Warrior Princess

Beck, K., Speckhard, A., & Shepherd, W. (2013). Warrior princess: a U.S. Navy Seal’s journey to coming out transgender.  McLean VA: Advances Press.

Hardback | $24.99 USD | ISBN-13: 978-1935866435 | 254 pages | Adult Non-Fiction 

What is gender? Is it only the physical parts that we are born with?  If our gender changes will society accept these changes readily? Can gender be constructed inside your mind or heart or brain?  Many in our society have their own opinion on this and these opinions differ so widely. Kristen Beck will share her opinion and life story as she transitioned from a man to a woman in her co-authored memoir Warrior Princess.  

Kristen Beck was once called another name: Chris Beck.  Chris was a high school football player, drove a motorcycle and became a U.S. Navy SEAL. He was in the military for over twenty years. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star (“Barnes and Noble,” n.d.). He was a man physically, but, he knew at a young age that he was meant to be a woman.  His family was religiously conservative so he didn’t say anything – he had no one to share this with. He withdrew and lived with these feelings internally for a long time. Then, he retired from the military and went through the stages to change his gender completely.  Chris became Kristen and this is her story.

Of course, it was not an easy journey for Kristen – she had to deal with her family’s rejection, failed relationships, and PTSD from serving on thirteen deployments, including seven combat deployments. But, she wanted to share it. Kristen’s story will help all of us to see that it is more important to be who you are and express that freely than hide your true identity.  Her story may help us all to empathize with others experiencing the gender identity issues that our culture judges so intently and so viciously.  Perhaps more coming out stories like this one will combat our society’s strict rules and perceptions of what gender can be in our society.

Beck worked with Anne Speckhard, Ph.D., an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School to write this memoir.  Dr. Speckhard has been working in the field of PTSD since the 1980s (“Anne Speckhard”, n.d.).  Though the book may have needed one more team member to provide more concise editing, this book is recommended for young adult readers (ages 18+) who may be struggling with coming out as a transgender. Also recommended for other readers who want to understand the journey and very difficult path for those among us who struggle with gender identity, perhaps in our own families. U.S. Navy SEALS are the manliest of men – they are warriors. Only men are permitted to be U.S. Navy SEALS. Perhaps this story will show you that it is not the gender of the person that determines who they are, but their actions and service.  Beck worked diligently and served our country well during his tenure in the Navy.  Maybe because Beck was so tough and trained to be strong, she was able to share her story and her struggle.  If she can do this, than anyone can. 

Americanah

Adichie, C. N. (2013). Americanah. New York: Knopf.

Hardcover | $26.95 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0307271082 | 496 pages | Adult Fiction 

Adichie has written a chilling masterpiece.  This novel can’t be about just one topic because so much is woven together. Here are some of the questions addressed: What does it mean to be African and live in America?  How does moving from Nigeria to America affect and change someone?  What is the impact this will have on relationships? On love?  What will be realized about communities? White privilege? What will be learned about ethnocentrism and about our own identities? These are all questions that Adichie discusses through her character Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman who moves to America in pursuit of a higher education. 

Ifemelu has moved to America to study and to become a wrier. She has her ideas about what America should be like based on TV shows like the Cosby’s, but upon her arrival she realizes its not what she thought. She is there to attend school and starts off fresh and new and is learning a lot about her new homeland called America. Truth is, the experience of coming to America, taught her a lot and taught her about things she did not know existed, including the four letter word: race. The concept of race didn’t exist in Nigeria, but it exists on every street corner, store, and train station in every city in America. She learns what it means and what it feels like to be “black” in America. Ifemelu begins to write a blog about race in America.  She does not have it easy in America – she hits some real lows and struggles to find a job, but through a lot of flashbacks we learn that she does gain an education, a fellowship at Princeton and finds a new love in an African American professor.  Her life was kind of easy in comparison back in Nigeria, or maybe it was just simpler. Ifemula ends the blog and returns to Nigeria after thirteen years of living in cities all around the U.S. But she isn’t returning to what she originally planned. Things have changed.

