Persepolis

Title: Persepolis
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Genres: non-fiction, graphic novel, memoir, autobiography, Iranian history, Iranian author

Chronicles the life of Marjane Satrapi as she grew up during the political unrest in Iran from the late 1970s through the late 1990s. It's her autobiography in graphic novel form and it gives Westerners a rare glimpse into a mysterious country and region. I watched the movie last semester for my history class and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I checked out the graphic novel because there are always more details in a book compared to its move counterpart.

As a little girl, Marji parrots the political slogans and ideologies she hears from the grownups around her. As a preteen her eyes slowly open to injustice in the world as she and the other females in Iran are subject to harsher and harsher rules regarding dress, opposite-sex relationships, and public etiquette. Marji's parents send her to Europe for her safety and to continue her education; although Europe is not dangerous, Marji's ethnicity keeps her from truly fitting in. She returns to Iran but finds that her home country has changed dramatically under the leadership of religious fundamentalists.

Title: Darkroom
Author: Lila Quintero Weaver
Genre: graphic novel, memoir, Hispanic author, non-fiction, Southern history, American history


Psst! I have a confession to make.... I just read a graphic novel for the first time last night.....I read Archie and Veronica comics as a kid but I never did become a huge graphic novel fan- mainly because of the scantily clad women on most of the covers, but the premise behind Darkroom was intriguing: a graphic novel/memoir about growing up Hispanic in a tiny, rural Alabama town during the tumultuous Civil Rights era. Call me a nerd, but that sounded pretty riveting. Instead of the traditional inked comic panels, Darkroom is full of original, detailed pencil drawings. 

Lila Quintero Weaver originally created this as a senior project for her undergrad degree back in 2007. As a non-traditional college student myself, this is inspiring to see her schoolwork become a published work.
Ms. Quintero Weaver came to Augusta a few months ago as part of Augusta University's Latino Americans series but unfortunately, I couldn't attend her lecture due to work and school obligations, but you can watch part of her lecture here: https://vimeo.com/152378185 and you can read more about the Latino Americans series here: http://guides.augusta.edu/latino

Title: Positive: Surviving My Bullies, Finding Hope and Living to Change the World
Author: Paige Rawl with Ali Benjamin
Genre: non-fiction, biography, memoir, inspirational

Paige Rawl, by all appearance was your typical, American middle school girl: she loved cheerleading, soccer, was a straight-A student and loved hanging out with her friends. Paige was also HIV-positive (from birth) and disclosed her secret to her best friend one night at a school lock-in. Before an hour had passed, all the kids at the lock-in knew Paige's secret and her relationship with her best friend was destroyed.
Bullying and teasing soon followed after this. When Paige went to the school counselor for help, she was told "to stop the drama." Because of this lack of understanding, Paige withdrew even more into herself and wouldn't tell her mother what was happening at school or about the nasty notes left anonymously at her locker. The stress eventually manifested itself through self harm and pseudo seizures, and out of desperation, Paige was homeschooled for a year. After a year had passed, Paige transferred to another high school that was more accepting and had a zero tolerance policy on bullying. Her middle school years still haunted her though and after another huge health scare, Paige used her anger, frustration and public speaking skills (from years of pageants) to bring awareness for HIV/AIDS.

A quick read (it took me two days); although this is catalogued in the adult biography section at my library, a middle schooler would be able to easily read this. There is no graphic content, although there a few swear words from when Paige recalls conversations with other kids. I look forward to watching Paige's successes in the future!

Title: Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI
Author: Dana Kollmann
Genre: non-fiction, memoir, humor

Catchy title, eh? Dana Kollmann writes about her serious and thankless job as a CSI with humor and sarcastic wit which makes for a light and easy read. Some stories will curl your toes with the gross factor so, if you have a sensitive stomach, you are forewarned! Eventually, the long work hours along with the lack of social life caused Dana Kollmann burnout and she had to leave the CSI team. She now uses her experience to teach forensic science to others.

Title: Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me
Author: Jenny Gardiner
Genre: memoirs, animals

I am an animal lover but after reading this book there is no way I want to get an African gray parrot. Jenny and Scott Gardiner inherited a wild and scared baby parrot after they were already dealing with a dog (who was allergic to the Earth) and a newborn. Grayce never "tamed" and had an irascible personality (imagine a grumpy homicidal teenager in a bird's body). While dealing with their parrot's personality they had to deal with her nasty mess (food slung everywhere; trails of poo if they let her walk freely throughout the house). Add three children, two cats, vacations gone bad, and various illnesses (human and animal) with a hefty dose of humor and you get this enjoyable, yet exhausting read.

Title: To Selena, With Love
Author: Chris Perez
Genre: musical biography/memoir

Like most of America, I didn't know who Selena was until after her death in 1995. When my husband and I were dating, her song "Dreaming of You" was on our personal playlists to each other (when playlists consisted of recording a song from the radio or a CD to a blank cassette).
Selena Quintinilla-Perez broke many barriers in her short, musical career: she was the first woman to break into the Tejano music scene and also the first Latino woman to successfully cross over into the American mainstream pop music genre.
Chris Perez was Selena's husband and in this beautifully written memoir, he chronicles their secret dates, elopement, and life as newlyweds. Since Selena's death, Chris Perez has fulfilled his own musical career and journey, remarried, and had children. Even with all this success, you can tell that Chris still misses Selena. You'll need tissues for the last two chapters; all in all a great tribute to his first love.