If you’re struggling with life, this is the book to read. Even though I’m young, I like to think that I’ve gone through a mid life crisis or two. This book help evaluate through life and give you guidance on how to live it to the fullest in my humble opinion.
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Summary:
Being overwhelmed with how his life has turned out, Mitch Albom revisits his favorite professor. Mitch feels like his life is on a boring cycle and can’t seem to get out of the funk. After his professor agrees to be interviewed, they create an undying bond that continues throughout the book. As Morrie continues to help Mitch decided what’s important, he also helps the reader with each chapter.
Reviews:
One of the reasons why this isn’t ranked higher is because it got really emotional for me. That’s not something I like to admit, but many people on GoodReads also think that this book is really good too. Here are some comments:
So i didn’t realise this book was actually nonfiction until after i’d just finished reading it.. and now my feelings are all over the place!! This was a beautiful story, I would definitely recommend reading it if you haven’t already.
I have never written a review like this before but this book truly inspired me.
I didn’t know this book was a memoir when I picked up this book. I wasn’t even consciously looking for this book. It’s one of the books in my sister’s collection. I picked it up because I needed some kind of motivation/inspiration to live life again with zeal. But what this book offered me was something I wasn’t expecting from it.
This book broke me. It was raw, thought provoking, heart breaking and real.
Loved it. So, so sad and yet so uplifting at the same time.
Tuesdays With Morrie definitely makes you look around and realise how lucky you are and that you should make the most of life while you still can.
Random Remarks:
Like previously stated, this is a memoir which means this book really happened. Pictured to the left is the author and main “character” of the book too. He has learned how to live his life to the fullest thanks to Morrie. He reflects on his past before and after in several videos and clips of him reading the memoir as well. If you’re seriously struggling to pick up a book or continue to push through life, please pick up this book.
These types of books are my top recommended novels for anyone to read. They are real life journals found written and nonfiction that have been turned into novels. They change the names in the novel so you cannot look up anyone mentioned to read about their life or get any medical papers. The medical papers are even included in the novel, but all important information is blacked out.
Summary:
A written diary from true life events, follows a girl named Ana who is struggling with learning how to control her life. An avid runner and sports player, she learns that the one thing she can control is her weight and her eating habits. This diary travels around what it is like to live with anorexia and how mentally draining it is to heal from learning that what you are isn’t good enough.
Reviews:
I love how raw this diary is and how accurate it can be. Although some people disagree with the accuracy, people have to remember that every case is different. Here are some reviews from GoodReads:
It was so sad. I couldn’t put it down because I kept anticipating the end, but I DIDN’T KNOW IT ENDED LIKE THAT!
Omg this story was just as amazing as go ask Alice. I read this in a span of five hours and was rooting for the main character the whole time. It’s a very disturbing realistic view into anorexia and how it is a disease that affects girls every day.
I had read Go Ask Alice a couple years ago and decided to try out another book from the other “Anonymous” author collection. I am so glad I did. Like Go Ask Alice, this is the main character’s journal, which started off as a food/feeling journal. It is interesting to see what she wrote, her weight changes, and the evolution of her disorder.
To be honest I don’t know where to start about this book. Just the fact that it was written by an anonymous authour just makes you so much more intrigued to read it. I myself have struggled with anorexia nervosa since the age of 11 and just seeing that what I felt and thought happens to a lot of people sure made me feel like I wasn’t the odd one out.
I thought this one was pretty good! It didn’t fully describe what I felt when I was going through anorexia and it didn’t really describe how I feel now but I think the ‘anorexia experience’ is different for everyone.
Anorexia is becoming a leading eating disorder in today’s society. With the beauty standards surfacing around social media, the one thought that passes a majority of young girls mind is to stop eating. It’s easy and it’s call restrictive type in the anorexia category. Most people attend a rehab clinic to help understand ways to become better, but you never fully recover and it’s something you have to deal with for life. It’s a constant battle that you have to overcome as you continue to learn how to deal with the diagnosis. You can read more about anorexia in Health Observation.
