Concrete Kids

Starred review from August 1, 2020
Grades 7-12 *Starred Review* The Pocket Change Collective series (2 new titles) invites young activists to share their stories, their causes, and, in many cases, their art with teen readers. Poet, playwright, and singer Amyra Leon, 26, infuses her work with her experiences rooted in Black womanhood, raising awareness through her words and performances. With Concrete Kids, she utilizes poetry to tell the story of her childhood, touching on the foster care system, abuse, poverty, racism, and gun violence?yet still finding beauty in herself, her community, and the love of her found family. Leon's powerful book will embolden readers find their own ways of speaking out against injustice. These slim, pocket-sized paperbacks?both penned by women of color?contain volumes, and teens will soak up the passion spilling from their pages.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

August 15, 2020
A beautiful, heart-rending poetry collection about a childhood steeped in loss and love. Using free verse and her own lived experience, Le�n tells readers a story through the lens of a mixed-race girl, from her years as a young child to being a teenager, going from life with her White birth mother--never having met her Black father--to being in foster care, getting adopted by her Puerto Rican mother, and moving to pre-gentrified Harlem. Captured in this collection is the sense of community among people bonded by a shared culture as much as by proximity and class. Captivating descriptions of rituals celebrating the living and mourning lives gone highlight the resilience needed in order to not just move on, but survive. Le�n describes with gripping honesty the heartbreak of being separated from one's mother, the trauma of enduring violence at the hands of those who are supposed to care for you, and the bittersweet feeling of being adopted and finding a sense of belonging outside of one's biological parentage. Readers will be left feeling sorrowful and yet hopeful by this story of how to live when death surrounds you and how to define and dream of freedom when freedom seems like a privilege bestowed on others who don't look like you. A moving, inspiring love letter to and about "the concrete kids. The kids with a melanin kiss." (Verse memoir. 12-18)

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Starred review from December 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-The "Pocket Change Collective" series invites passionate, diverse voices to share stories of social justice. Musician, playwright, and activist Le�n's compelling free verse memoir bursts at the seams with despair, determination, and hope. Drawing on her personal experiences, Le�n gives a voice to the foster care system, systematic racism, and what it means to be a Black girl moving through the world. The text centers on her childhood as a mixed-race girl in Harlem after being removed from the care of her white biological mother. The poems explore the joy of finding a loving adoptive parent, the trauma of watching a Black boy get shot and killed from her own stoop, and the bittersweet rituals that surround the mourning of Black people who died of "unnatural causes / That we rarely discuss." Though the format feels somewhat contrived and may pose circulation challenges for libraries, this title packs a mighty punch in a small package. VERDICT A raw and complex free verse exploration of self-love, Blackness, womanhood, and healing. A timely, essential purchase for all young adult collections.-Allison Staley, Lake Oswego P.L., OR

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