To make the story more interesting, there are parallel stories intertwined. Her teenage love, Obinze, wanted to also come to America to finish school, but because it is post 9/11 he is not permitted to enter the U.S. Instead he goes to London and faces his own challenges with finding a job. He tries to fake a marriage but is deported. He struggles just as much as Ifemelu, but upon his return to Nigeria he marries again, but the problem is it wasn’t for love and he is not happy. Adichie’s characters are both unhappy and unsatisfied with the position that they found themselves in, although oceans and continents apart. Their love went in opposite directions while their hearts remained in Nigeria, though they didn’t know it. It took a journey of self-realization to appreciate the life they had. However, the experiences taught them and stretched them.

This realistic love story will provide readers with plenty of insight for those who want to have their eyes opened to the issues of race, migration and struggles in America. This book is highly recommended for all readers. Though race has an important role in this book, not only Africans or African Americans need to read this. This is one book that all readers from all races should read because the honesty of the characters and their experiences will teach us all. It belongs in every library’s multicultural collection. This work is highly recommended for all public libraries.

Eminent Outlaws

Bram, C. (2012). Eminent outlaws: The gay writers who changed America. New York: Twelve.

Hardcover | $27.99 USD | ISBN-13:  978-0446563130 | 372 pages | Adult Non-Fiction

Eminent Outlaws is a history lesson on the gay literary authors who wrote in the time period of the 50s through the 90s and after.  While reading Bram’s historical narrative, you can understand the major writers who approached gay literature differently but collectively were able to impact writing and works that were published in general in America and beyond.

Bram explains the different cultural and historical events and their relationship and impact on attitudes and ideas shared by the gay writers of this time. There is a lot of variation in how the writers approached their literary works and it was definitely impacted by the time period in which the authors wrote and lived. Some wrote about openly gay characters and lived an openly gay lifestyle while others wrote plays that only hinted or mentioned the idea of homosexuality and lived their lives behind closed doors.

The way in which homosexuality was explored in literature was impacted by how the gay movement itself developed.  In the 50s “homosexuality was not completely forbidden, but it was in a tight spot” (Bram, 2012, p. 20). Still, it seems that didn’t change because fifty years later, admirers downplay the “Gayness” of poetry and the author Ginsberg (p. 37). Bram shares that during the 50s, many writers were silent on homosexuality, but it was so “despised in some circles” it was seen as a threat (p. 69).  Although this changed in the 60s when readers wanted to see relationships for what they really were (p. 79) and when viewers wanted to watch gay figures shine on late night talk shows (p. 89).  Riots in the late 60s caused a few problems, but this raised publicity of the movement when gay bars were regularly raided and gays were arrested (p. 134-135). Many were not sure which direction to go to best fight for gay rights – this led to many arguments and schisms for how to move forward (p. 136).  Gay liberation would follow in the 70s; but it wasn’t unordinary for gay literature to be published after the authors died to protect their reputations (p. 151). The biggest shift came in the 70s when gays in larger numbers finally gave themselves a name and they told their families about their preferences too (p. 194).

Christopher Bram combines all of the authors from this time period in one book for any readers who are interested in the development of gay authors and its impact on America’s 20^th century.  The book itself is laid out in a readable format and the chronological procession makes it easy to follow along with the development of the time. I would recommend this book for adult readers, gay or straight, and public libraries with diverse populations.  This book would fit well in a library’s collection on social history and gay literature. Any readers who can appreciate a cultural history book interwoven with personal stories about the author’s lives will appreciate this novel. 

Drivers at the Short Time Motel

Gloria, E. (2000). Drivers at the short-time motel. New York: Penguin.

