Amber McBride

The first half of Gone Wolf is a bleak Afro-Futurist version of life in the Bible Boot after a second Civil War splits the United States again. Inmate Eleven is a Blue in the capital city of Elite, where Clones (whites) rule, and Blues are enslaved, but everyone is fed on falsehoods and lies (sometimes via Bible Boot Learning Flash Cards) to perpetuate white supremacy. Blue and President Tuba's successor, Larkin, escape from the Bible Boot to a civil rights rally, where Larkin collapses, show more coughing.

The second half of the book is set in Charlottesville, VA, in 2022, where Imogen is seeing a fourth doctor. This doctor encourages Imogen to tell her story: the story of Inmate Eleven, who is infused with Imogen's own autobiographical details, like her dog/wolf Ira, her foster brothers Kin and Lark, and the pandemic that swept the world and took them away from her.

See also: The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

Quotes

"You are not being punished. This is just the way things are." (the lady in blue/Dr. Abby, 13)

"Sacrifices must be made for peace." Sometimes I feel like she should sacrifice something, but that is the thing. I feel too much. I feel so blue. (18)

Hate is illegal in the Bible Boot. Everyone lives peacefully. (flash card, 25)

Funny how quickly things become okay. (65)

It is sometimes hard not to cry, because I feel so much. (76)

"An Overseer, Inmate Eleven, is someone who teaches you." (Larkin in front of President Tuba, 93)

...I do ask a lot of questions, but just because I want to understand. (104)

That kind of sadness wears on the soul and shows on the skin. There is a word for it - generational trauma. (Truth Tubman/Inmate Sixteen letter to Inmate Eleven, 124)

"I don't know a lot about outside but I don't think people are made for things." (Imogen to Larkin, 137)

It is hard to pretend when you can't unsee something. (148)

"We should use the truth, and not what is easy." (167)

"You have to forgive and sometimes you have to forgive the same person many times."
I am working on forgiving as a verb. (192)

Voices are important...but faces tell entire stories. (196)

...history repeats itself when we forget to remember it correctly. When facts are changed and lies make people afraid, the hate can come back. (King, 199)

How many mistakes can one country make?
How much forgiveness is there? (200)

Dr. Lovingood wants me to deal with all the truth, but sometimes the truth feels like an extra-large piece of bubble gum that I can't keep chewing, because it hurts my jaw too much and makes me cry. (207)

"Sometimes stories tell us something true even if the story is not all the way true." (Dr. Lovingood to Imogen, talking about griots and the African storytelling culture, 209)

African Americans used storytelling to record history and document what happened to them while enslaved. Without this oral tradition, many truths about the American South might have been lost to history.
Slavery was abolished in 1865, which means slavery has only been illegal for 155 years. Owning human beings was legal for over 350 years in the United States... (Black History for Kids, 215)

Yesterday, I learned a new term: cognitive dissonance. It means thinking two opposite things at once. Mama taught me the term when we were watching the news. (235) show less

Trigger Warnings: physical abuse, racism, bullying, death, mental health - depression

Moth lost her mother, father, and brother when their car split in half like a candy bar. Now she lives with her aunt but she feels deeply alone and unnoticed.

Then one day, she meets Sani, a boy battling depression and searching for his roots, and hoping that finding those will help him understand the static in his mind. If Moth can help him, maybe she can understand her own history. They decide to go on a show more road trip together to find out.

A YA novel told in verse, Me (Moth) is about identity, first love, and what holds us together.

What a beautiful, heartbreaking story. Both Moth and Sani and their stories will stay with me for a very long time. Amber McBride did wonderful writing these characters so they dug into your heart to stay there. McBride also did an amazing job at including Navajo and Hoodoo culture and blending them together through Moth and Sani.

This book will sit among the titles of The Poet X, The Crossover, and Long Way Down, just you wait, it is that special! It’s a fast read that will break your heart and stitch it back together, all while you learn and grow with Moth and Sani.

I borrowed this from my public library, but I’m adding it to my list to get myself my own copy so I can reread it again, and again, and again. Teens and adults will both be mesmerized by this emotionally beautiful novel-in-verse. show less

The poetry in Poemhood is gorgeous. I loved the variety of themes and authors, and how the editors wove them all into volumes to create a sort of "wave" or "arc" between the poems. Given that it is geared toward a YA audience, this would be a perfect collection to study, even parts of, in school. The poems themselves, as well as the way they are organized, encourages the reader to explore deeper into the history of the poems and cultural significance of the various elements presented.

I was show more quite conflicted on the outros, however. Some of them were wonderful and provided context behind why/how the author wrote that poem, while others simply restated the poem itself or seemed to be a bit prescriptive in meaning. show less

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on audiobook from the library.

Thoughts: This is a beautiful magical realism type of book that is written in prose. It was a stunning listen and I really enjoyed it. It has a lot of impact for the shorter length. It's about a girl named Moth, who is the only survivor of a car crash that kills her whole family. She is trying to navigate high school after this tragedy and this is when she meets Sani. Sani is a beautiful boy with a show more troubled home life and a beautiful voice. Over the summer, the two end up on a road trip that will hopefully heal their broken souls and help them grow.

This story deals with a ton of heavy topics; survivor's guilt, grief, depression and the injustices done to the American Indian population. It is written in amazingly beautiful prose and the imagery is fantastic. The choice of words and phrasing do a perfect job of conveying the emotion in this story. There are some excellent twists in the story as well that will keep you wondering and guessing.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I picked this up on a whim and ended up really enjoying it. This brief novella in prose captures a lot of heavy topics and emotion and does an amazing job telling a beautiful story of magic and growth. I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are in the mood for something poetic, a bit painful, and truly beautiful. show less