“The original six Avengers are assembling once again. Chris Evans joined Instagram Friday to announce that he was bringing together Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner for a virtual hangout. Fans can enter for a chance to join the hangout by donating to the All-In Challenge, which benefits organizations helping keep people fed amid the coronavirus pandemic.” Do good (donate money starting at $10) and you could win a virtual hangout with the Avengers stars! “It’s aimed at a young adult audience — but it’s a book many readers may wish they’d had access to growing up. In an email interview, Johnson tells me he was inspired by Toni Morrison’s famous saying, ‘If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it,’ which he has tattooed on his right arm. ‘I look at it often to remind myself of why I am writing these stories and the importance of centering black stories from the black perspective,’ Johnson says. ‘I didn’t have stories like these growing up and honestly I don’t have many now so I knew I needed to do my part to make sure the next generation of black queer children had something they could relate to and connect with. There are days I look at TV and film and still don’t see myself represented. So, my ultimate goal was providing the story I didn’t have but always needed and to be the vessel so that so many can feel seen and heard.’” Bonus: All Boys Aren’t Blue has the most beautiful cover. “With Trump’s America in full force, Cornejo Villavicencio could have written a palatable portrait of her life as an undocumented kid for that same audience. Instead, she wrote a punk manifesto for other young immigrants and immigrants’ kids. She tells me that she wants them ‘to feel a sigh of relief knowing that there are lots of us out there.’ The Undocumented Americans, out March 24, is the mirror she wishes she had in her youth. Changing the hearts and minds of those who are not immigrants would be a welcome by-product, but it’s not her goal. In her provocative and probing voice, Cornejo Villavicencio weaves her story and her family’s with that of regular undocumented people in cities across America — from New York to Miami to Flint — who just want to live a dignified life. We talked about her decision to explore what she calls a mental health crisis in the undocumented community, her combined use of ethnography and magical realism, and how her family felt about knowing their most intimate experiences are out there.” A must-read (interview and book).