Paperback | $15.95 USD | ISBN-13: 9780140589252 | 96 pages | YA Poetry

This book is part of the National Poetry Series and was a 1999 NPS Winner. It won Penguin’s Asian American Literature Award and includes 30 poems (“Penguin.com,” n.d.). Gloria’s poems deal with the lives of modern day Filipinos and their surroundings while others are set in America discussing the Asian American experience upon immigration. A theme of “moving forward” appears evident, but it is clear the narrator does not feel a true sense of belonging. The author uses poetry to explain how he is caught between two worlds – the one back home as a Filipino and the one in America. Finding a sense of belonging in the world is another theme – we can see this in “The Maid” (p. 19). A young girl enters a restaurant and while all the patrons seem to have given into the mainstream ways accepting American TV culture with their “gaudy cellular phones” this girl has held onto her past and is looking into the narrator saying “I know you, I know you” implying that the narrator must hold onto to his roots, despite their surroundings. Upon arrival in America, Gloria writes about more of these changes. “On Mission Road” is about an American taxicab driver who simply drops off the family, waits for payment and leaves. There was no thankfulness for the job or a debt of gratitude – there was only “service rendered” (p. 32).

Light used in the poems was sometimes blinding or flashing, serving as a symbolic warning, such as in “Subic Bay” (Gloria, 2000, p. 11). Darkness is another theme. The narrator doesn’t appreciate his “deadbeat” brother who wanted to escape the draft and flee to Canada. In Gloria’s poem “Ruin” he talks about his brother serving in Vietnam in darkness (p. 12). In “Nocturne: Two Visions” we read more about his brother’s involvement in the war. There are many dark historical references, including the mention of “Hiroshima ash” in “White Blouses” (p. 6), “debtors’ prison” in “Winter Fires” (p. 7) and Mount “Pinatubo Ash” in “Song of the Pillar Woman (p. 18). Gloria mentions the “season of the monsoon” and the “Japanese Occupation” in “Milkfish” (p. 35). Many poems are about his family and their lifestyles – the theme is family mixed with survival. The transition to America was not easy for the family. His father fixes cars for a living as described in the poem “Iron Man” (p. 33).

Tragedy is another theme. “Mauricio’s Song” is about a man who is leaving work and heading to meet his love but a bullet meets his heart instead (p. 4). Another sad poem “Saint Joe” recalls a time when the narrator tried to rescue a little girl from drowning, but she could not hold onto the rope – the girl drowned in the river.  The narrator had this flashback after seeing a pedicab driver hit by an oncoming Coca-Cola truck. “Joe” as he was called, tried to help, but the world continued to move forward while an ambulance approached in the distance (p. 10).

Eugene Gloria was born in Manila and has written three books of poems (“Eugene Gloria”, n.d.). He is qualified to write a book of poems about Asian Americans, but many of them I had a difficult time connecting with after one read. I had to do a little research on some of the terms from the poems including jeepneys. Readers will learn a lot from the dual experiences of Gloria. Recommended for young adult readers and up in public libraries with diverse populations and those readers who want to experience two very different worlds within one book. Gloria’s words should teach us to work harder on accepting and learning about other cultures: "If there were two worlds we are made to inhabit/ I would prefer the one I was forced to leave” (p. 18).  

The Secret Life of Bees

Monk Kidd, S. (2003). The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Viking.

Hardcover | $16.00 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0670032372 | 320 pages | YA Fiction

Nightmares do not go away. Imagine having one repeating image of your mother and that image involves you holding a gun the day she died.

