Author Archives: Crystal

Charlottesville and Resources

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“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” Heather Heyer

If you have been paying attention to media in the past few days, you are surely aware that a White supremacist rally was held in Charlottesville, VA which resulted in the death of Heather Heyer and state troopers Lt. H. Jay Cullen and Trooper Berke M. M. Bates. Along with these deaths were many injuries. Beyond that, there was a lot of fear and horror on the part of many as they participated in the counter-protests or watched what was happening from near and far. It wasn’t simply because it was happening, though that was horrifying, but the response from DT made it clear that he does not believe that any one side is more to blame than the other. In the face of White supremacy and Nazis, DT seems incapable of placing blame squarely on White supremacist shoulders. Again we saw a situation where people witnessing this were thinking, well surely now he’ll say something definitive, but no. There are White supremacists who see the outcomes of this event as a victory and are excited about DT’s weak response.

Many people I know are looking for specific things to do in order to counteract, resist, interrupt, and ultimately put an end to racism and it’s many forms. Events like these tend to flood people’s emotions and can overwhelm us or have us looking for positive actions we can do to make change. Here are some of the resources out there if you want to get out and do something. Some of you may need to also do something to care for yourself first. This has been emotionally draining for many, so there are also some self-care resources.

Action Steps
Celeste Ng has you covered if you want very specific tasks. She continues to add other tasks on her twitter feed so it’s a good idea to follow her.

If You’re feeling helpless Tumblr post

Sara Benincasa – What to do About Charlottesville

Upworthy – 16 ways you can make a big difference

Southern Poverty Law Center – Ten Ways to Fight Hate

Places to donate in the Charlottesville area

Self-Care
From @NYChavez and @HYAdames – Surviving and Resisting Hate: A Toolkit for People of Color

Teen Vogue – 4 Self-Care Tips for People of Color

Comprehensive crowd-sourced list of self-care

Los Angeles Loyolan – Self-Care Tips for Activists

Resources for Teaching
#CharlottesvilleCurriculum

Citizenship & Social Justice – Curriculum for White Americans to Educate Themselves on Race and Racism–from Ferguson to Charleston

NCTE’s Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias – There Is No Apolitical Classroom: Resources for Teaching in These Times

Washington Post – The first thing teachers should do when school starts is talk about hatred in America. Here’s Help.

Teaching Tolerance teacher resources

NPR – Resources for Educators to Use in the Wake of Charlottesville

NPR – Politics in the Classroom: How Much is Too Much?

Books to Share/Read
Lee&Low – Books to Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality

NYT – How to Talk to Your Kids about Charlottesville (focus on books)

ProjectLIT Bookclub

Bustle – 10 Books I Wish My White Teachers Had Read

Social Justice Books a Teaching for Change Project – Social Justice Booklist

From Book Riot – Rincey shares Book Buys Based on Recent Events

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Guest Post: Sonia Patel

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Please welcome Sonia Patel to Rich in Color today. Her newest book, Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story, will be available next month. We really enjoyed Rani Patel in Full Effect, her debut last year, and are looking forward to this new release.

KEEP IT REAL OR YOU MIGHT DIE.

Keep it real or you might die. Sound extreme? Let me explain this short but profound sentence I often use to help struggling teens in my child and adolescent psychiatry practice. I’ll start by breaking it down into two parts.

Keep it real = Determine your true thoughts and feelings in the moment and speak up for yourself in all honesty.
Or you might die = If you stay quiet and believe the negative automatic thoughts, feelings, and risky impulses that your mind is tricking you with then you might be more likely to go through with the risky impulses (suicide attempts, accidental excessive drug/alcohol use, unprotected sex, etc.) because there doesn’t seem to be any other way out of the intolerable swirl of chaos in your mind.

