The end of the world is upon us, and you’ll only survive if you’re useful. But who gets to decide if what you can offer is important enough?
That’s the question facing 16-year-old Denise in the young adult novel On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis. A comet is on track to hit Earth, causing devestation not seen since the dinosaurs were wiped off the planet. If you’re wealthy and connected, you’ve bought a spot on a “generation ship” set to colonize another planet. If you’re not – like Denise – you’ve been assigned to a temporary shelter and after a few days, you’ll be on your own.
As the impact nears, Denise and her mom stumble upon a different kind of ship, one that will take people with practical skills that will help the community survive. There are doctors, engineers, computer scientists, teachers. Denise is desperate to prove they deserve a spot. But she’s a teen with autism whose inability to read social cues or handle change often causes her problems. And her mom is struggling with drug addiction. Can they convince the ship’s community that they’re worth saving?
This science fiction thriller has some exciting action sequences, and could easily be turned into a gripping television series or movie. In fact, when it ended, I wanted a sequel so I could find out what happens next to all of the characters. The book also raises thought-provoking questions about identity and purpose. The author is autistic, so her depictions of the sensory issues and meltdowns that Denise endures are honest, accurate and valuable for those not familiar with the challenges. There are also several LGBTQ characters, including Denise’s trans sister and a lesbian couple on the ship. So in addition to being an action-packed story, it provides representation for some groups that are often sidelined or restricted to just “issue” books.
Too often, when people think of Africa, they think of it as one big place, not the dozens of individual and unique countries that make up the continent. Or maybe they come up with generic images: lions on the savannah, slave ships teeming with misery, or famine and civil war.
None of these is the full picture.
As Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once said in a widely quoted TED talk, there is a danger to just one story. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete,” she said. “They make one story become the only story.”
I read a lot and consider myself pretty open-minded, but when a colleague recommended one of this author’s novels last summer, I realized that I knew very little about Africa – especially contemporary Africa. In the ensuing months, I read the book she suggested and two others that took me deep into the culture of Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. I learned that this one country alone has more stories than I ever imagined.
Some may wonder, why does it matter? Africa is so far away; it doesn’t really impact our daily lives. Of course, there’s the danger of a single story – when we know little about a country or people, we default to stereotypes, and stereotypes make it hard for us to empathize. Empathy not only makes us better people, it prepares us – in this interconnected world – for the eventual encounters we are likely to have.
Also, what is happening in Nigeria – the conflict between ethnic groups, city life versus village life, the clash of economic and social classes, climate change issues, and emigration in hopes of a better life – is taking place in a lot of countries. These issues are changing our world, and we need to know something about them.
Finally, reading about this faraway place reminds me that things such as love, family and growing up are universal. The rituals and circumstances experienced in each society may be different, but emotions and relationships are very relatable.
This review covers three books, starting with Americanah by Adichie, recommended by former HHS English teacher Mrs. Pavao. The story follows Ifemelu and Obinze, teens in love when they leave Nigeria for better opportunities. Ifemelu heads to America, where she struggles with what it means to be Black, African, and an immigrant in a country divided by race. Obinze, barred from the United States, ends up an undocumented immigrant in England. Their vastly different experiences impact their relationship and, ultimately, their ideas of identity and home. I loved how the book explored so many angles and issues, and I rooted for Ifemelu to find happiness.
Next I read The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, suggested by English teacher Mrs. Doyle. Adunni is a 14-year-old village girl who dreams of getting an education when her father promises her as the third wife of an old man. Faced with abuse in the arranged marriage, Adunni flees to the wealthy capital city. There, she finds work in the home of a cruel businesswoman and her preying husband. Adunni dreams of using her voice to improve her own situation and help other Nigerian girls. Through every heartache, she never gives up hope. I was right there with her hoping for a happy ending. Some readers may struggle with the dialect; Adunni’s English is very rough at the start of the story and improves as she grows older and more educated. But if you can stick with it, it’s worth it.
Finally, I returned to Adichie with Half of a Yellow Sun, which senior Elsa Little-Girl raved about. This is more historical, taking place before and during a civil war in the 1960s. Conflict between different ethnic groups leads to a massacre and war, which we experience through the lives of five unique characters: a servant boy from a small village, the university professor he works for, a young woman who prefers the intellectual life to that of her upper class parents, her bold twin sister, and a white Englishman visiting the country. I had my favorite characters, but I was fascinated by how their lives intertwined. It was a compelling way to tell the story of a society torn by civil war.
Sometimes there’s a gap between what we feel we should read and what we want to read. If you fear these books may seem “meaningful” but too much work, rest assured; they’re also really good stories.
