The book I decided to pick from the library shelf was American Street by Ibi Zoboi. It told of a teenage girl, Fabiola, who moved to Detroit from Haiti. She experiences her mother’s detainment in the US, while trying to adjust to the new ways of life in Detroit with her aunt and cousins. Through her time, she finds love and family, forcing her to make tough decisions as opportunities arise. With these new experiences in her new home, Fabiola changes from an innocent, naive Haitian girl. I picked this book because it challenged my perspective of what other teenagers’ lives are like. Fabiola and her cousins lived in Detroit, a city much more dangerous and violent than my own. This, as a result, changed the way the teenagers lived their lives, such as keeping a gun in the house. In addition, the family in the book was a different race than I, so I noticed the racism that they faced. For example, how unfairly the police treated the people in Fabiola’s neighborhood. Also, this book broadened my cultural views. The Haitian religion Fabiola believed in, was much different than any religion I participate in or have learned about. In addition, this book challenged the family setting that I know. In the story, Fabiola’s mother was being detained because she wasn’t a U.S. citizen. I never have to worry about my family being split up or being taken away. The book meets this reading without walls guidelines because, although it is about a teenager, her life and culture is completely different than mine. The bad situations that come upon her are much worse than I can even imagine. From reading this book, I have begun to understand what it’s like living in a dangerous place. Since the story was told from Fabiola’s first-person account, I began to understand what she was feeling as she encountered danger and hardships in her life. I also took, from the book, how difficult it is for an outsider to live in a different world, as seen when Fabiola moved to Detroit from Haiti. Right from the beginning, Fabiola felt alien to her new world. “Is she[Fabiola’s mom] being detained? I stare and blink and shake my head. I search my brain for this word, trying to find the Creole word for it.” Though her life is unlike mine, after reading the book, I could still find ways to relate to Fabiola and her family. Through all of her loss, she still had the love from her cousins and aunt. Fabiola having to experience all of the danger of Detroit made me feel very sympathetic for the people who are stuck in those areas. Also, it made me realize how easy it would be to take up bad habits in order to protect family. Fabiola beginning her new life in Detroit as an innocent Haitian girl and growing to be one of the Four Bees showed me that people can change through experiences, time, and people. Finally, the “real” language that the author used really helped me see that, although their lives are different from my own, those lives still exist and need to be recognized. By Morgan
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I read the book, How Dare the Sun Rise, by Sandra Uwiringiyimana. This book explains Sandra’s childhood experiences with war, being a refugee, living in poverty, being an immigrant, and working to make a better world. She grew up in Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, and when she was ten years old her family was forced to go to a refugee camp in Burundi. Soon after they arrived in the refugee camp there was a massacre where her younger sister died, along with many friends and family. Sandra’s family then went to Rwanda where they lived in extreme poverty for the whole time they were there. The United Nations eventually gives them an opportunity to move to the United States, where they think they will have a much better life. They move to Rochester, New York, and although they live in a safer place than before, they have to work very hard to make money, communicate with people, and become citizens. Sandra eventually graduates high school, goes to college, and works to make a better community for people like her. However, in the end she is still haunted by memories of the massacre, refugee camp, and all of the war she lived through as a child. This book was about a person whose life was very different from mine. Sandra’s childhood was full of war and conflict. She hardly had a single year of school that wasn’t interrupted by a war, she lived in poverty for many years, and once she got to the United States she and her family were continually misunderstood. In the book she says, “People sometimes say to me, ‘Oh, you’re so lucky.’ When people say that, I kind of want to punch them in the face. Just because you resettle people doesn’t mean that their lives are suddenly perfect. I lost my little sister in a massacre, fell into the depths of poverty, and fled my homeland. All that, to get to America.” This helped me understand that you can’t just assume what someone thinks or feels about a situation. It also made me realize that immigrants don’t always have a perfect life just because they moved somewhere new. I have never experienced anything she did, or anything even close, but this book helped me to be more empathetic to people who have. Before reading this book, I didn’t have a negative opinion towards immigrants or refugees, but I also didn’t know any specific stories of real people who had those experiences. In this book, Sandra talked about not wanting to be seen as a statistic, or