carstensena's review
3.0
Loved reading about Connor and his father, their surprise discovery, and the way they researched it at the local college library.
Unfortunately, the appeal of the book sort of stopped dead at Part Seven, when it became a history lesson. I think it was ingenious to give those poems titles that lead the reader through the father's recovery. But it was essentially a history lesson.
Still, very touching idea that the father's recovery from his stroke took the same determination he inherited from his own brave father. And having just finished Between the World and Me, I loved the final paragraph expressing Connor's new awareness, and belief that "there's a...blackness that has more to do with how you see than how you're seen."
Unfortunately, the appeal of the book sort of stopped dead at Part Seven, when it became a history lesson. I think it was ingenious to give those poems titles that lead the reader through the father's recovery. But it was essentially a history lesson.
Still, very touching idea that the father's recovery from his stroke took the same determination he inherited from his own brave father. And having just finished Between the World and Me, I loved the final paragraph expressing Connor's new awareness, and belief that "there's a...blackness that has more to do with how you see than how you're seen."
iggyebab's review
3.0
What if you are not who you thought you were? How do family secrets impact us as adults especially related to ethnicity?
I would love to read a more in depth book related to this topic. This book was good and would be wonderful for the younger audience that it is designed for.
I would love to read a more in depth book related to this topic. This book was good and would be wonderful for the younger audience that it is designed for.
m_marling's review
3.0
Told in a series of free verse poems, this was a quick read. It was labeled “teen” at the library, but is probably most appropriate for middle grade. Mostly informative about the Tuskegee Airmen, there’s also an understory about family, identity, and who we consider a hero. Some books in verse are better because of the form—I didn’t feel like that was the case here. The form allowed for switching between the narrator’s story and his discoveries about the Tuskegee Airmen, but this isn’t the sort of book where I would use one of the poems as a stand alone piece of work as I might with other verse novels.
erinlynn1989's review
4.0
FTC Disclosure: I received an advance galley of this book for review consideration. This did not sway my thoughts on the books in any way.
Initial Thoughts: Oh boy! If I ever get my own classroom, I'm teaching this book.
This review can also be found on my blog, The Hardcover Lover.
American Ace is the first book that I've read by National Book Award Finalist, Marilyn Nelson, and I'm pretty sure that it won't be my last. I didn't know what to expect when this book showed up on my doorstep, but what I got was a book that I know will stick with me for the rest of my life because it's full of life and history.
Told in a poetic-like prose, American Ace tells the story of a teenager named Connor Bianchini. Connor has grown up believing that he's half Italian-American and half Irish-America. He's very close to his father's side of the family, and they all help run the family-owned Italian restaurant. Connor's world changes after his grandmother passes away. He notices changes in his father, and he doesn't think that it's just grief. He soon finds out that his grandfather, the man who raised his father, is not a blood relative. His father was adopted, and he now has clues - a class ring and a pair of pilot's wings - to help figure out their new genetic identity.
I loved how Ms. Nelson approached identity in American Ace. Following Connor's journey is an interesting ride, and it's one that readers will remember for a long time to come. It's full of questions, but it's also full of answers. Not only will readers find out about Connor and his father's journey to discover who they are, but they will learn a great deal about history, particularly the Tuskegee Airmen.
The most important part of the book is how Connor feels. To him, it doesn't matter that things in his life are changing. He embraces the change and wants to learn as much as he can. I loved that. I'm sure that we all want to know who we are and where we come from, and Connor takes it upon himself to find that out for his father. In the end, he finds out a lot about a whole group of people, instead of the one person who gave him his DNA.
Themes included in this book are family, racial identity, and personal identity. There are moments that show you just how strong the bond of a family is, and there are moments in the book that show you how just one new piece of information can change your whole outlook on life.
American Ace isn't a book I would have picked up on my own, and I'm very grateful that Penguin sent it to me. I enjoyed the historical aspects, and I also enjoyed Connor's story. I would recommend American Ace to middle grade and YA readers. I would also recommend this title to teachers and school librarians. I think it would be a great book for kids to read to learn about WWII and the Tuskegee Airmen.
Initial Thoughts: Oh boy! If I ever get my own classroom, I'm teaching this book.
This review can also be found on my blog, The Hardcover Lover.
