How I Resist (anthology) edited by Maureen Johnson

How I Resist: Activism and Hope for the Next Generation by Maureen Johnson, Jacqueline Woodson, Malinda Lo, Sabaa Tahir, Jason Reynolds, Libba Bray, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lauren Duca, Justin Mikita, Alex Gino, Hebh Jamal, Javier Munoz, Dylan Marron, Rosie O'Donnell, Junauda Petrus, Jodi Picoult, Karuna Riazi, Maya Rupert, Dana Schwartz, Dan Sinker, Ali Stroker, Johnny Sun, Daniel Watts, Jennifer Weiner, John Paul Brammerer, K.C. Green, Jeffrey Rowland, Shaina Taub, Kate Linnea Welsh
Published by Wednesday Books on May 15th 2018
Genres: Nonfiction, Anthology, Young Adult
Goodreads

An all-star collection of essays about activism and hope, edited by bestselling YA author Maureen Johnson.

Now, more than ever, young people are motivated to make a difference in a world they're bound to inherit. They're ready to stand up and be heard - but with much to shout about, where they do they begin? What can I do? How can I help?

How I Resist is the response, and a way to start the conversation. To show readers that they are not helpless, and that anyone can be the change. A collection of essays, songs, illustrations, and interviews about activism and hope, How I Resist features an all-star group of contributors, including, John Paul Brammer, Libba Bray, Lauren Duca, Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita, Alex Gino, Hebh Jamal, Malinda Lo, Dylan Marron, Hamilton star Javier Muñoz, Rosie O'Donnell, Junauda Petrus, Jodi Picoult, Jason Reynolds, Karuna Riazi, Maya Rupert, Dana Schwartz, Dan Sinker, Ali Stroker, Jonny Sun (aka @jonnysun), Sabaa Tahir, Daniel Watts, Jennifer Weiner, Jacqueline Woodson, and more, all edited and compiled by New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

In How I Resist, readers will find hope and support through voices that are at turns personal, funny, irreverent, and instructive. Not just for a young adult audience, this incredibly impactful collection will appeal to readers of all ages who are feeling adrift and looking for guidance.

How I Resist is the kind of book people will be discussing for years to come and a staple on bookshelves for generations.

I received a copy of this book for review. This does not influence my thoughts on this book or this review.

With a list of contributors as awesome as the one above, I knew I’d have to give this one a read. While How I Resist is definitely aimed at a teenage audience, I think there’s parts of it that are perfect for adults too.

One thing that I think is super important in anthologies is the order of the pieces. Reading How I Resist, it was clear that Johnson put a lot of time into thinking about the order of the pieces and it really works. The first few pieces were definitely riveting and more on the creative side, with a few interviews interspersed. The placement of the pieces worked super well, and I really liked Karuna Riazi’s ending.

While I do recommend it, the length of the entire anthology is so much shorter than I expected. With an all-star contributor list like that, I think that some pieces could’ve been longer. A few of the pieces were only a page in length and I definitely skimmed over the more practical stuff like “how to call your reps” or Johnny Sun’s piece on how to read media (since that’s stuff I already know how to do). I think that stuff passed me by only because I am not the target age audience, which I understand is more of a personal thing vs. a problem with the collection itself.

Overall, if you’re looking for an inspiring collection with bits of informational necessities in it, then I highly recommend How I Resist.