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Final Thoughts:
Although I loved this novel, it can be dangerous for young readers or anyone with a trigger. However, with the ending, hopefully it provides enough caution and awareness for young people to understand that it’s not a simple fix to fall in line with social media or life in general.
I actually read this novel for a class and it pointed out some serious issues that are present in our country. It’s a graphic novel which is probably why it’s not a perfect ten. I’m not a big fan of graphic novels personally but I know other people are.
This novel is beautifully written with an unexpected twist.
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Summary:
This graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang, follows three storylines in one completed piece of work. You have Jin Yang a young Chinese American student moves to a new school, noticing that he is the outsider. He gets bullied everyday for not being a white American, but he feels like it gets worse when he falls in love with an “All-American” gal. In attempt to fit in he has to overcome the racism he faces each and everyday.
In storyline two, you follow the Monkey King and his journey through life. It derives from an old Chinese fable that the author was told growing up. He struggles with greediness and power, trying to prove himself in superiority compared to all the other elders and gods. Ultimately he tries to become the one and only greatest of all gods.
Storyline three follows a teenager named Danny who’s cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit. Chin-Kee represents the ultimate worst Chinese stereotypes wrapped into one character. Essentially things like his accent, intelligence, and even clothing makes Danny feel like his life is quickly being ruined. As you continue the novel, you see how these three storyline eventually fall in line with each other.
Many people believe that this graphic novel has a resounding and loud message behind each page. You can read multiple ratings on GoodReads, but I will list a few below:
A unique message and vivid writing – I loved how he was able to weave together three stories in such a short story!
And for once in my life I was pretty happy about being awake in the early morning hours because I realized rather quickly that American Born Chinese is one of the best graphic novels I’ve read so far.
Both books are about the immigrant experience, a topic difficult to write about in ways that are (more or less) politically correct but not too obvious and predictable.
Quite a quirky book, but it benefits from it. It does it’s own thing and completely does it well. The themes were powerful and well delivered: I loved seeing the three different stories comment on racism, but more than that, self acceptance.
Man this hit me in the feels. This would have been a momentous book for me as a pre-teen. I totally identified with Jin Wang and in him recognized the need to fit in as a second generation Asian surrounded by a majority of white peers and the undercurrent of Asian stereotypes that still bubbled to the surface from Long Duk Dong to William Hung. It is a coming of age story that explores this overwhelming need to fit in while wresting with a larger cultural identity.
Apparent Themes:
This graphic novel focuses on racism and self-acceptance. The systematic racism that has dripped through generation after generation has not disappeared over the years. In fact, racism towards Asians has increased dramatically over the last year or so. Due to some of the things that our former President, Donald J. Trump, said made people believe that all Asians were the root of the pandemic.
Hate crimes towards Asian have skyrocketed recently, but not all of them are being labeled hate crimes. According the The NY Times, prosecutors and police claim that there is usually not enough evidence to prove racist motives, but there is for attempted murder or murder in general.
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You can look up any petitions or fundraisers being held to stop the hate crimes that are on the monumental rise.
Final Thoughts:
This novel was a whirlwind, but an excellently written one. In fact, there were multiple points that have occurred to me in my lifetime too. Although I am not of any Asian decent, I was born in Japan and lived there for a couple years. Growing up in a small town, once people heard that news, they would make snide racist remarks, pull their eyes so they would stretch, and mock the culture. It was painful growing up at times and I was white American. I cannot begin to imagine how painful and confusing it can be for Chinese Americans to be bullied and harassed for their culture.
This Jodi Picoult novel was good. That’s the only word I can use to describe this novel. It wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t boring either. The best way to put it is it was somewhere in the middle. Although I tend to love Jodi Picoult’s writing style and topics she chooses, there was a missing spark in this novel. I still enjoyed it for the most part though.
