Kyi’s Eyes & Spies: How Your Being Tracked and Why You Should Know

Kyi, T.L. (2017) Eyes & spies: How you’re tracked and why you should know. Toronto, Canada: Annick Press

VOYA Ratings

Grade Level Interest: M/J

Quality: 4Q

Popularity: 3P

Have you ever had a feeling that someone was watching you walk down an empty street? What about when your at home watching television or surfing the internet? If so, please rest assure: you are not crazy! In Eyes & Spies: How You’re Tracked and Why You Should Know, Kyi (2017) discusses how larger entities like corporations and the government are intentionally spying on people and what it means in terms of our rights to privacy and freedom. While I understood that this was already happening, I was curious to know of the ways in which this is done and if Kyi offered suggestions on how we can protect ourselves from “big brother”.

This book should be added to the teen collection for a number of reasons. First, the book is addressed to teens and how the infringement of their privacy affects them socially and mentally. Secondly, teens are the highest users of social media such as Facebook and Instagram. When teens post a picture, tweet a comment, or hit the like button on an ad or their friend’s picture, their actions are being tracked and aggregated into valuable data for corporate use. Teens should not only be aware of how they are being tracked, but also how they can protect themselves.

January, B. (2015). Information insecurity: Privacy under siege. Breckenridge, CO: Twenty-First Century Books

Grade Level Interest: M/J

Quality: 4Q

Popularity: 3P

If you liked this book, you may also like Information Insecurity: Privacy Under Siege by Brenden January. This book extends on Kyi’s chapter on the Internet, which focuses on the collection of data by corporate entities, the Internet privacy debate, and how to safeguard yourself online.

Appeal factors according to Novelist

Genre: Social Issues

Subjects: Data Protection, Internet, Privacy Rights

 

Jacqueline Woodson’s “Brown Girl Dreaming”: A Masterpiece

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books

VOYA Rating

Grade Level Interest: M, J

Quality: 5Q

Popularity: 4P

Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming (2014) is not your typical autobiography; it is a work of poetic art. Drawing from her memories to skillfully craft her titles and stories, she uses poetic elements like stanza, verse, and imagery to evoke emotions and visuals that allow readers to walk in her shoes. She also writes fluidly with equally powerful words, impacting the reader that provokes thought and reflection. Aside from the numerous literary awards this book received, including the National Book Award, I chose this book because I love learning about people, their unique experiences, and how those contributed to who they have become.

I would definitely add this masterpiece to my library’s teen collection. As I had mentioned earlier, readers can reflect upon their own lives after reading Woodson’s autobiography. In her work, she writes about her experiences with racism, friendships, family, religion, and moving, which readers may be able to relate to in today’s society.  Readers may even find her as a role model; someone who wants to become an aspiring writer or are just trying to find their own identities in the midst of societal/media influence and peer pressure (Latham & Gross, 2014, 112).

 

Coates, T. (2015). Between the world and me. New York: Spiegel & Grau

If you liked Brown Girl Dreaming as much as I did, I would also recommend Between the World and Me (2015) by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Expanding on the theme of racial inequality that was touched in Brown Girl Dreaming, this book is a reflection of Mr. Coates life as a black boy/man in a dominant White world. According to Novelist, both titles sharing these appeal factors:

Genre: Autobiographies and memoirs

Tone: Thought-Provoking

Writing Style: Lyrical and Thoughtful

Subject: African Americans

VOYA Rating for Ta-Nahisi Coates Between the World and Me

Grade Level Interest: S, A/YA

Quality: 5Q

Popularity: 4P

References

Latham, D. & Gross, M. (2014). Young adult resources today: Connection teens with books, music, games, movies, and more. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield

Monstress Vol 1: Awakening

Liu, Marjorie. Monstress Volume One: Awakening. Image Comics, 2016. 192 pages. Tr. $9.99, ISBN 978-1632157096

VOYA Evaluation

Grade Level Interest: S; NA; A/YA

Quality: 4Q

Popularity: 3P

Truth be told, this is my first time reading a comic book or graphic novel. Even though I loved watching shows like Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon as a kid, it never appealed to me to pick up a comic/graphic novel from the stacks.When I saw that there was a comic on the syllabus, I decided to take a chance and read something different. Although I was confused at first on the order in which the dialogue is read, when I finally got a hang of it, I was captivated by the story line and use of color in the images.

Although one could argue that the images and language used in Monstress Volume One: Awakening are a bit vulgar (nudity, bloodshed, and profanity), I would gladly add this title to my teen collection. The images and spoken dialogue align with the characters expression and personality, which would help teen readers follow the story line easier. The main protagonist, Maika Halfwolf is also relatable to teens as she is ambitious, loyal, ruthless, and a teen herself. If I introduced her to a teen reader as someone with strong magic, determination, and share those qualities mentioned before, I think Monstress could be enjoyed by teens and adults alike.

