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Thursday, April 20, 2017

Three for Thursday: Haiti On My Mind

I have been thinking about how books pair together for a while now. Often, a student will like X book and "want more like it." This level of reader's advisory forces a librarian to ask deeper questions: is it the theme that the reader likes? The setting? The characters? The author? I find myself asking a lot of questions and working through several Destiny searches in order to help students find the next great read. This inspired me to start a new feature, "Three for Thursday." I would like to regularly feature books that are related in some way. This week, it's books that feature Haiti and/or Haitian culture as part of the plot.

Untwine by Edwidge Danticat features identical twins Giselle and Isabelle. When their family gets into a car accident, one twin is mistaken for the other and the surviving twin faces difficult choices and a shattered family. With roots in Haiti, the family's cultural heritage is woven throughout this heart-wrenching story. This one flies out the door each time I do a booktalk.



American Street by Ibi Zoboi was part of Epic Reads First5 in February 2017. I was immediately sucked in: Fabiola and her mother are coming to the United States from Haiti and her mother is detained at immigration. Fabiola must continue to Detroit on her own to meet up with her cousins and aunt. What follows is the story of the struggle to create a life in Detroit, along with the story of how difficult it can be to assimilate into another culture while holding onto roots in another country.



Hold Tight Don't Let Go by Laura Rose Wagner follows Magdalie, a teenager in Haiti, whose life changes in the blink of an eye when the 2010 earthquake hits. The stark poverty Magdalie experiences as she tries to earn enough money to move to Miami is heartbreaking and will make the reader question the relief and aid work that is done in developing countries following a tragic event. The end is hopeful for a country that has seen disaster strike and is working toward recovery.