Alverne Ball – The Hub

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures by Christian Allaire

The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures by Christian Allaire
Annick Press
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 9781773214900

Authored by a fashion and style writer for Vogue, this look at current elements of style focuses on social justice, culture, and politics, and their connection to how under-represented communities use fashion to proudly claim their identities. Included are ribbon shirts, hijabs, high heels, hair, and cosplay.

This quick overview of specific fashion elements uses a variety of eye-catching photos and brief, interesting commentary to keep readers flipping pages. The striking cover, 100-page length, and diverse collection of topics make this an easy book to pick up and browse. Fashion provides an inroad to larger ideas in history and pop culture without being didactic or overwhelming.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Nominations Round-Up, Summer

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These books have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.

Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre. By Alverne Ball. Art by Stacey Robinson. Abrams/Megascope, $15.99 (9781419755170).

Greenwood—also known as Black Wall Street—was a bustling district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with many successful Black-owned businesses. In 1921, a white mob descended on Greenwood, destroying businesses and devastating the community. One hundred years later, Across the Tracks pays homage to Greenwood.

Alone. By Megan E. Freeman. 2020. Penguin Random House/Crown, $17.99 (9780593176399).

Maddie finds herself completely, totally alone when she wakes up from a secret sleepover and discovers that everyone was evacuated overnight from her town, her state, and maybe her whole half of the country. She has to survive natural disasters, the elements, looters, wild animals, and her own crushing loneliness.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of Stranded by Jocelyn Shipley

Stranded by Jocelyn Shipley
Orca Publishing
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1459823891

Kipp, a troubled teen trying to do right despite obstacles, finds himself working for a wealthy woman with a secret; she’s had troubled teens work for her before, but they have gone missing. Could Kipp be next?

A tried and true thriller with short chapters and a page-turning plot, this read is sure to grab any teens’ attention and not let go until its conclusion. Kipp is a relatable character, trying to do what is right by himself after a tragic accident that is quickly revealed to hook readers from the beginning, but there are plenty of other mysteries in the story to keep them turning the page. There is a touch of diversity in the secondary characters that works to showcase a setting any reader could see themselves in. The ending will definitely lead to some discussion.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of X-Factor, vol. 1 by Leah Williams, David Baldeón, and Israel Silva

X-Factor, vol. 1 by Leah Williams, David Baldeón, and Israel Silva
Marvel Comics
Publication Date: January 12, 2021
ISBN: 9781302921842

It’s a new world order for the mutants of Krakoa. A new combination of mutant powers has allowed the X-Men to cure mutants of death. But how do they decide who should be granted this cure? Longtime X-Men Northstar and Polaris lead a team of misfit mutants to investigate mysterious deaths for potential Resurrection.