It’s often said that absence makes the heart grow fonder. And as members of the Hanover High School band felt the crisp air of a recent Friday night while standing silently in formidable formation on the field, those words rang true. There’s magic in band, and what makes it truly magical is how the HHS band has pulled through the challenge that has been COVID-19. With pride, we stand. With strength, we return.
“Please welcome back to the field, the Pride of Hanover!”
With Thanksgiving break wrapping up Autumn 2021, the marching band will finish its season with one final performance at the Hanover-Norwell football game on Thanksgiving Day. But before the band leaves in the early morning to perform that day, members will likely reflect on the hours and hours of sacrifice and strife that have led to the day’s opening notes. It all started back in March 2020, which may be scary to realize was around a year and some change ago: the era of no band.
The band takes the field at a football game this fall.
Well, no tangible band. Band continued through remote school in spring 2020 as most of my classes did, with students turning in assignments and becoming dangerously independent. While it wasn’t the best, it was something that should be respected given the quick thinking. Our assignments from Mr. Harden focused on practicing sight-reading or even fun games like plotting a field show. However, we weren’t together, it wasn’t the same. So by the end of that year, my first of high school, I was able to see what band was like, but not get the full experience.
Coming into sophomore year, things were different, and that became clear very quickly. No band camp, and just half of the band together during outdoor classes, was a lukewarm welcome into the year, but something we took with a smile. When it got colder, our cohort moved inside to the auditorium, where there was just enough room for us with ten feet spacing. While we were spread out, we played together but we were distant. We recorded separate parts to come to a whole, played over video for virtual audiences, but we were never whole in the first place. Band 2021 was a more normal year, we had our groups, but still were stranded.
Excited for Band Day at UMass Amherst!
Until the calendar announced the start of the current school year, that is. This year has brought so many good opportunities. This year we were able to practice during band camp, and it was perfect. We were able to play in the band room again, together. It took what felt like ages, but we were able to perform for a crowd again with the return of Friday night football, a trip to Band Day at UMass Amherst in October, and a cabaret showcase in the HHS caf.
Our field show this year has a theme of love to it, and also a message to love life before it flies by. I believe that our show illustrates through music how we as a society can finally come together again.
That also shows through our formations for the opening song Can’t Help Falling in Love. At the start, everyone is scattered, much like the beginning of COVID life. Then as we play, we march into sections of our instruments, similar to how we were last year, together but not whole. We found a group, but not a united family. Then moments later, the small groups unite and march together with pride. Not only is it cool and a powerful moment of the show, it also has its symbolism. Now that we march together, we do so striding forward with strength. We as a band made it through a long period of confusion, and now as we prepare for the Thanksgiving game, there is a lesson I have learned: Pride is a feeling, and it’s a magic.
To view a recording of the Cabaret showcase from October 21, which features the HHS band and a variety of student talent, click here.
Brynn and Mia are 13-years-old when they’re accused of killing their best friend, Summer. The brutal ritualized murder was inspired by a fantasy story the trio was obsessed with, according to police. When lack of evidence and shoddy police work allow the girls to go free, they are outcasts in their town, considered by neighbors to be evil incarnate.
Except, they claim, they didn’t do it. And five years later, they’re determined to clear their names and find the real killer.
This is the plot of Broken Things by Lauren Oliver, a mystery/thriller that will keep you glued to the page. As the story alternates between then and now, you learn more about the victim Summer, whose years bouncing around foster homes left her troubled and turbulent. You get to know Mia and Brynn and why they were drawn to the exciting, but often toxic, friendship. You dive into the fantasy story the girls tried to recreate, both in their afterschool adventures and fan fiction they wrote together. You meet ex-boyfriends, bus drivers and other characters and wonder what role they played – if not in the murder then in the drama surrounding Summer’s final months.
The book leaves you guessing until the heartbreaking reveal. It is then that you realize that the book is not just a mystery, but a tragedy.
Not just one murder, but thirteen are at the heart of The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur. Hwani and Maewol are children when they get lost in the woods and are found, unconscious, next to the body of a dead young woman. The girls are impacted in vastly different ways and the family is torn apart. Years later, after 13 other girls are missing and presumed dead, Hwani’s detective father tries to investigate. Instead, he disappears as well. Defying the norms of a culture that require young ladies to stay hidden at home while they await marriage (it’s Korea, in the 1400s), Hwani sets out to find her father and solve the mystery of the missing girls.
