Tag / history

by booksoverlookedblog

Nov. 2024 Recs: Native American Heritage Month

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November is Native American Heritage Month! Native American Heritage Month was established in 1990 to recognize and celebrate the diverse cultures of Indigenous Americans. There are 574 federally recognized Indigenous nations in the United States. Native Land Digital contains a map which shows the original territories of Indigenous peoples across the globe. I encourage everyone to check it out and learn about the original inhabitants of your area. 

Nonfiction

Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur

“Representation without us is representation done to us.” With these words, Matika Wilbur introduces Project 562, a photojournalism project that shares the lives of Indigenous People across the United States. Traveling thousands of miles, Wilbur set out to interview and photograph someone from each Indigenous nation. (Note: when the project began in 2012, there were 562 federally recognized Indigenous Nations; there are now 574.) Wilbur’s portrait photography is gorgeous, each accompanied by the subject’s story: an Ojibwe man harvesting wild rice; Two Spirit powwow dancers; a woman recounting how boarding school has shaped her family for generations; the teen beauty queen who entered the pageant because everyone told her she wouldn’t win. This work captures the diversity of contemporary Indigenous people while honoring tradition and heritage. Wilbur’s beautiful work is not to be missed, and serves as a reminder that  “Indigenous existence is all around us. It is up to us to listen.”

Fiction

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Nina, a Lipan Apache teen living in Texas, has family mysteries to solve. Specifically, the last story her great-great grandmother Rosita would ever tell her. There’s one big problem: Rosita told the story in Spanish and Lipan Apache, and Nina has no idea what she was trying to say. As she painstakingly works on translating the story, she discovers more mysteries. Did Rosita really see a fish-girl in her seemingly bottomless well? Why does Grandma get sick when she leaves the land that’s been in her family for generations? And are those mysterious people who come to her father’s bookstore really animal-people from the Reflecting World? 

Meanwhile, in the Reflecting World, Oli is a timid cottonmouth snake reluctantly forced into adulthood. After a rough start, Oli makes a life for himself. It’s not always easy, though he tries to steer clear of the catfish cultists and bear bounty hunters. When his best friend, a toad named Ami, falls ill, Oli is terrified that Ami’s species is facing extinction – a death sentence for the animal-people in this world. If he can get to the human world, maybe he can find out what’s happening to Ami’s species and fix it. With a pair of rambunctious coyote sisters and a red-tailed hawk at his side, Oli is ready to go to the ends of the earth (or fall to it) to save his friend. 

by booksoverlookedblog

March Book Recs: The Troubles

March is Women’s History Month, and it’s also Irish Heritage Month! I’ve decided to combine both of those things for this list. Media often show stereotypical depictions of the Irish, flattening an entire culture into a few jokes about alcoholism and leprechauns. Like millions of Americans, I have Irish heritage, and these depictions have always irked me. 

One part of Irish history that has long been close to my heart is The Troubles. The Troubles were 30 year period of political and sectarian violence between Unionists and loyalists (mostly Ulster Protestants) who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the U.K., and Irish nationalists and republicans (mostly Irish Catholic) who wanted Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland. The Troubles officially came to an end with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended much of the violence in Northern Ireland. But my personal connection with The Troubles isn’t just from my Irish-Catholic heritage or watching the show Derry Girls. In the early 2000s, my family hosted a girl from Derry for three summers. Those were the best summer vacations I’d ever have. My mom described them as “a six-week sleepover.” While our guest did talk about some of the violence she and her family experienced, my memories of her and our summers together are full of laughter, dares, and the filthiest jokes I’d ever heard. 

For the March recommendation list, I’ve chosen two books where The Troubles play a central role in the lives of women. These are both great as audiobooks. Other than the readers’ lovely Irish accents, you’ll also be able to hear the correct pronunciation of Irish words.

