About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
John Gibler
Positive Shelf Awareness Although repetitious in places, each youth\'s retelling from his perspective helps to build the tension and disbelief each one felt through the long hours of that night ... The afterword is particularly important: it clears up details of that night as well as exposes the cover-ups, tampering with evidence and lies the police and government officials at the highest levels continue to insist are fact. By pulling together all these traumatic narratives, Gibler helps the parents of the disappeared throughout Mexico say, \'Basta\' (enough). They won\'t give up on searching for their loved ones and for the truth.
Reyna Grande
Rave Shelf Awareness Grande\'s narrative gives readers an excellent first-person view of the struggles many immigrants face when they move to the U.S.—the difficulty of assimilating into a culture that does not readily embrace anyone who is not white. Grande\'s prose is poetic and expressive, and her story is timely and relevant ... An insightful memoir by a Mexican immigrant searching for a place to call home.
Thomas H. Cook
Positive Shelf Awareness Cook...carefully blends his thoughts and feelings with the related history, creating a portrait that is intimate and emotional and yet grounded in context. Because each essay is short and there are many of them, readers would do well to read slowly, pausing after each to allow time for reflection. After dwelling in the dark, one might embrace the light, love and life all the more, finding hope and optimism because of—not in spite of—these sad stories.
Marina Perezagua, Trans. by Valerie Miles
Positive Shelf Awareness Marina Perezagua has written a haunting and strange tale that captures the reader from the get-go as she unveils tiny clues to the true nature of H\'s life and of the search she embarks on with Jim for the baby he tended. The story twists and meanders, providing insight into a life of duality experienced by some whose gender is not apparent at birth ... Recurring themes of parenthood, love and survivorship dominate this lyrical novel. Perezagua includes graphic details about the Hiroshima victims in the aftermath of the bombing, and she muses on the meaning of sex and sexual identity. While at times she is overly cryptic in her descriptions and slow with plot reveals, the overall effect is mesmerizing and beautiful. The Story of H unfolds like the petals of a flower, exposing humanity at its center.
Peng Shepherd
Positive Shelf Awareness She cleverly intertwines Indian mythology and the effects of her imaginary disease, with its eerie overtones of Alzheimer\'s, into a story filled with love, longing and the perception of the self ... Shepherd\'s tale pushes the post-apocalyptic story in a new and exciting direction, making readers ponder questions about reality, self-perception and relationships.
Ariel Dorfman
Positive Shelf Awareness This haunted and haunting tale explores the concept of genetic inheritance, love and forgiveness ... By combining science, historical data and conscience in this fictional piece, Dorfman raises questions about who is responsible for the invasion of foreign lands and the mistreatment of native people that happened hundreds of years ago—the people of that time or the generations that followed? His story is an artful look at love, clemency and exoneration.
Paul Howarth
Rave Shelf Awareness The racial tension between the Aboriginal peoples and the white settlers who have claimed the land for their own purposes is visceral. The imagery the author uses is both brutal and beautiful. Howarth pulls no punches in describing the white settlers' cruelty toward Indigenous peoples--reminiscent of early American pioneers and their dealings with Native Americans. The effects of Tommy's actions haunt him long after the deeds are done, just as this story lingers in the mind long after the book is closed.