Obvious? Not to everyone, especially not to vulnerable teens. These are the pained teens—from all walks of life—I have the honor of treating. These are the teens who have a genetic predisposition to an emotional illness (such as depression or anxiety), have lived through trauma, or have dysfunctional family systems—or all three. These teens are more likely to remain silent about the unwanted, false, automatic negative thoughts, feelings, and impulses that plague them. For different reasons, these teens aren’t taught to speak up about, tolerate, or cope with all the negativity. This silent suffering becomes their invisible “teacher” and they learn to act out on their self-destructive impulses. Soon the only way they know how to minimize emotional distress is to act out with dangerous behaviors. It may become hardwired into their brains.

I value meaningful talk therapy as the foundation of my psychiatric treatment to teens. It is my goal to educate them on positive ways to maneuver through life. Over the course of weeks, months, or years we work together to discover how they can become self-aware, how they can say exactly what’s on their mind in any given situation, and how they can ride out the extremes of their negative thoughts, feelings, and impulses.

How they can keep it real so the don’t die.

I strive to be their keep it real coach. There is no better reward than to watch these teens learn to find their voices and be assertive. They become keep it real experts.

I also aim to be a keep it real author. I want to bring this powerful message to as many teens as I can. That is why I write YA novels the way I do—boiled down and raw.

In my office, teens who confide in me don’t speak in perfect prose when they share their innermost thoughts, feelings, impulses, and secrets. They might stumble on their words. They might not be able to find the right words. They might get straight to the point. They might ramble. They might swear. They might cry. They might scream. They might do a combination of all of that. So why would I write their stories in a pretty, elegant way? This is not to say these teens are not intelligent. They are. Some of them read at college level, take A.P. classes, and study hard. They know many big, fancy, SAT words. Those that don’t pursue academics to their full potential are still smart. But what I’ve found is that in the privacy of my office most teens prefer to talk in an informal manner rather than with refined formality. They choose to speak with their broken hearts.

It is with all this in mind that I wrote Rani Patel In Full Effect and the forthcoming Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story. I am excited for the world to meet Jaya and Rasa. They are blends of real patients I’ve had the privilege of treating (I must confess that there are also bits and pieces of me in Jaya!).

The way I write how Jaya experiences things in his life—such as private school, wealth, elitism, modern day Native Hawaiian oppression, lack of acceptance of his gender by his Gujarati Indian parents, bullying by his classmates, depression, self-blame for his parents’ fights, low self-worth, and the unconscious recreation of his parents’ relationships with Rasa—is how many of my patients describe their similar experiences.

The way I write how Rasa maintains a happy front while likening herself to a strong black widow spider is part of her response to trauma. It’s how she’s managed to survive her challenging circumstances. She’s learned to equate her body and sex as power and control over men who are actually abusing her. Under her black widow exterior is a vulnerable girl who hasn’t been given the chance to develop her self-worth or identity apart from being an object for others. She hasn’t had the luxury of a safe life in which her basic needs are met.

Neither Jaya nor Rasa have been taught or encouraged to become self-aware or speak their minds concerning their true thoughts, feelings, and impulses. So they’ve both stayed in their heads trying to survive their respective hardships. Their patterns of negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors  become more and more ingrained as the years pass. That is, until they meet each other. The intense love that develops between them forces them to confront the flaws in their internalized ways of functioning in the world. They realize that they have to keep it real or they might die.

Check me out online!

Website: soniapatel.net

Instagram & Twitter: soniapatel808

Facebook: SoniaPatelAuthor

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Review: One Shadow on the Wall

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Once in a while we share reviews of books that are not strictly young adult. This is one of those times. One Shadow on the Wall is marketed as middle grade, but it is an excellent story for any age. This review was previously published on my personal blog Reading Through Life.

Title: One Shadow on the Wall
Author: Leah Henderson
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Pages: 438
Genre: Contemporary
Review Copy: Final copy via publisher
Availability: On shelves now

Summary: An orphaned boy in contemporary Senegal must decide between doing what is right and what is easy as he struggles to keep a promise he made to his dying father.