just part of a group of people who are only seen as refugees. Reading this book impacted how I think of refugees, because it made me see them more as people with real lives and personalities. I realized that not everyone who moves to the United States wants to, and may not even have a positive experience here. They also have an entire life that they are leaving behind in their home country, and even if it was a life of poverty or war, they still have connections to that place. I chose to read this book because I knew that I would be reading about someone whose experiences in childhood were extremely different from mine. Reading this book helped me see some of those things from a different perspective, and not just assume that everyone who is living in a poor country has a better life when they come to the United States. I think that this book helped me see the issue of immigration and refugees from a more broad point of view, and it helped me realize that it is important to think about others and realize that everyone has different opinions, and sees things differently through what they have experienced. Meredith T. Imagine being a black lawyer in the late 1980’s for people on death row. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, is a captivating story about how he handles different cases for people on death row. Bryan Stevenson, a black lawyer who represents people on death row, opened a non profit law organization, Equal Justice Initiative, to help poor people in jail who couldn’t afford an attorney. As I read this story I was captivated by Bryan’s story and his clients stories. A lawyer's perspective of the judicial system is totally different than mine. I never realize how biased the jury could be until I read this book. It showed what is truly behind the walls of the justice system and jails and how racism convinces many people to think wrongly about the defendant. This book fit this challenge because I typically go for fiction books because I love how the story is made up and can be sad without bringing you down too much, unlike a nonfiction book about people on death row. I realized how unfair our justice system can be at times, especially when blacks didn’t have as much equality as they do now. Bryan Stevenson was from a poor family who lived in Delaware. He mentions that his grandparents had been slaves in Virginia. He talked about how his grandmother would pull him close to her to see if he felt her presence and if he said no, she would squeeze him harder. His grandfather had been murdered when Bryan was a teenagers. He family did manage to send Bryan to school and he eventually attended Eastern College than Harvard Law School. After finishing college he started representing people on death row then eventually co-owned his own law firm, Equal Justice Initiative. Unfairness in the judicial system is the biggest theme in this book. Just Mercy focuses on a client that Bryan Stevenson represented, Walter McMillian. He is a black man who was accused of rapping a white woman. He was never in trouble with the law and was respected by both white and black communities. McMillian had been having an affair with Karen Kelly, a white woman. This book follows Stevenson’s journey with his case. However, this shows how black men were more susceptible to being arrested and condemned to death row.“We can’t help people on death row without help from people like you.” Just Mercy made me feel so many emotions. From being happy to sad to angry with our country. I never imagined myself sitting down and reading a book based off of documents and real case files about people and their lives. Their stories were so heartbreaking, but it seemed as if Stevenson was trying to show us that we need to step up and take action in this problem just like Steve had told Bryan when he first started. Bryan Stevenson started out as a small nonprofit law organization with not much of anything, but even the littlest things make a big difference. 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 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. It is estimated that over 400,000 juveniles pass through detention centers every year. The book Juvenile In Justice, by Richard Ross, talks about youth’s real world experiences with juvenile detention centers by incorporating the perspectives of current and former inmates. Some of the youth in these detention centers come and go within days. Others however stay in these types of systems for most if not their entire life. It also talks about the flaws in our justice system and how that can affect the kids in theses systems. Something I learned from this book that surprised me was about the amount of gang violence that exists amongst youth. Growing up in Decorah, I hadn’t seen much gang violence. However, in some bigger cities, gang violence is a normal part of everyday life for some people. Some of the kids in this book have killed people, due to gang retaliations, and they don't even realize that what they did was wrong. It’s stuff like this that really challenges my thinking just for the fact that I clearly know it is wrong. To me it almost seems impossible to think that killing someone isn’t bad. A kid killing someone nonetheless. This book definitely taught me a lot about myself and the life I have. It showed me some of the effects of growing up in the conditions that some of these inmates grew up in. It taught me to really appreciate what I have in life because others aren’t as fortunate as I am. This also goes to show that you can’t judge people because it may not be their fault. Some people just grow up in the wrong part of town, or they may have a great life but just make dumb choices. You just never know. One quote that changed the way I feel on gang violence was, “She kissed one of them on the mouth, pulled out a gun, and shot him in the back of the head…” (Glass 17). This quote really touched me. Just the thought of someone my age doing that is unthinkable. Nathan M. Jeanette Walls is reflecting on her life when she states, “I wanted to let the world know that nobody had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets” (Walls 270). The book The Glass Castle is an autobiography about Jeanette Walls’ life growing up. Her father was frequently intoxicated, and her mother was helpless and couldn’t stand up for herself. Because of the lack of steady income, Walls’ family moved often. People didn’t always know or understand her full story, so but Walls’ family had secrets, which I think may be part of the reason she wrote this book. The Glass Castle was a difficult book to read, but at the same time, it was thought-provoking. Walls had a drastically different life than mine. I’ve lived in the same house my entire life, my parents have a steady income, and I’ve never been worried about if I’m going to eat an entire meal three times a day. Walls, on the other hand, even handled her family’s finances for awhile in seventh grade. Because she had such irresponsible parents that didn’t raise her properly, Walls learned from a young age how she needed to be self-sufficient. She couldn’t easily rely or depend on her parents, so she grew up very quickly and very much on her own. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to be living in the same house as my parents while also knowing that they don’t necessarily have my best interests over their own in mind. After reading The Glass Castle, my perspective on growing up has changed. I may only be in tenth grade, but I’m counting down the days until I can leave for college, which will lead to getting a real job. However, I realized that growing up is something to take your time on. For people like Jeanette Walls, she had no option but to grow up quickly and start making her own money and decisions at a young age. She moved out of the house before she even graduated high school. Although that may sound like a pretty good deal to high schoolers dying to get out of the house, the reality is it may just be better to slow down and take a couple breaths. Walls had reasons for her speedy maturity, and they weren’t pretty. By Kaya H. Imagine growing up in a life filled with poverty and desperation. Everywhere you go, your economical situation follows you. This is the life of the hillbillies, a culture often related to the Appalachian region of the United States. J.D. Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, talks about a culture in crisis, the white working-class Americans. This group has been on the decline for the past decades. Poverty and unemployment rates are both increasing, which is causing a lack of health and education. Vance's primary goal in his memoir is to explain to you how the white working-class has fallen into hard times. Many of them struggle to find well-paying jobs, and studies show that Appalachians are the least optimistic group in the United States when it comes to their futures. The Hillbilly’s economic situation makes Vance stress the importance of hard work, and how it can beneficially impact your life. I thought that J.D. Vance was able to raise a lot of hard-hitting and thought-provoking questions, and they kept me constantly thinking. Before reading Hillbilly Elegy, I thought the reasoning behind a culture’s poverty was because of a lack of jobs or jobs that provide little income. Vance’s memoir has guided me to a new way a thinking. His childhood experiences have helped me to believe that the culture itself is partly to blame for their shortcomings. Unwillingness to work or conform to society(like the hillbillies) will result in the culture’s downfall. Vance was also able to connect his own childhood with the points that strengthened his argument and kept me reading. His style of writing and use of analogies will make you feel immediately connected to his story, keeping you thinking as well as entertained throughout the entire book. Hillbilly Elegy has changed my train of thought in many ways. This book has taught me numerous life lessons that can help me in the future. First of all, I feel like I’ve gained a sense of appreciation for the amount of hard work it takes for success. The fact that J.D. grew up in terrible living environments and was able to make it to Yale is unbelievable. His unwillingness to settle for the life of a Hillbilly has inspired me to reach my goals. The other main lesson I felt like I grasped from Vance’s childhood was to have a sense of empathy for the others that surround you. Before reading this book, I’d never really attempted to understand Hillbilly culture. Growing up in a middle-class family has shadowed me from the truth behind poverty. This book has helped me understand what’s it's like to grow up in a bad economic situation. I have an understanding of what the author had to go through to reach his goals, and frankly, this book has humbled me. I feel like I don’t just have a better understanding