Catch and Kill (Ronan Farrow)

 

This story is one I've heard a lot about but never really knew in great detail. It was shocking to read about how people knew and ignored the rape of so many women by Harvey Weinstein....as well as others in Hollywood and big business. It made my heart rate to read about the crimes and the people who tried super hard to stop Ronan Farrow from telling the story. Stunning! As I was reading this, my husband came home to tell me a story about people he knows that have done pretty much the same thing: let men who have money get away with crimes done to other people. Un-freaking-believable.  

I sometimes had a hard time following the story because there were so many names and most of them I was unfamiliar with. Maybe people who are better at knowing actors names and others involved in the movie industry could keep track of it all. 

Goodreads says:

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.

All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond.

This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.

Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.

Malala's Magic Pencil (Malala Yousafzai)

 

I picked this story because we are learning about India in Social Studies. This is not a story to rush through! We stopped and had all the girls leave their desks so we could see what it would be like in our classroom if all the girls could not come to school. It was impactful! My students knew that Malala had been shot and the page that talks about how the Taliban tried to stop her was profound for us. At the end of the book, they gave it a round of applause. Appropriate! 

Goodreads says:

Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's first picture book, inspired by her own childhood.

Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them.

As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true.

This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times.