Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices

Perkins, Mitali

ISBN 10: 1480518565 ISBN 13: 9781480518568

Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio, 2013

Synopsis

Using humor as the common denominator, a multicultural cast of YA authors steps up to the mic to share stories touching on race.

Listen in as ten YA authors—some familiar, some new—use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Henry Choi Lee discovers that pretending to be a tai chi master or a sought-after wiz at math wins him friends for a while—until it comically backfires. A biracial girl is amused when her dad clears seats for his family on a crowded subway in under a minute flat, simply by sitting quietly in between two uptight white women. Edited by acclaimed author and speaker Mitali Perkins, this collection of fiction and nonfiction uses a mix of styles as diverse as their authors, from laugh-out-loud funny to wry, ironic, or poingnant, in prose, poetry, and comic form.

About this title

About the Author

Mitali Perkins is the author of numerous books for teens and younger readers, including Monsoon Summer and Secret Keeper. She was born in India and immigrated to the United States with her parents and two sisters when she was seven. Bengali-style, her and her sisters’ names all rhyme: Sonali means “gold,” Rupali means “silver,” and Mitali means “friendly.” About Open Mic, she says, “Humor crosses borders like no other literary device. Shared laughter fosters community and gets us talking about issues that might otherwise cause division or discomfort.” Mitali Perkins lives with her husband just outside Boston.

Reviews

Gr 6–10—Perkins introduces her new anthology with guidelines for telling humorous stories about life between cultures: good humor pokes fun at the powerful, builds affection for the 'other,' and is self-deprecatory. Perkins reads her own contribution, which describes the agony of teenage dating, a shared American experience that's complicated by the need for secrecy from her FOB ("fresh off the boat") parents. Nine other YA writers, from a variety of backgrounds, explore the theme in fiction, poetry, and a personal essay in graphic format. On audio, six actors competently convey the humor, which ranges from witty to funny to hilarious. Listeners, however, will miss the unspoken emotion expressed in the visual storytelling of Gene Yang's "Why I Won't Be Watching the Last Airbender Movie." The work concludes with an evocative poem by Naomi Shihab Nye, who honors her peace-loving Palestinian father and her own biracial identity: "half-baked, mix of East and West, balancing flavors…" as do many American students today.—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick on Brilliance Audio
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1480518565
• ISBN 13: 9781480518568
• Binding: Audio CD