39. "GirlSpoken from Pen, Brush, and Tongue" edited by Jessica Hein, Heather Holland, and Carol Kauppi

GirlSpoken from Pen Brush and Tongue. Eds. Jessica Hein, Heather Holland, and Carol Kauppi. Second Story Press, 2008. Print.
216 pages
Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

This book is a collection of essays, poems, and artwork by young women. It captures the complexity of a young woman's life. The book is broken into different sections based on subject.

The writing and poetry is delightful and the artwork is impressive. Girlspoken gives young women and girls a voice and offers a sense of strength and connection to its targeted audience.

The editors are the founders of GirlSpoken which is an organization focused on offering creative workshops for young women and girls. The project lead to the book and it is a great success.

If I had an adolescent niece or other relation, I would absolutely buy her a copy of this book. Below is a poem that was published in GirlSpoken. It is one of the many that spoke to me and tugged on my heartstrings.

A Glimpse

“Despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, I have not yet been able to answer the great question that has never been answered: What does a woman want?” –Sigmund Freud

Let me tell you –

Tongues and crocuses,
books and cunts,
combat boots and tutus.

Climbing the ropes after learning them,
caffeine, someone to drink it with,a lock to keep them out, a key to let them in.

Extra-absorbant pads that don’t feel like pillows,
products for us, made by us,
that let us express ourselves

History told the way we saw it go by,
spaces in places that make the decisions,
and a home without beats, kicks, black eyes or incisions.

Experimenting in bed,
getting on top,
orgasms that lasts forever
(or at least a few minutes).
Occupations and payroll traditionally reserved for men,
the power to have organs,
that aren’t named after them.

Nipple rings and dildos
we wanna drive by our own light,
and do only what feels right.

We wanna be visible, accountable, respectable, and comfortable,
cause we’re handsome and wholesome and random and
girlsome,
and we’re much too complicated
to be summed up in a poem.

--Roshaya Rodness, Age 17


5 darts out of 5

38. "Chinese Cinderella" by Adeline Yen Mah

Yen Mah, Adeline. Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter. New York: Dell Luarel - Leaf, 1999. Print.

205 Pages

Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love

Adeline Yen Mah, author of the international bestseller Falling Leaves, elegantly captures her early childhood in pre-communist China. Abused and extremely neglected, Adeline spends most of her childhood moving from boarding school to boarding school. Though she was top of her class, she never received the love and approval from her family that she so desired.

This is a story about survival and the endurance of the human spirit. It is a story about believing in yourself and your potential when no one else does:

"The worst of it was that I could see no way out. That was why I found it hard to fall asleep and sometimes still wet my bed. But if I tried to be really good and studied very very hard, perhaps things would become different one day, I would think. Meanwhile, I must not tell anyone how bad it really was. I should just go to school everyday and carry inside me this dreadful loneliness, a secret I could never share. Otherwise it would be over, and Father and Niang would never come to love me" (Yen Mah 55).

I think that all children and young adults will find inspiration in this book. Adeline sets an example for how survivors of child abuse and neglect can escape. For Adeline, as is the case for so many, education was her means of escape and survival.

Although classified as "youth fiction," this is a memoir someone of any age can appreciate.

4.5 darts out of 5

37. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

The Color Purple is a classic and for good reason! Written in epistolary form, the book documents the life of Celie, a young black woman who experiences abuse, neglect, and a painful separation from her sister.

Blues music is an important theme throughout the novel as can be seen in characters like Shug, a blues singer that comes to live with Celie. The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote as an undergrad about the role of blues music in The Color Purple.

The Purpose of Blues Music in Alice Walker's The Color Purple
J. d'Artagnan Love
March 8, 2007

In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, women often found strength through their music. Finding strength and an outlet for expression is essential to the process of personal transformation. Through the novel one can trace a personal transformation in Celie, the protagonist. With the introduction of blues music into her life, Celie is able to become whole.

Before Celie is introduced to blues music, she does not have a voice of her own. She does not use her voice to defend herself or to speak out against the oppression she is faced with daily. Celie is raped by her step-father repeatedly. Instead of fighting back she remains silent and does not reveal to her mother the identity of her children’s father. Along with her silence, she asks her step-father to take her and not Nettie as his sexual partner and dresses in clothing she thinks he will find attractive. After Nettie leaves, Celie becomes even more lost. She has not developed any sense of identity or autonomy and has now lost her main source of social support. Thus, her inner voice is muffled almost entirely by the oppression she faces as a wife to Albert who, like her father, beats her and treats her as property. . . .

Celie is introduced to blues elements with Sofia’s character. Such blues elements include those of womanhood, overcoming obstacles and fighting oppression. With the presentation of these blues elements, Celie begins a slow process of learning self-awareness. . . . Being exposed to Sofia’s strength allows Celie to form a connection with Sofia.

Blues is gradually integrated into Celie’s life with the arrival of Shug Avery upon which, Celie’s process of self-discovery and transformation beings to gain ground. Evidence of this process is seen in small acts of defiance performed by Celie against the patriarchal structures in her social network. An example of this can be seen when Celie learns the first name of her husband. After learning that his name is Albert, she has the option of choosing to refer to him as Albert rather than Mr. __. Instead, Celie continues to refer to her husband as Mr. __, thus defying his identity and the power that his identity holds over her. . . . Celie finds her own voice and expresses her own thoughts and opposition towards domestic violence. Celie has begun to build a foundation of self-acceptance and love.

While Celie builds an emotional foundation for herself, Harpo begins to build a juke joint and the construction of the juke joint parallels Celie’s emotional progress as well as Shug’s physical healing. The construction of the juke joint symbolizes blues music as a form of healing and rebirth for a collective group of oppressed people. By the time the juke joint is finished Shug is ready and well enough to start performing again and Celie, with Shug’s support and guidance, is beginning to experiment with the power of her own voice.. . .

If you would like to read the entire paper email me at:

j[dot]dartagnan[dot]love[at]gmail[dot[com.

5 darts out of 5

Bookshelf Project Status: Donated to a library

36. "Written on the Body" by Jeanette Winterson

Winterson, Jeanette. Written on the Body. New York: Vintage International, 1992. Print

190 pages

Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

Written on the Body is an erotic tale of love, desire and loss. The protagonist moves from woman to woman, never really falling in love until she meets Louise. Louise has a secret that drives the protagonist to misery. Truthfully though, the protagonist causes her own misery. She is selfish to the end and by the time she learns her lesson, it is too late.

I love Jeanette Winterson’s writing style. It is fluid and abstract. The issue I had with this book, was I did not like the protagonist. This made it hard for me to like the book. I identified with Louise and ached for her. I related all too well with Jacqueline, one of the protagonist's many betrayed girlfriends, when she says to her, “You mean we’ll talk about it and you’ll do what you want anyway” (Winterson 58).

As hard as I tried, I could not sympathize with the main character and I could not, despite the beautiful, lyrical writing, enjoy the book very much.

2 darts out of 5

Bookshelf Project Status: Given as gift.

35. "The Freedom Writers Diary" by Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers

Gruwell, Erin. The Freedom Writers Diary. New York: Broadway Books, 2009.
316 pages
Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

The Freedom Writers Diary is one of the most inspirational books I’ve ever read. It chronicles the lives of 150 students at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. At that time, Long Beach was plagued by poverty, drug trafficking, intimate partner violence, homelessness and gang violence.

Erin Gruwell, a first-time English teacher at Wilson, uses writing as a tool to empower her students—students living in the trenches of Long Beach’s “undeclared war.” This undeclared war is that of the gang violence and poverty the students must face daily.

Erin Gruwell is able to help transform her students’ lives using unorthodox teaching methods. She is able to break through boundaries created by racial tension and segregation and inspire her students to make a positive difference in the world. Gruwell used two main texts—Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo—to teach her students about the effects that intolerance can have on the world.

Despite the school administration’s lack of support, she is able to take her students on trips to places such as Washington D.C., and the Museum of Tolerance. The class also works together to bring in famous speakers like Miep Gies, the woman who sheltered Anne Frank and her family, and Zlata Filipovic, the author of Zlata’s Diary.

As an educator, I’m so impressed with Erin and moved by her students’ stories. It reminded me why I decided to become a teacher, and why I chose to work at the institution I do. It added new depth to my work. Reading the diary entries also made me appreciate my own life more. Things as simple as a cup of coffee are a treasure to me because The Freedom Writers Diary reminds me to always be cognizant of those less fortunate. I am also aware of how life can change in an instant and how one can go from rags to riches (or vice versa) in the blink of an eye.

I think that of all the books I have read this year, this book has had the greatest impact on me.

5 darts out of 5.
Bookshelf project status: KEEP

34. "Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives" by Ray A. Young Bear

Young Bear, Ray A. Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives. New York: Fire Keepers, 1992. Print

261 pages
Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives is an interesting collection of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose, myth, and folk tales. It tells the story of Edgar Bearchild and his family’s lives on the Black Eagle Child settlement in Iowa.

The story is graphic, violent, sad, spiritual, and, at points, confusing. It can be difficult to tell what is truth, what is fiction, what is poetry, and what is prose. In one chapter, Edgar tells the story of when he and his friend used psychedelic drugs as part of a religious ceremony. Reading the text, I almost felt like I was tripping on the drugs myself. It truly pulled me into the narrator’s point of view.

I think to fully appreciate this book, I will have to read it more than once.

3 darts out of 5
Bookshelf Project Status: KEEP

33. "You Don't Have to Be Buddhist to Know Nothing" by Joan Konner

Konner, Joan. You Don’t Have to be Buddhist to Know Nothing: An Illustrious Collection of Thoughts on Naught. Prometheus Books, 2009. Print.
333 pages
Reviewed by J. d’Artagnan Love

You Don’t Have to be Buddhist to Know Nothing is a collection of quotes about nothing from various famous individuals. The quotes are lifted out of context and are unconnected and, generally, have little to do with Buddhism as the title suggests.

Save yourself some time. Go to an online search engine and search the terms “nothing,” and “quote” and you’ll have this book. It is not worth the read and certainly not worth your money.

0 darts out of 5
Bookshelf Project Status: NONE (I don't own it).