Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape

by Peggy Orenstein
Hennepin County Library hardcover 236 pages plus endnotes, index, etc.
genre: non-fiction, sexuality

Wow. This was a hard read for me. It made me glad I don't have daughters and wonder how I can make a positive difference in the face of our current culture and "norms" . . . Sigh. It also makes me reflect on my own experiences, attitudes, etc.

This was on our summer reading list, and I would recommend it to parents, counselors, and others who care about teenage girls (and boys!) and their attitudes toward their own bodies. I'm more in the "prude" camp on the issue of girls and sex.

The first part I marked was page 28 - the section on Miley Cyrus and her "twerk" at the 2013 MTV music awards. For girls to see her as a "liberated" hero-type figure makes me sad. Her hypersexualized performances seem more like bondage than liberation to me. For girls to admire her and want to emulate her . . . just makes me sad.

Page 62 - Talking about sex ed . . . she makes some interesting points here. The male anatomy seems more "accessible" somehow. "Even the more comprehensive sex education classes stick with a woman's internal parts - uteri, tubes, ovaries. Those classic diagrams of a woman's reproductive system, the ones shaped like the head of a steer, blur into a gray Y between the legs, as if the vulva and the labia, let alone the clitoris, don't exist. Imagine not clueing a twelve-year-old boy into the existence of his penis! And whereas males' puberty is characterized by ejaculation, masturbation, and the emergence of a near-unstoppable sex drive, females' is defined by . . . periods." I am curious to talk to our personal wellness teacher about this. Girls should have solid information about their own bodies.

Page 77 - "Cashing in the V Card" - wow. Do girls really see virginity as something to get rid of before they go to college? This also makes me sad.

Page 112 - Not sure why I marked this. It's been a busy week.

Page 115 - Ugh. The part on frat houses and degradation of women (and women going along with it!) made me feel physically ill.

Page 181 - More puke-worthy info on sexual assault on college campuses. The Steubenville rape (and the guys' horrid comments, shooting video of it, etc.) are truly horrifying. And people who DEFEND the rapists as "good boys who made a mistake" make me so angry! It's horrible that young women get drunk and cannot stand up for themselves, but it's even more horrible that young men take advantage of them in such hurtful ways. I cannot imagine any of my sons doing this type of thing.

Also, guys commenting that this is "hilarious" scares me. That is so beyond immoral as to seem evil.

Notes I found in my car (added 10/30/16):
pg 185 "Don't tell girls not to drink; tell rapists not to rape."
pg 196 ". . . only perpetrators are responsible for assault, but assertiveness and self-advocacy are crucial defensive skills."

I need to finish pages 201-236 . . . but I'm not going to request the book from the library yet. I'm still trying to play catchup!

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential within us all

by Tom Kelley and David Kelley
Hennepin County Library hardcover 256 pages plus endnotes and index
genre: non-fiction motivational

This book was so powerful, I ordered a copy off Amazon. Some of what I read in here resonates with what we're doing at PRMS. Some of it really challenges me to get out of my comfort zone and off my duff!



Stanford d school . . . K-12 education . . . could I do this?

Growth mindset is crucial. It's "a passport to new adventures."

page 54 - losing confidence in creativity as a child. This immediately made me think of a "creativity" "test" given to me in school - elementary or middle school, I don't remember - with a series of circles to draw things. Being told that I wasn't very creative (because I stayed within the circles) . . . very discouraging. Almost a turning point in my life, certainly in how I viewed myself and my abilities.


page 218 - the importance of writing ideas down right away! They can be elusive, like dreams. Jot notes and capture them.

page 220-221 My comment from earlier comes full circle! I wish I knew which teacher in Bloomington convinced me I had just failed a creativity test . . . I'd like to chew them out.

Kill the Boy Band

by Goldy Moldavsky
Hennepin County Library hardcover 312 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

I read this in July, just found my notes yesterday (9/6/16).

Apple, Isabel, Erin, Narrator (name? not sure. She likes 80s movies, is a good girl, a writer, her dad died, and she has struggled with mental health issues)

Plus:
relevant - I know girls like this mystery / whodunit style
The narrator's use of the word "Bless" in place of swearing . . . at times.

