Judging a book off of its cover is something that we all do. Brayan Stevenson is studying law and is getting his major in becoming a lawyer. He gets the opportunity to start a non-profit organization in helping people get off death row and young children get the right punishment instead of life in prisonment. In the 1980s, people viewed black people as a threat. Stevenson is introduced with a case about Walter McMillian, who is accused of murdering a young woman. He is sentenced to death and life in prison. Stevenson gets drawn into this case and starts digging into the details and trying to fix the case. After many years of finding evidence and figuring out that McMillian was forced to say that he had done the murder, Stevenson is shocked. The judges didn’t look into the case, they just saw a black man accused of murder and assumed that he had done it. McMillian would have then spent six years on death row, severely traumatized, lost all of his family, and most importantly his dignity. One misconception led to a man spending his whole life in prison and dealing with the trauma the rest of his life. Stevenson takes on the case of many other death row cases. He sees many investigations about kids being raised without the right adults in their life and end up getting themselves in trouble and spending the rest of their life in prison starting at a very young age. Stevenson goes into court and fixes the unfair punishment for kids, and makes the court rethink how they are punishing people. This book really opens your eyes to the world we live in but also how we see other people in our eyes. Stevenson has a fire that I wish I had. He never lets the judge make the final decision in the cases. McMillian sets himself up for death row in admitting that he killed the woman. The jury decides on the punishment but once Stevenson gets involved in the case it takes a twist. He unfolds the whole truth about the case and saves McMillian's life. Even with the other cases, he uses his whole heart in trying to make these people earn the justice they deserve. Our court system should get the whole truth before sentencing someone to death or life in prison. Children when they are 13 haven’t even matured into their body or developed everything in their head. They are raised in a poor home with abusive, drugs and alcohol all around them and make one poor decision and their life is changed forever. Before the children even realize what they did, they are on their way to spend the rest of their life behind bars. Stevenson uncovers these cases and tries to save as many lives as he can, when he is hurting. He wants justice for all of these people seen as bad guys just because of their color. McMillian fought for justice, his life, and for many other black people. He ended up dying a few years after being released from trauma. He had his whole family waiting at home for him the night he was arrested. We make so many assumptions of people just because of their past. Stevenson says this “The bad things that happen to us don’t define us. It’s just important sometimes that people understand where we’re coming from”. McMillian fought for his freedom. He didn’t let the bad things define him when he stepped in the courtroom. Finishing this book opened my eyes on how I am going to see the future. I know that I have made poor choices, but when I step into the classroom, or up to the race line, my past is going to be there, but I will never let it stop me from going somewhere, just like the story, Just Mercy. ~ Natalie S.
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Chris Norton was an everyday guy from Bondurant, Iowa playing football at Luther College. Then, something happened that changed his life forever in October 2010. He broke his C3 and C4 vertebrae on a kickoff play. This is the story of Chris’s recovery after he broke his neck. From being given a 3% chance to ever move again after his injury, to walking across the stage at his graduation with his girlfriend, Emily. Chris defied the 3% odds immediately after his surgery, a signal of the greatness to come. The story follows his recovery and every phase of it until his college graduation. Chris became a motivational speaker, and now he travels the country talking about his journey of family, friendship, and faith. Something interesting about this book was the change in the point of view every chapter. It changed between Terry and Chris every chapter. Terry is Chris’s dad, and also his role model. Chris always looked up to his dad as a kid, and it was interesting to see not only how everything affected Chris but also how it affected his family. I enjoyed reading Chris’s part way more though, because it was more personal and I connected to him more because he wrote in a way I could relate to more. The whole book though was very personal and didn’t leave out any details. That’s the reason it is so powerful. A theme I noticed throughout the whole book was staying positive and having great habits every day can bring great changes over time. Chris was an athlete, and he said that his work habits he learned from football and basketball were just preparing him for the hardest challenge he would ever face; learning to walk again. There were times when he got super sad or depressed about his situation, but he said overall he thought about how grateful he could be that he was still alive and he was blessed he could show his story to the world. Something that really just allowed me to connect with this book was my experience I had with my brother’s car accident. 