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When they encounter big feelings, young people often feel confused. What do they do with their anger, resentment, jealousy, or love? To help tweens better understand these overwhelming emotions that are capable of causing damage if not handled with care, Aida Salazar pens Ultraviolet. In particular, this novel in verse examines puberty, gender, first crushes, and rites of passage for young boys of color. It encourages a society that provides space to explore emotions, vulnerability, and hormonal confusion rather than burying them behind attitudes of being “macho” or “manning up.” Afraid of bees and plagued by other irrational fears, Elio Solis tries to understand hisRead More →

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While reading Justin Baldoni’s book Boys Will Be Human, I kept thinking of people I needed to pass this book on to next. Not just for male readers, it is a primer of sorts about acceptance and validation. Baldoni opens this topic early by writing: “Regardless of our genders, what’s important to our spiritual growth is learning how to be kind, loving, honest, of service, thoughtful, sensitive, loyal” (15) humans. Baldoni also argues that life isn’t a poker game where the winners are the most stoic players with the monetary and physical resources to bet high. We have to be willing to check our privilegeRead More →

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Fifth grader Anthony Joplin, aka Ant, is afraid of confrontation but confident in his card playing skills and kind to his friends. He is also trying to discover where and how he fits into the “tough guy” image and whether he can “be a lion,” as Jamal’s brother Taj says. Ant is further confused by girls, in particular, Shirley Heyward. How she smiles, talks, and laughs makes Ant’s skin tingle. “Ant doesn’t know what was prettier—Shirley’s smile, her brown fingers as they worked the deck, or the sound of the cards as she made a perfect shuffle” (193). Now that Ant’s older brother Aaron isRead More →