Student Suggestions
MAUS
If you are interested in the topic of the Holocaust, the books “Maus” and “Maus II” are great books from the perspective of the son, Art Spiegelman, based on his father’s experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. He influences what he thinks happened, based on what his father tells him, in a comic form, a very unique way. The two books are the series of events that happened in his father's life in order, from the start of the war until the end and most importantly after. Half of the book focuses on the bad relationship with his father, giving context as of how they communicated and how his father behaved with others; Most importantly how he would sacrifice his time to hear his father’s story and try to understand the difficulties that took place during the horrible time of the holocaust which later on affected his life dramatically as well. As of the actual story itself, it gives us an idea of how any class of Jews were overthrown and dealt with the struggles of leaving family, friends, and not having the necessities they need all the time to survive, risking lives everyday. What is really interesting throughout the story and what makes us relate is the narrative perspective of the son because it gives an insight of someone who is close to a survivor leading us to see how the holocaust affects everyone.
This is why I would recommend to read because it gives more than just a story, which is still the highlight of the book, but shows also the effort of someone else trying to comprehend it and the effects it gives off. I think it's important to know about it too because it shows how humanity can be cruel to one another, which is more in general. I just believe the whole situation is interesting based on the fact that one person’s opinion about a race and his accomplishment of rise in power came to almost wiping out Jews, and other various races/religions. Also we are in a generation where there aren’t many survivors left to hear it from their own mouth so it is a significance to know that it actually did happen. I would give it a rating of 4 out of 5 because I did enjoy the books and the style of them and as I said if you really are interested in the topic of the Holocaust, i would recommend to start this 2-book series.
Always Running
Always Running is a great book about a boy who joins his first gang at 11 yrs old. By the time he is 18 , he has already experienced gang warfare, killings, police, drug overdoses, rapes, Mexican funerals, and suicides. He watches all his friends die over the years at an early age as he waits for his turn. He whole life changes when he kills an innocent man as his initiation to a new gang. Because of it he was sentenced to jail where he thinks about how much of a person he is.
I believe other schools should read this book because it is a real story that talks about a specific latino struggles and how it's easy for latino families have their kids grow up and slip into gangs. Many families, especially In L.A. have someone they know and love fall into gangs and always end up in prison, this book can really help someone reading it give them a better understanding why someone would be in a gang or couldn’t leave the gang life . Even if they aren't latino or know anyone in gangs , they can get a better view on Latino gangs.
This book was interesting to me because I personally love anything about this subject, I love to learn the lifestyle they live , the slang they talk ,etc. In this book , it really speak in details about the struggles of being in a gang like seeing your friends die in a drive by. This book not only show the gang life , it also shows some latino struggles and cultures i believe most latino would experience ,which i like since i am latina , i love learning stuff about others experience even if i'm not mexican i can still relate on some level since my country has a strong tension with gangs.
I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 because its has all the types of topics i like to read about especially since it has a lot of details.
Thirteen Reasons Why
Thirteen Reasons Why a young adult fiction by Jay Asher is a book about the struggles of a group of teens and the death of Hannah Baker. Hannah Baker sends a mysterious package that contains seven cassettes tapes and thirteen stories to her crush Clay Jensen. On the first tape, Hannah tells her listeners that she holds each of them responsible in some way for her death, and that the tapes will explain why. After listening, each person must give the tapes to the next person on the list. She says that if anybody fails to pass them along, a copy of the recordings will be made public. The tapes also come with a map that listeners are meant to physically follow as they listen to her story. This are the thirteen stories and who it was dedicated to and why.
I recommend this book to high school students because it shows all of the problems that are very similar that many teenagers go to. Teachers, counselors, parents and school administrators should read this book. Everybody should be alert about suicide sings that teenagers show on daily basis. Adults aren't always aware of the problems of teenagers but this problems are real and it can end up in a very tragic way. This has been one of my favorite books of all time because it shows the other side of our problems as teens and how hard it is to be a high school student, also how some things that look so small can affect others in such negative ways. I strongly recommend this book and out of five stars I give it a five.
Bone comics collection
The story begins with three cousins that got run out of Boneville. The three cousins are Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone. They have been separated and lost in an vast uncharted desert. Later on hey found a way through a deep forest valley filled with creatures that are terrifying and wonderful. This book is a long,funny, and a action journey with the Bone family. This book was interesting to me because the art and the theme caught my eye. The art showed a lot and creative detail in each page. The book was also interesting is by the characters and how they all have a theme. Which smiley is the funny one, Phoney is greedy and Fone is the kind and generous one. I would give the collection a rating of 5 stars because this book is a complete set of one journey in a big book. This book will bring you on an adventure , chill down your spine, and laughter. This book is highly recommended if they want an adventure.