2 years ago before Christmas, my brother was in a really bad car accident that killed 2 of his friends and almost killed him. All I could think about reading this book was how everything was so similar in some ways, but entirely different in others. I really felt empathy for Chris’s family because I’ve been in their shoes. It sucks. My brother was in the ICU for over a month, and Chris was in the hospital for a year. It makes me realize how lucky my family is. My brother can do almost everything he was able to do before the crash. Chris has to struggle to just walk. Not that my brother didn’t have his own problems. For the first week, we didn’t know if my brother was going to live, or have his memory, or be able to have any cognitive function. So in a way, it was even scarier for us because at least for Chris’s family they knew he was still the same person, even if he was in a wheelchair. All these feelings were the ones going through me as I was reading this book, it’s like my whole experience was similar to theirs, just in a faster way. Emmit is doing great now, but reading this book honestly made me feel kind of miserable because it was like I had to relive my experience again page by page, from the points where we wondered if anything would ever be “normal” again, the days when things just got worse, or when we could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. -Mitchell S. Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez is about a girl in her senior year of high school in Rosario, Argentina. Her mom is meek and self-conscious and tries to convince Camila, her daughter, to be the same way. Camila’s father is an ex-professional soccer player who mentally and physically abuses his family. Her older brother Pablo plays for the local pro soccer team, where he is a star player. Camila has dreamed of going to America to play on a women’s national soccer team, but she can’t tell her family she plays soccer, which complicates her future. She is on a local competition team named Eva Maria. Their roster is a patchwork of teen moms, privileged kids, and others playing in secret like Camila. Along with soccer, Camila works at a small church that helps kids in need. The person that helped her get this job is Diego. Diego, or el Titan on the soccer field, is a local legend in the sport of soccer. He was also Camila’s boyfriend before he went pro. When he comes back to Rosario she is full of conflicted feelings that end up changing her life forever. I liked that Furia is a very realistic story. The book isn’t super romantic or based on her relationship with Diego. It does have some romantic parts, but it’s not the basis of the entire story. Not putting romance or head-over-heels love as the main plot makes the idea of female empowerment even more evident. Camila has to make many difficult choices in love and other parts of her life, and the author made it very hard for me to predict what will happen next. Though soccer is the main idea, there is more depth than just the sport itself. One major part of the story is the disappearances and attacks on girls and women in Rosario. There are also beliefs about how respectable women and girls should act and their role in the world. Camila, like many other girls, was forced to stop playing soccer when she was about 12. This age is when girls should become “women” and take up their role as women in society. These gender norms restricting women from playing sports are very suppressive and show how women are treated in Camila’s culture. Soccer is the main idea because it represents how Camila and other “futboleras” break free of society’s expectations by doing what they love. Her family also incorporates many parts of Rosario’s cultural issues. Her father is overbearing and abusive, her mother is passive and only shows her son love, and Camila is ignored and under-appreciated. Furia made me realize how lucky I am to have all the support and opportunities here in America. Learning about the oppression and violence that goes on in different places made me think about how I can do my part to stop these trends of society. Reading about how far Camila is willing to go to reach her goals really inspired me to work through obstacles I’ll face when pursuing my dreams. Camila’s story made me realize how hard it is for some women and girls to reach their goals, and the fact it’s just because society restricts them is really upsetting. After reading Furia, I feel like I have a better understanding of how lucky I am for all the opportunities I have, and I’m also more cognizant of the struggles women face to succeed in this world. - Ana S. Can you imagine a life where, every day, you're fighting to survive? To Tareq, a teenage boy living in the war-torn country of Syria, this is reality. Tareq, his father, and his little sister Susan are trying to escape Syria after their home was destroyed. The family embarks on their journey out of Syria, first stopping in Raqqa to stay with a relative and prepare for the long journey ahead. Along with Musa, Tareq’s cousin, the family makes their way out of Syria and into Turkey. Tareq and Musa go farther into Turkey to find work, leaving Susan and her father behind. After Tareq realizes Turkey isn't a welcoming home, he reluctantly uses the money he has earned to smuggle himself and Susan into Greece. Tareq and Susan must cross the Aegean Sea, packed into an inflatable dinghy with many other frightened refugees. They are trying to get to Lesvos, Greece, an island just off the coast of Turkey. When Tareq and Susan finally arrive in Greece, they are helped out of their boats by volunteers. One volunteer, Alexa, a college student from America, builds a lasting bond with Tareq and Susan, whose real journey has just begun. I had never realized the struggles refugees had to go through until I read A Land of Permanent Goodbyes. It made me realize the struggles to leave one's own home country and go to a new unknown place, to the refugees it will never be their true home. This book also opened my eyes to the stigma around refugees and how some countries and people don't empathize with them and just want them out of their country. What surprised me was how cruel and cold the smuggling business was. Many of the smugglers were charging thousands of dollars for the refugees to be squeezed into a tiny dinghy that might not even make it to its destination. Reading this book made me realize how lucky we are to live in a country where we don’t have to worry about war and bombings like other countries. I