Long Bright River, by Liz Moore

Long Bright River by Liz Moore, 2020, 496 pages, hardback.

In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling. 

Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late.

Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters' childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.

Written by guest reviewer, Joanne Shawhan

The Testaments

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, 2019, fiction, 419 pages, hardback.

Reviewed by Joanne Shawhan

In the sequel, to Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood returns to Gilead, 15 years after the Handmaid called Offred recorded her indelible experiences. Readers will again enter a dystopia of eerie orderliness as women under ruthless surveillance, their social status indicated by cumbersome, color-coded uniforms, are forced into dehumanizing rituals of sex and punishment.

One key character returns, the formidable Aunt Lydia. But in this very different novel, three women tell their stories, the lens widens so that Gilead is seen from the outside, and the focus is not only on men oppressing women, but also on women wielding power. Particularly powerful is the description of how Aunt Lydia went from prisoner to collaborator and active participant in the early days of Gilead. The result is a shrewdly suspenseful tale of survival and resistance.

In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It

Joanne Shawhan, guest reviewer, Member, Zonta Club of Albany

In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It 

by Nita Belles   ( 2015, 240 pages, paperback)

Modern slavery is happening all around you--and you can be part of the solution

Human trafficking is not just something that happens in other countries. Neither is it something that just happens to "other people" such as runaways or the disenfranchised. Even kids in your own neighborhood can fall victim. But they don't have to.

Human trafficking expert Nita Belles combines heart-wrenching stories, startling research, and boots-on-the-ground advice into a powerful, fast-paced primer on the devastating reality of modern-day slavery and what we can do to stop it.

Twelve feminist books everyone should read, Prepared by UN Women

 Today we have a special - not one book recommendation, but a dozen!
 Thank you, UN Women!

What Is The Women’s Rights Movement?

Found a really great book read this time!  

 “What Is The Women’s Rights Movement?”by, Deborah Hopkinson, is one of the books in the New York Times Best-Selling Series, Your Headquarters for History, published by Penquin Workshop.  

I was drawn to the book by the very captivating cover……caricatures of 9 outstanding women in our history.  The 107-page book opens by explaining just “What is the Women’s Rights Movement?” and from there it explores short, but very informative chapters about women such as: Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Cady, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Blackwell, Mary Church Terrell, Jane Addams, Cary Chapman Catt and up to modern times, ending with Hillary Clinton.

I thought I knew everything about the women’s movement, but having stumbled upon this little gem of a book, I realized I needed to know and learn more. Each page is a gift and full of interesting details.  Not only does the book look at our history, addressing facts about women in key positions in government and the private sector, it also makes some predictions for the future. 

At the end of the book is a Time Line of the ‘Women’s
Rights Movement as well as a Time Line of The World.

This book is definitely meant to share with friends, family and young girls everywhere especially during this celebratory period of our history.

Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself.

Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself, by Rachel Lloyd

The latest book that I read for our D2 Book Blog is a memoir written by Rachel Lloyd.  I purchased this book at the UN Headquarters in New York City, when I was there in March.

Girls Like Us, is an inspiring story of how a “homegrown” American girl was trafficked and how she finally broke free from her both her pimp and her past,  and was able to devote herself to help other young girls escape “the life."

Today Rachel is the founder and executive director of GEMS, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services.  She was a leading advocate for the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act, which made New York the first state to protect, not prosecute, sexually exploited children.

A very powerful book especially for those who think it can’t happen in the United States.  Rachel herself has been down the path and she recounts the trials and tribulations, the complex emotional and economic factors that contribute to the exploitation of children and youths.

I encourage you all to buy or borrow this book to better understand just how girls can become engulfed in this trade and yet how strong and resilient they can be.  

June, 2019

I Am Malala,The girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban.   By Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

This is the second book about strong, empowering women that I have read from my list shared at the Oswego, NY Fall Seminar.

This book, with it’s mesmerizing portrait of Malala on the cover, is the story of a family that lived in the Swat Valley in Pakistan:  North of Pakistan, sandwiched in by Afghanistan on the NW, Iran on the SW, Tajikistan and China on the N. and India on the SE.  This is an area of the world that I know very little about, hence my desire to read her story.

Throughout the book, even with all the difficult adversities that she and her family suffered, Malala lovingly and longingly talks about her homeland with exquisite detail as she describes growing up in that part of the world.  She was born in a country that did not embrace daughters, as sons were the ultimate “prize” for families.  Malala’s father however, respected and loved her unconditionally and asked friends to throw dried fruits, sweets and coins into her cradle when she was born (something that they traditionally only do for boys.)  Her father looked into her eyes after she was born and said, he “fell in love.”

She grew up very close to her father and he encouraged her love of free speech, education and peace.  Her intense love of her valley, Swat, is well described in several pages of her book.  If you don’t know too much about this region of the world, Malala describes it in vivid detail.

The book includes pictures, a glossary of unfamiliar words, maps as well as important events in Pakistan and Swat history.  After reading this book, I have a deeper appreciation for what some women and girls must endure and I know little about.  Very enlightening! 

Malala is an activist and fighter for girls around the world who are being denied the right to go to school. In 2013, Malala addressed the UN in New York on her 16^thbirthday and called for free education for all children.