School Library Journal Review
| Gr 3--7--Tisby, who continues here as his own narrator, is a patient, thoughtful reader, remaining consistently gracious even when discussing egregious history and contemporary injustice. Tisby gets immediately personal, introducing his younger self when he realized that the predominantly white school had "all the nice stuff" while his mostly Black and brown school had "all the broken-down stuff." With relentless headlines about anti-Black police brutality, white supremacy, racial profiling, and worse, Tisby is forced to get real: "our world is broken." To "fix what needs to be fixed," he's ready with an antidotal model: "the ARC of Racial Justice"--Awareness, Relationships, Commitment. While Tisby draws often on his Christian beliefs, his religion never proves alienating. VERDICT "Words…can be used as weapons to beat people up or as bandages to help people heal"--Tisby's informative kindness pushes listeners to be better. |
