Continuum by Chella Man, illustrations by Ashley Lukashevsky

Continuum by Chella Man, illustrations by Ashley Lukashevsky. Penguin Workshop, Penguin Random House, 2021. 9780593223482

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4

Format: Paperback

Genre:  Memoir

What did you like about the book? Continuum by Chella Man is part of the Pocket Change Collection. The Pocket Collection is a series of small memoirs and ideas from today’s leading activists and artists. In Continuum, Chella Man writes about being a deaf, genderqueer, Jewish person of color. He discusses how he learned over time to embrace his identity and to be comfortable in his own body, in the deaf community, and in the genderqueer community. In very easy-to-understand language, Man discusses how, from an early age, he recognized that he did not fit into the confines based on his gender assigned at birth. This is a very thoughtful and engaging memoir that I would easily recommend to others.

Anything you didn’t like about it? It’s too short!

To whom would you recommend this book? I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a memoir by a trailblazer and activist. If someone were to ask for other books like this one, I would suggest that they look at other books in the Pocket Change Collection. I would also recommend this book to someone who is looking for a memoir that discusses finding happiness and acceptance by embracing one’s true self.

Who should buy this book? High schools and public libraries

Where would you shelve it ? Young Adult Memoirs/Biographies

Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles Absolutely! This book, along with the rest of the Pocket Change Collective, should be read by any librarian and/or educator who works with individuals who are trying to find themselves and their role in the world: TEENS!

Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Whitney Brown, Mansfield Public Library, Mansfield, Massachusetts

Date of review: October 28, 2021