February is Black History Month, and professor Sarah Fleming continues to center voices of color in her Weekend Picks for with Thirsty by Jas Hammonds. We are so thankful for Sarah's contributions, and look forward to this next read.
 Sarah Fleming | Sarah is an assistant professor in the Curriculum & Instruction department at SUNY Oswego in upstate New York. A former high school English teacher for twenty-one years, she now teaches courses in English methods, literacy, and young adult literature. Sarah particularly enjoys reading and teaching about texts that can be used to forward antiracist and antibias teaching, and she engages in research that looks to support teachers in their redesign of ELA curriculum for such efforts. |
Thirsty by Jas Hammond
This was going to be their summer - Blake, her girlfriend Ella, and their best friend Annetta, were going to have it all.
 | Just waiting to start college in the fall at Jameswell, Blake and the girls anticipate a summer filled with excitement as they work to be noticed by, and then selected for, the Serena Society: a prestigious sorority for women of color. Blake knows that Ella is a shoe-in, being the daughter of an alumna, but as for herself? She’s not so certain. While she works with Ella and Annetta at the golf and yacht club, she isn’t from their world, and she constantly feels out of touch with the luxurious, over-the-top lifestyle of designer clothes, expensive cars, and fancy parties. So Blake learns to do what she has to blend in - she adopts her party persona, Big Bad Bee, and finds her courage in the strong drinks they serve. After a wild night of partying and reckless behavior on Blake’s part, the girls attract the attention of Roxanne, the president of the Serenas, and they receive their first invitation to a task. |
Blake, Ella and Annetta meet the other pledges aboard the Bewitched, and Blake squirms to fit in - until she has a few drinks, and then a few more. The night goes on, and Blake insists that she’s fine, but Annetta is worried, and when it comes time to complete the pledge’s first task, Blake’s in no condition to help. Ella and Annetta help her through, but afterward come some hard conversations about Blake’s problematic use of alcohol.
| But Blake doesn’t want to hear it - she’s just doing what everyone else is, isn’t she? Why is Annetta so concerned about her? Blake tries to convince herself that everything is fine, but there is a part of her that worries - maybe she does have a problem. The summer continues with pledge tasks and more parties, and even when she promises Annetta she’ll stop drinking, Blake finds she can’t. The rest of the story depends upon her choices: can she feel worthy of the Serena Society without a drink in her hand, or not? Can she live up to her reputation and Ella’s expectation of her as the party girl, or will she crumble in failure? Blake’s story is one of deep struggle that will resonate with readers who have ever questioned their ability to belong or their need to adapt. Hammond’s novel is filled with important issues related to identity, race, class, and gender, and readers are told to consider the content warnings: alcohol addiction, self-hatred, suicidal ideation, racial microaggressions, transphobic rhetoric and nonconsensual outing. |  Jas Hammonds |
Hammond treats each topic with great care and incredible clarity, and readers will come away from the story feeling seen or learning to empathize with others’ struggles. This book prompts an important - indeed necessary - conversation with young people about alcohol use and addiction, and I highly recommend it.
Read more about author Jas Hammonds at: https://www.jashammonds.com/
Read more about author Jas Hammonds at: https://www.jashammonds.com/
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