The Hate U Give, written by Angie Thomas, highlights the life of a teenage girl, Starr, who has to live somewhat of a double life. In Garden Heights, the ghetto neighborhood she lives in, Starr can speak and act ‘black’. But the second she steps into Williamson, a mainly white private school that she attends, she hesitates to use the slang she would normally use. When she’s back at home, it is not surprising for her to hear gunshots at night, unlike her school friends, who live in peaceful suburbs. One night, Starr and her childhood friend, Khalil, went for a drive, and they got stopped by a cop. Khalil stepped out of the car, and before Starr knew it, he was dead. Now the second death she has witnessed in her life, Starr has to decide how she will bring justice to Khalil’s tragic death, as she was the only witness the night of his death. This book stood out to me because it is about police brutality, a topic I that I’d like to get a better understanding for. I was curious to learn about the subject from the perspective of Starr, a person greatly impacted by the violence that killed her friend. Although Starr and I are both girls and around the same age, we have many differences. To start, Starr is African American while I’m white. I am privileged to live in a safe neighborhood, but Starr lives in the ghetto and struggles to feel safe at home. Starr and I both go through similar ‘struggles’ of school, time management, etc. However, my problems seem like nothing compared to Starr’s, because I don’t have to feel on edge whenever I see a police car or worry about my house getting damaged in riots. From reading The Hate U Give, I learned never to judge a person based off of a single thing they have done. The death of Khalil was often glossed over because people called him a thug and a drug dealer. Some even went as far as to say that his death was a good thing or that it was bound to happen eventually. Khalil did, in fact, sell drugs, but only for the purpose of paying off his mother’s debt. “‘He didn’t wanna sell drugs, Starr,’ DeVante says. ‘Nobody really wanna do that...Khalil ain’t have much of a choice though.’” Khalil, unfortunately, got stuck into the system of selling drugs, but that did not justify his death in any way. After reading this book, I’ve learned not to jump to conclusions before I get to know someone. Often there is more to a person than what meets the eye. By Cady P
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Written by Julie Murphy, the book Dumplin’ is centered around Willowdean, a plus-sized Texas teen. Willowdean works at a local fast-food joint where she meets Bo, a cute, preppy athlete who she later learns will be transferring to her school that fall. She begins to develop a crush on Bo, and he begins to show interest in her. Instead of finding self-assurance, Willowdean begins to lose her confidence and wonders why he would like a girl like her. She is dubbed “Dumplin’” by her mom, who happens to be a former beauty queen and the director of the Miss Clover City beauty pageant, which takes over their town every year. She decides to enter her mom’s precious pageant in part to gain back her confidence, and in part protest, which eventually develops into a full bore revolution when other class outcasts beginning following in her footsteps. I found it interesting how even though Dumplin’ takes place in a high school setting in rural America, Willowdean still has an extensively different life than me. One of the most considerable differences between Willowdean and I is her struggle with maintaining a healthy weight and how that has affected her everyday life. I think everyone has at some point felt self conscious about their appearance or body, but with Willowdean, her weight seems to be a constant factor hanging in the back of her mind. Because she is much larger than most other girls her age, things as simple as going swimming or shopping are a huge struggle for her. Because she has had so much experience with teasing and bullying over her size, she has a very hard time trusting people, even if they have good intentions. Throughout the novel, Willowdean has to learn to ignore the haters and keep her self-worth high. She thinks to herself in the book, “Beautiful, he says. Fat, I think. But can’t I be both at the same time?” She can’t deny that she is overweight, but she can realize that size and appearance aren’t everything. This book made me process how destructive negative comments can really be. We never really know what’s going on in someone’s life, and it’s not okay to share our own opinions if they are going to tear someone else down. Just because someone looks or acts differently than you, it doesn’t mean that they are any less in need of support. Also, it really made me think about the importance of self-worth and how you can’t love someone until you learn to love yourself. Willowdean struggles being in a relationship, until she realizes that just because she’s bigger than most other girls, she’s still beautiful. I realized that you should never worry what others think of you, because