Shabazz, Ilyasah and Kekla Magoon. X. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2015. 978-0-7636-6967-6. 348 p. $16.99. Gr . 8 and up.
Much has been written about this fictional account of Malcolm X’s early life, co-written by his daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, and recently recognized as a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book. One reason for this book’s appeal is the powerful way in which it is written, from young Malcolm Little’s perspective as a twenty-something year old looking back at his childhood, his parents’ influence, and his journeys, literally and figuratively, ferrying between Lansing, Boston and Harlem. The texture of life in the segregated 1930s and 1940s is tangible and disturbingly so. Malcolm’s early life, in which he resorts to working as a messenger for a numbers runner, drinking, taking drugs, and avoiding arrest, is not celebrated; it does, however, provide essential context for the events that occurred in Malcom’s adult life, and while his parents preached his ability to become anything he desired, these tumultuous early years did in fact form the foundation for his influence later on. THOUGHTS: Winner of the 2016 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teens and a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book, this is a highly recommended and a must-have title for middle and high school libraries.
Historical Fiction Annette Sirio, Barack Obama Academy
Schlitz, Laura Amy. The Hired Girl. Berryville, VA: Candlewick Press, 2015. 978-0-7636-7818-0. 388 p. $17.99. Gr 7-12.
In 1911, fourteen-year old Joan works tirelessly to appease her father and three brothers on their small family farm. Since her mother passed away, Joan has taken on all the household chores, and it seems the work will never end. Her cruel father doesn’t allow Joan any small luxuries; she’s not allowed to read, go to school, or even have visitors, and Joan wonders if her life will ever be anything but hard work and labor. Devastated after her father burns her secret stash of books, Joan runs away with nothing but a suitcase and the money her mother left her secretly sewn into her childhood doll. Joan heads to Baltimore, and a chance encounter leads her to live with and work for the Rosenbach family. Going by Janet, and insisting that she’s 18-years old, Joan finds herself cooking and cleaning, but also earning a wage of six dollars a week. Raised in the Catholic faith, Joan finds that working for a strict Jewish family to be both tiring and enlightening, especially as she works hard to hide her age and an affection for one of the Rosebach sons. Written as a diary, readers will find Joan a compassionate and relatable character, even if she seems a bit immature. THOUGHTS: A worthwhile historical story, but younger readers might be deterred by the hefty size of this 388 page book.
Historical Fiction Vicki Schwoebel, Friends’ Central School