THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 7
LOCAL LITERARY HIGHLIGHTS
bendbulletin.com/goread
RECOMMENDED READING FROM
DESCHUTES PUBLIC LIBRARY
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
“My Day with Gong Gong,”
by Sennah Yee, illustrated
by Elaine Chen
Yee expertly captures the trepidation
many children experience when think-
ing about spending an entire day with
their grandpar-
ents. May and
Gong Gong
don’t speak
the same lan-
guage, which
is something
many children
will relate
to, as adult
speech can
feel foreign
to a child.
While May
is nervous,
what ensues
is a beau-
tiful day
spent lean-
ing about
each other,
in spite of
the language divide and mishaps.
Chen beautifully illustrates May’s emo-
tions, allowing the reader to perfectly
understand what she experiences,
as she builds a relationship with her
grandfather that transcends language
and age. Includes a glossary of trans-
lated terms. Ages 4-7.
“Three Keys,”
by Kelly Yang
In this sequel to “Front Desk,” we
catch up with Mia and her friends,
Lupe and Jason, at the beginning of
the following school year. A new ar-
ray of challenges await: Mia is getting
poor writing grades after working so
hard to improve, Lupe’s mom returns
to Mexico for her grandmother’s fu-
neral, Jason’s dad is having financial
troubles and Proposition 187 is threat-
ening the opportunity for many un-
documented immigrant students to
attend public school. Mia’s huge heart
and eye for opportunity mean adver-
sity is met with growth mindset, posi-
tivity and optimism at every turn. This
novel encourages readers to dream and
act, even when it seems all hope is lost.
“Front D
Desk” is De-
schutes
s
Public
Library’s
L
2021
Youth
Y
Novel
I Idea selection.
A
Ages 8-12.
—Sami Kerzel,
community
librarian
c
TEEN BOOKS
TE
“Miss Meteor,”
“M
by Tehlor Kay
Mejia and
Anna-Marie
A
McLemore
M
The adage “we
Th
are all
a made of
stardust”
stard
takes on
a new and heart-
warming
warm twist in
Tehlor Kay Mejia
and Anne-Marie McLemore’s “Miss
Meteor.” In this Latinx-led coming of
age story, Lita Perez, a girl made of lit-
eral stardust, enlists the help of her
estranged best friend, Chicky Quint-
anilla, to help her pull off the biggest
upset in the history of the annual Me-
teor Regional Pageant and Talent Com-
petition Showcase by being the first
non-thin, non-blond, non-white girl to
win the coveted title of “Miss Meteor.”
Packed with all the drama and fun of
the genre, and a dash of magic, this
heartfelt story about the need one has
to be witnessed and embraced wholly
for who one is makes this the perfect
read for all the outsiders learning to let
their light shine.
“Miss Meteor” is currently avail-
able at Deschutes Public Library as an
e-book or e-audiobook on Libby.
“Beyond the Gender Binary,”
by Alok Vaid-Menon
Pocket Change Collective promises
a series of “small books filled with big
ideas” from today’s leading activists,
and none of these books deliver that
level of clarity and innovation better
than that of writer and performance
artist Alok Vaid-Menon. In “Beyond
the Gender Binary,” Vaid-Menon
weaves anec-
dotes about
their own life
with a suc-
cinct analysis
of the colo-
nial origins
of the gender
binary and the
contradictions
between how
gender non-
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