New Crayons=New Books

New Crayons is a meme hosted by Color Online. In this meme we post about what new books we got for the week. The books come from the library, purchases, friends or publishers. Crayons is the metaphor susan came up with for multicultural literature and it fits so well.

I've decided to include what member of the CO staff got what, in order to avoid confusion.


This week Ari got....

Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran by Azadeh Moaveni


Azadeh Moaveni was born in Palo Alto, California, into the lap of an Iranian diaspora community longing for an Iran many thousands of miles away. As far back as she can remember she felt at odds with her tangled identity. College magnified the clash between Iran and America, and after graduating, she moved to Tehran as a journalist. Immediately, Azadeh's exile fantasies dissolved.

Azadeh finds a country that is culturally confused, politically deadlocked, and emotionally anguished. In order to unlock the fundamental mystery of Iran-how nothing perceptibly alters, but everything changes--she must delve deep into Tehran's edgy underground. Lipstick Jihad is a rare portrait of Tehran, populated by a cast of young people whose exuberance and despair bring the modern reality of Iran to vivid life. Azadeh also reveals her private struggle to build a life in a dark country--the struggle of a young woman of the diaspora, searching for a homeland that may not exist.

When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer

Release Date: November 23, 2010

A dancer driven to succeed.

A musical prodigy attempting to escape his past.

The summer they share.

And the moment it all goes wrong.

Dance is Soledad Reyes’s life. About to graduate from Miami’s Biscayne High School for the Performing Arts, she plans on spending her last summer at home teaching in a dance studio, saving money, and eventually auditioning for dance companies. That is, until fate intervenes in the form of fellow student Jonathan Crandall who has what sounds like an outrageous proposition: Forget teaching. Why not spend the summer performing in the intense environment of the competitive drum and bugle corps? The corps is going to be performing Carmen, and the opportunity to portray the character of the sultry gypsy proves too tempting for Soledad to pass up, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with Jonathan, who intrigues her in a way no boy ever has before.

But in an uncanny echo of the story they perform every evening, an unexpected competitor for Soledad's affections appears: Taz, a member of an all-star Spanish soccer team. One explosive encounter later Soledad finds not only her relationship with Jonathan threatened, but her entire future as a professional dancer. (I'm currently reading this and it's SO GOOD. Definitely a book to get as soon as it's released)

Amigas series by Veronica Chambers, crated by Jane Startz, inspired by Jennifer Lopez (I received #s 1-3 in the series)

Amigas #1: Fifteen Candles (Summary of the first book)

Four friends. One sweet fifteen. Miami is heating up!

Miami, Florida, has it all--beaches, boys, sun, and fun. It also has quinceneras. Lots of them! The fantastic parties thrown for Latina girls turning fifteen are a staple of the Miami social scene. For Alicia Cruz and her three best friends--Carmen, Jamie, and Gaz--they are just part of the background of summer.

But this summer, things are going to change. After meeting Sarita, a new girl in town, at her internship, Alicia ends up volunteering to help organize Sarita's quince. She also volunteers her friends. Soon Alicia is drowning in preparation and turning into a quincezilla--and it isn't even her party! But there is just so much to do--there are shoes to be bought, dances to choreograph, and then there is Gaz. He is being flirtier than usual with Alicia and she's not sure what to do. It seems like Alicia is dangerously close to losing her friends...and her mind! Will she learn to trust her amigas and rock the party?

This week Doret got....

Side by Side/Lado A Lado: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesa Chavez/La historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez by Monica Brown, illustrated by Joe Cepeda

Every day, thousands of farmworkers harvested the food that ended up on kitchen tables all over the country. But at the end of the day, when the workers sat down to eat, there were only beans on their own tables. Then Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez teamed up. Together they motivated the workers to fight for their rights and, in the process, changed history.

Award-winning author Monica Brown and acclaimed illustrator Joe Cepeda join together to create this stunning tribute to two of the most influential people of the twentieth century.

All summaries from Amazon.com

What PoC books did you get this week? Please leave a link to your own New Crayons post in the comments!