This is why I chose to digitally journal about Hands this morning, a middle-grade novel written by Torrey Maldonado that is due to debut in a few more months. Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, sent me an advanced copy and as soon as it arrived, I knew I wanted to read it (okay. I stopped everything). Why? (1) Because I met the author right before Covid hit, (2) He continues to write while still in the classroom, and (3) most importantly, he gets kids, especially those he teaches and he grew up with. Maldonado is bringing forward the stories and thoughts that come from being alive and engaged in the world, especially for young men.
Every time I talk with Torrey Maldonado I'm fascinated by the power of his voice and the enormity of his presence. I'm also amazed by how he captures this same voice, a good 20+ years younger, within the young male characters he crafts on the page...this, all while making sense of becoming an adult.
I'm a Muhammad Ali fan, as I have Louisville in my teaching blood - in fact, I did the Louisville Writing Project at Central High School where Cassius Clay attended and I was at the museum when we hosted its grand opening (a black tie affair, and one of my prouder moments as a teacher). I should note I'm also a Star Wars nerd and know when the force is thick, as it has always been for Torrey Maldonado and his books. I have a large hook in my chest that is always pulling me forward --- The Great Whatever...and within seconds of meeting this writer I knew there was much more to come (queue three green fingers waving negative juju out of the way).
Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud. Great advice given by Trev's mom, the main character in Hands...and the same advice heard by all the village men who are there for him while he processes and makes sense of his world.
Promises and promises. Families make promises and some kids simply have promise. I promise.
I have vivid memories of my grandmother and the wisdom she invested in my sisters and me, including the hand game we played when visiting her, following her lead on the power they hold. We waved them above our head in unison as she spoke of the importance of doing something good with them. This morning, I'm focusing and positioning my hula hoop on the stars that bathed in Loch Lebanon (Lebanon Reservoir). (Note: as part of CWP-Fairfield's collaboration with Weir Farm National Historical Park we handed out hula hoops as one way to focus on "a scene" and explore from there). My grandmother taught me to journal, to record, to imagine, and more importantly to create. "You can't pick your nose with a closed fist," she'd instruct. She was "write." Hands are powerful when open and delivering the world to others. An open hand is better than a clenched fist to punch someone or a tense hand getting ready to pull a trigger.
Do we ball our hands into fists and prove how tough we are or do we, as my grandmother taught me, invest our phalanges into the artistry of the world? That's a tough question to ask an early adolescent, but exactly what Torrey Maldonado does with Hands. It is quick, short, provocative, and pre-made for rich conversations to have with young people, especially when they feel the need to posture themselves as the tough guy who can take care of business. Sometimes being tough takes immeasurable inner strength.
It takes integrity to achieve.
I am looking forward to teaching Hands to the young people I work with and already have it on order for the Martin Luther King Leadership Academy at Fairfield University in February...100+ teens are coming to our campus and they will love this gift.
Similar to Tight, What Lane?, Secret Saturdays, and essays Torrey Maldonado has written in several anthologies, Hands needs to be in the palms of middle-grade readers. It's a book that fights to respect middle school agency. It involves the reader, encourages them to do what's right, while it nourishes the soul. Even better, it develops critical thinking, and stands for what kids prefer to read - a phenomenal story written for them.
Perhaps that's why reading my F.R.I.E.N.D. is such a joy. Yoda loves the Maldonadorian armor, too. Ribbit Ribbit.
Another MLK-inspired text...hands-down.