Flourishing Out of Place: Stories of Boyhood and Coming of Age

Navigating the growing pains of boyhood isn’t easy when circumstances force you to move to a completely different place, but our environments have a knack for cultivating change during some of the most pivotal times of our lives. Danilo Was Here takes place in Panamá after the 1989 Operation Just Cause, a military invasion that drove Danilo’s father to abandon his family for opportunities in the States. This timely middle grade story by Tamika Burgess follows Danilo’s journey through baseball training in the very country that left his neighborhood decimated as he searches for his father and secures the extra funds his family needs to survive. Another gifted athlete, Ojibwe skateboarder and high school junior Bryce crashes at his grandparents’ house on Wolf Creek reservation after his mom is put in jail in Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves, which follows his summer of learning to ride in his father’s footsteps while practicing for a skateboarding championship. Twelve-year-old King has also been relocated for the summer in Rachel Meyers’ King Coyote, after his parents divorce and send him off to the Vermont woods. But when King meets a young coyote who is being threatened by local trappers, King finds his purpose in scaling mountains, facing off against skunks, and sleeping under the stars to find a new home for the coyote—and just maybe, a home for himself, too. This session, highlighting coming-of-age stories, will be moderated by Dr. Robert Mossi Alexander, an Oakland-born educator, counselor, filmmaker, and award-winning author of young adult urban fiction who does extensive work in criminal justice reform and youth advocacy.