also saw how conflicts could tear apart families. It was eye-opening to me to see Tareq struggle with the pain of the deaths of his family members while still staying strong for his little sister Susan. This book also highlighted how people would take advantage of the refugees, especially children and girls. It also showed me the effect volunteering and donating to organizations can have a drastic effect on the lives of those being helped. Hard times like the one seen in this book can bring out the best of people but it will also bring out the worst of them too. -Garrett S. The book, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker, is a unique narrative and window into the life of not just any man, but a black man facing modern society. His story is told uniquely through a series of essays that cover his life as a whole. The narrative begins when he is in his youth, with a quickly changing cover of his school history. His father remains unemployed, and his mother is forced to cover their family. Even though it is just Damon, his father, and his mother, his mother is not quite able to support the Young family by herself. Because of this, the family goes through many financial struggles, in the beginning and throughout the story. The author covers his life, struggles, and most importantly, inner feelings and thoughts as he navigates through life, as a person always wondering, “Is it because I’m black?" Despite his relatively financially unstable youth, Damon begins writing poetry. While his poetry started as a way to seduce girls, it developed into a potential career for him. Throughout the book, he continuously uses his skills to pursue careers in the writing industry, beyond just teaching. Going into this book, I believed that the black-person reality of discrimination was something of the past. Despite my original thinking, I can say that it was neither confirmed nor denied. Even more so, I now realize that I can’t actually understand the effect of having a black definition in today's society. In my best interpretation of it, the black community faces a notable amount of direct and indirect discrimination. However, indirect racism becomes the dominant pressure, an act of hiding its existence at all. It was a surprise to me—a shock of cold water—to come to this realization. The whole book was a surprise to me. Indirect racism became almost the focal point of this book, with even less direct racism examples. Rather than being called slurs, he more often faced the question, “Is it because I’m black?”. The book becomes a collection of stories that when looked at singularly could be just an unlucky experience. However, when he takes the pieces and forms his whole story, you get to see racism in a light only visible to the one facing it. This book, a window into another life, only allows people to touch the tip of the iceberg. The window that this book built allowed me to see a glimmer of how actually to describe racism today. It forever changed my thinking from the undeveloped thoughts I had before. The book forced me to realize that I had, without thinking, forced racism into this box that I only allowed positivity to leak through. The rest of it, the reality that racism is still heavily prevalent today, was trapped because of my unconscious will to see that part of life positively. Part of growing up, however, is my realization that these shades of white are diluted with drops of different shades. This book did much to develop and grow my thinking beyond the assumption that something is either completely present or completely gone. -Ashton S Persepolis is a stunning graphic memoir of Marjane Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood during the Islamic Revolution. The contrast between private and public life in a country absolutely plagued by political turbulence is extremely fascinating as we follow Marjarane’s (Marji’s) coming of age. Some of the many disturbances to ‘normal’ life for her came not only from her family’s strong communist and socialist leanings, but also because it was the peak of her elementary years when the Shah was ousted from power in Iran and an conservative Islamic regime took control. She found chaos in the contradictions between private and public life; in her high school years in Vienna, facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; in her homecoming—both sweet and terrible; and, finally, in her volunteer departure from her homeland. It is the sweet record of girlhood and adolescence which were once so outrageous, now made familiar. It’s the story of a young life weaved with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up. What I thought was very interesting about this book was that it provided a very detailed summary of how the war in Iran broke out a few years prior, and included some actual facts about the Iranian revolution that proved to be necessary knowledge for the reader later in the story. It was like a brief history run down before the main event, and it really added to my overall understanding of the book. I also enjoyed the different views on life and its experiences that I was a witness to through this book. I always thought foreign countries would have completely foreign lifestyles compared to my own, however, this was hardly the case. Marji lived with her family like me, they drove a family car as my parents do, played board games like my sister and I do, and watched TV together like my sister and I do as well, Marji and her friends even goofed off in school like normal kids living a completely normal life. This for me was very interesting, because I have never truly experienced a third-world country for myself. I loved learning that although she overcame some extreme hardships in her life like war and an internal revolution, her home life was not all that different from yours or mine. I think this book really struck something in my heart, to hear about the mass suffering of a people and to visually witness a child experience torture was truly gravitating. I was in awe of the horrible