X: A Novel (a review of the fictionalized account of Malcolm X's youth)

X: a novel
by: Ilyasah Shabazz (illustrator: Kekla Magoon)
Published: Candlewick (January, 2015)
ISBN: 978-0763669676


Malcolm’s parents love him and they believe that despite the racism plaguing the country that he can be whatever he wants to be, but life gets in the way of that dream when his father is murdered by racists and his mother is broken by the tragedy in such a way as to be institutionalized. Seperated from his family he strives to do his best in school, and he does, outperforming the white boys who call him names in class. Despite his academic abilities and his desire to be a lawyer he’s told he should think lower, much lower. People like him don’t get to be lawyers. Disheartened he gives up on the straight path and falls in love with the city and plays the hustler’s game until it ultimately leads him to jail, then to God and then to greatness.

I've read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, which I recommend we all do, and I was interested to see what the differences in the two might be. This is a fictionalized account of the activists's life so it's based on the facts of his life, but fleshed out and dramatized. I enjoyed the color that was brought to the tale and definitely felt that it was more accessible to younger audiences than the autobiography. It's hard to imagine how someone can make such a dramatic change on their outlook and approach to life, but it is also hard to understand the choices each of us make each day. What turns a man into a god? What turns a man into a demon? Sometimes the same experiences can do one or the other to each of us and we have to explore whether we are contributing to the uplift of ourselves and others or our collective destruction.

Discussion Questions

1. What personality traits led Malcolm to abandon higher learning and pursue a life outside the law? How did those same traits lead him towards a career in civil rights?
2. How did Malcolm’s neighborhood nurture him? How did it fail him?
3. The story isn’t chronological. Is this helpful or harmful to the story?
4. Malcolm is told that he can be anything he wants to be, but he comes to believe that this isn’t possible through a series of events in his life. Many children are told the same thing. Was Malcolm wrong? Has this changed in your lifetime?
5. Mr. Ostrowski reveals what he believe Malcolm is capable of in Chapter 3. Describe what kind of person he is.
6. How was prison an incubator for Malcolm? Why were the words of Elijah Muhammad so effective in that environment?
7. Malcolm lived a hustler’s life. Did he have a choice? Why was it so attractive?

If you like this then:

Obviously go pick up the Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told to Alex Haley), but while you're getting that go ahead and try Queen: the story of an American family by Alex Haley. It's fictionalized, as well, if you believe scholarly accounts. It follows the life of an ancestor of Alex Haley's whose father is the master of the plantation that she is freed from after the civil war. We follow her on a journey through eras of strife as she finds herself redefining what race, family and home really mean.

Soundtrack:

Now, if you want to be authentic you might try some Duke Ellington to listen to while you read, but I feel that militant rap is also appropriate, so choose at will.

A Tyranny of Petticoats: Shonuff' Badass Girls and Pretty Pirates (a review)

A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls
Edited by Jessica Spotswood
Candlewick Press, 2016


Float from the Alaskan wilderness before colonization to the heart of the Black Panther Party in the 1960's. Hop from a pirate ship during the height of the slave trade to the parlor of a debutante fresh from a Quadroon Ball in New Orleans. They're all here, pirates, princesses, assassins and the occasional deathwielding monster. In this collection of stories you'll find the stories of girls all across the American timeline and landscape that have been forgotten or seldom told. Each story is written by different author who brings her own special eye to historical fiction. They include Kekla Magoon, Marie Lu, Andrea Cremer and more.

As soon as I read the description of this title I was intrigued and the moment I read the first story I was in love. A very deliberate focus on diversity and feminism has is apparent from the stories themselves and their arrangement. The story that opens the book is Mother Carey's Table by J. Anderson Coats about an African American girl posing as a boy on a pirate ship to escape a life of slavery. Jo is brave and smart and in love with the sea.(Spoiler Alert) It was a disappointment that Jo doesn't survive the story, nor did Whitby in High Stakes. Both had my diversity nerves tingling and throwing up a Magical Negro flag on the play, but it was undeserved or at least mitigated by my favorite of the bunch, El Destinos by Leslye Walton, a wonderfully imagined retelling of the Three Fates myth that transforms the women into Tejano teenage girls in 1848 Texas. I love a little paranormal and it's not often that I get it in my historical fiction. This is a fantastic addition to any collection and much needed.

A Murderer is the Ultimate Bad Boy: The Wrath and the Dawn (a review)

The Wrath and the Dawn
by: Renee Ahdieh
Speak; Reprint edition (April 5, 2016)
978-0147513854
Paperback: $6.15

Shazi's best friend has just been murdered. In fact, she's just one of nearly 60 girls that have met the dawn with a silver cord around her throat, a final gift from their murderous husband on their wedding night. With anger and determination Shazi volunteer's to be the next wife, accepting a personal mission to find out why the girls have been murdered and assassinate the bloody Caliph of Khorasan, Khalid. Unfortunately, things aren't as simple as they seem. The boy isn't as mad as the people would think and soon it becomes harder and harder to kill the thing you love.

The Wrath and the Dawn is a beautiful twist on A Thousand and One Nights, set in the fictional Khorasan it could be Pakistan, Iran or modern day Turkey. Readers are introduced to the opulence of a bygone era while still holding on to the fairytale-like elements that western readers are used to. It is Book 1 of a series and has fantasy elements in small amounts, but will delight those who love historical fiction romances. Shazi is bold and quick witted, while Khalid is the ultimate bad boy. Murdering a series of wives on their wedding nights is about as bad as bad can get, but there is vulnerability there that Ahdieh is adept at teasing out. We don't see that much of a love triangle in this book, but even after 400 pages you'll want to rush to Book 2 to see the clash between the childhood sweetheart and the new love.

The setting descriptions are breathtaking, but it will take a little bit of determination to get through some of the vocabulary, but it isn't anything that fantasy readers wouldn't be used to and midway through the book you'll have gotten used to the names and honorifics. It's not Elvish so dig into it and let the story take you away.


This Book is Perfect For:

• Reluctant Romantics
• Fans of Historical Fiction and Classic retellings
• Anyone who likes their fantasy in small bites

Book Club Discussion Questions:

1. Shazi's anger spurs her to volunteer as a wife. Why can't she hold onto that anger?
2. Discuss how the times and ways in which Shazi rescues Khalid. She becomes his defender in some ways. How does that power shift affect their relationship?
3. Tariq immediately springs into action to save his childhood sweetheart, but there is little backstory given to how much in love the two were. Speculate as to whether the tie between Tariq and Shazi is just fond memories or real connection. Does he really have a chance to place a wedge between her and Khalid?
4. Discuss the ways in which Khalid failed his first wife. Was he truly at fault?
5. Themes of revenge and justice are woven throughout the book. What do you make of Shazi's attempt? Her father's? Can there be justice in revenge?
6. What do you make of Khalid's grief and remorse? Is it real? Is it enough given his crimes?

If you like this, try:

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Suggested Song:
7 by Prince and the New Power Generation