your own opinions matter so much more than anyone else’s. Kendra B. ‘All American Boys’ is a novel that represents police brutality in the United States, through the eyes of two boys. One named Rashad, and another named Quinn. Rashad is a black high schooler who was a victim of police brutality, and Quinn is a white high schooler, who was a witness of it. After witnessing police brutality, Quinn was shocked that the police officer was someone very close to him, and the boy was just a high-school classmate. For both Quinn and Rashad, it was a life changer, because they learned what it meant to All American Boys. This book is trying to explain how police brutality in the United States is a harsh reality, and how it can happen anywhere. I picked ‘All American Boys’ because racial profiling is a very hot topic right now on the news, and also on social media. Racial profiling is an old problem, and the fact that it is still a problem in 2019, is not okay, and it needs to stop. Decorah isn’t very diverse, and I have never seen any kind of racial profiling in real life, or even anywhere around my community. This fits the rules of the reading without walls challenge, because I have never been racially profiled, I don’t personally know anybody who has been, and I can’t relate to the main character, Rashad very easily. The author of this book did a very good job of making us see the whole story in Rashad, and Quinn’s point of view. I can relate to Quinn, in the way that I was very disturbed how Rashad was beaten, and treated horribly. This was all because the police officer jumped to conclusions and racially profiled Rashad. I was also shocked how the police officer was so close to Quinn, and I realized that could happen here in Decorah. I learned what it was like to be a black man in the United States, and how their life is so much different than mine. Being an all american boy means to me, speaking your mind, showing your beliefs, and pursuing your dreams. “Because racism was alive and real as shit. It was everywhere and all mixed up in everything, and the only people who said it wasn’t, and the only people who said, “Don’t talk about it” were white. Well, stop lying. That’s what I wanted to tell those people. Stop lying. Stop denying. That’s why I was marching. Nothing was going to change unless we did something about it. We! White people!” Gus G. “Open your eyes, concludes the man, and see what you can with them before they close forever.” From multiple award winning Anthony Doerr, All the Light we Cannot See is one of the best books to read for this challenge. Told in non-chronological order, the book takes place from 1934 - 2014 focusing on two main characters, Werner Pfennig, and Marie-Laure. Marie-Laure is a 6 year old French girl living with her father in Paris. Her father, Daniel Leblanc works in the History museum where a diamond called the sea of flames is displayed. At this time Marie-Laure is going blind. Her father then teaches her braille and makes beautiful models of Paris so she can learn her way around the city. As war breaks out in France in early 1940, Marie-Laure and Daniel move to Saint-Malo with her Uncle. Daniel was tasked with keeping the sea of flames safe and away from the Nazi, as legend says who ever owns it lives forever, but everyone he loves will die. Werner is a 8 years old German boy who grows up in an orphanage worrying about growing up only to be a miner. He come across a radio and is instantly hooked on learning about science, and engineering. With his new found passion comes great new opportunities. He is offered to study at the National Institute, a Nazi school for Hitler Youth. He quickly passes with flying colors and works with Dr. Hauptmann on new radar based tracking technology. He is then deployed with this new tech on the front lines of Russia and them France. As he travels through Nazi occupied Paris and soon ends up in Saint-Malo when he and Marie-Laure cross paths. Werner finds Marie-Laure hiding in the basement of her house after the city was bombed. Werner is then arrested by American troops and dies by stepping on a German land mine. Marie-Laure goes on with her life as a scientists in Paris with a daughter and granddaughter. As I said, this book has got to be one of the best books to read for this challenge. As the majority of Decorah's residents were born and raised in America, this book offers amazing perspective on how it would be to live in France and Germany during WWII. Not only that, but most chapters are less than four pages long. Each chapter switching between the two characters. This book is great because it appeals to everyone. Everyone can gain insight from this story. Learning what it is like to be blind, or being a young soldier on the front lines, heck even both sexes are included in this book as main characters. All in all this book will have something to teach you about someone different than yourself. My insight from the book come from Marie-Laure, the blind French girl. I couldn’t imagine being blind, especially during this time period. I really love how her