The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir by Lynn Curlee

The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir

Lynn Curlee

Charlesbridge Teen. An Imprint of Charlesbridge Publishing. 2023

Award-winning author and illustrator, Lynn Curlee, (2002 Robert. F. Sibert Honor Book for Brooklyn Bridge), steps away from his usual topics that center on great historic structures and architectural icons to pen a very personal memoir reflecting on his experience of being a gay man during the AIDS epidemic. 

To place the memoir in some context that young people will understand, The Other Pandemic draws some comparisons to COVID-19 - how vast numbers of people were infected from a virus that spread like wildfire. Unlike COVID-19, people lived in "sheer terror" of contracted AIDS. Until after 1995, "a diagnosis of AIDS was an automatic death sentence." 

"Imagine that it is 1960, and you are twelve years old. Imagine life with social media. There is no Instagram or TikTok. Imagine life without smartphones or texting. Imagine what it's like growing up with one phone for you entire family, and it sits on a side table in your living room, with no privacy for personal calls. How about no computers at all? There is no gaming or any other fun or useful things you can do on a laptop or tablet. Televison has only three channels, most people still have black and white TV sets, and there are no remotes. You can listen to recorded music only on tinny-sounding radios or by playing vinyl discs on a turntable. There is no "online." If you want to find information about something, you consult an encyclopedia or go to the library. 

Woven into the text is how Curlee's life was shaped by the AIDS epidemic amist the rise of the LGBTQ+ movement. He also shares how he came to work as an artist, author, and illustrator of books for young people. 

Back matter starts with a moving tribute consisting of brief bio's of friends, and Lyn's partner, John Martin, who all died of AIDS (John Martin died at age 46).  Also included is an epilogue, a brief explanation on the origins of AIDS, an author's note, references of music mentioned in the text, source notes, a selected bibliography, and index. 

A powerful, moving, important book.

The In-Between: a memoir in verse by Katie Van Heidrich

The In-Between: a memoir in verse

By Katie Van Heidrich

aladdin. An Imprint of Simon & Schuster. 2023

Katie Van Heidrich, the oldest of three, tries to navigate her broken family in this coming-of-age memoir told in verse. 

Middle schooler, Katie, for one semester, is finding life difficult after her parents divorce. Her mother is unable to keep a job, causing them to often go without food. At one point, their financial situation is so dire they must live in an extended-stay motel, all sharing the same room. A good student, Katie struggles with how her peers could view her if they knew by a situation that is not her fault. 

For example, the motel they are forced to live in is out of the school district, so Katie fears if anyone finds out she will not be able to attend her school. 

Yet, throughout, Katie uses her talent for writing to find some normalcy during this time of being in-between.

“This is the way it’s always been,

and though it’s always been

hard to do, we somehow

always figure it out,

together,

knowing we’ve made

ways out of no ways before -“

The book includes some family photos. 

A powerful read for middle school students. 

A First Time for Everything

A First Time for Everything
by Dan Santat
First Second, 2023
Grades 5 and up

Caldecott Medal winner, Dan Santat, has made a name for himself as a talented picture book illustrator and author.  A First Time for Everything is Santat's first graphic novel memoir, and it's brilliant. Based on Santat's experiences traveling to Europe the summer before his freshman year of high school, the memoir captures the, awkwardness, excitement, embarrassment, and joy of coming of age in the late 1980s. 

Readers will identify with Dan, who tries to do the right thing and be true to himself while navigating the complexities of the teen years, friendship, independence and young love. The memoir is a tribute to Gen X with Kodak cameras, mix tapes, network television, and hand written letters. 

The graphic novel format is perfect for Santat's story pairing his talent for illustration with engaging storytelling. Dan takes risks and learns about the who he is and who he wants to be as he travels through France, Switzerland, Germany and England. Flashbacks, presented in black & white, provide insight into Dan's experiences before the trip. While there are some scenes with alcohol and smoking, the events are a glimpse into the teen years of Gen Xers while also contrasting American and European cultures in the 80s. 

