Festival of Books, Day 1
Day 1 of the LA Times Festival of Books highlights included: panels and signings with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos and Jason Reynolds!
I've been counting down to the LA Festival of Books, and Day 1 did not disappoint! I started my day with the Jorge Ramos panel - a hero to many in the Latinx community! He wrote a book called "Stranger," in which he details his infamous confrontation with Donald Trump, in which he was kicked out of a press conference and told to "Go Back to Univision." Ramos explained that to him, and to many viewers, that statement was coded language for "Go Back to Mexico." In his panel, Ramos spoke about having "una rebeldia tardia," meaning that he was in a late rebellion stage of his life. He learned from the Dreamers, immigrant rights activists, to confront his fears and be part of a political movement that restores dignity to the immigrants whose hard work has made this country great for centuries. After the panel, I bought two copies of the book and waited in a long line to have them signed. I later gave a copy to one of my high school students, who is a youth journalist and activist. She breathed deeply and said, "I really want to meet him." Two hours later, she returned to my class, quoting excerpts from the book!
I had several hours before the Jason Reynolds panel, so I wandered around, picked up two ARCs from the Catapult booth, bought BOY ROBOT and had it signed, and listened to Maurene Goo and Sandhya Menon on the YA Stage. I saw finished copies of THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL, but they were sold out by the time I decided to buy one.
Finally, it was Jason Reynolds time. My students had just finished reading LONG WAY DOWN the day before, so I was pumped to hear him speak in person. He talked about how his book aims to humanize boys who are often called thugs and monsters. He shared that he decided to set the book in an elevator, because for him, it was the "physical manifestation of a traumatized brain." Tight space, and literally hanging by a thread. By stepping into an elevator, he is stepping into his own mind, which is literally haunted by the violent events of the past. The panel was amazing, and I later got to meet Jason, get some books signed, and take a picture! What a wonderful way to end Day 1!