Minus:
LOTS of F-bombs and other ugly language
girls' friendships are so fake / nasty

page 60-1: "Why Did I love the Ruperts?" . . . "Did I love them because . . . " "Did I love them because they were the only boys in my life who consistently told me I was beautiful? Probably." How many girls fall in love with singers because of this experience of feeling valued?

page 63: "The joy you find as a teen, however frivolous and dumb, is pure, and meaningful. It doesn't matter that it might ferment and taste different when you're older. That's the whole point of being a teenager - not worrying about the future."

page 152: Narrator: "You're the one who always said boy bands have a shelf life of two to four years." Erin: "That's my entire teenage life!" I think it can be hard for teens to put things in perspective when they feel so passionately but don't have enough life experience.

page 157 "Those girls outside the hotel could overthrow governments with their passion! They have the potential to do so much more." Erin says this (as she's tearing down her "best" friend.)

What is "stan" and "stanning"? I'll have to look this up. stan
is an avid fan and supporter of a celebrity, franchise, film, or group, often a rock/pop musician.>
page 194 "It made me long for grown-ups in a way I thought I'd grown out of. I wanted an adult to swoop in and help us, take care of everything, clean up our mess and tell us it would be okay."

This book had too breezy a tone for me when it was dealing with obsessions, murder, and back-stabbing friends. It just did not work for this reader.

Carry On

by Rainbow Rowell
Hennepin County Library hardcover 517 pages
genre: YA fantasy, relationships

I read this in July, just found my notes yesterday (9/6/16). 

Makes me curious to read her Fangirl book. Not what I expected. Very similar to Harry Potter at the start, but I don't think it would appeal to my typical fantasy readers.

The mystery and relationships (Simon Snow, Baz, Penelope, Agatha, the Mage, Ebb, etc.) were engaging. The magic and words / spells connections were interesting.

I liked it a lot, but am worried about my slim budget! I definitely got drawn in to the story.

Dumplin': Go Big or Go Home

by Julie Murphy
Hennepin County Library hardcover 371 pages
genre: YA realistic

Read this in July and made notes. Just found notes yesterday . . .

Plus:
interesting characters (Mitch - sweet, Millie, Bo, Hannah (angry girl) . . . )
Willowdean's connection to Aunt Lucy
Texas stuff - football, pageants . . .
drag queen show / humor
W & E re-friending page 338-9 and *talking* to one another again

Minus:
Willowdean's confidence vs. fear, her treatment of El (Best Friend!), Mitch, mom . . .
page 124 - she has a hot guy totally into her and THAT makes her body-conscious?!
Too much teen angst / I don't really "get" her message about self-esteem and empowerment

Dolly Parton stuff - fun

This just didn't really work for me, but it was okay. I'm trying to think of readers who would enjoy it . . . not sure it would get read much.

The Nameless City

by Faith Erin Hicks
PRMS paperback 232 pages
genre: YA fiction graphic novel

I love this!

Wonderful story of Kaidu (Dao boy warrior) and street girl Rat. It's a Nameless City because each conqueror gives it a new name and none of the names are meaningful to the people who live there. Joah, the monk, cares for Rat. There action, friendship, dilemmas, and the wonderful artwork Hicks continues to produce. I can hardly wait for the next book!

Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

by Steve Sheinkin
Hennepin County Library hardcover 324 pages + notes, biblio, etc.
genre: non-fiction history

This was interesting in that it pulled together bits and pieces of what I knew about the Vietnam War, Watergate, etc. and made it much more clear in my mind. I wish I'd paid attention in history classes back in the 80s! It was not as interesting as I expected it to be, based on our discussion at Litwits earlier in August. Still, I'm glad I read it.

I love the part when Senator Mike Gravel  "called a special session of his Sub-committee on Buildings and Grounds - just about the least prestigious subcommittee in the Senate. He opened the session with a crack of his gavel at nine forty-five. He was the only senator in the room." He started reading the Pentagon Papers, with a stenographer taking it down. The description of this event, particularly when Gravel wept at "reading a graphic description of combat wounds suffered by American soldiers." At the end of his session, "Senator Gravel asked for the unanimous consent of all sub-committee members to insert the rest of the Pentagon Papers into the public record. There were no objections."