Nonfiction

Thin Places: A Natural History of Healing and Home by Kerri ní Dochartaigh

Kerri ní Dochartaigh was born in Derry halfway through The Troubles to a Protestant father and Catholic mother. She lost two homes in the span of one year, once due to a petrol bomb, and once due to harassment. To escape the violence in Derry, she found solace in the natural world, in her cement-filled backyard and “thin places” where the Veil between this world and the spiritual one is thin. ní Dochartaigh’s memoir is one of great sadness as she writes about the emotional scars that have shaped her entire life. Yet there is great beauty to be found in it as well, as she tenderly writes about her beloved thin places, the endangered Irish language, the resiliency of moths, and what it means to be an Irish woman. She also discusses violence in Northern Ireland following Brexit, and what she fears and hopes for Derry, the city she loves and hates. Often heartbreaking, Thin Places is a gorgeously written meditation on loss, trauma, and healing. 

Fiction

Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen

It’s 1994, and smart-mouthed Maeve cannot wait to get out of her small town in Northern Ireland and start studying journalism in London. She and her friends Caroline and Aoife must first get their exam results to confirm their places in their chosen universities. To save up for their futures, the three young women get jobs in the local shirt factory for the summer. The job brings new challenges Maeve has never faced before: ironing 100 shirts a day, working alongside Protestants for the first time, and avoiding the advances of the factory’s lecherous English owner, Andy Strawbridge. Tensions rise between the Catholic and Protestant workers whenever there’s a bombing or murder, which occurs all too frequently. As the summer goes on, Maeve starts to realize that there is something going on behind the scenes at the factory, but standing up for herself and her friends could cost her dearly. Flashbacks show Maeve’s experiences growing up during The Troubles, including the death of her elder sister and bombings that were called “lucky” because everyone survived. As a slice-of-life novel, the plot can feel thin at times. However, Maeve’s narration and snappy dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny, and watching her and her friends find their path to adulthood is satisfying. Though the main characters are teenagers, frequent sexual references make this a book better suited to an adult audience.

by booksoverlookedblog

Indie Review: Curse of the Terracotta Warriors

I’m a Reedsy Discovery reviewer! I received a free ARC of Curse of the Terracotta Warriors by Mark Douglas for this review.

⭐⭐⭐

When the police come to Maddie Jones’s school, she thinks they’re going to arrest her for one of her many pranks. But the truth is much worse: her archaeologist dad has been kidnapped (Or dadnapped?). Maddie is certain this has something to do with the shipment of Qin dynasty terracotta warriors that just arrived at her dad’s museum from China. With the help of her two younger brothers, Maddie will face untold dangers and unravel ancient secrets to get her dad back. And she thought climbing the rock wall in gym class was tough…

Curse of the Terracotta Warriors is an action-packed book that moves quickly. Almost every chapter ends in a cliffhanger, which keeps the reader tuning pages. Unfortunately, much of the action sequences in Part One can feel repetitive, and the novel would have benefited from tightening up the first third of the book.

Maddie is, far and away, the star of the novel. She’s bold, a natural troublemaker with a snarky personality that will instantly endear her to readers. Told from Maddie’s first-person point of view, her clear voice and colorful narration will leave readers cheering for her through the most dire situations.

There are a few writing pitfalls throughout the book. Capitalization is occasionally inconsistent, with some character’s names or the start of sentences not being capitalized while common nouns are. Another instance sees Maddie “hurtling” over an obstacle rather than “hurdling” it. These aren’t major issues, and nothing that another proofing wouldn’t fix.

The Chinese setting of Xi’an is bland and feels shallow and poorly researched. Characters refer to “Chinese letters” and the “Chinese alphabet” when it’s common knowledge that Mandarin does not have an alphabet. The characters also watch CNN in their hotel room in Xi’an and use Wi-Fi at a Starbucks to do research, despite the fact that Chinese media is heavily censored. The Chinese setting doesn’t pop enough, and these inaccuracies show through.

Even so, Curse of the Terracotta Warriors is a fun, entertaining romp with a vivacious protagonist that’s tough to put down. Its short, action-packed chapters make this a great pick for reluctant readers, and middle-grade kids who love adventures.