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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Alive in the Killing Fields : Surviving the Khmer Rouge Genocide

by Nawuth Keat
At age nine, Keat was rousted from his bed by Khmer Rouge soldiers. After savagely murdering most of his family, they shot him three times and left him for dead. Miraculously, he survived, only to spend the next few years fighting for his life and running from the Khmer Rouge along with his remaining family members. Eventually, he and his siblings made their way to a refugee camp where his older sister bought his freedom. In this memoir, written with the assistance of his college professor, Keat paints a poignant portrait of life as a child in Cambodia in the 1970s. His skills, cunning, and sheer will to survive enabled him to endure devastating occurrences and difficult living conditions. The story is not for the faint of heart, as suffering torture at the hands of soldiers, subsisting solely off of rice chaff, and being forced to sleep among human remains are only some of the atrocities he suffered. Keat's story is compelling and concise, and readers will find themselves invested in his eventual escape.

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

How Beautiful the Ordinary : Twelve Stories of Identity

by Cart, Michael
This collection's refreshing perspective-that gay, lesbian, and transgendered lives simply are, as Cart states in the introduction, "as wonderfully various, diverse, and gloriously complex as any other lives,"-distinguishes it. Twelve acclaimed authors contribute stories ranging from sweet and nostalgic to lyrical and desperate, capturing the blissful/painful process of self-discovery. Highlights include Margo Lanagan's retelling of "The Highwayman" from a voyeuristic stable boy's point of view and Gregory Maguire's story told from different points in time, in which an 18-year-old Iranian-American boy discovers the impact a summer of accidental love can have on his entire life. The formats and settings of the stories are as varied as the characters. Graphic novelist Ariel Schrag's "San Francisco Dyke March" gives funny tourist observations, and in "Happily Ever After," Eric Shanower illustrates how love, not genies, fixes troubled relationships. William Sleator's compelling Thai character finds a dangerous love. Francesca Lia Block, David Levithan, and Emma Donoghue customize the epistolary story. Julie Anne Peters skillfully voices two teen girls' trepidation and ecstasy during their first sexual encounter. Ron Koertge's "My Life as a Dog" is an ingenious metaphor for coming out, and in "Trev" Jacqueline Woodson gently allows Trev to accept his gender identity. This collection, with some detailed sexual descriptions, is sure to find its intended teen audience.

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