The book raises questions about the balance between "state secrets" and the peoples' "right to know." The court cases raised questions about free speech, the press, and so much more. I'm glad Daniel Ellsberg didn't go to prison for what he did. Now I feel as though I should probably read more about Snowden and what he did . . .

Creative Schools

by Ken Robinson
Hennepin County Library hardcover 257 pages
genre: non-fiction

I didn't get this done before I needed to get it back to the library. A bunch of people in Litwits told me to just watch his TED Talk - it's better and takes less time. Okay, then. Here's the link to his talk "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

I don't have time to watch it now, but I need to. This is too important to ignore. My school is already focusing on things that are more important than compliance. How do we foster creativity in our students? 

Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian

(With Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families, and Teachers)
by John Elder Robison
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction

This was very interesting! I took quick notes as I was driving in the car.

• Billy the Kid (documentary) - about an Aspergers kid. I'd love to watch this, but probably won't find it and/or the time. 
• He talks about three types of humans - Aspergians, proto-Aspergians, and "Nypicals" (neuro-typical). Most people are "nypicals" - what some would call "normal," though he emphasizes that these different types just use their brains differently.
• What was "weird" as a ten year old has helped him to become a successful adult. He shares how he got from weird kid to successful adult.
• Find your strengths! He emphasizes "positive attitudes translate to positive results."
• rituals / habits / behaviors - what are norms? who decides?
• manners, like "please" and "thank you" make things smoother / he makes a funny comment about how matters are important, but not at sporting events, where they just don't matter
• He gave advice at the end and emphasized again - finding your strengths and interests. "Greatness happens when you find your unique strengths and build upon them." / Environment matters / Resolve / Focus / Find Real-World Applications / Work Hard.
• Identify and improve your weaknesses if they're holding you back, but focus on your unique strengths!
• I like how he identified the differences between Aspergers and the rest of the autism spectrum disorder . . . language skills.
• Oh. My. Word. I listened to the very end, through the acknowledgements and he gave some credit to his brother Augusten Burroughs! They are brothers?!?! When I read Running with Scissors, I was horrified at Burroughs' life. They are brothers?!

This book is amazing and I wish I could buy it for PRMS. I think his insights and personal experience with Aspergers is valuable.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here

by Patrick Ness
Hennepin County Library hardcover 317 pages
genre: YA realistic / fantasy

This was weird. Just really weird. Some normal kids dealing with teen stuff - OCD, eating disorder, friendships, romance, family, graduation, etc. And then there were the indie kids getting killed, the blue lights shining out of possessed people's and animals' eyes, a dead deer becoming a zombie deer, etc.

I actually got into the story after a while and enjoyed aspects of it, but it's definitely for older teens and a unique kind of reader.

Sacred Heart

by Liz Suburbia
Hennepin County Library paperback 309 pages
genre: YA / teen graphic novel dystopian

I didn't love the art style, but that didn't bother me too much. (I don't like Backderf's style, either, but can appreciate his storytelling.) This story had lots of partying, crude graffiti, sex, and random murders . . . but no police, no parents, and no clear sense of what this horrible society of teens and kids was all about.

Ben (a girl, but that's not apparent at first) is best friends with Otto. Otto is the only one who knows Ben's real first name . . . and since it was my favorite "reveal" of the story, I won't include it here. Ben's sister is named Empathy, an interesting choice. I'd love to talk with someone else who read it to see what I missed in understanding it.

The "gotcha" at the end helped, but was too little too late for this reader. With full-frontal nudity, I wouldn't buy this for my middle school anyhow. I hope Suburbia continues to create and to hone her storytelling and art style.

Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva

by Rosemary Sullivan
Hennepin County Library audiobook 16 discs
(print version has photos and 623 pages plus bib, index, notes, etc.)
read by Karen Cass
genre: non-fiction biography

Wow! So glad I listened to this on audiobook. Cass' voice was perfect once I got used to the British accent. Her pronunciation of Russian names leads me to believe she's fluent in the language.

