I, personally, have never been discriminated against because of my race, gender, or sexual orientation. But for Sana Kiyohara, an Asian American girl living on the west coast, this does not even come close to a true statement. Early into the story It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiura, she moves to California and starts life at a new school with new people. Sana ends up falling for a sales clerk at some big furniture store during the summer. When Sana recognizes this same girl going to her new school, she quickly joins the cross country team to be near her, and become friends. In the long run, Sana and Jamie fall in love with each other. But Jamie is Mexican. And, this isn’t the only thing on Sana’s mind. She starts to believe that her dad may be having an affair with another woman, and Sana thinks her mother doesn’t know about it. I think what surprised me most about this book is how much racism and stereotyping Sana actually encountered. Such as when she was at a party and just dancing, “‘Omigod, Sana, you look like a freak yelling for the Midwest now!’ … ‘I mean, you do not look like a Midwest farmer’s daughter!’” It was shocking how many characters in the book actually used stereotypes, even those of the race or background that they were stereotyping. Authoritative figures would unintentionally point these things out, or just notice them, and act upon that. When Sana first started going to her new school, the first person she talked to was a “goth” or “emo” boy named Caleb who sat behind her in her math class. Right away, Caleb noticed, not only was she new, but Asian, and automatically thought, even told her, that she was going to end up in the group of Asian girls, which was basically just a group of three Asian girls. Sure enough, the girls came over and snatched her up. All of the girls in that group would use stereotypes and racism, about and even against themselves. That really proved what I had been thinking, which was that people had been influenced so much by society that they were using racism and stereotypes against themselves, and thought that it was not only right to do so, but that the stereotypes were correct. After reading this book, I realized just how much society can impact people. How even authoritative figures can sometimes fall into the traps of stereotyping and racism. Because sometimes it’s easier to generalize people based on a obvious physical characteristic, instead of actually getting to know that single person for who they are. This book really has changed several aspects of my perspective. It causes me to look at some things differently, and some people, and think of what, maybe, they might have gone/been going through. It makes me wonder, if I was in their shoes, how I might react to stereotypes and racism towards me. As a caucasian girl, I haven’t had to deal with these, because I am an unintentionally “privileged” white girl. But if I were someone of a different background, race, ethnicity, social standing, or sexual orientation, I wonder, would I be treated the same? By Jordan S.
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6 in every 10 LGBT students report feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and that affects the main reason at school, which is to learn. In “Symptoms of Being Human” by Jeff Garvin, Riley, the main character, is one of those 6 students that feel unsafe in high school. Riley classifies himself as gender-fluid, but only he and his psychologist knows that. Gender-fluid means not feeling like you’re one gender for the rest of your life, instead meaning that some days you feel like one, and some days the other. Riley finally makes some friends when he moves to another school due to bullying. One friend he makes is named Bec, a rebellious girl with a great sense of humor and caring heart like no other. Another friend he makes is named Solo, one of the biggest nerds Riley has ever known, and he loves it. As he moves to a new school, he starts a blog to talk about his feelings, experiences, and struggles he has had as a gender-fluid teen; that’s where the book begins. From reading this book, I realized that a book can be great, maybe even better than other books, when the author uses no pronouns for the main character. It adds such great suspense throughout the book as you’re reading it because you’re trying to figure out what gender this character is with the author’s subtle hints, but in a way, it’s better when you don’t find out. I think the author also purposely did this so readers wouldn’t be biased to either gender. This book opened up my eyes that I never truly expected. From the beginning I knew I would be learning about the LGBT+ community, and more importantly what gender-fluid is and how they get treated. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve always respected the LGBT+ community and even defended it at times, but this book really gave me, the reader, a close connection to understand what they go through. Another thing I learned, and wasn’t expecting, was about how people-Riley- handle mental struggles like anxiety, and it has helped me a lot with my own. This book has definitely changed my perspective of how people write and what about; I’ll be reading one like this very soon. “We’re all taught from a young age that there are only two choices: pink or blue, Bratz or Power Rangers, cheerleading or football. We see gender in two dimensions because that’s what society has taught us from birth. But, are you ready for a shocking revelation? SOCIETY NEEDS TO CHANGE.” - Jeff Garvin By Angel P. “‘Did anyone ever tell you that you weren’t normal?’ ‘Is that something I should aspire to?’” - Benjamin Alire Saenz One of the most difficult parts of life, for some people, is discovering who they are. In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz, a teenage boy named Aristotle, or Ari, has to learn how to understand his feelings and be himself. The story takes place in El Paso, Texas during the late 1980s. In the beginning of the book Ari meets, and becomes friends with, a boy named Dante, who is unlike anyone he has ever met. Ari’s father fought in a war and now is very emotionally distant and Ari’s brother is in prison and Ari barely knows anything about him. Ari doesn’t have much experience with dealing with feelings so when he becomes friends with sensitive Dante and his tight-knit family it is a big change for him, which he decides isn’t so bad. Dante has a very unique way of seeing the world and Ari learns many life lessons from trying to see the world in this way. Ari feels very alone and isolated from the rest of the world, but he thinks that he likes that. Dante teaches Ari how to be confident in himself and how to not be alone. This book is written from the perspective of Ari, which I found very interesting to read. From his perspective I got to see the way his thoughts changed and matured throughout the story as he learned who he is. I got to see his reactions to things and compare them to my own. Ari is a very relatable character, even though he is almost nothing like me. Discovering who you are and the feelings that go with this are very easy to relate to. The author did a fantastic job of showing complex feelings very accurately and making the story understandable to many different people. I also thought another very interesting part of this book was the juxtaposition of Ari and Dante. These two characters have two completely different ways of thinking and have almost opposite personalities, yet they are able to become very close friends. This could be seen as some kind of statement being made by the author about getting to know people and how you can become friends with people you never thought you would. Immediately after I finished reading I knew that this book had become of of my favourites of all time. It is not only very relatable, as I said before, but also offers readers a different perspective as well. Ari and Dante are both very different from me and growing up in a different time period with far less acceptance of people’s differences.. This book very clearly shows the effect that homophobia and racism can have on people’s thoughts and the way they see themselves. It also talks about topics like PTSD and what it would be like to have a family member in prison. The story tackles all of these topics without the plotline becoming too confusing or heavy, while also expressing important life lessons. I thought that the way this story was written was absolutely beautiful. The author’s writing style and use of metaphors and symbolism makes the meaning of the story really stand out and makes you connect with the emotion in the book. This story went along with my way of thinking almost perfectly and I loved how it expressed the idea that being yourself, no matter what other people think of you, is the real secret of the universe. By Ruby L. Gloria Steinem told the world, “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World addresses people who think like Gloria, whether they cannonballed into the sea of feminism or they are dipping their toes into it for the first time. The book itself is a melting pot of essays, comics, poems, and illustrations. It throws together authors of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, religious backgrounds, and disabilities into one colorful basket to tell about their own experiences and encounters with feminism. Feminism is a tough word to swallow for many people. In my years, I have seen an endless garbage fire of hate bashing the concept, the majority of which comes from uninformed and uneducated citizens. Here We Are undeniably provides enough facts and anecdotes to form and inform public opinions, while being written in an open, welcoming style. The fact that it has a diverse menagerie of authors and illustrators makes it doubly approachable, as any kid on the block could pick up this book and be able to relate to something inside. My own opinions were solidified by the stories I dove into and people I empathized with. If you make the leap, you will find deep connections and stories that suit your meaning of feminism. When reading Here We Are, I already knew that I had feminism in my blood; however, strong wordings in each piece left their mark on how I defined it. One that particularly stuck with me was from Laverne Cox: “...you can define what it means to be a man or woman on your own terms. A lot of what feminism is about is moving outside of roles and… expectations of who and what you’re supposed to be to live a more authentic life” (Allen 75). I believe that every man, woman, child, or non-binary human being should be able to live the life they choose for themselves. Laverne’s description of feminism as a concept that a person can individualize and make their own really opened me up to that view of life. That being said, the main take away from this book for me was that anyone can be a feminist. So many people are raised to believe that only cisgender women can be true feminists. Now I’ve learned: that simply isn’t true. Feminism is what you make of it. Anyone who reads this book will agree. By Lillian G. About 41% of transgender people have attempted suicide. Sexual assault being the biggest cause, followed by physical assault, harassment in school, and job loss due to bias. I read the book Beyond Magenta and found out so many transgender people are hurt, judged, or made fun of every day. In the book Beyond Magenta Susan Kuklin wonderfully uses the words of six transgender teenagers and what they have gone through in their life. Every person in this book will describe a time that they felt out of place, were discriminated against, hurt, and the overall stress of being transgender. Not everything in their life is bad though. Many of them mention the joy of their coming out, the final acceptance from family or friends, and the things they have done to take a stand. Each person has a different story that will impact you in ways you never thought a book could. This book was actually recommended to me, and when I saw it on the pile of available books available I knew I had to read it. From this book I know that someone who is transgender will go through a physical or mental battle at some point. Whether it’s a fist fight or hurtful words said to them, they both cut very deep and will most likely affect them for the rest of their life. Many of their peers judge them, hurt them, and influence them in different ways. But for many, their parents are the biggest influence on their life. Their responses to them coming out, wanting surgery, and knowing that their child gets judged every day, can affect them in many ways. For some transgender people, their parents are very accepting and open, but other people’s parents simply don’t understand and try to “fix” them. If I was treated that way by my own parents I would feel pretty awful. Many people don’t understand why people are transgender, but this book tells the reader why. I think people identify as transgender so they can finally feel comfortable and confident in their skin. They don’t care what others think and aren’t afraid to speak their mind. The struggles that they have had to endure are enough to make them stand up for what is right. It will encourage you to stand up for LGBTQ+ members as well. I have learned so many interesting, sad, and amazing things through this book. I found out all the hate that goes on against transgender people. Although I already knew it happened, it was interesting to hear it from someone’s perspective. My opinion about transgender people didn’t change, I still support people for what their decisions are, but I guess my opinion on the people who don’t support it changed. If you don’t like or support something, don’t make it a public thing. If you really don’t like someone, don’t tell everyone on social media, and don’t start rumors about them just because you don’t like them. I loved this book and think everyone should read it. It’s nice to hear something from someone who has gone through these types of things. “...I can’t believe how something so simple as my clothes led to people thinking that I was being abused, that I was being molested. No one was forcing me to do nothing.” - Mariah in Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin By Finn D. “All I have now is my book about demon hunting and my memories of you. If that is all I ever have in my life, it is enough. But I am not yet ready to bow down to the demons that run the world! Know, my love, that I am always looking out for you. We will find a way…” -Letter written by Farrin to Sadira, page 144 Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis is about two girls who go through every scenario imaginable just so they can be around each other and show their true love. The story is told by Farrin who is a girl that goes to a private Iranian school for girls, but she isn’t a very good student. She also doesn’t have many friends, but all of this changes when she meets Sadira. Sadira moves into Farrin’s town and school just at the right time. Farrin is overwhelmed with her parents, school, and Principal Kobra, but through all of the bad, she hears soft and beautiful music playing in the distance. She follows the soothing sound to a supply closet where she meets Sadira for the first time, playing the sweet music. From that day on, Farrin’s and Sadira’s relationship grew bigger and bigger each and every day. Their relationship never wavered in the presence of hate and fear never stopped to shine bright even in the worst situations imaginable. Farrin’s and Sadira’s passion for each other was so giant that even after death became a factor, they still loved each other more than ever. This book definitely challenged my view on what life is like for girls in the middle east, especially because the story was based off of true events. I was shocked when I read some of the things that not only Farrin but many other girls either had to do or couldn’t do because of the rules that are put in place. The one rule that stuck out the most to me was the ban of any homosexual acts, which completely changed every aspect of Sadira’s and Farrin’s life after they formed a relationship. This law and many other rules and laws that oppress creativity were put in place by the government and became the culture of Iran. It has become part of the culture in Iran to publically execute anyone who violates a rule or arrest a person for hanging up a poster supporting something different from the government. Farrin and Sadira have to conform to the culture of Iran in order to stay out of trouble, but most importantly, to stay alive. It’s because of those things that I changed my view on the middle east in general, but specifically I changed my view on the lives of women in the middle east. If I were to think about any book that I’ve ever read, I would say this one changed me the most emotionally. Usually the only things the emotionally move me are things that I can relate to, but this book was so different from my life or any other lives that I know of that it emotionally moved me more than anything I can remember. This book made me realize just how lucky not only me but all of us are to have everything that we do and to be able to do what we want while other people in other countries have to go through the hardest things imaginable just to do simple things like show their true love as shown in this story. After reading this book, I will really appreciate everything that has been given to me and everything that will be given to me from this day on. Additionally, this book made me focus on one quote that will be engraved in my brain now which is, “enjoy everything that you have now because you don’t know when it’s going to be gone.” This applies to both people and things because you have no idea when you are going to lose a loved one or when you’re going to lose something as simple as your favorite t-shirt. This made me realize it’s better to enjoy the things you like while you have them, so you don’t regret not doing it when they’re gone. By Joseph C. Some things in life simply don’t make sense. The experiences that are faced by humanity on a daily basis may be confusing and seem to have no true meaning other than to hurt the people involved. I know that I have definitely felt this way during my life. When I read the book I am J by Cris Beam, I noticed that I must not be the first, nor the last, person to feel this way. The story is told through the perspective of a seventeen year old transgender man named J, who was born Jeni. J’s story is about transitioning to the male gender and learning how to help the people he loves, as well as himself, understand exactly what he’s going through and who he was meant to be. He has to take up the troubling crosses of telling his best friend, Melissa, and his parents, Carolina and Manny, that he is a boy who was born a girl. Most everyone that he shares this information with shuts him out at first. Melissa and Carolina eventually come around, but even in the end of the book Manny is still having trouble grasping that his daughter is not really his daughter. Along this terrifying path, J meets other trans mentors such as Zak and Chanelle who help him learn to love himself and who he was born to be. They guide him and give him the support system that his family is failing to provide. J explains his bond with Chanelle through this quote: “Chanelle is like me in many ways. We are both easily misunderstood...she isn’t afraid to tell people that she’s transgender… meeting her was an event that changed my life” (Beam 293). I’ve become more educated on what the word transgender means as I’ve lived and grown. Especially in the time that we are living in, information is so readily available and people are not as scared to share their stories. I knew that transgender people were simply born in the wrong body. I knew that gender reassignment surgery was a option, but that it was expensive and unattainable for some people in their situations. That was about all I knew. This book showed me an in depth perspective of what it truly means to be transgender. I was able to look into the mind of a young man who hated the pigtails his mother brushed his hair into. It was a story that I never would have experienced if I hadn’t read this book. It surprised me how much J truly hated who he was. Sure, I’ve disliked certain parts of myself and wished that I could change them, but I have never felt such disdain for my body that J felt for his. He just wanted to be like every other boy he saw as he walked to school each morning. He wanted to be who he was meant to be. By reading this particular book, I noticed something very important. I am so incredibly lucky. From a very young age, my parents have always told me that if I ever have a problem that I need to come home. They will not be angry or make me feel bad about my situation, but they will help me understand what is happening and we will work through it as a family. I’ve never had to fear that my family would throw me out of the house because of something that I’d done. I’ve always had a safe place to go where I could be completely myself and grow in that sense. J has never had this kind of home life. His parents were furious when he quit swimming and they didn’t even try to understand his situation as a transgender man. J was left with nowhere to be safe. This thought crushed me as I was reading I am J. How must it feel to not even have your parents know who you really are? If my best friend came to me and told me that they were going through exactly the same situation as J, I would try to comfort them as best I could but honestly, I would have no idea. This book forced me to realize that not everyone is even close to as privileged as I have been in the home life area. I guess I try to forget that the world isn’t all happy families and memorable meals shared around the dinner table. I try to forget that some parents don’t listen to their children and that some children can’t stand to look their parents in the eye. No matter how hard I try to forget these things, I know that I can’t make them disappear. But I can change my own ignorance to them. I can make myself aware of what the real world is like and how sometimes listening and trying to understand a person can make all the difference. This is exactly what the book, I am J, has done for me. It has helped me open my eyes to the fact that my life isn’t the only kind of life. By Katie V. “Most babies come into the world crying or gasping or snotting. Not Tiny Cooper. He comes into the world singing” (Levithan 9). David Levithan’s Hold Me Closer is the story, in the form of a musical, of Tiny Cooper’s life and his journey of finding out who he is. The book is told from Tiny’s perspective because in the story, Tiny has written the musical about himself. The story starts in the present, then flashes all the way back to when Tiny is born, making several stops at different ages up through high school years. Each stop shows a new challenge or topic Tiny has to address in his growing up, coming out as gay, and more universal high school experiences. The main point that the author is trying to make is that even if a person feels alone, there are usually a surprising number of people behind them willing to provide support. One thing that surprised me in the book was how little reason some people needed to end a relationship. Although my book was fiction, many of the relationships were not well thought out to begin with, and the reasons people had when breaking up were incredibly petty. A few examples of reasons include when Tiny sang too much, played football, or was too big. These are all fairly minor things and could have been avoided or solved for the most part if the person had just confronted Tiny about the issue. However, unfortunately these aren’t unheard of explanations, whatever a person’s sexual orientation is. The book was written as the script for the musical and while it was fun to have the character’s parts and director’s notes, I missed knowing what any of the characters were thinking throughout the story. I think that even though one of the main things that makes Tiny different from me is that he comes out as, and is exploring, what it means to him to be gay. This was a common topic in the book, but not more so than how physically big or how musically talented Tiny is. I appreciated that him being gay wasn’t such a big deal that it took over the whole book. It set a good example of what coming out and having so much support for it should be for everyone. Hopefully, coming out can be shown in reality for more and more people. In the future, as people get used to the idea that being gay doesn’t define a person, we can all live together happily in peace. “But none of that really mattered. I had found my tribe. It felt like a family reunion for the family I'd never really known, a homecoming at the place where I was always meant to be nut hadn't known how to find.” -David Levithan I read the book “She’s Not There” by Jennifer Finney Boylan. This story shows how James over time realized who he was and became Jennifer. Throughout the book James has trouble coping with who he is and has trouble. He thinks of his “condition” as being a transexual. He tries to be cured by trying to find people to love him and who he can love. After meeting many different women he meets Grace and is seemingly cured for a long time until he ends up understanding who he is. Over the years he had dressed as a woman and finally decided to risk his loving relationship by coming out to Grace. After a while James becomes Jennifer and visits many doctors and support groups. She continues on her journey until she finally is able to come out to the world and her friends. Most people receive her well, and those who don’t mostly ignored her. In the end she gets the operation done to complete her transition. Jennifer’s friend Richard Russo is also along for the ride even though he did not understand the process. He wrote an afterword about Jennifer's change as he saw it. I chose this book due to how different this person's life is than mine. They live in a different place and went through a lot of different things that I never will in my life. James/Jennifer is so different than me because I have not experience changing genders. She also has some very hard things like having to risk losing her wife, Grace. Over time the changes in her relationships with her friends and relatives changes dramatically and really affects her view on life and genders. She has to experience the un-thinkable as she goes through and understands things about her new gender and start to not understand things about when she was a male. What she experienced was mentally and physically taxing and changes most what she knew. He life used to be one way and was changed quite a bit. This book gave me new insights into what people who are transgendered have to go through. It helped me understand how it happened to them and what was going through their heads as they changed. This book impacted me because of how James’ relationships with his friends, family, and associates changed quite a bit compared to when she was Jennifer. Every friendship was tested. The most impacting part was how his wife was now his sister in a way and their love for each other changed very much. Her life was also crazy and confusing which adds to the aww that you feel when reading it. Richard Russo, James and Jennifers best friend, said, “A plot, I used to remind my students, is not merely a sequence of events: "A" followed by "B" followed by "C" followed by "D." Rather, it's a series of events linked by cause and effect: "A" causes "B," which causes "C," and so on. True, a person's (or a fictional character's) destiny may be more than the sum of his choices--fate and luck play a role as well--but only scientists (and not all of them) believe that free will is a sham. People in life--and therefore in fiction--must choose, and their choices must have meaningful consequences. Otherwise, there's no story.” Written by Adam The book I choose to read for the reading without walls challenge was How They Met And Other Stories by David Levithan. This cute little book had a different story for every chapter. Many of them were about how people met, not all romantic. This book, in a way, met two out of the three challenges. Some of the people in the stories were gay or a different race. You can kinda fit this book into a different format with multiple stories, something I don’t normally read. I picked this book because I’m a sucker for cute love stories and also any other cute stories. I also found it interesting to have the stories in first person so you could really see how they were experiencing life at that moment. Most of the stories were a story of how someone met their significant other or just a crush. I found them very cute. The first few were of gays and I found every story to be very different and I really liked how I got to feel how they feel and see what they see. I support the LGBTQ comuntiy but I don’t really know much about how they experience romantic relationships; and no surprise, it’s no different then how anyone else does. Other stories were little adventures that I always found myself very engaged in. I hated putting the book down when I had to. The stories always jumped right into the action and kept the energy going. The fun part was that every chapter was a new love starting or a new adventure and I was always excited to see what was coming next. A quote from one of the stories that stood out to me was “You are a second away from saying it.” The next line went right into what, apparently I, was going to say but, being me I overthought this little quote. I thought about how many of us can be one second away from saying something that could impact you and/or someone else but we don’t. I know that’s not what the quote was really about but I kinda interpreted it to my own way. I loved reading this book that opened my eyes to how other people live their day to day lives or how they live a specific moment in their life. I really think this is the perfect travel book but it also shows you differences in lives that every has, and also the similarities. Written by Kayanne |
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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