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Overview:
Alex Rivers, a famous celebrity superstar of an actor, is married to Cassie Barrett, a renowned anthropologist. They were the couple who seemed to have it all. But Cassie gets amnesia, unsure of who she is, where she is, or who to consider family. Their relationship gives away a rough bumpy road as she struggles through trying to remember the past she has forgotten. The question to ask yourself while reading this novel, “What will happen next?”
Reviews:
Out of all the Jodi Picoult books, the reviews given for this novel are by far the worst I’ve ever seen. I would say that my rating is being generous compared to some of the others. You can read all the ratings on GoodReads, but here are a few I can list for you:
I have to say Jodi Picoult is not my thing. After I read this book I feel like I am having amnesia just like the main character. Do not remember much of what is going on with this book.
I typically love Jodi Picoult novels but this one was a huge let down. She typically focuses on relevant topics and is able to capture the details of everyday life along with the real emotions her characters are dealing with; but Picture Perfect was nothing but a bad romance novel. Her portrayal of the wife battering is shallow and unrealistic. The little that she touches on Native American issues is interesting, but again, there’s no real substance to anything in this novel.
This was, by far, the WORST book I ever read.
Alas, I always tout Picoult as an authur of “good reads” but this one is BADD….It can be compared to the paperback grocery store “bodice-busters”. The story idea is OK, but the writing is? ? ? Where was the editor? The only good part was when the Native Americans were in the read. Don’t go for this one.
I was initially intrigued by this story: amnesia, a suspicious situation involving a movie star, a hot cop… but what I was left with was a main character who defined herself by the men in her life.
I had so many problems with this book. It really upset me that that Jodi Piccoult took the very intense subject matter of domestic violence and set it up through such an unrealistic premise
Domestic Violence:
Domestic Violence is a serious problem in the United States. It is a problem that grew much larger during quarantine with people in abusive relationships forced to stay inside with no means of escape. The fact sheet below is provided by Statistics at NCADV where you can find a breakdown of each state and every form of domestic violence across the globe.
Domestic Violence is usually a topic that remains hidden due to fear instilled in the victim. Some people are blinded by love and passion while others claw to escape and some become numb to the abuse. Domestic Violence can also take shape in three forms: Mental, Physical, and Emotional.
Mental abuse is usually playing mind games with the victim and practically training them to view themselves as lesser then. Through mental abuse they can gain a whole other level of control, which is what most abusers desire.
Through emotional abuse, the abuser uses your emotions against you to feel weak and believe that in order for you to survive, you need to keep them around. This could also include verbal abuse and being able to manipulate your emotions about certain topics as well.
Finally physical abuse is pretty straightforward. It tends to be exactly what you think, punches, kicks, burning, guns can even be involved, and any other form of physical violence against the victims body.
Domestic Violence is another topic that is pushed pretty far under the rug, but we need the survivors and the victims still struggling to know that we are all there for them.
Final Thoughts:
Like I have mentioned before, Jodi Picoult usually touches on some pretty sensitive topics in her writing. She barely touches on the problem of pushing Native Americans out of their land, but it seemed clunky and weirdly placed within this story. She also didn’t do a spectacular job of making a strong woman character for this role. However, the reason why this book received its rating was because some of the portrayal was rather accurate. For the most part it was subpar, but I don’t think I could bring myself to lower the rating anymore.
Jodi Picoult is an amazing author. She puts out numerous pieces on devastating topics or ones that are hard to digest. For me this book hit every note, but I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. I just think I cared too much about some of the characters. The one thing that always makes Jodi Picoult such a good author, is the way she can fluctuate between each character’s perspective and still make the storyline cohesive.
I have yet to meet someone who is not a fan of Jodi Picoult books. Her topics are everything I want to cover as an aspiring author and keep it as real and honest as she does at all.