A strength of the book is how the story represents the budding romance between Dan and Amy over the course of the trip. Dan's crush on Amy is innocent and realistic as his insecurities cause him to come across as awkward and unsure. Ultimately, Dan uses his drawing talent and his love for tennis and Wimbeldon to win over Amy. A First Time for Everything is highly recommended for middle school and high school readers. It's the perfect mix of humor, nostalgia, teen angst, and self-actualization. 

Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting by Kindra Neely

Numb To This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting

Kindra Neely

Little, Brown and Company. 2022

Graphic artist, Kindra Neely, is a survivor of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon in October 2015. Her memoir, told in graphic novel format, tells the story of the shooting, and her journey to try and heal from this trauma. Making this ordeal extra challenging is the continued steady stream of mass shootings throughout the United States.

Neely was no stranger to the negative influence of guns. Living in Texas, her school had metal detectors, police dogs, and officiers. “There were a lot of guns. Everybody carried in Texas.” After a drive-by shooting a few houses from where she lived, Neely’s mother had enough. She packed then 13-year-old Kindra into the car and they relocated to her mother’s hometown: Roseburg, Oregon. 

Life improved a lot! Kindra felt safe in her new surroundings. She made friends. The calmness of Oregon allowed Kindra to have the space to find herself and figure out exactly what that meant for her future. 

“Gun violence wasn’t something I was accustomed to. It just wasn’t expected.” Not here in Oregon.

Then, on her fourth day attending Umpqua Community College, a gunman opens fire on campus. Nine people killed and eight people injured. Even before she arrived home that awful day, a national newspaper posts a picture of Kindra and a friend hugging. “I felt so violated. People were going to make their own assumptions about the people in the photo without ever knowing how we actually felt or what it was like. The nation was watching us while were were most vulnerable, but it felt like we were entertainment.” 

The trauma of that day never leaves Kindra. Even when she attends art school in Georgia, the events of that day haunt her. She copes, yet suffers panic attacks. With more and more mass shootings happening, and seeing a video posted by the NRA on how to spin school shootings to their advantage, Kindra finally makes up her mind. It was time to tell the story of mass shootings from the point of view of those who were there.

This is a powerful memoir. Neely went from feeling pointless - someone without feelings - to feeling hopeless - to acknowledging there is a loss with something there to believe in.

Included is an author’s note and a list of resources.

Read an Interview with Neely on NPR

Shout: a poetry memoir By Laurie Halse Anderson

Shout: a poetry memoir

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Viking. 2019

Grade 8 to adult

In this raw, powerful, and very personal memoir, Anderson shares for the first time her own story of rape at age thirteen and her path to recovery. Told in free verse, we learn of Anderson’s dysfunctional family life, her rape by someone she trusted, the emotional toll of keeping it secret, and how she created a life of fulfillment as an author.

The poem that resonated with me the most was, if It please the Court. It expresses how long buried secrets will eventually surface when we least expect it. 

Working as a reporter, Anderson fills in one day at the courthouse when a reporter calls out sick. The day is pivotal for her.

the courthouse reporter was out sick one day

so they sent me in his place, the defendant

a plain white guy, late thirties,

kinda small, cheap suit,

good haircut, charged with ugly counts

of sexual assault, plus kidnapping

he looked bored

Listening to the women recount her story, and how the defense lawyer attacks the victim, making her the bad person was too much for Anderson.

ever been in a fight?

fists like hammers, punches thrown

rose-red bloom filling the room

as your rage catches fire

an exploding can of spray paint

when you see that red

shit’s gonna get real…

Unable to write the story, having to confront emotions that she kept deep inside her, the editor assigns someone else.

And the rapist?

Sentenced to some easy time in county jail,

A mild slap on the wrist

Years later, when she sees the rapist walking the mall, he no longer looked bored,

because

he was hunting

 

This true story, a survival story of someone who refuses to remain silent, needs a space on every library shelf. Pair it with Anderson’s Speak, in all formats: novel, graphic novel, and movie. Fans of Anderson will come away with a new appreciation of her talents, but more important her encouragement to Speak Up! Tell your own story.

