Book of the Month — April 2021
Fractures By: Carlos Andrés Gómez
Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
ISBN 13: 978-0299329945
SYNOPSIS: In his landmark debut, Carlos Andrés Gómez interrogates race, gender, sexuality, and violence to explore some of the most pressing issues of our time. These poems address the complexities and nuances of toxic masculinity, assimilation, homophobia, and the joy and anguish of trying to raise Black children in America. Gómez casts an uncompromising eye toward both brutality and tenderness, going where we are most uncomfortable and lingering in moments of introspection that reveal fear, grief, or hatred. Birthed at a breaking point, these poems carve open silence, revealing fissures that welcome the light. Unflinching, poignant, and powerful, Fractures is both a gut punch and a balm.
BIO: Carlos Andrés Gómez is the author of the memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including New England Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, and BuzzFeed Reader.
Author webpage: https://carloslive.com/
Twitter (author): @CarlosAGLive Twitter (publisher): @UWiscPress
A Sled for Gabo
by: Emma Otheguy
Published by: Simon & Schuster / Atheneum Books for Young Readers
SYNOPSIS: On the day it snows, Gabo sees kids tugging sleds up the hill, then coasting down, whooping all the while. Gabo wishes he could join them, but his hat is too small, and he doesn’t have boots or a sled. But he does have warm and welcoming neighbors in his new town who help him solve the problem in the sweetest way possible!
BIO:
Emma Otheguy is the author of the bilingual picture book Martí’s Song for Freedom about Cuban poet and national hero José Martí, as well as the middle grade novel Silver Meadows Summer and the picture book A Sled for Gabo.
Author webpage: emmaotheguy.com
Twitter (author): @EmmaOtheguy
Twitter (publisher): @simonkids
The Lost book of Adana Moreau
By: Michael Zapata
Published by: HarperCollins/Hanover Square Press
ISBN 13: 978-1335010124
SYNOPSIS: The mesmerizing story of a Latin American science fiction writer and the lives her lost manuscript unites decades later in post-Katrina New Orleans
In 1929 in New Orleans, a Dominican immigrant named Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel. The novel earns rave reviews, and Adana begins a sequel. Then she falls gravely ill. Just before she dies, she destroys the only copy of the manuscript.
Decades later in Chicago, Saul Drower is cleaning out his dead grandfather’s home when he discovers a mysterious manuscript written by none other than Adana Moreau. With the help of his friend Javier, Saul tracks down an address for Adana’s son in New Orleans, but as Hurricane Katrina strikes they must head to the storm-ravaged city for answers.
What results is a brilliantly layered masterpiece—an ode to home, storytelling and the possibility of parallel worlds.
BIO: Michael Zapata is a founding editor of the award-winning MAKE: Literary Magazine. He is the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Award for Fiction; the City of Chicago DCASE Individual Artist Program award; and a Pushcart Nomination. As an educator, he taught literature and writing in high schools servicing drop out students. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and has lived in New Orleans, Italy, and Ecuador. He currently lives in Chicago with his family. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is his debut novel.