Notes from listening in the car:

• abortion as a form of birth control - how incredibly sad!
• Stalin as dictator / the csars before / Pultin now . . . cult of personality
• people and place names - confusing - what's a dacha(?) / I looked it up - like a summer house
• arrests, torture, imprisonment, death by firing squad, fear, talk, forced confessions, . . . horrible. I can't imagine living in this environment.
• Stalin's death . . . everyone too frightened to call a doctor. Wow.
• Laventiy Beria - never heard of him before. What power over people's lives!
• after Stalin's death, people either worshiped or reviled him (and Svetlana)
• Olgivanna Wright - what a psycho! Taliesin - now I need to read more about Frank Lloyd Wright and this crazy place.
• 20 Letters to a Friend by Svetlana - I am interested in reading this.
• Olga - interesting to look up pictures of Svetlana's daughter! (Stalin's granddaughter is a tattooed biker chick in Seattle!)

Overall, I was fascinated by this history lesson. I believe the author researched extensively. Others in Litwits thought it was too long, too detailed, and had too much of Svetlana being a crazy woman . . . but I think she was in such a unique position in history. Yes, she was an odd duck - part Russian princess, part defiant rebel, part ??? I'm glad I "read" this, and I like that it piqued my curiosity on many levels.

The Great American Whatever

by Tim Federle
Hennepin County Library hardcover 274 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction, LGBTQ

I liked this better than his "Better Nate Than Ever" because it's more accessible to kids, I think. Overall, it seems to be more about grief and loss than anything else, but has loads of romance, film references, and typical coming-of-age content.

Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old boy who hasn't yet come out (though those closest to him all know it already). His beloved older sister (and film-making partner) Annabeth died in a car crash just before Christmas break and Quinn hasn't been back to school in the six months since the accident.

Best friend Geoff, Geoff's sister Carly, and Carly's friend Amir help Quinn find his way out of the grief over the course of this very well-written and engaging book. The Ricky Devlin part was a bit much, but overall this was a good read.

Caveat: swearing, alcohol, sex . . . the "usual" teen content make this more for high school than middle school.

I actually put a post-it note on a page. Just like in Silver Linings Playbook, this book refers to "Native Pittsburghers" and the dialect. He writes "If you don't know anyone from Pittsburgh, look it up on YouTube." So I had to . . .

The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice

by Alex Kershaw
Hennepin County Library hardcover 238 pages
genre: Non-fiction WWII history

This was so very sad, as all war books are. The copyright is 2003, so I'm not quite sure how it got on our Litwits list . . . but it was well-written and worthwhile, albeit more than a decade old.

Already on page 50, as the young Americans were heading to Europe, they saw horrors. The ship they were on (Queen Mary) rammed an escort ship (Curacoa) accidentally and "only 101 men from the Curacoa's crew of 439 were saved." How awful! Even with the information they had and being able to SEE the other ship, they couldn't avoid cutting it in half and continuing on themselves? Ugh. "Seventeen-year-old private Bob Sales of Company B had gone on deck to get some air. He couldn't understand why the Mary did not stop to pick up survivors." "'You're crazy as hell, man,' a soldier told him. 'The Mary, sitting still in the water - a German submarine could blow [us] off the face of the earth.'" Later the author notes "With their own eyes they had now seen how expendable men were in war."

It also makes me sad that in the 1940s, race problems were so awful (and on into the 1960s and nowadays . . . ). After mentioning what the soldiers read in Stars and Stripes, including the zoot suit riots, he notes that "In Detroit that June, where 300,000 whites and blacks had migrated to work in war factories, thirty-five people were killed, 600 wounded, and thousands jailed in two days of rioting."

New factoid for me: "Run by an ultra-secret intelligence committee, 'The Twenty Committee' (so-named after the Roman numerals XX - double cross), Operation Fortitude was arguably the most successful of all preparations for Overlord." I kind of like the clever wordplay, although I dislike the war strategies and the killing.

As far as WHY this young group of soldiers was chosen to be in the first wave, I don't want to think too hard. "Their lack of combat experience actually increased their confidence, some historians have argued. It was to the Allies' advantage that so many men had not seen combat; young men who have seen the horror of war are far less likely to rush headlong towards it. Naivete can perhaps be a powerful weapon." Reading this as a pacifist and a mom, I'm so sad for their relative innocence and their short young lives. I vividly remember watching Saving Private Ryan and being completely tense during the first twenty minutes, thinking "I'm watching this on a SCREEN in my LIVING ROOM! How did those young men DO this?" I know, I know. It's not like they could climb back onto the landing vehicle and say, "guess not. This is just too awful."

