Jazz Owls

Starred review from February 1, 2018

Gr 7 Up-Set during the Zoot Suit riots, this novel in verse tells a fictional account of a dark time in American history. Marisela and Lorena are jazz owls who work all day and dance all night. They also dance during the day as they twist and turn trying to navigate their place in Los Angeles during World War II. They face racism at home for their Latino heritage despite having family members serving overseas. Marisela falls in love with a musician, while Lorena dreams about saving enough money to go to school. Zoot suits-loose suits perfect for dancing to jazz and rumba music that has heavy Afro-Latino influences-are frowned upon. Tensions rise as newspapers print headlines that invoke fear. Sailors start pouring into the streets as they round up young Latino men, beat them, and burn their suits. This becomes a nightmare that repeats too many times, and while the forces that be ultimately end it, the Latino and African American communities are still raw from their physical and emotional abuses. The novel focuses on Marisela and Lorena with occasional verses from her parents, brother, and friends. Engle's approach to a topic that may seem hard for teens to grasp is successful as readers will be cheering for the jazz owls to be able to not only dance, but to overcome racism. VERDICT A quick read perfect for history buffs, dance enthusiasts, poets, and just about anyone looking for a great story. Recommended.-Katie Llera, Bound Brook High School, NJ

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018
Against the backdrop of World War II, a patriotic Mexican-American family proudly contributes to the war effort despite pervasive racism.Every night Marisela, 16, and her sister, Lorena, 14, join other "owls," girls who go out dancing with Navy men at the USO club in LA before they are deployed. Working in a cannery by day and chaperoned by their zoot suit-wearing 12-year-old brother, Ray, by night, the sisters dance their way through the growing racial tensions in the city. Punished for speaking Spanish in school and forbidden from speaking Spanish at work, dancing is a joyous means of self-expression and connection with Latin culture. Everything comes to a head in June 1943 when marauding sailors brutally attack Mexican-Americans in a weeklong series of what are erroneously dubbed "Zoot Suit Riots" by the press. Engle's (Miguel's Brave Knight, 2017, etc.) characteristic free verse is unfortunately not up to tackling the density of the multiple issues and events that led up to this tragedy. In addition, switching between a number of different points of view in the section dedicated to the riots creates an emotional distance between the reader and the unfolding human tragedy. Some of the thoughts put into the mouths of the young people also feel incongruously mature.This worthy effort falls short of creating a riveting narrative. (Novel in verse. 11-18)

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