Reviews:
Many people on GoodReads leave highly rated reviews. Here are what some people have said about this novel:
I haven’t read a book affected me so deeply, shook me to the core, made me scream! The high tension story telling of school shootings, the earth shattering, soul shaking events aftermath the tragedy, all those young people’s intense traumas, thought provoking perspectives, shocking revelations!
This was an incredible book! I was so engrossed in it and the ending..Oh my! I absolutely find this book devastating and fascinating. This is easily my new favorite Jodi Picoult book. It is sad and eye opening on the truth and expanse of bullying. Once again Picoult weaves in a story of more controversial topics and slays it.
Wow! This book really makes you think!! I suggest it to everyone!
Exceptionally written novel that shows us what’s in the mind of a fictional school shooter, what led him to commit the crime, and how his actions affect the lives of his family and friends. Picoult is a master at character development.
Although most of them are positive reviews, there are also some extremely ones:
This is what I have come to understand about Jodi Picoult. She takes a controversial or emotionally-charged topic. School shootings. Childhood leukemia. Amish people. Then she centers that topic around terribly cliched characters and cranks the schmaltz meter to 11.
Is there a shelf for a book I have to stop reading because I can’t stand something about it? In this case, that the writer is a machine that swallows magazines whole and spews out a topic of the month.
I’ve only read a couple of Picoult’s books, and quite frankly didn’t like them. I decided to read this one as I have a bit of a strange fascination with the incidences of school shootings, and although I wasn’t expecting anything great my lowered expectations still didn’t elevate my opinion of this novel.
You know what I HATE about Jodi Picoult? She always has a FANTASTIC plot idea, and then screws the whole thing up by tying everything up with a freaking pretty bow for the last 20 pages of the book.
It’s very obvious that the reviews for this novel are extremely mixed. There are some reviews that strictly bash Jodi Picoult instead of the novel itself, but each to their own.
Columbine:
Like previously mentioned, Picoult did a lot of information hunting before writing this novel. She investigated the Columbine shooting and reached out to parents as a means of understanding the problem as much as she could.
Columbine was one of the first school shooting massacres that devastated the world. There are still terrifying and shocking videos of the two kids in the cafeteria that circle the web from the day of the shooting. To read more about Columbine in depth, you can visit Columbine High School Shooting on the History webpage.
Here are some facts that I can give. It happened on April 20th, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado. Two kids, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, sadly murdered 13 children and wounded 20 other individuals. During the 10 year anniversary of the tragic event, several parents spoke out to honor the fallen and some parents even created TED talks to others who have faced similar events on how to cope.
School Shootings:
This country has a serious problem when it comes to school shootings, and mass shootings in general. Over quarantine in 2020, it was the only year where school shootings did not happen.
CNN created an amazing article about the cold hearted facts and numbers of school shootings over the years. Their headline was “10 Years, 180 School Shootings, 356 Victims.” Some people like to argue that over ten years, that really isn’t that big of a number, but it indeed is. CNN’s article provides detailed graphs and statistics to better read and understand what has truly happened in the last ten years. They report that, “More school shootings happen on Friday and during the afternoon.” Again this is an intelligently written article from CNN that provides easy to read information.
One of the biggest reasons why some schools are targeted are because they are an EASY target. Teachers and other members within a school are not allowed to carry a concealed weapon, nor any weapon for that matter onto the premises. This allows some attackers to understand that a school is a weak spot. During my debate class, this topic was very heavy. Should a teacher be able to bring a concealed weapon to school if they have a license to carry? Now I’m not going to answer that for you, but otherwise think of it as food for thought.
Gun control is a prevalent concern throughout the past years. There have been several authors to write about it and it always seems to be thrown into some political debate. However, I think everyone needs to consider the damage that has happened over the last ten years according to CNN.
Final Thoughts:
For me personally, I enjoyed this book. I love that Jodi switches perspectives in her novels because it allows the reader to become more invested in each character. Even though some other readers may disagree, I thought it was a very powerful piece.