14-year old Lily’s mother is dead. Her father does not show her love and rarely shows her any attention. Lily calls her dad “T-Ray;” he certainly does not deserve a name like dad. Lily lives on a peach farm and her only friend is Rosaleen, the family’s servant. Lily’s memory of her mom is haunting her. Her father will not talk of her mother and Lily has unanswered questions. She finds a few of her mother’s possessions including a picture of a black Virgin Mary inscribed with “Tiburon, S.C.” This makes Lily wonder. Rosaleen has been Lily’s stand in mother; she loves her dearly on the inside. On the outside she has a tough exterior. So tough, that one day Rosaleen stands up to some incredibly racist men in the town. Rosaleen just wanted to vote, but it is 1964 in South Carolina. When a black woman does this in the 1960s in South Carolina it can only end badly – and it did end– with a beating and an arrest. Lily helps Rosaleen escape and together they flee to Tiburon, S.C. all because of that picture. Lily follows the honey to a pink house. Here Lily learns about her mother’s past and herself. Lily meets the Boatwright sisters, who are 3 strong African American women and beekeepers. These three sisters, along with Rosaleen, show Lily tremendous love – and to say it brings changes is an understatement.

Lily learns about her past while in Tiburon, but also she is happy, despite her being a typical moody teenager! Through her experiences, she learns about racism since she is growing up in a racially divided community in the South in the 1960s. Lily genuinely accepts and loves the women she meets, no matter their skin color, and she experiences love in return like she never knew before. Each of the Boatwright sisters, named August, June and May, are all in their own unique way a mother figure to her. Her love and appreciation for them is obvious and charming, but life is not without difficulties, even in Tiburon, S.C.

I would highly recommend this book for middle and high school libraries, grades 7 and up and for all public libraries. This coming of age novel would fit well in a section of the library on books recommended for teenage girls because it shows how Lily was able to grow and develop with the support of those loved ones around her. Loss is never easy to deal with. Readers will enjoy the symbolism and parallelisms in caring for bees, making honey and loving others that you must read the book in order to see this. In addition to that, Lily still deals with other teenage issues and it is nice to see her development. This novel would also fit in a collection on love, social justice and positive race relationships. Women of all ages and races will appreciate this book for its themes of motherhood and love. Sue Monk Kidd’s novel has been made into a film starring some big names including Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys. The novel itself won several awards. It was a New York Times bestseller for more than 125 weeks and a Good Morning America “Read This” Book Club pick. (“Amazon,” n.d.) 

A Deeper Love Inside: The Porsche Santiago Story

Souljah, S. (2013). A Deeper Love Inside: The Porsche Santiaga Story. New York: Atria/Emily Bestler Books.

Hardcover | $18.68 USD | ISBN-13: 9781439165317 | 432 pages | YA Fiction

From the nicest house in all of Long Island to failed foster homes to a prison cell on C-block in juvy to a hideaway house on a Native American reservation in Seneca, New York, Porsche tells the traumatic story of her childhood.

Porsche’s childhood was a living nightmare; she wondered where her family was. Porsche was 8 at the time when the feds raided their home and separated her family. Porsche didn’t know much about the family business, but she knew what she knew. She knew her father was a good man and that people loved him. She knew her mother completed her father and together they were unstoppable. She knew her older sister Winter was a queen and beautiful and of course, she looked up to her. But even Winter abandoned her. These were things she knew but she tried not to think about because she was trying to survive. While in juvy, we learn a lot about Porsche’s past and we experience alongside her some horrific stories about the prison she was forced to call home. She was property of the state. No one visited her. Porsche stayed mostly to herself but finds one friend that she trusts and is near her all the time: Siri. Together, they join forces with Riot, an older girl and one of the Diamond Needles. Riot is the #1 mastermind of the gang; she plans an escape. This is just the beginning. Riot takes care of her like an older sister should and NanaAnna, the woman who hides them on the reservation, takes care of both Riot and Porsche. But Porsche has to find her family. Riot helps Porsche find her mom in New York at a park, with a missing tooth, and smelling like piss. Porsche’s mom is strung out – drugs are mind altering and she does not recognize her own daughter. Porsche works hard to hustle and make a better life for her mom. She does not know where her father or sisters are, but all of that will be discovered. Porsche (or Ivory as she calls herself to hide her identity) will discover love. She will discover this deep love and spend most of the story running from it (or him!) Sometimes the truth hurts us more than we are willing to say. The truth that Porsche will discover about her family, about her past will hurt her and it will always impact and affect her in her future, no matter where she goes or who she is with. She loses a lot – you could say she lost her childhood. She dealt with things no child should deal with – it caused her to see and to hear things – even to imagine friends. She would never get over some of these horrific events, no matter the coping mechanisms. Many young adult readers will feel sadness as well as compassion for young Porsche; they will respect her too.

