….Oh, no! We’ve got a mind of our own, So go to hell if what you‘re thinking is not right…. From “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley. Most people recognize Bob Marley as a musical legend, possibly one of…
Author: J.L. Powers
J.L. Powers is the author of the y.a. novels This Thing Called the Future and The Confessional, and editor the forthcoming anthology That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone.
An Oldie But Goodie
This week, I had an occasion to talk about a favorite book of mine: Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno, when I was asked, “What is the most provocative book you’ve ever taught?” This book wins hands-down. Set in…
Belonging to the Land–a review of Far From Home by Na’ima B Robert
I grew up in the Southwestern Desert of the United States, the Chihuahua Desert, the driest desert of North America. I once wrote an essay about how the land shapes the people there—only survivors are left, I wrote, but we…
Boy vs Girl–the power of faith to change one’s life
Part thriller and part social-issues novel, Boy vs. Girl by Na’ima B. Robert–set in Great Britain among a Muslim immigrant family–explores the power of personal faith to transform’s your life, even when the stakes may cost you your physical life. Farhana…
Anthony Horton: Rest in Peace
Many of you didn’t hear about Anthony Horton’s death. Probably most of you don’t know who he is. Anthony Horton spent the last thirty years living underground in New York City’s subway tunnels. Sunday he died in a fire in…
My Brother’s Shadow
Berlin. 1918. World War I is in its final days. World War II is in the future. Is it possible to see the threads of anti-Semitism and the problems of crushing poverty that led to the rise of the Third…
Environment, War, and Fantasy: Janni Lee Simner’s Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter
Very little attention has been paid to the social justice issues found in Janni Lee Simner’s book Bones of Faerie. When it opens, the main character Liza is an emotional wreck, seeking answers to why her baby sister had to…
Happy holidays from The Pirate Tree
Happy holidays everybody! The Pirate Tree is on hiatus until Dec. 30th. Thanks!
Homelessness in Picture Books
Although I can’t recall reading any picture books that explored serious social issues when I was a child, I was certainly surrounded by them in every day life. Because I grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border, many of my classmates…
Healing, Miracles, and Young Adult Literature: An Interview with Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Interview by J.L. Powers Poet and novelist Benjamin Alire Sáenz—recently named by Poets and Writers as one of the world’s most inspiring writers—just brought out his sixth collection of poetry, The Book of What Remains (Copper Canyon Press, 2010).…