execution and interrogation methods the war prisoners had to face if captured. Even the citizens experienced truly devastating acts. In one instance a movie theatre was locked from the outside and burned to the ground - nearly 400 people burned alive inside. This was an act of protest from the government to give testament to the Iranian people that these new laws were no joke. The change in laws and policy happened so abruptly that it would have in fact taken ages to get used to, however, Iranians were expected to obey right away which I found to be truly messed up. One night Marji and her family were sitting comfortably in their house and the next she was forced into a separate school just for girls, made to wear a veil so as to not distract men and to be a modest woman, and suffer the consequences if she didn't. The Iranian's downward view on anything Western is fascinating to me as well. Americans view themselves as such high and mighty people, and seeing the opinions of different people from different countries really made me think. Marji had a poster of a Western signer hanging in her room, in order for her to even possess such a thing her parents had to illegally smuggle it into the country by sewing it into their jackets and hiding it from national security. It blows my mind how much was off-limits and just how much I take for granted in everyday life. It was a privilege for Marji to go to parties or social events with friends, or to listen to music freely without worrying that people on the street may hear it and call the police. I do many of those things without even thinking twice, however, Marji risked her life every time she set foot outside the house or turned on a scandalous Western song. This story showed me what it feels like to have power and freedom of life ripped from your grasp, to have your rights stripped away, and to have your way of life completely limited and even viewed as wrong or unholy. I learned a lot of historical information too that I will hopefully carry with me throughout my life; information that will help me to not only understand different people's views on life and their experiences but also how people in other countries may be very similar yet very different from myself. -Isabella S. This book was different from any other book I have read before. I have read many other books with multiple main characters but I don’t think that any of them had followed that format. Another thing about the writing of this book that surprised me was there wasn’t just one author, there were two. This writing style was very unique to me and I found it very interesting that there were two completely different thoughts and brains working together to create this book. The authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Keily, were both white and black. This really helped to create a special story, both of these people could relate to the characters they created. Something that surprised me was that almost all teens could relate to these characters. The authors created these characters like actual teenagers, instead of a basic stereotype teenager (Doesn’t care or Doesn’t listen). Something that the authors do is they use language like a teenager, they don’t sound like robots or just old people acting, they sound like us. They use dialogue that is not outdated and someone in our minds would use. I really enjoyed this book, it reminds me of the documentary we watched in class that showed us the two different lives of the Israeli girls and the Pakistani girls. This book showed me that there are always two different sides to a story, and you can be on either side. Even though this is not a true story this book was made for a reason. This book was made to show awareness to all people about what is going on in the world. I would recommend this book to anyone, this book was one of the best books I have read for a project. -Amelia R. What would you do if you were falsely accused of stealing and beaten? What if someone you were very close to accused someone of stealing and put them in the hospital? In my book “All American Boy’s” this happens. In this book a boy named Rashad is accused of shoplifting and beaten, he spends the entirety of the book in the hospital. The person who beat Rashad was named Paul, Paul is kind of the father figure to the other main character Quin. Quin’s father died in the Army. Both of these boys are in highschool. The book swaps between two points of view throughout the story. One being Rashad and the other being Quin. As I said before the main conflict in this book is that Rashad was beaten and falsely accused. This book was different from any other book I have read before. I have read many other books with multiple main characters but I don’t think that any of them had followed that format. Another thing about the writing of this book that surprised me was there wasn’t just one author, there were two. This writing style was very unique to me and I found it very interesting that there were two completely different thoughts and brains working together to create this book. The authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Keily, were both white and black. This really helped to create a special story, both of these people could relate to the characters they created. Something that surprised me was that almost all teens could relate to these characters. The authors created these characters like actual teenagers, instead of a basic stereotype teenager (Doesn’t care or Doesn’t listen). Something that the authors do is they use language like a teenager, they don’t sound like robots or just old people acting, they sound like us. They use dialogue that is not outdated and someone in our minds would use. I really enjoyed this book, it reminds me of the documentary we watched in class that showed us the two different lives of the Israeli girls and the Pakistani girls. This book showed me that there are always two different sides to a story, and you can be on either side. Even though this is not a true story this book was