To write this review, I borrowed a copy of the book from my local public library

Algeria is Beautiful Like American Written by Olivia Burton

Algeria is Beautiful Like American

Written by Olivia Burton; Illustrated by Mahi Grand

Translated from French by Edward Gauvin

Lion Forge Comics. 2018 (French edition, 2015)

ISBN: 9781941302569

I used a copy borrowed from my local public library to write this review.

Told in comic format, this very personal book, which is part memoir, part travel journal, part history, French writer Olivia Burton travels to her family’s former homeland of Algeria with the hopes to better understand her family’s past.

Algeria is the largest country in Africa. It’s northern border stretches along the Mediterranean Sea, while the Sahara desert covers four-fifths to the south. In 1830, France colonized Algeria. In 1954, Algerians began their fight for independence from the French which they won in 1962.

Burton’s family was originally from France. They were part of the wave who emigrated to Algeria during French rule. In 1962, her family fled to France since they did not support Algeria’s independence. Yet, their homesickness for their country, its beauty and traditions, was a frequent conversation at family gatherings. 

“My picture postcard image of Algeria when up in smoke when I started high school. I had an amazing history teacher and many friends, mostly from left-learning families, who introduced me to politics…because, you know, my mother never talked about it. In fact, since coming to France, she’d never even wanted to vote. And add to all of that a teenager’s natural urge to questions everything, and suddenly all of those family stories became problematic.” Burton was suddenly conflicted and questioned her family’s role during the French occupation as racist exploiters, fascists, and torturers.

What she discovers about her family and herself while visiting Algeria is the core of this captivating memoir. 

French artist, Mahi Grand does an excellent job with the visual interpretation of Burton’s words. Each frame is very detailed and captures perfectly the beautiful Algerian landscape. All the drawings are black & white, except for a few in color to show that Burton is taking a photograph.

This memoir has nothing to do with America, but those who read it will, hopefully, be able to acknowledge the absurdness of hating people who are “not like me.”

There is no author's note.

By clicking here, you can visit Grand's website to see some of the illustrations.

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringlyimana and Abigail Pesta

How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child

by Sandra Uwiringlyimana and Abigail Pesta

Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2017

ISBN: 9780062470140

Grade 9 thru adult

Note: While Cathy is on Sabbatical, Louise will be writing all the reviews. Cathy will return March, 2018.

In 2004, ten-year-old Sandra and her family were living in a refugee camp in Gatumba, Burundi after being forced to flee their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On the night of August 13, 2004, armed factions entered the camp and merciless slaughtered 166 people, maiming and injuring 116 others. Though Sandra, her mother, father and older brother were able to escape to safety, her little sister, Deborah was shot in the head and died that horrific night.  

In her powerful memoir, Sandra recounts her childhood in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explaining the culture of her people - a tribe called Banyamulenge - and country. Though war was ever present (her older brother Heritage was kidnapped and forced to be a child soldier), there are many happy memories, too. 

Three years after the massacre in Gatumba, Sandra and her family are resettled in American. It’s not easy to leave all that is familiar and come to a place that is cold, you don’t know the language, and not many people are willing to make a stranger, a refugee, feel welcome. When she was a junior in high school, Sandra and her brother Alex designed a project that would change the course of her life. It was another opportunity to help people understand her experience as a refugee. 

How Dare the Sun Rise speaks honestly about how poorly Americans treat those new to our country or those who are different. By sharing her story, Sandra wants people to understand that refugees have stories and they should be comfortable sharing those stories so that we can all understand each other better. She hopes her book will help humanize refugees so the world will know that we are just like you. “We have the same goals to succeed and do what’s best for our children.” 

Highly recommended. How Dare the Sun Rise should be required reading for everyone, from Grades 9 thru adulthood. Pair it with I Am Malala. 

Sandra spoke at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. 