This book was brilliantly crafted, but one of the things that ranked it lower was the confusion in beginning. That confusion caused me to put the book down for a long time and not pick it back up. I hate doing that with books. This book actually peaked my interest because of the way it blew up on social media.
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Book Summary:
This novel follows four kids who all vacationed to a family house on the water each summer. They call themselves The Liars. It is never fully explained why, but you can tell that all the kids don’t really get along with their rich family members. They prefer to adventure on their own. The main character, Cadence, has a terrible accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury. She is diagnosed with retrograde amnesia and cannot remember the events of the injury without enduring a migraine. But what happened the night of her accident? And why is no one telling her?
Reviews:
The twist in this book is amazing, but it took awhile to build up into it. For me, I don’t think I would read again because I already know the “shocking” ending. However, even though the book is not my favorite, it touches on topics that I hold in my heart. On top of showing what it is like to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the author also teach valuable lessons about kindness and being in control of your future.
Here are some other people’s reviews on GoodReads:
This book has almost no plot. It is full of odd sentence structures and purple prose.
It’s true what they’re saying: you’re better off if I tell you nothing about this book.
This was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and well-crafted books I have read in a really long time.
sobbing. sobbing. sobbing. so much love for this book, and its perfect, perfect ending.
This story left me defeated, but its tragedy was paired equally with an unconventional beauty. It gripped me instantly to the point where I couldn’t stop thinking about its mystery…
You can tell from the reviews that the book has some pretty mixed reviews. People either love it or hate it and there’s not much room in-between.
Issues Evident in the Novel:
The novel touches base on racism and classism with the Grandfather of Cadence. A man who really own cares about money and position of power. But for me personally, I think the book does an amazing job on touching bases on PTSD. Out of all the mental disorders, PTSD seems to be one of the most ignored in larger communities. It can be evident in anyone that has gone through a traumatic experience, and is especially heavy in military veterans.
PTSD effects everyone differently and the symptoms have a pretty varied range. According to the Recovery Village, PTSD effects approximately 3.5% of the population, which would equate to around 8 million people in the United States.
PTSD is one of the leading reasons as to why there are so many homeless veterans. Although PTSD can vary between people, treatment remains practically the same. It mostly focuses on cognitive behavioral therapy treatments to meet the best outcome. The scariest part about PTSD is sometimes you don’t always know you have it until one word or action send spiking triggers in your brain, resulting in sometimes erratic behavior.
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Final Thoughts:
People enjoy plot twists, in fact I think they live for them. This novel obviously struck a chord with the population, especially during quarantine, and that was one of the reasons why it took off so fast. Even though it was published in 2014, its fame didn’t arrive until covid came along with it. The one thing I can leave you with is; if you ask me about the ending… just know I’ll lie.
You’re not dead, but you’re not alive. You’re a wintergirl…
Laurie Halse Anderson
Once again, Laurie Halse Anderson did not let this reader down. Truly another poetic, diary entry style novel that invokes emotions from every aspect. I think it would be safe for me to say that Laurie Halse Anderson is my favorite author, so perhaps my rating is biased.
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The main character, Lia, describes herself as a wintergirl as she struggles with anorexia. Her best friend Cassie died and now she feels irrelevant as her mom is flooded with work, her father is away on work, and her stepmom could care less. Lia not only struggles with anorexia, but her identity too as she feels like a ghost stuck in someone else’s shadow.
Several people have left very similar reviews to mine. Some of them said:
The writing in this book was incredible. Everything flowed together perfectly and it was more like reading a masterpiece than just reading a book. I’m extremely impressed with the way the author was able to capture all of Lia’s experiences with the perfect words, words that fit together so flawlessly it’s impossible for them to be described any other way.
They are Lia and Cassie. Cassie is a pretty girl who started battling bulimia at a very young age, and at the beginning of our story was found dead in a motel room. Lia is her former best friend who is still battling anorexia, and has to deal with getting weighed weekly by her well-meaning step mother, and also has the guilt constantly in her mind knowing that Cassie had called her. 35 times. Right before she died. Can’t get more powerful than that.
