Seventeen-year-old Lil has been arrested and is in a creative writing workshop in secure detention as she navigates a bad case of bubble guts. This engrossing opening will hook readers who like realistic urban fiction, and will help them explore the book’s Washington DC setting through the narrator’s Dominican- El Salvadorian perspective. 

Short chapters, some written in prose and some in poetry, follow Lil as she goes home with an ankle monitor, watches a loved one contend with a deepening mental health crisis, makes new friends, and falls in love.  All this while she must figure out her post-secondary plans when her freedom is not promised.  Highly recommended for independent reading and bookclubs, this emotionally intelligent novel offers insights to all readers.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Teachers may access a four-page educator guide by Amanda Torres here.

Africa Town by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

This historical fiction novel-in-verse tells the true story of the survivors of the Clotilda, the ship that brought kidnapped and enslaved Africans to Alabama in 1860--more than fifty years after it became illegal for Africans to be trafficked to the United States.

Kossola, whose oral history was originally recorded by Zora Neale Hurston, is one of the many voices and poetic styles we hear in this riveting tale woven by Irene Latham and Charles Waters.

The front matter includes relevant maps and an introduction by Jocelyn M. Davis, a descendant of Clotilda surviovrs.  The book is divided into eleven sections with a good deal of white space.  Back matter includes the authors' notes on Alabama's Africantown today, a glossary, a guide for pronouncing characters' names, and explantions of the poetic forms used for the characters' voices.  Teachers may be interested in the teaching resources brought together by Project 110 here. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Welcome Back!

 Welcome back!  We are excited about all that we have planned, much of it already underway.  We are pledging to review more regularly this year and excited to introduce you to our new Principal of Passages South in the weeks ahead. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Building Bridges with Public Library Partners

             Bronx Hope students at NYPL's Macomb's Bridge branch,  Photo credit: Jamila Abdulrashid.

As we wind down the school year we hope to build bridges to New York City’s 3  wonderful public libraries for everyone at Passages this spring and summer.  Students at Bronx Hope visited New York Public Library’s Macomb’s Bridge Branch in early May to learn about the services offered there by NYPL  librarian Anisha Huffman, 

Students at Belmont received a visit from librarian Magdalena Johnson of Queens Public Library who delivered library cards, bookmarks, and stickers while teaching students about the service available to them.  And Brooklyn Public Library librarian Johana Lewis sent Brooklyn Public Library cards to all students who registered.  

Students seemed eager to visit recording studios, check out youth spaces in physical library branches, and to use their cards to access Culture Passes,  digital books,  and ebooks through Sora while on home passes or once they return home.  

Thank you to our three public library partners!  And an enormous shout out and thank you to the Queens Library librarians including Ms. Johnson and Ms. Hartman who have made bi-monthly visits to our students at Crossroads where no school library services currently exist.--Jamila Abdulrashid and Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe by Garth Ennis & Jonathan Maberry, Illustrated by Doug Braithwaite & Goran Parlov

 

In this Punisher tale the Avengers and the X-Men save the island of Manhattan from yet another apocalyptic catastrophe. Unfortunately among the collateral damage are Frank Castle’s wife and child.  With nothing left to lose,  and backed by a cabal with unlimited resources, Frank decides to live up to his superhero name and begins to dismantle every superpowered character in the Marvel Universe. 

Each kill brings the Punisher closer to his goal, but pushes Frank Castle further away from his humanity. Will his hunger for vengeance be satisfied, or will it consume him entirely? 

Action-packed from the very start, this collection brings together two storylines in which the Punisher is pitted against the entire Marvel Universe. Readers who enjoy dark, gritty stories, and all fans of the Punisher will find this a compelling read.--Claudio Leon

Ennis, Garth. Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe. New York: Marvel Entertainment LLC, 2024. Print.

Fantastic Four: Solve Everything by Jonathan Hickman, Illustrated by Dale Eaglesham

What is the cost of solving all the problems of the universe to create a world with no hunger, no enmity, and no war?  Mr. Fantastic, one of the most brilliant minds in existence, soon discovers that task carries a price he may not be willing to pay. 

Filled with well-paced action, intertwined timelines, and multi-dimensional travel, Fantastic Four: Solve Everything explores how Marvel’s first family confronts the challenges faced by superpowered individuals tasked with solving galactic-scale problems. 

Readers seeking more than just nonstop action and who would like a deeper insight into the Fantastic Four’s family dynamics should be sure to pick this one up!--Claudio Leon

Hickman, Jonathan. Fantastic Four: Solve Everything. New York: Marvel Entertainment LLC, 2025. Print.

Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls

Anyone interested in history is sure to be riveted by the story of Robert Smalls,  a little-known enslaved African-American sailor who became a true Civil War hero.

Over the course of 4 chapters and 128 pages screenwriter Rob Edwards and a bevy Marvel and DC Comics artists bring this inspiring piece of American history to the attention of today’s audiences.  

Their collective storytelling is framed through a generational lens featuring Robert Smalls himself as the narrator of his heroic story.  The narrative will appeal to history lovers of all ages, fans of the Sixth Gun series, and comic fans reading at middle school levels and above. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls

Edwards, Rob.  Defiant: The Story of Robert Smalls.  Stranger Comics, 2025.