Eleven-year-old Mor was used to hearing his father’s voice, even if no one else could since his father’s death. It was comforting. It was also a reminder that Mor had made a promise to his father before he passed: keep your sisters safe. Keep the family together. But almost as soon as they are orphaned, that promise seems impossible to keep. With an aunt from the big city ready to separate him and his sisters as soon as she arrives, and a gang of boys from a nearby village wanting everything he has—including his spirit—Mor is tested in ways he never imagined.

With only the hot summer months to prove himself, Mor must face a choice. Does he listen to his father and keep his heart true, but risk breaking his promise through failure? Or is it easier to just join the Danka Boys, whom in all their maliciousness are at least loyal to their own?

Review: Mor and his family completely stole my heart. Mor hears his father and sees his mother after they have died. He knows his parents would want the children to stay together so he’s determined to do that at any cost. He tries. Oh, how he tries, but the responsibilities are tough. He learns so many things the hard way. Something will go right and then two things will go wrong. It is hard to see him face so many disappointments, but readers will be cheering him on all the way through. 

The gang is on his trail and brings about many of Mor’s difficulties. They also offer safety and protection though. Henderson does a particularly good job of showing how children and teens can get caught up in such a situation. The gang members are individuals and have stories. They have their reasons for having joined and readers see that gang activity may not be as clear-cut as one would imagine. I think there are gang members who never believed they would have anything to do with a gang and yet there they are.

It may not look like it on the surface, but this is a survival story. Mor has a loving community, but he does isolate himself with the secrets he is holding. There are many strong and caring adults that help Mor and his sisters. I appreciated seeing the way they looked out for the children. One in particular is an elder fisherman named Demba. Many of the children make fun of him and believe he is crazy. Mor spends a lot of time with Demba and learns that Demba’s differences are not what they appear. 

Recommendation: This is a fabulous book that may cause a little heartache, but it’s also heartwarming. Mor’s persistence and hope are lovely to behold. It’s a little long for a middle grade novel, but it moves quickly and is well worth the time. 

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New Releases

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There are quite a few great new releases this week. Check them out.

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert
Little, Brown

When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she isn’t sure if she’ll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (along with her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.

But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new…the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel’s disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself–or worse.

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
Amulet Books

The struggle to get into a top-tier college consumes sixteen-year-old Genie Lo’s every waking thought. But when her sleepy Bay Area town comes under siege from hell-spawn straight out of Chinese folklore, her priorities are suddenly and forcefully rearranged.

Her only guide to the demonic chaos breaking out around her is Quentin Sun, a beguiling, maddening new transfer student from overseas. Quentin assures Genie she is strong enough to fight these monsters, for she unknowingly harbors an inner power that can level the very gates of Heaven.

Genie will have to dig deep within herself to summon the otherworldly strength that Quentin keeps talking about. But as she does, she finds the secret of her true nature is entwined with his, in a way she could never have imagined…

The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian
Balzer + Bray

The Authentics is a fresh, funny, and insightful novel about culture, love, and family—the kind we are born into and the ones we create.

Daria Esfandyar is Iranian-American and proud of her heritage, unlike some of the “Nose Jobs” in the clique led by her former best friend, Heidi Javadi. Daria and her friends call themselves the Authentics, because they pride themselves on always keeping it real.

But in the course of researching a school project, Daria learns something shocking about her past, which launches her on a journey of self-discovery. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. And it’s getting harder to know who she even is any longer.

With infighting among the Authentics, her mother planning an over-the-top sweet sixteen party, and a romance that should be totally off limits, Daria doesn’t have time for this identity crisis. As everything in her life is spinning out of control—can she figure out how to stay true to herself?

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

When Dee Moreno makes a deal with a demon—her heart in exchange for an escape from a disastrous home life—she finds the trade may have been more than she bargained for. And becoming “heartless” is only the beginning. What lies ahead is a nightmare far bigger, far more monstrous than anything she could have ever imagined.

