On My Bookshelf: Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson

The basic plot from Amazon: In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty’s house doesn’t quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can’t shake the feeling that her mother doesn’t want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. The singing, the preaching, the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, an organization that supports black-owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born.

Inspired by Betty's real life―but expanded upon and fictionalized through collaboration with novelist Renée Watson―Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother’s childhood with this book, painting an inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self-acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today.

Why I liked it: Betty Before X is a historical fiction novel based on the life of Dr. Betty Shabazz, wife of Malcolm X, and was written by her daughter Ilyasah Shabazz in collaboration with Renee Watson. Betty's story is one of struggle from a young age, but her inner strength and determination to do right never waver. Set in the late 19040s in Detroit, the novel sheds light on the struggle for equality and includes Betty's almost poetic hopes and prayers for the future.

Betty’s early years are spent with her aunt and grandmother after they discover her mother’s struggles to parent Betty. Betty experiences life in the South, including lynchings, before moving North to rejoin her mother and her new family. Her mother favors Betty’s half-siblings and treats Betty more harshly because of her “no good” father. Betty find respite in her close friendships, the women of her church, and an activist group of women in her neighborhood.

Classroom application: I would recommend this book for middle school and up. A possible after reading research topic would be the Detroit AME, the church Betty attends where important figures like Thurgood Marshall and Paul Robeson make appearances. Betty’s descriptions of the church and its visitors illustrate the strength and interconnectedness of the black community during this time period. Another possible after reading research topic would be the tensions following WWII between blacks and whites.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Betty Before X for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

The basic plot from Amazon: No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.

In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.

Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life―a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.

With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between.

Why I liked it: I've been binging on dystopian fiction, and while The Grace Year Kim Leggitt fit right in with reads like The Initiation by Chris Babu and Divergent by Veronica Roth, it also stood apart as a book I could not put down. I started reading it at bedtime (always a mistake) and didn't want to stop, I tried to keep reading during breakfast with my three little ones (little progress made there), but then sat down to read a little more after getting home from the gym, and, two hours later, found myself finishing the book.

Comparisons have been made with The Grace Year and classics like The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies, and I'd add The Crucible to that list due to the impact of hysteria and mob mentality on the plot. While set in a far off world, The Grace Year is a mirror of the cruelty young women can inflict upon each other in our own society.

The grace year marks the change from girl to woman and is spent separate from the rest of the community because of superstitions about the power of the “magic” possessed by young women of this age. The main character, Tierney, refuses to conform to her society and the expectations of the girls’ grace year. Tierney tries to do the right thing even when the other girls in her grace year turn against her.
Classroom application: I would recommend this book for high school and up because of some of the violence, sexual encounters, and mature themes. Besides connecting well with classics like Lord of the Flies, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Crucible, this novel would spark rich discussion about perceptions of females in today’s society. Students could also catalog the survival skills that Tierney possesses and create their own guide to surviving a year in the wilderness.

The novel is rich with symbolism which would also generate rich discussion. Tierney and her family represent the enlightenment, bringing practical medicine into their community. After Tierney and the other girls return from their grace year, Michael’s acceptance and forgiveness of Tierney’s pregnancy and the support of the other girls are signs that their community is changing for the good.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of The Grace Year for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Divergent by Veronica Roth

The basic plot from Amazon: One choice can transform you. Beatrice Prior's society is divided into five factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice must choose between staying with her Abnegation family and transferring factions. Her choice will shock her community and herself. But the newly christened Tris also has a secret, one she's determined to keep hidden, because in this world, what makes you different makes you dangerous.

Why I liked it: I recently picked up a copy of Divergent  for my classroom library and was completely drawn into the dystopian society composed up of five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice doesn't quite fit in with any of the factions, but when she switches factions from Abnegation to Dauntless, she begins to discover that not everything is what it seems. Making it through her training to become Dauntless is just the first of many challenges she will face.


Classroom application: I would recommend this book for seventh grade and up. There is some harsh violence, but it is PG romance-wise and no concerning language. Fans of books like The Giver and the Hunger Games, Matched, and Initiation series will love this one.

During reading, students could participate in a choosing ceremony (minus the ritual of cutting one’s hand with a knife) and write about why they chose the faction that they did. Before this ceremony, you could create an “aptitude test” for students to take to help determine their faction. I’m thinking of something similar to those quizzes in Seventeen and Cosmo that determine what kind of friend or employee you are. As the plot progresses, you could have students design the tattoo(s) they would get after joining Dauntless and write about what these tattoos represent and why students would want to get them.

After reading, students could discuss what it means to be “divergent” and identify examples from the past and in modern society. Beatrice is a strong female protagonist, able to face her fears and calm herself in difficult situations so well that Four admires her. Students could engage in social emotional learning activities to help them develop similar traits and coping skills.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Divergent for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.