Sister Souljah published this sequel to The Coldest Winter Ever, which is Winter’s account of what happened to the Santiago family, but it can be considered in my opinion a stand-alone novel. I would highly recommend this book for high school students and up. Because of its content I feel younger readers (including middle school readers) should wait to high school to read this novel. Still, this is a must read for all mature young adult readers. Highly recommended for high school libraries and public libraries. Sister Souljah’s reach as an activist, author and problem solver in her community and world is well known (“Sister Souljah”, 2013). She brings to life characters whose lives are transformed before your eyes. Whether their lives change for better or worse, I can guarantee you will want to read more from Sister Souljah.

Cotton Tenants: Three Families

Agee, J. (2013). Cotton Tenants: Three Families. New York: Melville House.

Hardcover | $17.46 USD | ISBN-13: 978-1612192123 | 224 pages | Adult Non-Fiction

A family’s struggle for survival can mean a lot of things. Agee tells the story about the lives of people that the world doesn’t seem to care about. These three families of the story belong to Bud Fields, Frank Tingle and Floyd Burroughs. They live in a land called Mills Hill, in Hale County, Alabama – a world where nothing is wasted and what is used may seem to the human eye to even be waste itself. None of us have ever used corn shucks as toilet paper. Our roofs may leak but we have one over each room of our homes. We have never worn clothing until it has fallen off of us. Shoes are not something we buy for our children or ourselves if we make a profit within that year.

The details given about the lives of three families in the story will give you a more somber understanding of poverty in the South during the Great Depression. The poor tenant families in Alabama lived in a social system that neglected them and an economy that used them, despite their efforts. Northern journalism called this tenant system the sharecropping system, but it perhaps deserved another name – a name that would show this flawed system for what it was and help us all see it for its exploitation of those stuck in this system with no other options or choices to earn a livelihood. Families struggled to make a profit – their debts grew and some years their profits were between $12 -15. The families worked incredibly hard on a daily basis but their hard work seemed to be for nothing because they were among those at a disadvantage from the start. 

As Agee writes “a civilization which for any reason puts a human life at a disadvantage; or a civilization which can only exist only by putting human life at a disadvantage; is worthy neither of the name nor of the continuance. And a human being whose life is nurtured at an advantage which has accrued from the disadvantage of other human beings, and who prefers that this should remain as is, is a human being by definition only, having much more in common with the bedbug, the tapeworm, the cancer, and the scavengers of the deep sea” (p. 19). The landowners though believed that the tenants who worked for them had everything they needed and in fact their service to these tenants was indispensable. However, the readers can decide. The information presented here in this non-fiction work alongside 30 historic photos by Walker Evans tells a truly painful history of three families living in poverty and struggling to provide basic needs for their families. All three were cotton tenants, but all three were human and deserve our sympathies. And while reading allow your mind to fathom that these three families were not poor enough to receive support from the government or work from the WPA…

James Agee wrote for Fortune and originally published a story on this topic in 1941 called Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. This report Cotton Tenants was thought to have been lost. Agee wrote this after a visit to Alabama in 1936 in which he explored the poverty there and it was not found until after his death (“Melville House,” 2013). By doing so Agee takes us back to a time where we can learn and appreciate the struggles of those before us. Reading about the struggles of those in poverty will help all readers appreciate their own circumstances a little more. This is highly recommended for all public libraries and any reader who appreciates historical reports, or one who wants to take a walk through history and experience a truly remarkable depiction of poverty and its impact on the ordinary man.