The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis, adapted by Jeanne Theoharis and Brandy Colbert

Most of our students will tell you they know all about Rosa Parks, but it’s likely that most of Passages’ readers, including adults, could learn a great deal from just a chapter of this author’s research.  This review is of the adapted version in which author Jeanne Theoharis collaborated with acclaimed YA author Brandy Colbert to make a version more accessible to adolescent readers.

At close  to 300 pages, educators may find the simplest way to introduce this title and its content is to whet students’ appetite for more with an excerpt, although it would be a challenge to select just one.  The text begins with Parks’s birth in 1913 and follows the civil rights movement as did Parks’s life and work.  Highly recommended for Humanities and Social Studies educators working with detained youth and readers who enjoyed Hidden Figures.  The Zinn Education Project offers related lesson plans developed by a group of teachers convened by the author here. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Theoharis, Jeanne. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks Adapted for Young People. Boston: Beacon Hill Press, 2021. Print.

The System by Ryan Gattis

When gang member Dreamer is framed for murder alongside his friend Wizard, who is the actual killer, Dreamer faces a difficult decision: betray his gang or remain silent and hope the system proves his innocence. 

Told through multiple perspectives, The System reveals the inner workings of the criminal justice system and illustrates how justice is not always achieved or desired. Driven by personal circumstances, ideals, wants, and needs, the system can deliver justice in the most unjust ways. Readers who enjoyed Upstate, Riker’s High, or Street Pharm will likely appreciate The System.--Claudio Leon

Gattis, Ryan. The System. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020. Print.