It Made Me Laugh and It Made Me Think
Leave the World Behind
by Rumaan Alam
Get the book but skip the jacket copy. The less you know before diving in, the more thrilling the read.
In Rumaan Alam’s words, “This is a book that poses, let's say, 15 questions and answers maybe seven of them.”
As a reader, this novel gave me an uneasy feeling that never let up. Up until the last page, I had no idea what was coming next. LA Times book critic Mary Ann Gwinn called it “one of the saddest and most gripping books you will ever read.” (I don’t think it was that sad but it was gripping.)
As a writer, I felt like I was watching close-up magic. I should know how the illusion works, but I don’t. Written in close third person from the perspectives of at least six main characters, the tension in Leave the World Behind is layered by each character’s shortcomings and exacerbated through their individual paranoid fears and made that much richer because Alam covers the POV spectrum from young tween to retired senior.
IMG DESCR: book cover for Leave the World Behind
Jacket design by Sara Wood
IMG DESCR: book cover for Girl Warriors
Jacket design by Sadie Teper
Cover illustrations by Ana Copernicker
Girl Warriors: How 25 Young Activists are Saving the Earth
by Rachel Sarah
Got faith in the next generation? You will after you read about these 25 climate-change activists all under 25 years old. (And after reading Leave the World Behind, you’ll need a little inspiration about the future. Trust me.) Each profile is a dose of inspiration as these activists share their stories of seeing a need and making a difference, even when they weren’t sure if they’d be taken seriously or how their ideas would manifest into change.
I’ve got a stack of these in the closet as go-to gifts. And they’re not just for young people interested in climate change. This book is a must for any family with kids, every sidewalk Little Library, every public library, every classroom!
IMG DESCR: Essay author selfie in sample braid
Photo credit: Naomi Williams
Naomi Williams
Braids: A Braided Essay about Braids and Braided Essays
“The year I grew tired of braided essays was also the year when my hair grew long enough to braid.”
The essay you wish you’d thought of. Easily the best example of a great braided essay.
IMG DESCR: dancers on stage—obviously up to no good—in period costume from 19c, Party Scene from Ingeborg Heuser’s Nutcracker.
Photo credit: Brian Giza
“Breaking Character”
You may not know this about me, but I spent much of my adolescence and early adulthood in a wig. Fritz in the Nutcracker was one of my favorite roles (that’s me in front.)
I wrote about it for The Longridge Review , which you can read here. This trip down Memory Lane was submission #200 of 2020, sent in the last hours on December 31st.