I have no clue how to begin. I don’t think I ever read a book that left me so lost, for lack of a better word. I’m numb and astonished and a heap of other feelings I can’t even try to begin to explain. I felt physically uncomfortable while reading it and I felt so so sad throughout it. Just, simply put, an overwhelming feeling of sadness and helplessness was always with me.
In a world riddled with made-for-tv, paint-by-numbers eating disorder cliche, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson separates itself from the pack
Of course there are several more reviews and some disagreeing with the previously listed one, but Anderson’s style is not for everyone. To read more information, visit this blog. It’s set up nicely and easy to navigate. This story touches base on a serious topic that can make some people too uncomfortable to continue reading. However, it’s important to notice how serious eating disorders are in today’s world.
Eating Disorders are a psychological abnormality located on the DSM-5 diagnosis chart. They are a serious disorder that seems to be taking over the population rather quickly, especially because of the pressure on women through social media today. There are six different eating disorders located on the chart: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, pica, rumination disorder, avoidant/restrictive eating disorders. They all effect the body differently, but eventually they can all lead to death if it’s that serious.
To learn more about eating disorders, click here. It’s important to educate yourself on such a serious topic and learn ways on how you can help.
This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. I very quickly accumulated a liking for this book when it was removed from the high school curriculum in my hometown. This story is a beautifully written piece based on a true story. Laurie Halse Anderson, the author of “speak,” actually grew up near where I lived. I feel like that added to the connection I felt with this novel.
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This novel follows the life of Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman, chronicling her life in a diary format. As the story unfolds, so does Melinda’s depression. Melinda spends a majority of her time hanging out in a janitor’s closet as she avoids the eyes of a specific senior. This senior, Andy Evans, is Melinda’s sexual assaulter. At a party before school, Andy rapes a rather drunk Melinda and in the midst of sheer panic, she runs and calls the cops, leaving with guilt feeling like it is all her own fault.
This novel excellently portrays the mental struggle that victims face everyday. The writing style is jumbled and spazzy just like Melinda’s thoughts. That is what makes it feel so real.
Many people left similar reviews to my own. Here are some examples:
“I’m happy I did because this was one of the best books that I have read lately. Speak was very well paced and I never found the story to be dragging or boring. I loved the character development and Melinda’s voice throughout the story.”
“I didn’t think I’d be so gripped by this book but the author captures the pains and troubles of everyday high school life with such honesty and raw emotion that I couldn’t help recognizing half the characters from my own high school days. “
“Speak, to me, is taken more as a lesson than just a book. A lesson worth reading and worth analyzing every little detail, no matter how the writing is and no matter how repetitive it can get.”
“This is such an important book for the content and message it presents. The writing was fantastic and Melinda was such an interesting character to read.”
“I did really enjoy this book, even though the writing style was pretty simple… the plot more than made up for it. It’s such an important topic and I love that the reader only gradually grows to understand what has happened (mirroring Melinda’s memory).”
Now let’s rewind to my earlier statement: this novel was removed from the high school English curriculum because it was inappropriate. Is learning not one of the main reasons behind going to school? Why not focus on a beautifully written honest piece of work that will educate everyone about such an important topic? Perhaps if this remained in the core curriculum and students were exposed to the real world with the help of this novel, then rape cases may not be as high as they are today.
According to statista, in 2019 there were 98,213 forcible rape cases recorded in the United States. The year 2019 actually saw a drop as rape cases were on the rise for the last five years prior. Yet, no matter how much the students at my school retaliated, the answer was always the same: NO. It was always profound and they would sometimes cut us off before completing. If I’m being honest I don’t think they found the content inappropriate, but I think it is so honest that it made them uncomfortable.