of people living in poverty, but a better understanding of people in general. All in all, Hillbilly Elegy has taught me what it truly means to put in hard work. “Mamaw and Papaw believed that hard work mattered more. They knew that life was a struggle, and though the odds were a bit longer for people like them, that fact didn’t excuse failure.” -J.D. Vance By Sam R. “Poverty is like being punished for a crime you didn’t commit,”-Eli Khamarov. Hand to Mouth is about how the author Linda Tirado deals with being in poverty, and explaining to her audience how society is partially to blame. The story is told from the perspective of Linda Tirado, the author. What Linda wants us to know is that people in poverty are people too, we should treat them with respect, and that it isn’t totally her’s and other people’s fault that they are in poverty. I noticed in Hand to Mouth that Linda Tirado used a lot of flashbacks to get her point across. These flashbacks were often in the workplace, and sometimes just out in public. She also wrote a little bit about her life at home. There were several things that surprised me. I never knew before this book how had in a capitalist society like ours how hard it could be for people to rise. I never knew that people in poverty were treated with so little respect because at least I try to treat everybody with respect no matter who they are. Several of my beliefs were challenged. I believe capitalist societies are the best because they give people freedom and the ability to move up. The reason is that according to the IRS, four out of five people born in poverty move out of poverty. I didn’t think about where one year they are above the poverty line and the next they are below it. To be honest, before this book I also hardly thought of the one out of five as a person, I just thought of the statistics. I learned several things about myself after reading Hand to Mouth. Chief among these is that I always thought the people in poverty were there because it was there own fault. Now this comes with some experience, but I am not saying that I know every who is poor, I just know some in Cedar Rapids. The parents of these kids some were in drugs, most smoked and a good portion were in wannabe gangs, while being high school dropouts. The gangs aren’t as bad as the gangs of Chicago, or St. Louis, or even Waterloo but it was awfully close. We even called the area where several of them lived together The Ghetto. This book helped me to understand the people in poverty that I don’t know, because not all of them are in poverty because of stupid things they do or did. Some like Linda, are there because society and their bosses won’t let them get good hours and so they can’t rise. This book will help better me in so many ways. I will always try my best now to treat all I meet with the most absolute respect. When I grow up, and if I have a business I will do my best to give them good hours and a good, livable pay. Hand to Mouth has opened my eyes. I realize that there are people in poverty in our own country, real people. They need help to get out and we should stop holding some down so we can keep our money. By Dominic R. “We have serious problems and important work that must be done in this state” (Stevenson). Within the book, Bryan Stevenson describes the stories of people who have received excessive and unfair punishments for crimes that they either did not commit or didn’t deserve such severe punishments. Throughout all of these stories, Stevenson wants the reader to know just how broken our justice system is and how we need to put some effort to eliminate this problem. Stevenson really surprised me right off the bat in Just Mercy because he described these innocent people like Walter McMillian, receiving life imprisonment or worse, capital punishment. In most of the cases the prosecution had very little to no evidence to prove them guilty. Now why would the jury or judge convict them as guilty in these cases? Well most of the time the jury or judge was paid off or they were very biased against the defendant. This also just challenged my original thoughts and feelings because I always thought our justice system was the best in the world, but that just made me notice how naive people are in the twenty first century. Just Mercy really opened my eyes at how little I know about the justice system or anything relating to court cases. I had taken Mock Trial in 7th and 8th grade, but Stevenson showed me of how I’ve only scratched the surface of how the justice system works. In that class I learned the basics of how the justice system works, but the class never prepared me for having discrimination and bias within the system. After reading about this bias and discrimination it helped me change how I perceive stereotypes. Everyone just assumes that the justice system will be as fair as it can be, but nobody notices how it’s broken until you’re the one being treated unfairly or you’re attempting to help the unfortunate like Stevenson. Overall this will all help me to be more aware of how things work in today's society and not to just assume it is the best of the best. Finally, within the book Stevenson says, “The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.” I believe that everyone should read this book to really see how their character truly measures. By Landon M. |
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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