Click here to listen to a short excerpt of her speech. 

Click here to watch an interview with Sandra and Abigail Pesta on CBS News.

To write this review, I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.

You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis

You & A Bike & A Road

by Eleanor Davis

Koyama Press. 2017

ISBN: 9781927668405

Grades 8 and up

To write this review, I borrowed the book from the public library.

Note: During Cathy’s Sabbatical, Louise is composing all the reviews. Cathy returns February, 2018.

In You & A Bike & A Road, cartoonist and illustrator Eleanor Davis takes us along on her 2016 road trip as she cycled from Tucson, Arizona where her parents live to her home in Athens, Georgia. Her black & white sketches, drawn while on the road are offered as journal entries, rather than conveyed in traditional comic panels offer an immediacy; a strong personal connection between the author and you the reader.

Why she decided to do the trip?

“My husband and I want a baby so I figure I either do it now or wait 20 years.”

“ My dad built me this bike and I hate boxing & shipping bikes so I decided to just ride it home!”

What she doesn’t say is this: “I was having trouble with wanting to not be alive.” 

Her keen observations of what she sees traveling alone, up to 50 miles per day, will be of interest to anyone who dreams of taking a long-distance cycling trip. Cycling so close to the Mexican border, Eleanor routinely sees border police in cars and helicopters. Mostly sleeping in her tent, she meets some interesting characters along the way who welcome her into their home.

This is a quick read, but one that I keep thinking about long after I finished. I admire Davis' artistic talent, her courage biking all alone, and her ability to admit her body is unable to continue. (Her knees give out).

Eleanor Davis is a cartoonist and illustrator. She has written Stinky and with her husband, Drew Weing, Flop to the Top, both Toon books. 

This is the perfect graphic memoir to give to budding artists. And those who like riding bicycles.

Go here to see some interior shots of this book.

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda with Liz Welch

I Will Always Write Back: how one letter changed two lives

by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda with Liz Welch

Little Brown. 2015

ISBN: 9780316241311

Grades 6-12

I borrowed this book from my local public library.

When her English teacher announced a pen pal program, seventh grader Caitlin thought the crazy-sounding place of Zimbabwe sounded intriguing. I’d never heard of Zimbabwe. But something about the way the name looked up on the blackboard intrigued me. 

She chose the country that, though difficult to pronounce, seemed exotic. In her letter Caitlin is friendly and shares all her favorite hobbies and activities. 

For fun, I like to go shopping at the mall on the weekend. I also like to go roller skating and bowling with my friends. And to eat pizza. What is it like in Zimbabwe?

Little did Caitlin know that this seemly reckless decision would not only change her life forever, but that of her pen pal as well.

Far off in the Mutare, Zimbabwe, Martin is the smartest student in his tiny school, so he is one of ten students who receive a letter from America. To Martin, America is the land of Coca-Cola and the WWF, World Wrestling Federation. Men had big muscles who wore skullcaps and knee-high boots and made lots of money.  Martin was thrilled with his pen pal. He had a friend. In America!

In alternating chapters, readers are pulled in to this amazing friendship that deepens over the six years they corresponded. 

The writers do a wonderful job showing Caitlin’s evolution. At first she is very naive about the cultural differences between her upper middle class life in Pennsylvania and the extreme poverty Martin experiences in Mutare. There are so many things Caitlin takes for granted. From buying a postage stamp to having her picture taken, nearly unobtainable luxuries to Martin. Over time Caitlin grows from a self-centered girl of privilege into someone who does all she can to offer Martin the chance he needs to reach his goal of attending college in America by sending him money so he can remain in school.

The correspondence begins in 1997 and ends on August 15, 2003 when the two finally meet for the first time at the Philadelphia airport. 

Hearing Caitlin say “You Made It!” when we first embraced made me realize this was real. For so many years, I thought i had conjured her. But here she was, as beautiful as i imagined, but much taller.

This duel memoir is a story of hope and friendship that makes for a compelling read. A great introduction to social activism.