Sexual assault, including the incidents above, can have a devastating impact on its victims. Although it can take years or decades for victims to begin to address the trauma and come forward to report the incidents (as we are currently witnessing), the rumors and whispers may begin the following day at school, in the hallways, and over lunch—even when some of the participants were too drunk to remember anything. The underreporting of sexual violence has been documented by researchers extensively. According to a 2017 report from the Justice Department, only 23 percent of all sexual assaults are reported to the police.
NAN D. STEIN & BRUCE TAYLOR
To read more about the above quote click here. This website takes a psychological and a criminological viewpoint on sexual assaults within school environments. The researchers from CDC from Youth Risk Behavior Survey say that “10% of high school students were sexually assaulted in 2017.” Out of that 10%, “females, 15%, experienced higher rates than males, 4.3%.”
With the use of social media, several movements have been made so victims can be heard. One of the biggest movements is the #MeToo movement that took off around the world. It allowed women from all over to feel like they were not alone and that people could finally understand them. To learn more in depth about why some victims stay silent, click here to further educate yourself on how toxic rape culture has become in today’s society.
This novel is a culture shock that exposes the world to how serious sexual assault has become in today’s world. The best part about this book is that, like previously mentioned, it is based on true events. These events belonged to the author. After seeing her novel take off and receive the support it did, Laurie Halse Anderson published a book a couple years ago about her own story. My hope is that as support grows for this book, that it can one day be used in high school education again, to ensure that this topic is not being hidden.
For me personally, this book is not very memorable. I am not a huge fan of poetry, but I thought it I would try it out anyway. With the poetry mixed in with changing point of views, it felt like a Walmart version of Jodi Picoult and Laurie Halse Anderson.
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This story is told from seven different perspectives: Violence, Cami, Rand, Ashlyn, Silas, Daniel, and Noelle. Don’t get me wrong, it is an intricately written novel with a huge message. But the way the author hypes up her own ending really threw me off once I read the last page.
The novel starts with a man accidentally shooting his wife, thinking she was an intruder. So the man sells the gun without a second thought, not caring about who bought it. The question posed throughout the whole novel is “The gun will fall into who’s hand?”
Will it be:
Silas – the member of a teenage white supremacist group
Ashlyn – Silas’s girlfriend who helps hunt immigrants in the white supremacist group (yes you heard me, I said hunt)
Cami – who is a teenage mother married to Rand selling weed on the side to make extra money
Rand – Cami’s husband who works day and night to support his family but has a dark childhood secret
Daniel – who has a stepmother who hates him after his mom gets sent back to Honduras and constantly lives with resentment towards everyone
Noelle – who now suffers with epileptic seizures and depression after watching her best friend’s dad get shot in the head over a road rage incident
After learning about all their pasts, it adds a bit of suspense and was extremely intriguing. I felt like Hopkins wrote nicely, but there wasn’t enough of a punch to her viewpoint. She hyped up the ending to be bigger than it truly was in my opinion. I felt like there were way to many questions left unanswered and a lot of fluff that wasn’t needed in the middle. I would have scored it lower if I didn’t agree with the overall message.
Although my rating is low, some people disagree which is totally okay. Some reviews given were:
“Absolutely incredible. Hard to read at times because of the subject matter, but absolutely necessary.”
“I’m always so incredibly impressed with Ellen Hopkins’ ability to emotionally wreck me. She is seriously one of my favorite writers. She always writes about something relevant and hard to read, always writes for the education and betterment of people. And she does it so well.“
“This was a really interesting commentary on gun violence in the United States. I liked reading from the different perspectives (only because it provided somewhat of an insight into the minds of real people with similar beliefs) of the characters and I enjoyed how they were all distinct from each other but connected as well.”
“Wow. She never fails to astound me”
However, an abundant of people did agree with me. Pretty much all the “negative” reviews do say that it is written beautifully, but there is something missing. Here are some examples of the reviews:
“Wow, what a let-down. “
“Thanks, I hate it.”
