Recommended by Elizabeth Anderson
I read this novel on the back porch of my childhood home in a sleepy suburb of the Pacific Northwest over the summer, and was struck by the nearby history that I had never learned. Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist is based on and takes place during the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle; its take on the historical facts of the event is painted by Yapa’s poignant, lyrical phrasing. Every chapter rotates to a new character’s point of view, forcing the reader to shift perspectives over the two days of protests. Our current global climate has created a very opportune time to read this novel, as it made me think about the role of activism in my life and what impacts an individual can— or should— have on the bigger picture.