There's a paragraph on page 119 that actually made me laugh (amid all the depressing fighting and dying). I don't want to include it here, but the line, "made the most of an opportunity that Englishmen have sought since 1776" capped it for me.

Page 178 - "Stevens returned to his foxhole where he sat and prayed. 'I had come back,' he recalled, 'just like Jesus had said.' There and then I made  a deal with God. 'If you let me get back home,' I asked him, 'I'll be your servant.'" Roy Stevens was one of only six guys from Bedford who landed on D-Day and survived. Twenty-two others were killed in the Normandy campaign (19 right away in the first wave).

Very well-researched (lots of interviews and other primary source material) and written. Just a really sad book.

Anna and the Swallow Man

by Gavriel Savit
Hennepin County Library audiobook 6 discs
read by Allan Corduner
genre: YA historical fiction

"Kraków, 1939. A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs. This is no place to grow up. Anna Łania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland. She’s alone. And then Anna meets the Swallow Man. He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve. And when the soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see"

This book was not at all what I expected!There were so many times that I expected one thing to happen and something entirely different did. It kept me in suspense. I went on Goodreads after I finished it to see what I had missed at the ending . . . what was up with the fisherman, the trade, the professor? The narrator's vocal work was fantastic in bringing the story to life, but I re-listened to the last part of the last CD two times because I couldn't figure out what I had missed.

Throughout the first half of this, I thought it would be a fantastic companion book to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (young protagonist, WWII, the horrors of the Holocaust, etc.). But now I'm not so sure. It's definitely more sophisticated (what an extraordinary little girl she is!)

Awkward

by Svetlana Chmakova
Hennepin County Library hardcover 210 pages
genre: YA graphic novel, realistic

Such a cute story! The artwork was a little too manga-style for me, but I'm sure it will appeal to the kids. (Side note - the author is Svetlana and I'm reading Stalin's Daughter, who was Svetlana. Every summer, I seem to have these intersections of names, ideas, events . . . )

Peppi (Penelope) Torres is new at school. She loves to draw and joins the art club, making good friends there. The rival science club is competitive and active. Jaime loves science, but isn't as aggressive as the other science club kids. The two groups both want to have tables at the school's club fair, but have had some transgressions.

Very middle school - embarrassment, friendships, competition, etc. I will buy this one for PRMS!

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

by Becky Albertalli
Hennepin County Library hardcover 303 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

Simon is a likable seventeen-year-old with an older sister Alice and a younger sister Nora. His two best friends are Nick and Leah, and Abby has recently joined their group. This book has romance, adolescent angst, humor, and a coming-out story or two. It is delightfully written, though with plenty of swearing and using the Lord's name in vain. (Pretty normal fare for teenagers, but I'm a bit sensitive about it with many of my middle school readers not accustomed to it.) One part that made me laugh out loud is when Simon goes to a party with his friends even though he's not a partier.

"I take a sip of my beer, and it's - I mean, it's just astonishingly disgusting. I don't think I was expecting it to taste like ice cream, but holy f***ing hell. People lie and get fake IDs and sneak into bars, and for this? I honestly think I'd rather make out with Bieber. The dog. Or Justin."

Bieber is the name of the family's golden retriever. Anyhow, there is humor and honesty and difficult conversations. The author is a psychologist who apparently works with children and youth who are having gender concerns or coming out as homosexual. The book is very well-written, if perhaps a bit unrealistic (I won't give away the identity of his boyfriend, since that's the big "who is it really" throughout the book as they email one another using secret names.) But I think the happy resolutions at the end were not quite what kids' real experiences are like.

