Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

I started keeping a journal religiously when I was in high school.  Recently, I read back through some of my earliest entries and rolled my eyes and laughed at myself while also being struck but how serious things were.  I don't remember a lot of those serious things that were going on but they were there.  Maybe this is part of the reason I LOVED this book, which is presented in diary form.  Also, having spent some time as the resident fat girl in high school, I could really relate to Gabi.

Gabi is a seventeen year old Mexican-American whose life is crazy to begin with and about to get even crazier.  She is overweight and her mother is constantly poking at her to lose weight.  She's gotten very clever about hiding her secret jerky stash.  She's entering her senior year of high school with high hopes for college and a low Algebra II grade.  Her brother is a little bit of a delinquent.  Her father is a meth addict.  Then, at the very beginning of the book, her best friend announces that she is pregnant.  Gabi is shocked because, well, Cindy never told her that she had even done it.  Next, her friend Sebastian comes out to his parents and finds himself sleeping on Gabi's couch for a while.

Gabi takes us through her tumultuous senior year with honesty and humor.  She gets her first and then her second boyfriend.  Her very religious aunt comes to live with the family.  She has to help her enemy out of a situation.  Gabi is never overly dramatic about the big stuff but can be humorously over dramatic about the little stuff.

I loved this book.  It made me laugh out loud and bite my fingernails.  Don't let the cover throw you off.  This one is definitely worth the read! -RYQ

We Shoudl All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I first became interested in this little book when I heard the story about every 16 year old in Sweden receiving a copy of it.  Naturally, if every 16 year old in Sweden has it, our teen department needs it!

This little book is a personal essay based on the TED Talk by the same name.  Adichie is a Nigerian author and Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men And Who Likes To Wear Lip Gloss.  She uses her essay to discuss what it means to be a feminist and why it is not a nasty word even though it is often treated as one.  She gives a glimpse into the world of a Nigerian woman, who may not be allowed to enter certain establishments alone and is taught that life is meaningless without a husband.  While the culture is different from our own, she ties it easily into our familiar territory and provides examples of American women she knows.

I know that around here we are usually reviewing exciting books with mystical foxes or talking lawn gnomes (Both very, very important things!) but if you are looking for something quick (48 pages) and thought provoking or if you want to be more Swedish, give this little book a shot. -RYQ