With reality turned on its head, Dee has only a group of other deal-making teens to keep her grounded, including the charming but secretive James Lancer. And as something grows between them amid an otherworldy ordeal, Dee begins to wonder: Can she give someone her heart when it’s no longer hers to give?

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New Releases

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Woohoo! Miles Morales releases today! (See our review here.) There are also quite a few other titles having a book birthday. Please let us know if we missed any.

Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds
Marvel Press

“Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you’re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins.”

Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He’s even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he’s Spider Man.

But lately, Miles’s spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren’t meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad’s advice and focus on saving himself.

As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can’t shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher’s lectures on the historical “benefits” of slavery and the importance of the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk.

It’s time for Miles to suit up.

Solo by Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess
Blink
See review here

Solo, a YA novel in poetic verse, tells the story of seventeen-year-old Blade Morrison, whose life is bombarded with scathing tabloids and a father struggling with just about every addiction under the sun—including a desperate desire to make a comeback. Haunted by memories of his mother and his family’s ruin, Blade’s only hope is in the forbidden love of his girlfriend. But when he discovers a deeply protected family secret, Blade sets out on a journey across the globe that will change everything he thought to be true.

When I am Through with You by Stephanie Kuehn
Dutton Books for Young Readers

“This isn’t meant to be a confession. Not in any spiritual sense of the word. Yes, I’m in jail at the moment. I imagine I’ll be here for a long time, considering. But I’m not writing this down for absolution and I’m not seeking forgiveness, not even from myself. Because I’m not sorry for what I did to Rose. I’m just not. Not for any of it.”

Ben Gibson is many things, but he’s not sorry and he’s not a liar. He will tell you exactly about what happened on what started as a simple school camping trip in the mountains. About who lived and who died. About who killed and who had the best of intentions. But he’s going to tell you in his own time. Because after what happened on that mountain, time is the one thing he has plenty of.

Genius: The Con (Genius #2) by Leopoldo Gout
Feiwel & Friends

Three teen geniuses from diverse backgrounds must work together to stop a vicious warlord, protect their families, and save the world in this fast-paced sequel to Genius: The Game.

ON THE RUN!

Tunde: This fourteen-year-old self-taught engineering genius from Nigeria is in a race against time to save his village from a ruthless warlord.

Painted Wolf: This mysterious sixteen-year-old activist blogger and strategist from China is searching for a way to rescue her father from the corruption he’s inadvertently been caught up in.

Rex: This sixteen-year-old Mexican-American has proven himself to be one of the best programmers in the world, only to be falsely accused of stealing billions of government secrets for the terrorist hacking group Terminal.

Pursued by the police, the FBI, and most dangerous of all, Kiran Biswas, visionary CEO and evil mastermind, three teen geniuses have to move fast and stay low as they race to find a missing brother, stop a vicious warlord, and save the world in Genius: The Con by Leopoldo Gout.

Blight by Alexandra Duncan
Greenwillow Books

When an agribusiness facility producing genetically engineered food releases a deadly toxin into the environment, seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres races to deliver the cure before time runs out.

From the author of the acclaimed American Booksellers Association’s Indies Introduce pick Salvage, which was called “Brilliant, feminist science fiction” by Stephanie Perkins, the internationally bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss. This stand-alone action-adventure story is perfect for fans of Oryx and Crake and The House of the Scorpion.

Seventeen-year-old Tempest Torres has lived on the AgraStar farm north of Atlanta, Georgia, since she was found outside its gates at the age of five. Now she’s part of the security force guarding the fence and watching for scavengers—people who would rather steal genetically engineered food from the Company than work for it. When a group of such rebels accidentally sets off an explosion in the research compound, it releases into the air a blight that kills every living thing in its path—including humans. With blight-resistant seeds in her pocket, Tempest teams up with a scavenger boy named Alder and runs for help. But when they finally arrive at AgraStar headquarters, they discover that there’s an even bigger plot behind the blight—and it’s up to them to stop it from happening again.

