Rising Class

January 1, 2023
Journalist Miller follows three first-generation college students through the 2019-2020 academic year and beyond. All are politically liberal from low-income backgrounds and conservative areas. Briani, the daughter of a Dominican mother and undocumented Mexican father, left Lawrenceville, Georgia, for the Ivy League: New York's Columbia University. Conner and Jacklynn, a White couple, navigate a rocky long-distance relationship; Conner attends Columbia, while Jacklynn attends community college back home in Ozark, Missouri. The evergreen challenges of making friends, dealing with homesickness, and managing heavy workloads are compounded by additional stressors, including impostor syndrome, pressure to make parents' sacrifices count, and the gulfs between their backgrounds and those of their more privileged--and occasionally oblivious--classmates. Conner and Jacklynn discuss growing up with family members who experience mental illness and addiction. The Trump administration's harsh rhetoric and policies around immigration figure frankly in Briani's poignant discussions of racism and her parents' political conservatism. Family members' supportive and occasionally opposing viewpoints illustrate the complex ways that being a first-generation student affects the whole family. Interspersed news headlines detail the arrival of Covid-19, which further highlights economic inequalities and upends the trio's educations, and the protests surrounding George Floyd's murder, which highlight racial inequality. Though the frequent perspective and topic shifts occasionally feel disjointed, they also reflect a chaotic year rife with tough issues. The book ends on a hopeful note, emphasizing the students' resilience. Many students will feel seen; others will find their eyes opened. (author's note) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

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February 6, 2023
Three first-generation college students maneuver university orientation jitters, social and identity-based clubs, FAFSA applications, and more in this eye-opening narrative nonfiction work by journalist Miller, told chronologically from the summer of 2019 into 2020. Missouri natives Connor and Jacklynn, a teenage white couple, struggle to keep their long-distance relationship alive via Skype, text conversations, and hours-long marathons of Minecraft while Jacklynn attends a local community college and Connor heads to Columbia University. Meanwhile, Briani, a Dominican and Mexican scholarship student from Lawrenceville, Ga., also attending Columbia, is hyperaware of her classmates’ comparative privilege. She worries about not measuring up to them financially, and feels pressured to put up a front to fit in. The students’ social and academic anxieties are heightened by national goings-on, such as increased protests against police brutality and the arrival of Covid-19 in the U.S. Brief, accessibly narrated alternating chapters interwoven with newspaper headlines provide glimpses into the teens’ daily lives. By foregrounding the trio’s raw emotions and visceral reactions to current affairs, Miller highlights the intense uncertainty faced by teens trying to navigate life-changing situations amid traumatizing social crises. A follow-up with the students concludes. Ages 12–up. Agent: Mollie Glick, Creative Artists Agency.

February 15, 2023
Grades 10-12 Journalist Miller investigates three individuals as they commence their first year of college at the brink of the pandemic. Briani is a Latina from Lawrenceville, Georgia; Connor and Jacklyn (who present as white) originate from Springfield, Missouri. Briani and Connor attend Columbia University while Jaclyn commutes to Ozark Technical Community College. All three are the first in their families to go to college but face distinct social-class struggles. While the outside world may have preconceived notions about them (often biased ones), these students carry invisible scars, such as anxiety, family issues, financial insecurity and, now, COVID-19. Miller's book sheds light on costly tuition rates and resource disparities, particularly at Ivy League institutions. She also does a thorough job of researching her subjects, exposing the highlights and pitfalls freshman year can hold. Readers of diverse economic backgrounds and those who have been impacted by the pandemic schooling system will find something to relate to with Briani, Connor, and Jacklyn.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2023

Gr 9 Up-This is a wonderfully pieced together narrative of three students' experiences as first-generation college students in the midst of a pandemic. Though the focus is not on the pandemic itself, the lives of the students are obviously impacted from the unsettled state of the world during 2020 and beyond. The flow and organization of this informative book allow readers to get immersed in the lives of each of the three students, their friends, and families. Readers will often find their hearts aching and want to help these students as they share intimate and vulnerable parts of their experience. This will not only inform prospective students of a small variety of options and experiences, but provides a very deep dive into those three experiences. For educators, this will also serve to inform them of tribulations that many students, not just first-generation students, encounter throughout their high school senior year, as well as the first year of higher education. VERDICT A great auxiliary purchase for any high school library and professional collections.-Samantha Hull

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