father shares her struggle by making models of cities so she can learn her way around. It’s also pretty amazing the amount of trust she has to put into other people. I think this is something everyone struggles with , especially me. Most the time I don’t want people to help because it's hard to adjust to change and difference. Marie-Laure is a great example to keep trying and trying even if it takes you years until you get it right. She never gave up learning how to see and find her way home even after her vision was gone. If she can do that. Then me and you, we can do anything. Gabe A. “The truth is, it’s exactly what I want, but I’m scared of wanting it and even more scared of actually having it.” -Angelo Surmelis, The Dangerous Art of Blending In. Evan Panos is a seventeen-year-old boy who is a child of a strict Greek immigrant. He lives with his mom, Vee, and dad, Eli, who encourage him to follow in the strict rules of Christianity, especially his mom. When Evan goes to school, he gets picked on by the school bully, Thommy, and his crew, about his sexuality which makes him question himself. On top of what happens at school, his mom has always seen Evan as a disappointment and she believes that her son seeks evil constantly behind her back. She has abused him since he was five and he possesses many bruises that he tries to hide from the outside world. Although his dad is very loving and supportive, he is very subtle about stopping the abuse that happens constantly to his son. Evan thinks he has no one to talk to, so he writes down all of his experiences and feelings in journals and draws in an old monastery. One day, his mom finds the journals and turns them into their pastor for help. The pastor reads about Evan’s abuse and the discovery of his sexuality. The pastor then talks to him about how he’s just going through a ‘phase’. Evan believes that he can’t hear the word “gay” without the stigma and shame from his mom and his faith. I picked this book for this challenge because I’ve never read a book from the genre of LGBTQ+. Evan and I are very different because of our gender, sexuality, religion, culture, and the location in which we live. All differences aside, we are the same because we both know what it’s like to be a teenager and we both are the only child. Throughout my life, I’ve been really open to meeting people with different cultures, religion, political views, gender, etc, but I’ve never had a true insight of the LGBTQ+ community. I’ve seen parades, marches, and lots of social media posts of people of different ages showing their pride and I really wanted to know what some may go through. Some people go through finding their true self with love and support, while others go through hatred and even worse, abuse. It’s important for people to know that it’s hard to please everyone no matter what, but being yourself is a true way of being the light in the darkness and it inspires others to do the same. Most of the time, other people are going through the same thing you are. You are never alone. In the book, Evan was so worried to love someone because he was scared of what society and his mom would think of him. In the end, his best friend, Henry, was going through the same thing and they end up together. Love is love. I’ve gained so much awareness about the lives of other teenagers from reading this book. This story shows the harsh reality of what happens behind closed doors. I’ve learned some of the struggles of those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. Growing up as a teen is hard enough, but trying to figure out your true self without love and support is tougher than others may think. It’s devastating that some people can’t live their life without the stigma that comes with being who they are. It’s sad that society sometimes traps people from being who they want to be. I think it’s important to have opportunities to learn about someone else’s life experiences to join communities together to gain understanding. The world would be such a lovely place if we all took the chance to communicate with each other and learn together. Amanda K. I read the book “Miles Morales: Spider Man” by Brian Bendis. This book is about an abnormal teenager whose family has money problems. This teenager is Miles Morales who is also a very smart teen who attends a private school on a scholarship. The book follows Miles who is often accompanied by his best friend and roommate Ganke. Throughout the book Miles fights with believing that because his father and brother were criminals at one point Miles will turn to crime as well. Despite trying his best Miles often makes mistakes that enforce the idea that he really does have “bad blood” which will cause him to become a criminal and use his powers for worse. While he battles with his internal battle he also butts heads with his history teacher who seems to know all about Miles. Throughout the book will he comes to terms and solve his internal and external problems? When I picked up “Miles Morales: Spider Man” I chose it simply because I figured since a superhero was the