What is the adult literacy crisis? Who does it affect? How can we help?
Leaders for Literacy, a club at Syosset High School, is hosting a speaker event with Fatma Ghailan, the Assistant Director of the Adult Learning Program at Queens Public Library, and Gary J. Beharry, the Library Literacy Center Manager at Flushing Adult Learning Center, who will speak about the adult literacy crisis and adult education programs. They will be joined by ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) students who will share their experiences through the program.
The event will take place THISSunday, October 4 @ 6pm through Zoom.
We are thrilled to have YA author Adib Khorram as our opening speaker at our 2nd annual With Pride event.
An evening of readings and support. Opening address by Adib Khorram, author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay. A partnership with the LGBT Network and Syosset High School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). No registration.
An invasion begins–but not as you’d expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries mysterious, foreign seeds. Seeds that sprout overnight, in the blink of an eye, everywhere. At first, they pose no imminent threat. Then, overnight, they have overtaken the world. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets all around the world. When they bloom, they release toxic pollen and create Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom–everywhere, unstoppable.
Or are they? Three teens on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, a girl who’s allergic to almost everything; Petra, who’s allergic to water, and Seth, who’s “allergic” to life. They have lived their lives in constant irritation and being attentive everywhere they go, – and yet, they are the only ones not allergic to these plants. What’s their secret? Can they somehow be the key to beating back this invasion? They must form a shaky alliance to save the world from this alien invasion. And they’d better figure it out fast, because it’s starting to rain again….
Kenneth Oppel steadily adds new horrors, while escalating the story’s pace, stakes, and anxiety as the plants possess many qualities unlike anything from Earth. The teens’ alternating narration develops each character while continually reframing their relationship and the evolving crisis. While elements of the story involve the theme of facing your fears, the invading plants’ grim and efficient ways of challenging human dominance are effectively unsettling. Terrific momentum makes the abrupt ending jarring but creates anticipation in readers for the sequel.
Thanks to Jason for such a well-written review! – Mrs. Long
