How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation

Candor and passion radiate from the 30 voices raised in this trenchant and timely compendium of interviews, essays, reflections, illustrations, and poems. Representing a range of ethnicities, sexual orientations, professional achievements, and—most intriguingly—personalities, the contributors share their own experiences encountering, and countering, various forms of injustice, and encourage readers to speak out and act against the same. The collection encompasses the contemplative (novelist Rebecca Roanhorse writes, “Live authentic to who you are.... Because you being you is the most powerful kind of resistance of all”) to the practical (Rock the Vote’s president Carolyn DeWitt pinpoints five ways that teens can engage in politics before they turn 18). Profound frustration with the Trump administration stokes the emotional quotient of numerous entries, including that of Javier Muñoz, who played the title role in Hamilton on Broadway. Readers will also hear notes of hope about their generation’s power to effect change, expressed eloquently, if conditionally, by author Jason Reynolds: “there’s a generational groundswell of young people who together are impenetrable—if all of us are doing our jobs by giving them the necessary legs.” This volume takes an assured step in that direction. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kate Testerman, KT Literary. (May)