Oh my goodness–I am loving this book so much.

Tuesday: Love is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace, Illustrated by Bryan Collier

Sunday: Author Guest Post: “Good Teachers” by Lynn Katz, Author of Chester and the Magic 8 Ball

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 1/30/23

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023 by Ricki

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!

The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy reading!

Thursday: Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Kellee

This is my week off! I will return next week!

To learn more about any of these books, check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.

Ricki

I REREAD Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley because I am teaching it this week. I’ve read this book three times now, and it holds up each time!

My oldest son and I really love these Unsolved Case Files books by Tom Sullivan. We can’t wait for the third one to come out! It was a lot of fun read Escape at 10,000 Feet. I wasn’t aware of this historical story, but my partner told me it is famous. I guess I missed it somehow!

My middle son loves this book, Thunder Cluck: Smart vs. Strong by Jill Esbaum. It’s a fun story, and I love early readers in the graphic novel form!

My book club reads adult (rather than young adult) books, so I get looped into an adult book every month now. This month, we read Pip Williams’ The Dictionary of Lost Words. I wish I’d known it was somewhat based on a true story before I started reading it! The author’s note at the end was great. I loved the book, but admittedly, it took me some time to get into it.

Tuesday: Nonfiction Picture Book Round Up!: The Universe in You by Jason Chin; Of Walden Pond by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by Ashley Benham-Yazdani; Polar Bear by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann; We’re Not Weird by Michael Garland; & The Science of Light by Margaret Peot

and

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

January 26, 2023 by Ricki

Promise Boys
Author: Nick Brooks
Published: January 31, 2023 by Macmillan

Goodreads Summary: The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying in Nick Brooks’s Promise Boys, a trailblazing, blockbuster mystery about three teen boys of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names—for fans of Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Karen McManus.

“A brilliant pulls-no-punches mystery with bruised hearts at its core.” —Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End

“Thrilling, captivating, and blade-sharp. Promise Boys will stay with you long after the last page.” —Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

The Urban Promise Prep School vows to turn boys into men. As students, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are forced to follow the prestigious “program’s” strict rules. Extreme discipline, they’ve been told, is what it takes to be college bound, to avoid the fates of many men in their neighborhoods. This, the Principal Moore Method, supposedly saves lives.

But when Moore ends up murdered and the cops come sniffing around, the trio emerges as the case’s prime suspects. With all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. But is the true culprit hiding among them?

Ricki’s Review: After reading this book, I adopted it for my young adult literature class this semester. This required me to a) change my book order–which makes several people annoyed, b) adjust my syllabus and move sections around, and c) message the campus book store that, yes, I know that the book isn’t out yet, but I still want them to pre-order it.

I say all of this to demonstrate how much I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. It reminded me of Monster by Walter Dean Mayes a bit in the topic. Three teenage boys are all suspected of murdering their principal. The book is written from the different perspectives and allows the reader to explore any biases they might hold about teenage boys of color. It is set in a very strict school that thinks that hyper discipline will fix kids. This is an important book. I am so glad it exists, and I can’t wait to discuss it with my students.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might use this book for students to analyze the rules that come with their schools and within other systems. They might then write narratives related to the rules that they perceive.

Discussion Questions:

When you were reading the book, who did you think did it?
Why does the school use discipline? What are their assumptions?
What did you learn from this book?

Flagged Spreads: “Rumor has it a student brought a gun to school the day of the murder. You didn’t hear that from me.”

Recommended For: