The Girl With A Mind For Math by Julia Finley Mosca

When Raye Montague was only seven years old, her grandfather took her to see her first ship. This ship was a submarine and it astounded Raye. 

She was told engineers built the ship but that she didn't need to know about that. The meaning was clear, that as a girl it wasn't something she needed to ever be involved in. However, Raye decided that she wanted to build ships and therefore needed to be an engineer.  Her mother encouraged her, telling her not to let people tell dissuade her, just because she is a girl, because she's black or because she did not graduate from a good high school. Segregated schools like the one Raye would attend often offered a lower quality of education than schools attended by white students.

So, gifted in math, Raye read plenty of books and taught herself. But when it came to applying to college, she was told that engineering was not taught to black students!

So Raye enrolled in a business program, graduating with honours.  Eventually she got a job typing where submarines were built. In her job at the Navy, Raye paid close attention, watching the engineers as they worked, learning what they did. She also took computer classes at night.

When the entire staff came down with the flu, Raye not only did her job but theirs as well. Her boss was stunned. Despite this, he continued to treat her badly. Then the president of the United States ordered a submarine to be built quickly, so Raye used a computer program to design a ship in just over eighteen hours!Unbelievably, Raye was not invited when the ship was launched. Only white men could attend.

It would take many years for Raye to achieve the recognition she deserved but it did come eventually. Eventually she became the first woman to lead ship design. Other honours soon followed.

Discussion

The Girl With A Mind is a story about perseverance, determination and the courage to follow one's dreams. Raye Montague was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Rayford and Flossie Jordan on January 21, 1935. It was during World War II that her grandfather took her to see a captured German submarine that was on exhibition. Intrigued by the submarine, Raye asked a man at the exhibition what a person needed to know in order to make such a machine. He told her that engineers build ships but that she didn't need to worry about learning such things. The implication of course was that as a young black girl she would never grow up to be an engineer. But Raye's mother had already prepared her daughter for the many obstacles she would face in life, telling her she was black, a female and went to a poor school.

Raye graduated from Merrill High School in Pine Bluff in 1952 and went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Business from the Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College in 1956. At this time, African Americans could not earn an engineering degree from colleges in Arkansas. Raye, now twenty-one-years old, began working as a typist a the David Taylor Model Basin. She then moved to Naval Ship Engineering Center where she was a digital computer systems operator. Raye had taken computer courses at night as a way to continue learning and upgrading her skills. When she was required to work night shifts, Raye bought a car and taught herself to drive. There was no public transit at night. 

In 1971, Raye became the first person to design a naval ship using a computer. This happened during the Vietnam War and the request was made by then President Richard Nixon. Normally it would take at least two years to draft the plans for a new ship, but using a computer, Raye accomplished this in just over eighteen hours. This amazing accomplishment earned her the Navy's third highest award, the Meritorious Civilian Service award in 1972.

Raye had a distinguished career in the Navy: she was the Navy's first female program manager and was also a program manager of information systems improvement. She was also recognized by the engineering profession when she was awarded the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Achievement Award in 1978, the first woman to do so. She also finally achieved what she so desperately wanted years ago as an aspiring seven year old, her professional engineer credentials in both the United States and Canada!

Like many other African American women scientists, engineers and mathematicians, Raye Montague's achievements went unnoticed for decades. Raye's success was achieved through hard work, determination, and the courage to excel despite facing many obstacles. The Girl With A Mind For Math especially highlights these qualities that Raye Montague had. The message Raye has for young readers is not to give in, to take a chance and never quit working towards what you really want!

Author Julia Finley Mosca was able to speak at length with Raye and was given access to some personal photographs. Raye passed away on October 10, 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Mosca has crafted a simple retelling of Raye Montague's life, using rhyming verse. The accompanying artwork by illustrator Daniel Rieley help to flesh out Raye's remarkable story.

Included in the back matter is a section based on the author's conversations with Raye, titled Facts and Tidbits from the Author's Chat with Raye!, a timeline of her life and achievements and a detailed biography, About Raye Montague. 

The Girl With A Mind For Math is an inspiring story that encourages girls from all walks of life to dream big.

Book Details:

The Girl With A Mind For Math: The Story of Raye Montague by Julia Finley Mosca
Seattle, WA: The Innovation Press     2018

White Bird by R.J. Palacio

White Bird picks up the story of Julian Albans from the novel, Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Julian was the boy who bullied Auggie Pullman. Julian reaches out to his Grandmere, who lives in France, to help him with a school assignment. He wants to learn about her experiences as a Jewish girl during the Holocaust.

Julian is attending a new school, Beecher High. He tells Grandmere that he still feels badly about how he treated Auggie over his facial deformity. His Grandmere explains that it is what we do after learning from our mistakes that matters most. Julian tells her that he wants to write his essay for school about her life. Grandmere is initially reluctant but then agrees to tell him the whole story, even though it will be very difficult.

Grandmere's story begins with her life in the 1930's in France. At that time, her name was Sara Blum and she lived in the village of Aubervilliers-aux-Bois in the Margeride mountains with her father Max, a renowned surgeon and her mother Rose, a math teacher and one of the first women to earn an advanced degree in mathematics. Her early life was idyllic, living in a comfortable home with beautiful furniture, pretty clothes and many toys. In the spring, Sara and her parents would picnic on the edge of the ancient forest called the Mernuit which surrounded their village. In the spring, the forest floor was covered with bright blue and violet bluebells, making it a magical place.

In June 1940, France surrendered to Nazi Germany, dividing the country into two zones, the Occupied zone and the Free Zone. Aubervilliers-aux-Bois was located in the Free Zone. This meant that life went on mostly the same for Sara: she was able to ride her scooter to school, walk to the market with friends, and go to the cinema. But soon the Vichy government began to pass laws restricting what French Jews could do. They were banned from certain public places, they had Juif or Jew, stamped on their identity cards and soon an anti-Jewish propaganda campaign began, blaming Jews for the troubles in France. In the summer of 1942, Jews in the Occupied Zone were forced to wear yellow stars on their clothing. The Vel' d'Hiv roundup also took place in July. This was the mass arrest of 13,000 foreign Jews who were sent to a stadium in Paris. They were placed on trains and deported to the east, to concentration camps.

Sara found her school, the Ecole Lafayette to be a haven. In the spring of 1943, one day during math class, Sara was found daydreaming and sketching in her book. Although Mademoiselle Petitjean was kind, Sara fled the class when the bell rang, leaving behind her sketchbook. It was fortunately retrieved by her seatmate, a boy called "Tourteau" which means crab. This was not his real name but an unkind nickname given by his classmates because he used crutches after a bout of polio left his legs too weak to walk.  People said he had contracted polio from his father who worked in the sewers.

When Tourteau returned Sara's book, she thanked him but didn't intervene when another classmate, Vincent pushed him to the ground. Vincent was very handsome and many of the girls had a crush on him including Sara. That changed when he made an anti-Semitic remark to Sara, and after he praised her drawing, she felt humiliated and angry. Her friends, Marianne and Sophie tried to comfort Sara, telling her that his father works for the Nazis. It was at this point, Sara realized that life was changing.

When Sara told her parents what happened, they argued over leaving France. While her father wanted to leave, her mother believed that things would improve. That night Papa asked Sara to promise to continue wearing her winter boots even though it was April. Although Sara promised, the next morning she wore her pretty red shoes to school. 

That day in school, during math class, Pastor Luc entered Mademoiselle Petitjean's class. After whispering with Pastor Luc, Mademoiselle asked Sara and Ruth to quietly gather their things and to come with her. She told them that there was a round-up of the Jews in Aubervilliers-aux-Bois and that the Nazis were on their way to the school to take the Jewish children. Mademoiselle told the two girls that a maquisard (member of the French Resistance) would take them and the other Jewish students to hide in the forest. Sara had left her coat back in the classroom so Mademoiselle offered her scarf.  When the maquisard led the twelve Jewish students from the school into the woods, Sara did not follow. Instead she ran back into the school and hid in the bell tower. She didn't want to ruin her beautiful red shoes.

When the Nazis arrived, Pastor Luc almost succeeded in convincing them that none of the Jewish students had shown up for school. But just when they were about to leave, Vincent yelled to the Nazis from inside that school,  that the children were in the woods.  With the new snow, the soldiers were able to easily follow the tracks of the children and Antoine, the maquisard. The Nazis executed Antoine and took the children away in the truck despite Pastor Luc and Mademoiselle's attempt to convince them to let the children go. Not wishing the children to be taken alone, Mademoiselle decided to accompany them. Only Ruth survived the ordeal: they were taken to the camp at Beaune-la-Rolande and then forced to march in the snow to Pithiviers. The younger children could not keep up so Mademoiselle stayed with them. They were never heard from again.

Still hidden in the bell tower, Sara watched as the two gendarmes searched for the three children who were missing from the roundup. She knew the only reason she wasn't caught in the round-up was because she cared more about her shoes. Suddenly Tourteau appeared in the tower, and asked Sara to follow him. He told her that to remain in the tower would mean being discovered.  He led her out of the school, through the sewers to his home in Dannevilliers, fifteen kilometers from her own town. Because Julien's neighbours were suspected Nazi collaborators, he hid Sara in the dilapidated barn across from his house.  When Sara tried to thank him, he asked her to call him by his real name, Julien Beaumier.

Julien's parents, Vivienne and Jean-Paul, provided Sara with a blanket and some food and made the loft in their barn livable. Although Vivienne told Sara that she would be reunited with her parents who were also in hiding, Sara knew from her dream she would never see her maman again. As Julien and his family worked to keep Sara safe, she lived each day with the fear that she might be discovered and taken away to a camp. Sara spent long hours alone, sometimes sketching, reading the books Vivienne brought her and daydreaming that she was a white bird that flew over the countryside. 

By the spring of 1944, both Sara and Julien had grown into young adults. Sara was tall with long red hair and Julien, a handsome young man. People and events outside the Beaumier home had changed as well. Vincent had joined the new police, the Milice who collaborated with the Nazis. Pastor Luc had joined the Maquis. The Beaumier's celebrated Sara's birthday with a special cake and they listened to the radio. They learned that the Allies had captured Monte Cassino in Italy and were on their way to France. Sara had hope for the end of the war and began to consider plans for after the war. Sara and Julien had also fallen in love.

The next day on his way to Ecole Lafayette, Julien was arrested by either the Nazis or the gendarmes. While going through Julien's possessions, Vincent found Sara's sketchbook and made the connection that it belonged to the missing Jewish girl they never found in the round-up. Remembering the time he followed Julien back to his barn, Vincent decided to return to search the Beamier's barn. This set in motion a chain of events that had deadly repercussions for all involved.

Discussion

White Bird builds on the story told in Palacio's first novel, Wonder and in the short stories from Auggie and Me. In this new story, told in graphic novel format, Julian Albans reaches out to his Grandmere Sara, to learn about what happened to her during World War II, as part of a school assignment. Her life story offers some important lessons for his own journey.

Julian was the class bully and treated Auggie terribly. Now he's ashamed of how he acted. However, Grandmere reminds Julian that it is what we do after we have learned from our mistakes that is the most important thing. Our mistakes do not define us. Julian's Grandmere wasn't harsh with her grandson because she recognized that youth often make mistakes and don't always understand the significance of events and actions when they are young. In her own life, Sara had a similar experience: she didn't stand up for a boy in her class who was ridiculed for having a disability. Instead, she was concerned about being popular and fashionable. Her experiences during the war, matured her and made her realize the wrong she had willingly participated in.

Grandmere encourages Julian to be someone who has a light inside him, rather than a person attracted to the darkness. Grandmere tells Julian how she questioned her father about why the Nazis hate Jews. Her father explained that he believes "...that all people have a light that shines inside of them. This light allows us to see into other people's hearts, to see the beauty there. The love. The sadness. The humanity. Some people though have lost this light. They have darkness inside them, so that is all they see in others: darkness. No beauty. No love. Why do they hate us? Because they cannot see our light. Nor can they extinguish it. As long as we shire our light, we win. That is why they hate us. Because they will never take our light from us."

Vincent represents what the Nazis were and what they believed. Vincent was a handsome boy that all the girls wanted, but inside he was ugly. He looked at Julien, crippled by polio and did not see another person. He didn't see Julien's humanity because his own inner ugliness prevented him from seeing Julien's light. Sara didn't understand this and so she didn't intervene when Vincent pushed Julien down. She didn't confront Vincent's injustice and unkindness to Julien. However, Sara's experiences during the war help her to understand that she was part of that injustice by simply not speaking up. This is the lesson she wants to impart to her grandson, Julian: you must stand up to evil.

She explains this at the end of her story, when Julian is attempting to understand how the Holocaust could have happened. His Grandmere tells him, "Evil is only stopped when good people finally come together to put an end to it. There must be the will." She encourages Julian to act, "If you see injustice, you will fight it. You will speak out."  He promises Grandmere that he will be a light. Grandmere tells Julian, "...It always takes courage to be kind. But in those days when such kindness could cost you everything -- your freedom, your life-- kindness becomes a miracle. It becomes that light in the darkness that Papa talked about, the very essence of our humanity. It is hope. " 

White Bird is a work of historical fiction that is both written and illustrated by Palacio. The graphic novel is divided into three parts as well as a Prologue and an Epilogue, separated by a black blank page, each with a thought-provoking quote. The illustrations, created digitally are exquisitely coloured, especially the panels showcasing the bluebells in the Mernuit forest. The title of the novel is taken from the motif of the white bird symbolizing freedom, that is found throughout the novel.

Palacio, in her Glossary writes that White Bird  "... was not based on any one person's story, but was influenced by the many inspiring stories I've read over the years about children who went into hiding during the Holocaust and the ordinary citizens who helped them." Stories like White Bird are important not only because they help others learn about and from the Holocaust, but to also because they inspire readers to work towards creating a world free of discrimination and prejudice. 

The graphic novel format is the perfect vehicle to do just this, to engage and inform young readers about such important topics like the Holocaust, bullying and prejudice in a way that is not overwhelming. Using this format has allowed author/illustrator Palacio to highlight both acts of cruelty and acts of courage and kindness.

White Bird is a fitting addition to the Wonder story.

Book Details:

White Bird by R.J. Palacio
New York:  Alfred A. Knopf     2019
220 pp.

My Indian by Mi'sel Joe and Sheila O'Neill

My Indian is a historical fiction account of Sylvester Joe, a Mi'kmaq guide who accompanied William Epps Cormack, a Canadian Scottish explorer who journeyed across the interior of Newfoundland in 1822. According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Cormack's journey had three aims, one of them to establish contact with the Beothuk, an reclusive First Nations people who had fled north to avoid the Europeans.

The story is told in two parts; Suliewey's Tale and Sylvester's Tale. Suliewey's Tale begins with his birth and his naming. Suliewey was named so because his black hair had a streak of silver like that of his grandfather. He was given the name of Sylvester later, when he was baptized by the Catholic missionaries.

When Sylvester was young, he was taken everywhere by his parents in a cradleboard made for him by his grandfather. He watched the hunting of the qalipu and helped to clean the hides so they could be used to make clothing. His grandmother taught him about the plants to be used as medicines. When Suliewey was growing up, everyone worked together in the village. People ate together, prayed, sang and laughed together. They gave thanks to the animals and plants for what they supplied to keep their people alive. "All young Mi'kmaw people were taught the language of the land. They were given the landmarks to recognize, so that when they were out by themselves, they would know what to look for. Wayfinding was taught by using the stars...Suliewey learned from the land, even as he grew up on it." 

One night Suliewey awoke to hear his grandfather speaking to someone in a different language. Suliewey was not able to see the man's face, but in the morning, he questioned Grandfather about this encounter. Suliewey sensed Grandfather was troubled after this meeting. He tells Suliewey they must leave immediately for Pmaqtin, the Sacred Mountain, as the answers he seeks can only be found from the Wuklatmu'jk, or little people. They have been invited to meet with them.

Their journey began with a walk across the bog, towards the mountain. When the fog lifted, Grandfather pointed to a dark spot on the mountain and explained to Suliewey this is where the little people live. Suliewey was frightened and wanted to return to his wikuom, but Grandfather encouraged him onwards. On their journey, they crossed the tracks of a party of three Beothuk, also headed to the mountain. Grandfather decided to follow them.

That night by the fire, Grandfather told Suliewey his story. When he was a boy out with his family gathering berries, Grandfather wandered away from them. After resting at a stream, he awoke to find a large man covered in red ochre staring at him. This man carried Grandfather away to his own people, the Red Indians. He was then taken to their main campsite, a journey of many weeks away from his home. Eventually Grandfather adapted to the ways of his new tribe, befriending a Beothuk woman who helped him to pray and learn their language. Two years after his capture, when Grandfather was eight years old, he managed to run away. He encountered two Mi'kmaw men near a lake. Because he was covered in red ochre, they thought he was a Beothuk, but he spoke to them in Mi'kmaq and told them his story. He explained how he had been captive with the Beothuk for two years. Eventually, he was reunited with his grandfather and grandmother, and parents and was considered a hero because he had survived with the Beothuk.. 

Grandfather told Suliewey that the man who came to talk to him at their home, was the son of the man who had captured him so long ago. This man told Grandfather that the Beothuk were going to the Sacred Mountain to pray and that they were very afraid of the white men and what they were doing to the Beothuk. The white men have been shooting the Beothuk. This man told Suliewey's Grandfather that the Beothuk know Suliewey and his Grandfather are close by. Because the Beothuk were angry and afraid, he asked Grandfather to be careful. Grandfather was not afraid of the Beothuk because he believed they would remember him from living with them years ago. Grandfather was known as Ipa'tu'jij with the silver streak of hair, and he believed that would cause the Beothuk to remember. Nevertheless, Suliewey's Grandfather wanted to be very careful so as not to lead the white men to the Beothuk. The Beothuk are their people too. Like the Beothuk,  they would continue their journey to the Sacred Mountain to pray and give thanks.

When Suliewey turned sixteen, he journeyed from Miawpukek to Nujio'qonikllek also called St. George's Bay by the Europeans. After staying overnight with others from Miawpukek, Suliewey stowed away on a schooner that was travelling to U'nama'kik (Cape Breton Island). At U'nama'kik, Suliewey walked to a village called Membertou. He travelled around Nova Scotia where he learned more about his own people and also went trapping with several Mi'kmaw Elders. Eventually Suliewey returned home, telling his village about his travels that also included trips to Mikl'n, a French island off the Newfoundland coast, a stay on Pass Island as well as stays near Gaultois Island and Roti Bay.

Suliewey spent the following winter trapping furs with his grandfather and then in the spring took his furs to Hermitage. It was here that Suliewey learned that a white man named Cormack in St. John's was looking for a Mi'kmaw guide to lead him across Newfoundland in search of the Beothuk people. Back in his village, Suliewey discussed this with his grandfather and the other Elders. Suliewey's grandfather tells him that if he decides to act as a guide, he cannot take Cormack to where the Beothuk people live as he will be responsible for their deaths.

Suliewey travels to St. John's where he eventually meets up with Cormack. William Cormack, after announcing that Suliewey is "my Indian" informs him that he intends to take him on a one hundred and fifty mile walk to test his fidelity. This both puzzles and offends Suliewey but he agrees to do the walk. The two make the journey from Holyrood to Placentia in July and then prepare for the larger journey across Newfoundland in search of the Beothuk. But the time spent with Cormack has only made Suliewey more determined to ensure Cormack never comes near the Beothuk.

Discussion

My Indian is a fascinating account of a real historical event that occurred in 1822. Told by Mi'sel Joe and Sheila O'Neill from the perspective of Sylvester Joe, My Indian reclaims the story from European authors. The title is a reference to Cormack's way of addressing Sylvester Joe whom he considered to be "My Indian". In the novel, Sylvester frequently returns the favour by referring to Cormack as " nei'n Aqalasie'w" or "My White Man". Cormack's use of the phrase "My Indian" was insulting to Sylvester, as no one owns another person.

The first part of the novel tells of Suliewey's life before he meets William Cormack, while the second part, titled Sylvester's Tale tells about his journey with Cormack across Taqamkuk. This journey was undertaken by Cormack to make contact with the Beothuk. The Beothuk were Algonkian speaking hunter-gatherers who began to avoid contact with the Europeans when they settled in Newfoundland in 1600's. As more Europeans settled in  Newfoundland, the Beothuk became increasingly isolated and it became more difficult to access their traditional fishing and hunting grounds. This led them into conflict with the Europeans and they were often murdered in retaliation. By the beginning of the 1800's, there was only a small population of Beothuk remaining and the last Beothuk, Shanawdithit died in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1829.

In reclaiming the story of Suliewey and his journey with William Cormack, Mi'sel Joe is able to portray the differences between Indigenous and European cultures and their way of thinking about the land and their relationship to other peoples.This is best highlighted in Sulieway's explanation to Cormack about how the Mi'kmaq view the land and everything in it. In response to Cormack's question about whether or not his people have a Bible, Suliewey tells him they are walking on his Bible. 

"This land is Mother Earth. It provides nourishment to my body, my heart, and my spirit. It provides everything I need to survive on this land. It teaches me to be strong, it teaches me to be respectful, and it teaches me to be humble. This land is not mine or yours. It belongs to all the living creatures; it belongs to all of us. And we are all responsible for this land that we walk on. So you see, this is my Bible." Sulieway's explanation highlights a key Indigenous concept about the land, that it belongs to everyone and that everything on it is shared. The European notion of land ownership was not a part of the Indigenous way of living.

Later on Sulieway also explains to Cormack how his people view others in relation to the land. "You say we have no Bible, and we are looked upon as what you call 'savages'. But your people kill our people for money or to take away our land and food sources. When you block our rivers and take our fish and access to other foods we need, our people get weak; they cannot fight with weak bodies....This land gives us all that we need---clothes to keep us warm, food for our survival, transportation, and shelter from the cold. Most of all, it teaches us how to be humble, have patience, and have much respect for all the good things the Great Spirit has given us." He also tells Cormack, that although he might think them lazy or having no spiritual guidance, they recognize their blessings and give thanks for all they have.

Throughout the story, Suliewey offers Cormack his medicines to help him when he's ailing, but Cormack dismisses them as Indian savagery. When Cormack becomes ill, Suliewey collects the seven medicines needed to help him recover. During their journey, Suliewey rubs bear fat on his feet to protect the skin from injury. Cormack believes this is ridiculous, telling Suliewey "We have well-trained doctors who know all about how to care for people. I have lots of medicines with me to cure anything that may be hurting me. So my Indian...." Cormack tells Suliewey his medicines are "uncivilized". However, later in their journey as Cormack's feet deteriorate, he does finally accept Suliewey's offer to use bear fat on his feet.

There are also numerous examples in the novel about how the Mi'kmaq try to live in harmony with nature rather than attempting to subdue it or abuse it of all its resources. For example, when they sail past Baccalieu Island in Conception Bay, Suliewey notes that "eggers", men who collect seabird eggs would take all of the eggs from a nest without regard for the survival of the birds. This was in stark contrast to the Indigenous approach which was to never take "...more than one or two eggs from each nest, leaving the rest as we have done for hundreds of years, and our food source healthy." In the back of the book, in the Book Club section, it is pointed out that this stripping every nest of all its eggs is likely one of the reasons for the extinction of the Great Auk.

As Suliewey experiences more of how Cormack, and therefore the Europeans view the land, the animals and birds in it, he becomes even more determined to never help Cormack locate the Beothuk. Throughout the journey, Suliewey takes great care to watch for any possible contact and to steer Cormack clear of the Beothuk. He also warns any of his own people not to provide Cormack with help in this regard.

Chief Mi'sel Joe is a distant relative of Sylvester Joe. My Indian is based partly on William Cormack's journal, "Narrative of a Journey Across the Island of Newfoundland" which was published in 1873. In 1828, Sylvester refused to accompany Cormack to Red Indian Lake (Mekwe'jite'wa'kik) to look for the remains of two Beothuk killed by Europeans. Sylvester was never seen again, while Cormack did journey to Red Indian Lake where he removed the skulls of  two Beothuk, Nonosabasut and Demasduit from their burial hut and took them to Scotland. The skulls were repatriated in 2020 due to the efforts of Chief Joe Mi'sel.

My Indian offers young readers a chance to learn about both the Mi'kmaq and Beothuk people and their culture and to understand how European contact impacted them. The back of the novel contains an Afterword that details about how the Mi'kmaq and Beothuk, who lived together harmoniously on the west coast of Newfoundland became separated, as well as details on the repatriation of the Beothuk skulls from Edinburgh, Scotland. Also included is a Glossary of Mi'kmaq to English, photographs and maps, References, and a section the offers Book Club Questions.

Book Details:

My Indian by Mi'sel Joe and Sheila O'Neill
St. John's, Newfoundland: Breakwater Books    2021
172pp. 

All He Knew by Helen Frost

The story begins in September 1939 with Henry and his Mama on the Greyhound bus to Riverview. Henry is not sure why his sister Molly cried when they left. As they travel on the bus, Henry thinks about the last time he travelled on a bus. He saw a man who tried to get him to blow out candles. When he wouldn't do it, the man got mad and told Henry's mama that he was "unteachable". As a result, Henry has been sent to Riverview Home For The Feebleminded. The bus trip ends with his Mama leaving Henry at Riverview.

Henry's sister Molly remembers when he was born. Molly was five years old. When their neighbour, Mrs. Grayson, came to their home, she had Papa take her for a walk. When Molly and Papa returned home, there was a baby, her brother, Henry. But life changed forever, Christmas Eve 1937 when Henry became very sick with a fever and painful ears. After four days he started to feel better but they soon realized that Henry was not able to hear.

At first Henry would talk to people even though he couldn't hear them speak. He would try to guess what they were saying. At his sixth birthday party in July 1939, a fight and a ruined cake led Henry to decide to only talk at home to his Mama, Papa and Molly.

When it was time for Henry to go to school, the principal suggested a large, expensive hearing aid or that Henry attend a school for deaf children, the State School for the Deaf. Henry's parents couldn't afford the hearing aid so they applied for Henry to attend the special school.

Henry is now at Riverview, along with thirty-three boys, all dressed in gray-green clothes. One boy whom Henry guesses is called Ted, helps him, showing him how to avoid trouble. Ted has one leg shorter than the other and one arm hangs at his side. Soon another boy arrives, a small boy who is scared and whom Henry calls Billy. Henry and Ted help Billy. Henry wonders about "...the fours boys who can't get to the meal place because their wheelchairs won't go down the stairs" or the "...three held tight by blankets that keep them in their beds." or "the two who have to wear those shirts with the two sleeves tied together so the boys can't use their hands?" or "...the four strapped into chairs in the long dark hallways?"

Christmas of 1939 sees Henry alone at Riverview, his family not visiting him. His seventh birthday also passes without a visit from his family in July of 1940. It isn't until March, 1941 that Henry is visited by his Mama and Molly. Mama explains that they've had no extra money to be able to visit him. Henry thinks that they have come to take him home but quickly learns this is not the case. He is taken away, not hearing his sister's promise to visit him again at Christmas.

But war brings changes to Riverview, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December, 1941. And one of those changes is a conscientious object by the name of Victor Jorgensen. When Victor arrives, he begins advocating for all the boys at Riverview, especially Henry whom he finds to be a sweet-tempered boy who cannot hear. With the help of Molly, Victor is able to bring Henry home and set him on the path to being able to communicate with others and live a fuller life.

 Discussion

All He Knew is based on a real life events that occurred in the author's husband's family in the early 1900's. The novel explores the life experience of  children who because of their disabilities were labelled unteachable and institutionalized in the 1930's and 1940's. Living in an institution in the early 20th century was often a degrading experience due to terrible conditions and poor treatment by staff.

Frost draws from the experiences of her husband's family to portray life inside an institution during the Second World War. Conditions are quite awful as Henry quickly discovers. When he first arrives at Riverview, Henry notices the terrible smell. He along with the other boys wear gray-green clothes. 

Staff are abusive and the boys quickly learn how to avoid certain workers.  There is "Barker Man" "...the one who looks like an angry barking dog and kicks the kids who don't jump up to obey, including Henry when he doesn't see him coming." and "Blanket Man" who jerks Henry's blanket off every morning because he can't hear the whistle to wake up.  When James is returned after running away, Henry notices he's limping, his face is bruised and he's strapped into a chair in the hallway.

Boys can be quickly labelled leading to days or months of abuse.For example, when his friend Ted attempts to protect Billy from being beaten by Barker, he is labelled as violent and from that point on is strapped into a chair all day long. While most boys are strapped down for ten or twenty days, Henry notes that Ted has been strapped down for much more than that. So long, that he has difficulty walking when Victor eventually puts a stop to this practice.

Because they are labelled "unteachable", Henry and the other boys receive no education. His hearing disability is seen as an insurmountable barrier.With the war, conditions deteriorate even more. Some days only one meal is served. There are no snacks or hot drinks. But the war also brings Victor Jorgensen who ultimately helps Henry return home.

Victor is a complete contrast to the other attendants on the ward. Henry notes, "He seems to like us...He doesn't slap us or pull us by our hair, shove us out the door if we're not moving fast enough." Victor sees Henry and Ted as real children, wonders about the individual needs of each child and questions what's being done to some of the children. "Attendants who've been here a while say that Henry's friend is prone to violence and must be restrained at all times. But does that child have to spend his whole life in a chair? He might lash out again, they warn. Victor has his doubts. He decides to wait and see." He ultimately unstraps Ted from his chair.  

In contrast to the degrading conditions at Riverview, Henry is portrayed as a real person who can think and feel and learn. He is shown to be caring and kind, as when he goes after Billy and brings him back to the ward. He is courageous when he speaks up to Victor about Ted being strapped into the chair each day. He is intelligent and resourceful and just a bit cheeky when he devises a way to get Blanket Man to leave him alone. Henry also has a rich inner life which evokes empathy for his situation.

Frost chose to tell her story in free form verse.Victor's narrative is told in sonnet form. The author has included a Notes On Form and Characters at the back, explaining her poems and also detailing more about specific characters in the novel. In her Author's Note, Frost explains the inspiration behind All He Knew. Her husband's mother's brother, Shirley Sowers was labeled unteachable and institutionalized. Maxine Sowers wrote seven poems about her brother Shirley (which Frost includes at the back of the novel) and these poems led to Frost wondering how to capture the experience in a way that would engage young readers. All He Knew accomplishes that very well and in a way that's not overbearing or heavy on detail. The poems allow the reader to think about what it might be like as a child to be taken to an institution and what it was like for families during the war who had no choice but to do this to their child.

Despite the heavy topic, All He Knew ends in an uplifting way with Henry reunited with his family, and the uniting of three families, Henry's, Ted's who is really called Ned, and Victor's who come together for dinner at Henry's home. Henry begins to learn how to communicate using sign language, his old friend Sadie comes by to say hi and there is the hint of a blossoming friendship between Victor and Molly. This is a lovely novel with a sweet protagonist who will capture the hearts of readers of any age.

Book Details:

All He Knew by Helen Frost
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers    2020
254 pp.

When The World Was Ours by Liz Kessler

Three best friends forever linked by a moment in time, experience the horrors of the Holocaust. Leo Grunberg, Max Fischer and Elsa Bauer spend Leo's ninth birthday riding on Vienna's famous Ferris wheel, the Riesenrad. It's 1936 and the three are spending the day at the fairgrounds, afterwards eating sachertorte for Leo's birthday. During the Ferris wheel ride, Leo's papa takes a picture of all three friends in the carriage at the top. 

When Papa begins chasing and tickling the three, Leo trips over a lady's outstretched foot. His papa makes Leo apologize, but the lady tells them in broken German that it is nothing to worry about. They learn that couple, Aileen and Eric Stewart are from England. When the ride ends, Papa is still in conversation with the English couple and he offers to pay for another ride. Leo's father learns that Eric Stewart is a dentist who is now late for his conference talk, so he invites the Stewarts to his home for Leo's birthday dinner.

A few weeks later, Max's father takes the three friends swimming at the Amalienbad. When Leo's father comes to the car to say hello, Mr. Fischer is not friendly. Max met Leo and Elsa when they started Volksschule together a few years ago. At that time, Leo's parents had invited the Fischers for dinner hoping to become friends, but that friendship had never really materialized. Despite Max's father's rudeness towards Leo's papa, the boys have fun swimming and diving.

After the swim, Max overhears his parents talking about Leo's father, "Shows you what they're all like, all of them. Making out they're one thing while underneath, they're another thing completely. Liars, the lot of them. Sneaky, nasty, dirty, rotten -- ..." Max doesn't understand why his father would think this of Leo's father whom everyone loves. When he tells his father he's going out to play with Leo and Elsa, his father becomes angry but is stopped by Max's mother from saying anything more. This leaves Max wondering what is so wrong with Leo and Elsa.

One spring day in 1937, Elsa learns from her father Vati and her mother Mutti that they are leaving Vienna and moving to Czechoslovakia. This stunning development shocks Elsa who cannot understand why it is no longer safe for them to remain in Vienna. At the park that day, a tearful Elsa explains to Max that the country is no longer safe for Jews. But Max refuses to believe that being Jewish is dangerous. This news upsets Max terribly and tries not to cry. Instead, he gives Elsa a kiss as he realizes this will be the last time he sees her. When he returns home, Max tells his father that's he's spent time with Leo and Elsa. His father angrily forbids him from seeing them again, telling Max he's not to spend time with Jews.

In early 1938, Elsa and her family have settled into life in Prague, Czechoslovakia. She misses Max and Leo but Vati is working and Mutti seems happy. Then Vati announces that he is joining the army to fight off the Germans who are invading Czechoslovakia. Meanwhile, in Vienna, Mr. Schmidt,  the headmaster at Max and Leo's school, informs the students that mornings will now begin with the "Heil Hitler" greeting. He also tells the students whom he's just named and whom are all Jewish, that they will "...be treated like the lesser race you are! You will sit separately in lessons and assembly, at the back of the room."  

Max and the other students are told they are not to interact with the Jewish students because they are "dirty and  inferior" and that they must "...pretend they do not even exist". Max doesn't understand because he knows Leo is not dirty however, he instinctively moves away from his friend. This shocks Leo, who finds himself not allowed into class later on. Even worse, on his way home, Leo comes across his father and several other Jewish men being forced to scrub the pavement by Max's father who is now wearing a uniform with the Nazi swastika on his arm. Leo's father tells him to leave when he moves to help his father who is being kicked by Mr. Fischer. When Max arrives home, he learns that they are moving to Munich where his father is to be a senior SS officer. Although reluctant to leave, Max is hopeful that life in a new city will offer him a chance to start over. But what he doesn't know is that he will change in a way he never thought possible.

As the Nazis invade more countries and war consumes Europe, Max becomes increasingly drawn into the life of a young Nazi and taught to hate Jews. His rise through the Hitler Youth sees him sent to Auschwitz where he is forced to make a fateful choice. Meanwhile, Elsa and her family experience the occupation of Czechoslovakia and eventually are sent to the Jewish ghetto. As their rights and property are gradually stripped away, it isn't long before they are sent to Theresienstadt. Eventually their family is sent to Auschwitz. For Leo and his mother, the chance encounter four years earlier on the Ferris wheel will end up saving their lives. War has separated the three friends but fate will bring two of them together in a tragic way.

Discussion

When The World Was Ours is historical fiction novel about the Holocaust, told from the perspective of three childhood friends, Leo, Elsa and Max who live in Vienna, Austria as Hitler is in power in Germany. The story is crafted around an experience author Liz Kessler's father Harry Kessler had when he was eight years old. As told in her note at the front of the novel, Kessler's father Harry "had nearly scuffed " the dress of a British woman. As in the novel with Leo's family, this moment led to a day together with the British couple, a thank you letter, and ultimately led to a way to escape the ever-tightening noose of the Holocaust. Elsa's story portrays what might have happened had Kessler's father not escaped while Max's narrative explores "...how so many ordinary people could have become part of such a brutal, evil, and horrific regime."

In many ways it is Max's story that is the most tragic because it is a story of a young boy who is taught to hate. Kessler chronicles how a young boy, desperate for fatherly attention and affirmation, is transformed into a diligent Nazi. Max's childhood had been unhappy with memories of his parents arguing over money. He is visible only to his father when he finds something to criticize him for. An outcast at school due to his poverty, his friendship with Leo and Elsa becomes a stabilizing factor in his life. In particular, it is Leo's father, a happy, kind man, who helps Max. So when he hears his father blame the Jews for his own problems, and when the headmaster singles out the Jews at school, Max experiences shame and confusion.

When his family moves to Munich, Max becomes part of the Nazi culture. He strives to do what his father advises, "Don't stand out. Don't speak out. Do exactly what your teachers tell you and copy the other boys if you are unsure." Soon Max not only belongs, but he is a leader. When he's told things that make him uncomfortable, he doesn't question or speak out. "When their teachers told them how important it was to rid themselves of the scourge of the Jewish enemy, how the Jews were filthy, inferior, disgusting creatures, Max kept his face as still and impassive as he possibly could. He didn't tell them his old friends were Jewish."

Despite this, Max remembers the happy times with Elsa and Leo, looks at the photograph  that he has kept hidden. "And then the questions would come. Were Leo and Elsa really the enemy? Were they the people he had to hate? Could there be a mistake of some sort?" Life in Munich is good, but when Max hears things about Jews, he isn't convinced they are true. Soon he begins to doubt that Leo and Elsa were Jews.

Max is able to bury deep inside himself, the memories of that wonderful day in Vienna. When he hears things that he knows to be lies, he stops registering that this might be wrong. But when Max looks at the photograph of that wonderful day so long ago in Vienna he realizes what his current life in the Hitler Youth truly is. "In an instant, nothing of his current life was real. He saw it for what it was: a vain, superficial attempt to fit in. To be loved. To be praised by his father, by his leaders, by Hitler. None of it was a fraction as real as his friendships with Leo and Elsa had been. The only two people who had ever really loved him for himself, with no expectations or demands." But when he destroys the photograph and the letters from Leo that his father has hidden, Max shuts his heart against these thoughts. 

Eventually, Max is forced to confront what he has become, when he is taken to kill his first Jew at Auschwitz, where his father now works. That Jew does what Max couldn't do for himself. She reminds him of who he once was and that it is love, not work that sets you free. But can Max accept that as an answer to the conflict he is experiencing or is this merely just another test to prove he's a good Nazi? Does Max have the courage to stand up for what he knows is the truth: that Jews are not the enemy, that hating and murdering your fellow human beings is wrong and doesn't solve any world problems? Does he have the strength to face the truth of what his life has been?

It's probably unlikely in the real world of the 1930s and 1940s, that a young Max, thoroughly indoctrinated in Nazi ideology, would have given a second thought to what he had been taught and questioned what he was asked to do. Beginning in 1933, the education system in Germany was purged of Jewish teachers and professors and anyone who opposed the Nazi regime. The German education system which had produced a wealth of brilliant scientists, artists, writers and poets, now focused on indoctrinating young people in Nazi ideology including racism, antisemitism, obedience to the state, and devotion to Hitler. According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia, "The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls were the primary tools that the Nazis used to shape the beliefs, thinking and actions of German youth." Resistance was almost impossible and not tolerated, as members of the White Rose resistance group, a small group of university students would quickly learn.

Nevertheless, When The World Was Ours is a well written novel that encourages young readers to consider these kinds of questions in a world where social media now entices others to ridicule, cancel, dox and hate others for their different beliefs, attitudes, customs and skin colour. By portraying the transformation of Max, Kessler encourages her readers to consider what leads people to hate and how such hate can be countered, so that events like the Holocaust might never again happen.

Book Details:

When The World Was Ours by Liz Kessler
New York: Aladdin   2021
337 pp.

The Cat I Never Named by Amra Sabic-El-Rayless

Sixteen-year-old Amra Sabic lives in the city of Bihac, in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has recently declared its independence from Yugoslavia. It is 1992 and Amra is on the train from Belgrade, Serbia back home after writing a series of tests in mathematics and logic. Amra feels that her parents don't seem to understand what is happening in their country. They believe people are general good, that education will create a better world. After passing tests in her hometown, her parents have sent her to Belgrade, in the heart of Serbia to take the next and highest levels of tests.

Now on a train home to Bihac, Amra is terrified when Serbian nationalists, known as Cetniks enter the train. There is already war between the Serbs who want land and control and Croatians who want independence. Amra believes it is only a matter of time before Serbia attacks Bosnia. And Serbs hate Bosniaks, Bosnian Muslims. Their leader, Radovan Kavadzic has threatened to eradicate Bosnian Muslims if they leave Yugoslavia. The soldiers are sneering and shouting at anyone they think might be Muslim. Amra's only protection is that they think she is a young Serbian woman. That's because Muslims in Bosnia don't wear hijabs, speak Arabic or recite the Qu'ran. They are Muslims of ethnicity after years of communism and look like other Yugoslavians. So far Amra's city of Bihac has been peaceful with Muslims, Croats and Serbs living in harmony for generations. Thankfully, Amra arrives safely in Bihac and is met by Tata.

On her birthday Amra awakens to discover that a young Muslim soldier is staying at her home. Mama and Tata take in these soldiers and send them to safety. Muhamed is from Srebrenica. He tells Amra he never wanted to be a soldier, instead hoping to work in the spa famous for its healing waters. He was sent to a tiny Croatian town to massacre the people but after letting an old woman escape he hid until it was over. Upon learning the next day they were to be sent to another Croation town, he deserted. He met up with Amra's Tetak Ale and Tetka Fatma who saved him and sent him to Amra's home. Muhamed tells Amra that the soldiers are saying the Muslims are next, once they get to Bosnia.

On her birthday Amra can't help but think this might "be the last day with any shred of real happiness. War is creeping closer every day. Hate is spreading...." Amra and Tata set out to pick up her birthday cake from her cousin, Zuhra and pick up a late-night ticket for Muhamed. Although it's a lovely day, when they come to the Blue Bridge which crosses the river Una, Amra realizes that things are not normal. People on the bridge have fear in their faces. At the Paviljon, many Bosniak refugees sit nearby, wearing extra clothing even though it is a warm day. Tata begins handing out money to them until he has none left. Soon Yugoslav National Army tanks are rolling through the streets of Bihac. The soldiers taunt and jeer at Amra but she continues walking, ignoring them. Suddenly Amra meets a pretty little calico cat whose "soft and quiet beauty" gives her something to focus on.

When Amra meets up again with Tata, he has Omer and Erza with him. As they walk home, the calico cat follows Amra. Although she doesn't want the cat, Tata suggests that maybe she too needs a family. Amra's mother welcomes Omer and Erza but refuses to have a "maci", the Bosnia word for cat, in the house. Nevertheless, Maci sticks around.

Amra's birthday party sees her friend Olivera who is Serbian and Nura and Ivona attend. After eating Zuhra's delicious cake, Olivera suddenly leaves, telling Amra she's not allowed to stay after dark, in case something happens. This puzzles Amra, and when the other girls are spooked by Maci at the window, they also leave.

The next day while waiting for Olivera, Amra learns that their capital city of Sarajevo is surrounded by Serb forces. Amra begins to wonder about Olivera, who is Serbian. That night when she attempts to call Olivera, she hangs up on her and then during a second attempt tells Amra never to call again. When Maci follows Amra and Dino on their way to school the next day, a young university student named Davor offers to watch the cat while Amra is in class. Amra immediately notices that half the class is absent- all the Serbian students. Teacher Zivko, a Serbian who is married to a Muslim, tells the class that the Muslims and Catholics who are left in the city will soon be under attack. The Serbian families were secretly told to evacuate, while the army waits outside the city. He tells them to go home.

As she's leaving school, Amra tells Davor that she needs to get her brother Dino. He agrees to help her, but when they get to the intersection, Amra realizes she's forgotten Maci. As they leave the intersection, a sniper begins shooting, wounding people. Amra and Davor get Dino and then they head towards their homes. At Amra and Dino's home, Tata and Mama are packing to go to Cousin Vesna's house to shelter in her basement.

For the first three days not much happens but then bombing begins on the fourth day. Tata believes the world will put a stop to the bombing. After the bombing, Amra and Dino escape outside to try to find Maci and discover their house is still intact. Dino escapes death from a bomb when he hears Maci in a nearby garage. The place he was standing was hit by a bomb, killing three of their friends. Maci saved Dino this time. When Amra tells Mama how Maci saved Dino, she agrees the cat can stay.

For two more weeks Amra and her family stay with Cousin Vesna. Tata goes out to check on the city and learns that the teacher in charge of records for Amra's grade has destroyed all the records of the Muslim students. He also tells Mama that her brother Ejub was killed in  bombing. With this, Mama decides they will go back to their home.

They find their house intact, but without electricity. However, Amra struggles, taking to lying in bed most of the day. But Maci and her new kittens are a sign of hope for Amra, reminding her that the world is a beautiful place. As Amra and her family struggle to stay alive as war batters Bihac, Maci is the one constant that helps the entire family deal with hunger, loss and fear.

Discussion

The Cat I Never Named presents young readers with a gritty, personal account of the Bosnian War from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old girl. The war, which began in 1992 and ended in 1995, was the result of the breakup of the communist state of Yugoslavia after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. At the end of World War II, Yugoslavia was a country comprised of six republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The country was ruled by dictator Josef Tito until his death in 1980. Ethnic tensions began to increase between Serbs and other groups in the region especially after Slobodan Milosevic came to power in Serbia in 1987.  In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia voted to secede from the country followed in 1992 by Bosnia and Herzegovina. The secession of Croatia, resulted in increased tensions between the Serbian population and the dominant Croats. With the declaration of independence by Croatia, the Serbian population went to war. This was the beginning of the conflict that eventually spilled over into Bosnia, a region inhabited by Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Croatians and Serbs who lived together in peace for decades. Although the secession of Bosnia/Herzegovina was recognized internationally, Bosnian Serbs were not so accommodating.

Amra Sabic was a teenager when war broke out. Her memoir vividly describes how it felt to be hated simply for belonging to a specific ethnic group. She struggles to understand how a best friend could suddenly come to hate her. "No, Olivera doesn't hate me. She's my best friend. She knows nothing about this conflict, no more than I did only two days ago. Bihac isn't Sarajevo. We are peaceful, full of brotherly love. We accept differences. No one here would hurt another person just because their ancestors came from one place or another." However, Olivera does not hold this view at all. In school she tells Amra that her father says "...all Serbs are afraid of Muslims..." When Amra confronts her friend, she has no explanation for why she might be afraid of someone like Amra.

Amra also finds herself also dealing with her own desire to hate the Serbs. When their Serbian neighbours home is being robbed by a Bosniak classmate, Amra believes they deserve to be robbed and to have nothing. But her father tells her "...Jovanka and her husband, they are just people. The Serbs, they are just people. Most of them are like us, just trying to be happy and get along. A few of them have been corrupted by hate, or greed, or...I don't know what. But inside we are all the same. Just because some of the Serbs have forgotten that, you shouldn't. Ever. One day this will be over. We'll all go back to being just people again. Make sure you haven't forgotten your humanity by then."

The war makes Amra think about human nature and our capacity to help or hurt one another. In her city under siege, Amra rethinks her opinion of her neighbour Jovanka, wondering if the woman was actually trying to help her. "What if tired old Jovanka tried to commit one herooic act in her life? Face with horror she couldn't fight, what if saving me was her attempt to make things not right but better? What if every Serb tried to do one small thing to fight the hate that has taken over our world now? What if everyone on the planet did?"

Amra also struggles to understand the abandonment of her friend Olivera. When Nura tells her that Olivera knew what was happening but simply kept quiet, Amra feels differently. "I feel betrayed by my best friend. But I also try to understand what she must have gone through, to be torn between her own beliefs and her parents' beliefs. To be told to think that Bosnians are dirty subhumans, and then see proof to the contrary in her best friend. Or did she come to believe it too?"

As the war continues on, Amra eventually makes a crucial decision after visiting the home of Damir, a boy a year ahead of her in school. Hoping to borrow his old math textbooks, she learns from his father that he has been killed by a missile. She begins to understand that maybe she can help build a better world.

The Cat I Never Named is a story about maintaining our humanity in the worst of times.  Amra and her family survived the war but it changed all of them forever. Amra has crafted a readable account, using the events and people she encountered during the war that effectively portray the horrors of war, the suffering of innocent civilians and the destruction of society and culture. It is also a story about a young girl determined to survive and make the world a better place by letting the world know the power of hatred to destroy everything good.  In her author's note, Amra states that she "wrote this book to illustrate how deeply damaging hatred is. Hatred is the most powerful emotion, more powerful than love. Love compels us to do selfless things....But hate can make people commit horrific violence, such as Serbs raping my relative in a rape camp. Only hate is that powerful..." 

Amra writes in her Acknowledgements, that she "...wanted to ensure my story transcended the moment and would remain a powerful lesson for generations to come. I wanted it to sensitize young adults to those who are other-ed and discriminated against. I wanted to bring the world together by changing youths' mind-sets."  Amra also explained the cover of the book and what it tries to achieve. "The blown-up mosque was inspired by a one destroyed in the village of Ahmici during a massacre against Bosniaks, Bosnian Muslims, on April 16, 1993. The goal was to counter a prevalent narrative that nearly two billion Muslims are a monolithic group of people. Instead, the book's jacket present my authentic self, a liberal Muslim teen , yet a Muslim who was still so profoundly hated. The jacket illustration serves as a reminder that the hate is a product of its perpetrators rather than a reflection of its victims. To those who spent years trying to kill me, it never mattered who I was. What mattered was how they saw me. There is nothing that victims can do to ameliorate that hate except to educate by telling our stories in hope of evoking collective empathy among those open to hearing our stories. The jacket also demonstrates a dichotomy between the love Maci and I felt for each other and destruction around us that the hatred produced."

The author also includes a map at the front to orient young readers, A Note From The Author, Resources for Further Reading and Movies About the Bosnian War.  The Cat I Never Named is an uplifting reminder that people have the choice to stand up against hate and instead to change the world for the better, one loving act at a time.

Book Details:

The Cat I Never Named by Amra Sabic-El-Rayless
New York: Bloomsbury Publishing   2020
368 pp.