Turning Fifteen On The Road to Freedom

Turning 15 On the Road to Freedom: my story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March

By Lynda Blackmon Lowery; as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley; Illustrated by PJ Loughran

Dial Books. 2015

ISBN: 9780803741232

I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.

Grades 4 thru 12

Joining the Civil Rights Movement to help end segregation and allow African Americans the right to vote, Lynda Blackmon Lowery, born in Selma, Alabama in 1950, was too young to take part in the sit-ins. Instead, she was a "gopher," Her job was to go for help. 

By the time I was fifteen years old, I had been in jail nine times.

The Civil Rights march in Selma took place on Sunday, March 7, 1965; Lynda Blackmon Lowery was only fourteen when she took part in that historic march now called, Bloody Sunday.  She was sprayed with tear gas and beaten, but those seven stitches over her eye and twenty-eight in the back of her head did not deter her from joining in march to Montgomery. Dr. King’s march from Selma to Montgomery would show Governor George Wallace and the world that black people still demanded the right to vote—that beatings and violence would not stop us. Lowery would turn fifteen on the second day of the march.

Lowery’s memoir is engaging as she recounts her experience being an African-American teenager and an active member in the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama during a very tumultuous time in our country’s history.  Her commitment to the movement despite her terror illustrates the tremendous dedication and determination it took for all those involved, both black and white, to win the right for all U.S. citizens to vote.

Well-selected historic photos are interspersed throughout the text along with Loughran’s graphic style illustrations. In her author's note, Lowery gives a brief explanation of what historical events lead up to that infamous march from Selma to Montgomery. She also includes brief bios of three who lost their lives days before or after Bloody Sunday.

Listen to an interview with Lynda Blackmon Lowery on npr.org.

Lowery states: We were determined to do something and we did it. If you are determined, you can overcome your fears, and then you can change the world.

Pair this with the graphic novel March. Book One and March. Book Two by John Lewis, Russell Freedman’s Because They Marched: the people's campaign for voting rights that changed America, and Freedom Summer by Susan Goldman Rubin, and  BrownGirl Dreaming and The Other Side, both by Jacqueline Woodson.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

El Deafo

Written and illustrated by Cece Bell

Amulet Books; an imprint of Abrams. 2014

ISBN: 9781409710209

Grades 3-12

To write this review, I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.

Everyone has a superpower. What is yours?

In El Deafo, author-illustrator Cece Bell shares her experience growing up deaf. 

I was a regular little kid. I played with my mom’s stuff. I watched TV with my big brother, Ashley, and big sister, Sarah.

Everything was fine until, at 4 ½, she contracted meningitis. We are not told how long Bell was in the hospital recovering, but when she got better something was different.

She couldn’t hear.  

Bell does a terrific job conveying her frustration at being different, especially when wearing the clunky hearing devices, so different from what children use today. Though she could hear people talking, Bell couldn’t always make out what they were actually saying. Things changed when she gets The Phonic Ear. Paired with a microphone, the Phonic Ear allowed Bell to hear her teacher, Mrs. Lufton. The Phonic Ear, clarifies her voice-really sharpens it! Even when I don’t see Mrs. Lufton’s face, I can understand every word she says without having to lip-read at all. In fact, the Phonic Ear was so powerful Mrs. Lufton could be heard wherever she was in the school building...even the bathroom!  FLUSH!!!!

There are some very funny moments in El Deafo, and heartbreaking, too. Readers will relate to the universal feeling of wanting to fit in and have a best friend. As Bell states in the author’s note, I was a deaf kid surrounded by kids who could hear. I felt different, and in my mind, being different was not a good thing. It is unfortunate that it is only when we are adults can one truly appreciate our uniqueness. Only then can we accept that, being different can be turned into something amazing. Our differences are our superpowers.

This memoir, told in graphic format, is both amusing and very moving. It will appeal to fans of Smile by Raina Telgemeier. El Deafo is a must-read for every one.

Watch the video of Cece Bell talking about El Deafo.