main character it would be an easy and fast read. Once I got into the book I realized that it wasn’t the stereotypical superhero book that was about a hero going around saving the world. Instead it was about a teenager who is trying to figure out who he is while doing his best to make his parents proud and not be a burden. The book goes through struggles with teachers and girls instead of troubles with villains and criminals. While the book does have a criminal and villain here and there it is much more realistic with real hardships. One of the major hardships is the financial status of Miles’ family. I have never had to worry about some of the problems that Miles has because fortunately my family doesn’t struggle financially. I never thought about some of the things that some people have to do just to ease their burdens. Miles had to get perfect grades in order to keep his schooling free so he wouldn’t be a burden to his family. He also has to worry about his mistakes which could result in his family losing their home. Throughout the book Miles overcomes these challenges and succeeds. This book has showed me that the future is yours and you can be who you want to be. In the beginning of the book Miles believed that he was doomed to become a criminal. Throughout the book he slowly realizes that he decides what happens to his life. Before this book I had never really given the topic much thought but now I realize even more than before that I write my life story and decide what happens. It has also taught me to be grateful for what I have because there are many other people in the world who have to worry about things such as keeping a roof over their head which has never been a worry for me. Americanized: Rebel without a Green Card is a memoir written by Sara Saedi about her teenage years growing up as an illegal immigrant in the United States. After her family migrated from Iran in hopes of getting green cards, they get stuck in a decades-long waiting process, and have to continue their normal life in constant fear of being deported. However, being an Iranian immigrant does not stop Saedi from experiencing the everyday-drama of being a teen in America. She crushes on boys, deals with acne, goes to Prom, and has quarrels with her parents. I think that Saedi symbolically sums up the book with this quote: “Iran is not pronounced i-RAN; its pronounced e-RON. Tell all your friends. On behalf of my fellow Iranians (e-RON-ians), we thank you” (Saedi 9). Saedi sprinkles educational material about Iran throughout the book, by addressing some stereotypes about Iranians. However, she does this in a somewhat sarcastic/entertaining tone, so readers don’t feel like they are reading an encyclopedia. I picked up Americanized: Rebel without a Green Card because I thought that the book was going to involve someone going through a completely different experience than me; Sara Saedi had to go through many things that I don’t have to experience. Saedi spends a lot of time writing about high school experiences, such as going to prom or having a boyfriend, that most American-born kids take for granted. Her parents, growing up in Iran, didn’t have these opportunities because of certain laws that prevented gatherings of both genders. Her mother and father also had an arranged marriage, which is something that seems so wrong in America, but is commonplace in Iran. Because of the experiences Saedi’s parents had, she cherishes every moment. She also describes something called “Immigrant Child Guilt Complex.” This is a term for what goes through the mind of immigrant children when they blame themselves for the sacrifices their parents make during immigration. Saedi feels she is responsible for the economic hardships her parents go through, and the stressful process of trying to get green cards. I am lucky to not have this kind of stress go through my mind on a daily basis, but it was really helpful to learn that it exists, so that I can be more empathetic to people who may struggle with similar situations. The most important message I took away from this book is that though we may have many different backgrounds, we all are human. We all go through good and bad experiences, and we all laugh and cry at times. Though Saedi is an Iranian-immigrant, which both come with different baggage than being American-born, I have things in common with her. I love my sister as she loves her siblings, even if both of us have gotten into fights with them before. We’ve both had to deal with lost loved-ones, and had to move to a new house, even though we loved our old one. Even though she has a completely different life than I do, I was able to understand her struggles and conflicts through her way of writing, which kept me engaged while other books have failed to do so. By making the book somewhat informative about Iranian culture and immigration policies, I felt like there was factual and emotional thoughts that I was able to take out of the book. By Noah L. |
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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