Inspired by current environmental issues, specifically the genetic adjustment of seeds to resist blight and the risks of not allowing natural seed diversity, this is an action-adventure story that is Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake meets Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion.

Follow Your Heart by Tasha Nathan
Lorimer

Nisha has always been a good Tamil daughter. She tries to keep her grades up so she can meet her parents’ high expectations of her. They want her to become a doctor or an engineer, and of course she is not allowed to be in a romantic relationship while she is still a teenager. Nisha has discovered that what she really loves to do is write. As she devotes more of her time and attention to her creative writing class, she also finds that who she really loves is her classmate Todd. How can Nisha get her parents to understand that she needs to live her own life? And when she has to choose between her dreams of life on her own terms and being with Todd, how can Nisha decide where her true feelings lie?

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Review: Miles Morales

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Title: Miles Morales
Author: Jason Reynolds
Genre: Adventure
Pages: 272
Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley
Availability: On shelves August 1, 2017

Summary: “Everyone gets mad at hustlers, especially if you’re on the victim side of the hustle. And Miles knew hustling was in his veins.”

Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He’s even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he’s Spider Man.

But lately, Miles’s spidey-sense has been on the fritz. When a misunderstanding leads to his suspension from school, Miles begins to question his abilities. After all, his dad and uncle were Brooklyn jack-boys with criminal records. Maybe kids like Miles aren’t meant to be superheroes. Maybe Miles should take his dad’s advice and focus on saving himself.

As Miles tries to get his school life back on track, he can’t shake the vivid nightmares that continue to haunt him. Nor can he avoid the relentless buzz of his spidey-sense every day in history class, amidst his teacher’s lectures on the historical “benefits” of slavery and the importance of the modern-day prison system. But after his scholarship is threatened, Miles uncovers a chilling plot, one that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk.

It’s time for Miles to suit up.

Review: First off – check out the cover. The image screams intensity. Miles is having some serious doubts about being a superhero. His powers are acting up and he is wondering about who he really is deep down. With everything else going on in his life, Miles is one stressed-out kid. Alicia is a pleasant distraction who happens to love poetry. Poetry features prominently in this book which makes sense with Reynolds as the author. The poetry adds another layer to the story and in some cases it adds humor – especially with Miles’s best friend Ganke.

Humor shows up many times throughout the book. I appreciated some of the descriptive phrases like, “As opposed to the stench of toxic toes in the hallway, the bathroom smelled more like wet dog and corn chips.” Eew! Also, sounds about right.

Much of the story takes place in and around school with poetry and history getting most attention. Miles is into math, but with Alicia in the picture, poetry becomes more important. There’s an open mic opportunity and as you might guess, Miles works on some poetry for Alicia. He is tongue tied around her most of the time, but is at least able to write something down. There is quite a contrast between his superhero abilities and his ability to speak to a girl.

The story and characters are compelling and there is a lot going on besides the typical scenario of superhero attempting to foil the plot of an evil mastermind. Of course that is there, but there’s also a romance, friendship, awesome parents in the picture, and discussions about race specifically in the context of education.

History class is where things get complicated. It’s in history that Miles’s spidey-sense gets wacky and it’s also in history class where some bizarre discussions happen. His teacher, Mr. Chamberlain, encourages discussion around the positives of slavery and the confederacy. The points Mr. Chamberlain makes are morally reprehensible and pretty much leave students in a dilemma. Is the teacher just playing with them or does he really believe this mess he’s spouting? Regardless, what is the proper response that won’t get a student sent to the office or even expelled? Miles is basically told to stay where he belongs and comply even in the face of racism and discrimination by his teacher.

Of course, school is not the only thing going on in the story and though it’s a while before it becomes clear, there is a public enemy for Spider Man to deal with and the confrontation has plenty of action.

Recommendation: Get it now especially if you are into superheroes or poetry. There’s a ton to love in this book. Miles is a character I want to see more of and I hope that’s the plan.

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