“Ellen Hopkins always writes beautifully. This was no exception, an interesting combination of both story and verse about race and violence. I’ve read almost all of her novels, but this one didn’t impress me, nor grab me like her other ones.”
“Before I got sick I finished People Kill People by one of my favorite authors ever (Ellen Hopkins) and I am just going to get this out of the way right now I was really upset and disappointed with this book and that is a totally new feeling for me with one of her books.”
I think the main reason why so many people picked this book up was because it focused on such a controversial topic. I congratulate Ellen Hopkins on taking a risk that some others would much rather avoid.
To read further on the statistics of Americans viewpoints on gun control, click here.
The controversy of gun control is something that has been argued about for years in the United States. This books demonstrates just how easy it can be to attain gun today, but tries to portray that the gun isn’t always the problem. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this aspect, but I can’t say I can blame the author. Pew Research says, “Similarly, a majority (70%) says that most or some types of guns should be legally available for sale in the U.S.; just 20% say almost all types of guns should be legally available, while only 10% say almost no types should be available.”
The other aspect of gun control is mental illness. I think that’s what makes this story so uncomfortable because some of the characters viewpoints are extremely crazy to me.
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Although this may not be my favorite novel, it was interesting to read. It was easy to get through word wise, but really makes the other think throughout the whole thing. However for me personally, it will not be a book that I pick up again.
Picture Received from: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534050/dear-martin-by-nic-stone/9781101939499
There are not enough words in the human dictionary to describe how amazing, raw, and truthful this story is. This book has so many messages that no one wants to hear. The fact that Nic Stone can portray systematic racism so well in a fictional story is mind boggling. Let alone expose how biased the media and court system are in today’s society.
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This novel follows the life of an Ivy League student, Justyce McAllister. After being racially profiled when trying to help his girlfriend, he decides to start a project labeled “Dear Martin.” This project entailed writing letters to Martin Luther King Jr. after dealing with racist comments from people at school. The constant question asked is “What would Martin do?” which makes the story plot even more interesting.
This is a novel filled with amazing characters of all different backgrounds and viewpoints. It adds an interesting element that most books discussing similar issues tend to leave out. This author is making a stand for something, trying to encourage a movement, and writing is the truth. This novel is something I will cherish for life and always keep in the back of my mind as I continue my own life journey. This is one of the reasons why it receives a perfect score. I thought this would be the best first book to review.
I am also not the only person who feels this way. The Students News Source of Iowa City West High say that Dear Martin “is a brutally honest, captivating novel that expertly discuss and portrays racism in our society.”
Some other statements written in the website that portray the novels integrity are:
thoroughly impressed by the way she simultaneously skirted through themes of racism and ethnic profiling while also creating raw, believable characters
well-crafted dialogue
each character feels like a real person from society, and they are all reflective of the attitudes people of all walks of life contain today
the letters were able to draw parallels between what is going on today and how it is not that different than what happened while MLK was marching for rights
this book is a must-read for everyone because of its powerful messages and demonstrations; while the book specifically talks about racism in America, its themes can also apply to many other injustices in the world
“They need to believe you’re a bad guy who got what he deserved in order for their worlds to keep spinning the way it always has.”
Doc (151)
This quote is one of my favorites from the novels, also given by one of my favorite character. It helps explain so much when it comes to the real world. This simple statement shows why there was such a harsh contrast between the sides of the George Floyd murder and especially the trial. Even after the autopsy report, people made George Floyd out to be the worst man in the world versus noticing the racism evident in the whole murder. The quote given from Doc helps further the explanation why some people do not want to see the truth because it disrupts the normal patterns they have always lived with.
This book is an excellent read that feeds information even if it doesn’t feel like it. Dear Martin throws you into a different world that helps the readers understand how serious this issue is today. If you’re a teacher I would highly recommend adding this to your curriculum. I not only ask you to please check out the book, but to also take a stand!
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