While I enjoy historical fiction, I normally read books set in more recent history. I’m not usually drawn to stories of maidens and emperors. Yet the conflict at this book is timeless – girls fighting the expectations of an oppressive society – and the mystery is engaging. Whenever I thought I figured out the story, a new twist would arise.
For more mysteries, check out the Genre Lists at hhsmchugh.weebly.com
The HHS Drama Department is excited to announce that this year’s main stage musical will be Spamalot, The Musical! Spamalot is a comedic show based on the 1975 movie Monty Python and The Holy Grail, which was adapted for Broadway in 2005. This show twists the legend of Camelot and King Arthur’s journey to find the Holy Grail, a mythical cup said to grant eternal life. Arthur looks for knights who can join him on his quest, and along the way, finds groups of hysterical characters. HHS drama and music teachers – Mr. Fahey, Mr. Wade, and Mr. Harden – are looking for talented vocalists, actors, dancers, and crew members to help make this show a success!
“We chose to do Spamalot this year for a few different reasons,” Mr. Fahey said. “Spamalot has a decent size cast with flexible casting opportunities, great opportunities for technical elements, and many hilarious characters which the audience may, or may not be, familiar with. We love Monty Python and we’re very excited to bring this wacky, fun show to life this year! “
Auditions for Spamalot, The Musical will be held November 16 from 3:30-6 pm in the HHS auditorium. Callbacks will be November 17, 3:30-6 pm. Rehearsals will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 6-8 pm and will increase as the performance date nears. Mr. Fahey expects the show will be staged in February.
For any questions or for more information, please reach out to Mr. Faherty, Mr. Wade, or Mr. Harden.
When you go to the library or a local bookstore, can you find books where you see a reflection of yourself? Are there books that feature characters who look and sound like you, who live where you do, whose experiences are similar to what you’ve gone through?
These books are often called “mirrors,” important to help people feel valued, understood and represented in their communities. Every library strives to include “mirrors” for diverse populations – based not just on race and ethnicity but also religion, sexual identity, learning differences, disabilities, economic factors, health issues and more. For people outside of these populations, these “mirrors” become “windows,” allowing a look into someone else’s world. While mirrors validate ourselves, windows help us build empathy and tolerance for others.
The HHS Library has a display of “window and mirror” books for Inclusive Schools Week, and has focused on adding more diverse perspectives in recent years to reflect national conversations about race, equal rights and tolerance. The publishing industry, though, still has a long way to go before it truly represents the makeup of our country. According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, which tracks new books each year, half of all children’s books published still feature white characters. In 2018, animals, trucks and other inanimate objects were featured more often than four other ethnicities combined. Those figures focus on race, but experts say the issues are the same with books about LGBTQ and other perspectives. As depicted in the infographic, this results in large mirrors for some populations and a sliver of representation for others.
Organizations like We Need Diverse Books are working to change the publishing industry, as are young influencers using social media such as BookTok to post reviews. You can help by stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new genres or topics, and then spreading the word about books you like. Stop by the library and check out the latest display, or explore some of the resources for diverse books in this article. When we find “mirrors” in books, we feel more connected and understood. With more “windows” into others’ lives, we can become more compassionate and accepting. And as Inclusive Schools Week reminds us, we are stronger when we celebrate our differences and come together as a community.
It was a dream come true for me and a stadium filled with screaming fans who were excited to see the Jonas Brothers perform on October 1 as part of the Remember This Tour. Country singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini opened before Kevin, Joe and Nick took the stage.
The Remember This Tour went across the country, performing in 42 locations throughout the United States. It was a completely sold-out show, but since the venues for all 42 locations on the tour were outside, the Jonas Brothers tried to keep their fans safe from COVID-19.
I was unable to watch the entire opening act, but from the last few songs that I heard, Kelsea Ballerini sounded great. She’s famous for Half of My Hometown, with Kenny Chesney, and I Quit Drinking.
Soon after Kelsea Ballerini was finished performing, the Jonas Brothers came on and started the show! I’ve listened to all of their songs and was excited to be able to see them in concert, especially after the crazy year everyone went through.
The Jonas Brothers performed new songs that came out recently, along with some of the songs they wrote when they first became a band in 2005. The show included Remember This (their newest song), What A Man Gotta Do, Burnin’ Up, and Year 3000. Jealous and Cake By The Ocean, songs from their solo careers, were performed as well. Also, since they were in Boston, they played Sweet Caroline as a special treat just for the fans.
For me, the show was amazing and I can’t wait to go back to another one. Seeing the Jonas Brothers live in concert was so fun, and I am so glad that I had the chance to go. Now, it’s time to wait for new music to be released. Fingers crossed!
The Hawk 