American Ace is the first book that I've read by National Book Award Finalist, Marilyn Nelson, and I'm pretty sure that it won't be my last. I didn't know what to expect when this book showed up on my doorstep, but what I got was a book that I know will stick with me for the rest of my life because it's full of life and history.
Told in a poetic-like prose, American Ace tells the story of a teenager named Connor Bianchini. Connor has grown up believing that he's half Italian-American and half Irish-America. He's very close to his father's side of the family, and they all help run the family-owned Italian restaurant. Connor's world changes after his grandmother passes away. He notices changes in his father, and he doesn't think that it's just grief. He soon finds out that his grandfather, the man who raised his father, is not a blood relative. His father was adopted, and he now has clues - a class ring and a pair of pilot's wings - to help figure out their new genetic identity.
I loved how Ms. Nelson approached identity in American Ace. Following Connor's journey is an interesting ride, and it's one that readers will remember for a long time to come. It's full of questions, but it's also full of answers. Not only will readers find out about Connor and his father's journey to discover who they are, but they will learn a great deal about history, particularly the Tuskegee Airmen.
The most important part of the book is how Connor feels. To him, it doesn't matter that things in his life are changing. He embraces the change and wants to learn as much as he can. I loved that. I'm sure that we all want to know who we are and where we come from, and Connor takes it upon himself to find that out for his father. In the end, he finds out a lot about a whole group of people, instead of the one person who gave him his DNA.
Themes included in this book are family, racial identity, and personal identity. There are moments that show you just how strong the bond of a family is, and there are moments in the book that show you how just one new piece of information can change your whole outlook on life.
American Ace isn't a book I would have picked up on my own, and I'm very grateful that Penguin sent it to me. I enjoyed the historical aspects, and I also enjoyed Connor's story. I would recommend American Ace to middle grade and YA readers. I would also recommend this title to teachers and school librarians. I think it would be a great book for kids to read to learn about WWII and the Tuskegee Airmen.
abigailbat's review
2.0
Okay, once I got to the end and read the author's note about why she structured the book the way she did, I was a little more on board. I think the book reads like it's two books. The first part is Connor's dad discovering that his heritage is different than he thought and the family exploring that and coming to grips with it. The second part is Connor's research about the Tuskegee Airmen.
I found the second part to be vastly more engaging and interesting than the first part and I really super wish the entire book had been narrative nonfiction about the Tuskegee Airmen. OR historical fiction from the point of view of a Tuskegee Airman (and yeah, I don't for one second think that having a 20-something narrator would be a deterrent to teen readers).
Arrrggh. And I really wanted to love this one.
I found the second part to be vastly more engaging and interesting than the first part and I really super wish the entire book had been narrative nonfiction about the Tuskegee Airmen. OR historical fiction from the point of view of a Tuskegee Airman (and yeah, I don't for one second think that having a 20-something narrator would be a deterrent to teen readers).
Arrrggh. And I really wanted to love this one.
eehoskins's review
3.0
I enjoyed the content and concept of American Ace. I did not, however, ever feel a rhythm from the text, the way I normally do in a verse novel. In a way, the format was a distraction for me as I was searching for how it enhanced the story.
There was certainly a ton of intriguing information about the Tuskegee Airmen though- something that may encourage young adults to do additional research on the group. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but was left wanting.
There was certainly a ton of intriguing information about the Tuskegee Airmen though- something that may encourage young adults to do additional research on the group. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but was left wanting.
nerfherder86's review
4.0
A free verse novel about an Italian American young man, Connor, who learns a family secret and has to readjust his whole way of thinking about his heritage and his family. Loved the idea of teaching readers about the Tuskegee Airmen through the lens of a white teen boy who'd never heard of them before; the author includes a note in the back about this. I also liked the way the format of the poems shifted about halfway through: in the first batch all the poem titles are the punchlines of the poems, so to speak, they give you the point of the poem or the theme of it, or what happens at the end of it. But then you get a bunch of poems that are all parts of one long essay, and the titles of the poems are what is going on in Connor's life while he wrote the essay. It's really cool. Nelson always puts heart and soul into her books and they leave you really thinking about things. Great growth arc for the character of Connor throughout the slim but powerful book. Winner of 2017 Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for Teens (AKA "The Rudini").