Houser, Jody. Mother Panic. Vol 1, A Work in Progress. DC Comics, 2017.176 pages. Tr. $16.99, ISBN 978-1401271114

If you really enjoyed the first volume of the Monstress series, I’m sure you would continue to read the entire series (there are 12 issues currently). However, if you are looking for another graphic novel series, I would recommend Mother Panic. Vol 1, A Work in Progress. Like Maika, Violet Paige has a tough exterior displayed through her rage and assaults against their enemies. However, both characters also have a soft side to them as well; wanting to save others who were held hostage by captors.  Maika and Violet are also looking to their past to drive the story line to what looks like an adventurous future.

Below are the shared appeal terms Novelist identified between the two titles:

Genre: Graphic Novels

Character: Strong female

Subject: Revenge

Book Reviews: Jason Reynold’s Ghost and Stacey Lee’s Outrun the Moon

Reynolds, Jason. Ghost. Atheneum/Caitlyn Diouhy. 192 pages. TR $17.99, ISBN 978-1481450157

“You can’t run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be” – Coach from Jason Reynolds, Ghost.

Enter the mind of Castle “Ghost” Crenshaw, a young, talented Black tween who is not only a naturally fast runner, but also someone who has gone through complex situations in his young life. At 11 years old, Ghost and his mother has already experienced running away from his enraged father who shot at them with a gun in their inner city home. He’s also been the target of laughter at his middle school because of where he lives, his tight fitting clothing and worn out sneakers. While things may seem like its already downhill for young Ghost, one day he’s discovered by the coach of the city’s best track team The Defenders and asked to try out. As coach begins to learn more about Ghost, he tries his best not only to help him, but also to keep him on track. Will Ghost be able to keep his promises to coach and his mother to be a member of the prestigious Defenders, or will he flop and return to his troubled ways? Find out in this emotionally intense, character-driven quick read that will make you fall in love with Ghost from the very beginning.

 

Lee, Stacey. Outrun the Moon. G.P. Putnam Sons Books For Young Readers, 2016. 400 pages. Tr. $17.99, ISBN 978-0399175411

Grades 9-12. In Chinese culture, it is said that the name given to you at birth represents who you are destined to become. Wong Mei Xi, translated as “beautiful thought” was truly who 15-year old Mercy Wong was: a strong-willed, goal oriented, Chinese-American girl with dreams and aspirations. Born to a launderer father and a mother who was Chinatown’s famous fortune teller, Mercy was determined to make her dreams of getting into St. Claire’s School for Girls come true. Knowing the odds aren’t in her favor, Mercy used all she learned from Mrs. Lowry’s Book for Business Minded Women to get herself into the prestigious school after making a risky business arrangement. While Mercy’s time at St. Claire’s was cut short after an earthquake wrecked through the city, this was the point where indifferences were put aside and race/class no longer mattered. As a work of historical fiction, Lee truly embraced the events that took place in 1906; from the earthquake on April 18 at 5:12 am to the racial discrimination Chinese Americans faced in San Francisco. There were also no shortage of conflicts either between Mercy and secondary characters like Elodie and Headmistress Crouch, who showed distain towards her from the beginning. Lee’s masterful writing brings diction and narrative to life, allowing the personalities of her characters to shine and the use of spoken Cantonese dialect and culture to embrace Mercy’s identity. Soulful and heartwarming, this is one book you won’t want to put down.

Dystopian Fiction: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Doctorow, Corey. Little brother. Tom Doherty Associates, 2010. 432 pages. Tr $12.99, ISBN 978-0765323118

VOYA Evaluation

1. Grade Level Interest: S; A/YA
2. Quality: 3Q
3. Popularity: 2P

When I picked up Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2010) from our stacks at the Central Library, I read the back of the book and was immediately intrigued by this idea of a larger entity surveilling our every move. While I have seen this idea play out in movies like The Net with Sandra Bullock and V for Vendetta, this would actually be my first time reading a dystopian novel that shared such theme. With such prestigious honors and awards given to this title like the Prometheus Award for best novel, I decided to give it a shot.

After I completed the reading, I had serious thoughts of moving this text from the teen collection into the adult fiction section. The story felt like a Call of Duty mission where you’re constantly on the lookout for enemies who will shot at you. It felt like Marcus aka W1nst0n was on the same mission but instead of using a gun, used technology like the X-box to camouflage himself from his enemies (U.S. Dept of Homeland Security). Although Marcus is depicted as a teen, his complex ideas, hacking experience, and instincts to save his friend Darryl from a major government entity, made it feel like he was way older than 17 years old; traits that not every teen can relate to.

 

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. Simon Pulse, 2011. 432 pages. TR $12.99, ISBN 978-1442419810

If you liked this book, you would probably like Uglies by Scott Westerfield (2005). While Little Brother takes place in current day San Francisco, CA and Uglies takes place in a future world, both texts share themes of combating their government to make a difference for humanity and their future. According to Novelist, both share the same appeal terms:

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Pace: Fast-paced

Tone: Thought Provoking

Subject: Dystopias; Teenagers