Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, Cynthia Leitich Smith (editor)

Reviewed by Christopher S.
Grade 12

Written by an all-star cast of articulate Indigenous American authors, Legendary Flatbread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories is a collection of short stories written by this line up and compiled into one book. Each story features an Indigenous American teen that doesn't seem to fit in completely until they encounter the mystifying drive-in run by the mysterious Sandy June.

While the characters, stories, and inner conflicts are nifty, they do get bland after a while. Every story is very similar, and they usually end in the same way. A lot of the stories are similar to a shower-thought that was put on paper soon afterwards. However, that is not enough reason to not give this book a chance. It is fun to explore Legendary Frybread Drive-In story by story and the authors manage to make each character different despite the repetitiveness of the plots. It is jam packed with Native American cultural references that sadly go over my head. Some stories even have unique formats that reflect the characters such as chat logs or a poem.

This book is meant for people that don’t feel like they exactly belong, or want some wholesome stories to cheer them up. If you don’t like shortform stories or just want a book with less of a straightforward plot, you should probably keep looking. As for me, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. 

*coming soon to WPL!

Our take on Printz

 Written by Hope M., Lauren M., and Lisa W.

Each year, the American Library Association "honors the best best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit." Sometimes these books really resonate with teen readers (like Looking For Alaska) and other times they are head-scratchers that don't really appeal to your average teen. We take a look at this year's Printz winner and honor books and share our own thoughts on their merits.

2021 Winner
Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story) by Daniel Nayeri depicts the life of the author and narrator throughout his childhood. In one book, Nayeri weaves together a tale of facts and feelings, struggles and strength, fiction and nonfiction, and so much wisdom. While reading, I felt like the author was speaking directly to me. Furthermore, his personal questions and thoughts caused me to reflect in ways I haven't before. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the novel. On a grading scale of A-F, Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story) gets an A+ from me!

-Hope

2021 Honor Books

Apple (Skin To The Core) by Eric Gansworth is a memoir depicting the author's life growing up in the Onodaga Tribe in America. Written in verse, Gansworth uses his experiences (and a few Beatles references) to empower Native Americans and help them embrace their identities. Honestly this book was slightly confusing, especially at the beginning; I've read many books written in verse before, however the format of each line had me wondering whether I was reading the book itself or a strange (and long) prologue. Nevertheless, I do feel as if the book allowed me to fully comprehend the horrors that most Native Americans had to endure. If I were to grade Gansworth's work, I would give it a B.

- Lisa

In Dragon Hoops, Gene Luen Yang's newest graphic novel, we dive deep into Bishop O'Dowd High School's basketball team as they make their way through the 2014-15 season with hopes of finally winning the State Championships. Striking and thought-provoking, Dragon Hoops introduces readers to the members of the team and explores the principles and mannerisms that make a winning team that go far deeper than drills and practice--principles the apply to every area of life. An A on the grading scale of A-F, Yang's latest will have readers cheering the Dragons on throughout. 

-Lauren

Every Body Looking by Candace Iloh portrays the life of Ada, a young woman who struggles to find her identity and take control of her own destiny. The novel goes back and forth between her present and her past, illustrating the difficult circumstances Ada has experienced from her childhood up to her life at college.Many mature themes are presented in the story, and the author's unique writing style allowed me to empathize with the character's trials. Despite this, I didn't really enjoy it. For this reason, I would give this book a D.

-Hope

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee World War II is a subject that is approached frequently by authors, however Traci Chee finds an innovative and enlightening way to utilize that topic to introduce another part of history that is, sadly, not as well known. We Are Not Free is a passionate and heart-wrenching story about 14 Japanese-American teenagers whose lives are uprooted when they are placed in incarceration camps during World War II. I recommend this book, not because it was an enjoyable read, but because the abuse and racism that Japanese-Americans had to face should not be an obscure part of history. The only negative comment that I have for We Are Not Free is that 14 different points-of-view are a bit difficult to tolerate, seeing as every time the reader begins to sympathize with the character, the POV is switched to someone else’s. Ergo, I wasn’t able to connect to any of them. I would give this book an A-.

-Lisa

There There by Tommy Orange

Reviewed by Maansi C.
Grade 10

There There is told from many characters' points of view and connects at the end in the big powwow in Oakland. The characters in the book tell their Native American stories throughout. Each character has two or three chapters written in different points of view. They grapple with their Native American identity and stories that make them who they are. They also deal with addiction because many of the Native Americans that live on the reservation drink and are addicts. They also deal with mental health such as OCD. There are symbols throughout the book that relate to each character. Some are part of the gangs and others research Native American life. They all meet at the end of the book at the big powwow in Oakland.

Tommy Orange, the author of There There, wrote this book to show how Native Americans deal with life in Oakland. The way that he decided to write the book in many points of view allows you to better understand their lives. Each character is a different age and has a different story that is related to them. This gives a better understanding of the life they live.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It was interesting to learn about Native American life from people of different ages and backgrounds. It gave you a better understanding of the life they live. Tommy Orange does an amazing job elaborating on their lives throughout this book.