Tragically beautiful reminder that we all need to remember more and more given what is napping in the US today.

This one is taking me forever to get through. Partially because I am prepping to teach a new Irish Lit elective but also because Little Bee's experience is so foreign to my own: an illegal immigrant fleeing from a war torn home where her entire family has been killed. But that difference is why it is so important to read.

Piecing Me Together explores race via the perspective of Jade, a young African American girl from an impoverished Portland neighborhood attending a private high school on a full scholarship. A unique read in that explores race in the standard ways while also tackling things most of us have never considered, from diets and eating to perceptions of "opportunities" that exist for young women like Jade.