All American Boys

by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Hennepin County Library hardcover 310 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

This book was amazing. I put post-it notes on dozens of places, but I don't think I'll enumerate them in this entry. The story is told from two points of view: Rashad, a black teen junior ROTC officer who is an artist, and Quinn, a white teen basketball player whose dad died as a hero years earlier in the Middle East. When Rashad is beaten severely by a white police officer, people take sides, speak out, and struggle with what to say and do. There are so many layers and truths in this book. I will buy it for my school and I hope Carver County gets it as a book club kit - this would be a fantastic discussion book!

Some random thoughts / themes:
- I love how Rashad refers to his mom doing mom things (comforting, caring, etc.)

- Quinn's temptation (and others) to just not talk about it or deal with it (racism) . . . because for those of us who are white, that's an option. To just ignore the problem, since it doesn't "directly" affect us. Ouch. But so true!

- People's tendency to blame the victim. Rashad "must" have been doing something wrong (other than simply being black and having a white person trip over him) for the officer to attack him that way. Again, ouch. I've thought or said this of situations (not necessarily white officers and black people) . . . and I think of women being blamed for being raped because of the clothing they wore or the time of night they were outdoors alone . . . as a society, we are too quick to accuse and too slow to listen.

- So sad and true that we only seem to react when it's HUGE - a death, as opposed to the regular, every day stuff. I've heard black parents (especially dads) talk about how they prepare their children (especially sons) for how to react *when* they're confronted by police. Louie and I have three sons and we *never* had those kinds of conversations with them! This book is fiction, but from what I've read, heard, and seen, some of these experiences and feelings are VERY true to life.

- Whether for good or ill, people's perceptions about what constitutes a "thug" or an "All-American boy" often come down to physical appearance and snap judgments.

- Quinn: "I'm not racist!" She (Jill) hesitated and I sat there, stinking in my own sweat, needing her to say something. Eventually she did. "Not like KKK racist," she said. "I don't think most people think they're racist. But every time something like this happens, you could, like you said, say, 'Not my problem.' You could say, 'It's a one-time thing.' Every time it happened."

- When Rashad's dad talks about having been a cop and trying to do what's right, but having to make split-second decisions that might be life and death . . . there's just so much in this book that is worthwhile, especially in the current climate regarding race relations and police departments. I'm horrified by police officers being targeted by shooters. I'm so sad for the spouses, children, siblings, and parents of officers who are killed in the line of duty. But I also realize that we can't ignore the pain and fear and frustration of many black Americans who are tired of "same old, same old." I just don't want a backlash against police officers to be some sick "solution" for those who want change.

- I love Mrs. Fitzgerald from the gift shop! "Baby, I could tell by the look on your face that you ain't need none of that. Sometimes, when people get treated as less than human, the best way to help them feel better is to simply treat them as human. Not as victims. Just you as you."

This book is amazing! I hope we can afford a bunch of copies and get kids and adults reading and discussing it. There's a long waiting list at the public library so I'm glad I'm returning this today. Next reader!

<I published the above on 7.22.2016. I'm adding the below on 11.8.2023.>

When I was subbing at New Prague High School a few weeks ago, the students were reading this book. I thought I had read it before, but wasn't 100% sure. I had received a copy at some point in the past year, so I thought I'd just go ahead and read it again. Jason Reynolds is a fantastic author.

But I'm torn about re-reading it when I have so many other books waiting for me! And I feel as though this book isn't quite as powerful as Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give. Wow. Perhaps I should re-read that one!

Trashed: An Ode to the Crap Job of All Crap Jobs

by Derf Backderf
Hennepin County Library, hardcover 245 pages
genre: a mix of fiction and non-fiction about garbage in America, graphic novel

This was interesting and informative (and pretty depressing, actually). Landfills are filling and we keep generating more junk. I don't love Backderf's art style, but it is reminiscent of MAD magazine. He tells a story well. My Friend Dahmer was so creepy! This one is more straightforward, with a fictionalized story woven around a lot of facts. I would not be interested in getting this for my middle schoolers; this is definitely for older readers.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

by Peter Sis (written & illustrated)
Hennepin County Library hardcover unpaged
genre: children's book, non-fiction, memoir

I'm not sure why this book is on our list since it was published in 2007. I like it as a counterpart to Stalin's Daughter, though. I feel as though I'm learning a lot about Russian history! My favorite parts of this book are the excerpts from his journals and the photographs and drawings throughout his life.