made for a reason. This book was made to show awareness to all people about what is going on in the world. I would recommend this book to anyone, this book was one of the best books I have read for a project. -Tony P. Here we are, in the 21st century, with racism still running rampant. Russell Bordeaux is the star tight end for the mostly-black Jackson Jackals varsity football team. His best friend, Marion LaSalle, is the starting varsity quarterback. Together, they are the senior varsity captains. Marion was wrongfully arrested and kicked off the team by a corrupt cop after a fight broke out during a football game. In retaliation to this unjust act by the police, Russel Bordeaux took a knee during their next game. This brought an uproar to his name. In 2 weeks, both of them had their chances of getting a scholarship to a big college slip away. Throughout the story, Rus’ actions swayed from fighting racism to fighting for his future. In the end, Marion and Rus both choose to fight racism to help fight for their future. Marion and Rus participated in a protest that ended up swaying the public view on what happened with Marion. Marion got his charges lifted after a new video angle was released to the prosecutor, thus allowing for him to be on the team and thus allowing him to return to the team. In the end, Marion and Russel got their rematch and the rest is history. In this book, I was surprised to see how much racism was still in our country. This book was based on true accounts of racism in our country within the last 5 years. To see that this is still painstakingly common in our country was horrible to hear. I noticed that this book was written in a way that emphasized personal actions over group actions. The internal battles that Rus was facing and the external grief that Marion was showing were common topics. I also sometimes get tired of books that just recount so many different true accounts over and over, so this book that had 1 account of racism, yet explained in a way that is descriptive enough and ties into sports really helped me. Something I learned about myself in this book is that there are some things that we do that hurt others without even realizing it. The scale of our small problems may not seem like a lot, but it may hurt someone else more than you know. Little things can add up and mentally destroy a person into believing that they should change. Hearing about all the small negatives that Rus went through in such a short span of time made me realize how important those little things are. You never know what a person has going for them in their own time, so don’t assume that if they have a smile on their face, they are happy. They may be hiding themselves to try to fit in. This book has some very powerful points in it. It truly shows some of the hardships that people still face with racism in their everyday lives. This was an eye-opening book and I am happy I got a chance to read it. -Noah M. Can you imagine the feeling of repeatedly finding one person, someone you want to spend the rest of your hours doing nothing but enjoying time with, and only days after they’re there, they vanish? “Normal People” by Sally Rooney follows the lives of two Irish teenagers in the early 2010s. Connell Waldron, a high school boy from a middle-class family feels comfortable in his hometown. He’s the star of his school's soccer team, he gets along with almost anyone, and the way his grades look he has a bright future ahead of him. His life goes without a hitch until he starts interacting with the daughter of his mother’s employer, Marianne Sheridan. Marianne is far from ordinary, she goes to the same school as Connell and gets excellent grades, but she lacks the whole social aspect of her life. An omniscient third-person narrator tells the book. The conflict of the whole story mainly revolves around those two characters. They both share a deep unmoving love for each other, no matter who they’re with or where they are. But the timing in their relationship never seems to match up, causing heartbreak and pain for both of them constantly. When it comes to storytelling, I genuinely think this might be one of the best books I’ve ever read. Sally Rooney effortlessly weaves together a tight-knit story using beautiful word choice and swift changes in perspective that gives you an all-around look at the thoughts and feelings of the characters. The constant switch between characters helps to show how they rely on each other, without the voice of the other character, the story isn’t truly whole. The author also uses a plethora of flashbacks in the book, which gives all the background information you need to understand the current conflict between people. Another important literary technique that I found extremely interesting was the author's way of writing dialogue between characters. It’s written without quotation marks, which makes it feel like you’re truly hearing the conversation because the words of others and the thoughts of the main characters aren’t separated in the slightest. When it comes to what I’ve learned about myself, I am truly at a loss for words. I could say I look at relationships in a more critical way after reading all the ways Rooney picked them apart in her book, but It’s simply not true. I read how two people, both suffering in their own ways, came together to discover a sense of home and unity. I read how two people constantly separated and came back together because they knew deep down they weren't the same without the other. I’ve read and learned that things won’t always work out. People change and distance and time stress the soul. But life is not made of sadness, hardships, and anger. Life is shaped and created by those who you let close enough to love you and change you in the most beautiful way possible. I’ve learned that it’s not terrible things or the most amazing things that can change your life. Sometimes, It’s just normal people. -Mack |
AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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