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One of Us is Lying follows four students who are practically strangers who get tangled up in the murder of their classmate, Simon Kelleher. The five of them walked into detention together, only Simon never walked out. The police found his water had been contaminated with cold-pressed peanut oil. He had a severe peanut allergy, which everyone at the school knew about. All the Epi-Pens were gone, so with nobody else in the room, Addy, Bronwyn, Cooper, and Nate became prime suspects in Simon's murder. In this case, every one of these characters' darkest secrets is released to the public, and are used as evidence against them as to why they would have killed Simon. This story covers not just the murder investigation, but also their personal lives and their own struggles.

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Bryan Stevenson's book “Just Mercy” intricately weaves past legal cases, his encounters, and the experiences of others to shed light on the racial inequality within the justice system. Stevenson begins with a single case, intertwining it with his personal experiences and other stories, to evoke strong emotions about systematic injustice and enhance the reader's understanding of the lengths people are willing to go to for personal gain. The book provides valuable insights into these issues' history and context by examining Stevenson's journey into law and Walter McMillan’s quest to prove his innocence.

Stevenson begins “Just Mercy” with his journey into law. He was aware that while he was unsure what he was going to do with his life, he knew that it would be related to helping the poor, America’s history of racial inequalities, and the struggle to be just and fair to each other. After being accepted into law school, he began to notice the disconnect between what he learned and the realities of the justice system. One of the first prisoners he met. In the first few chapters, he meets McMillan and shares his experiences with law enforcement. We learn about McMillan's past and why he would want to do the things that he did.  He then tells us about his struggles with rent and starting up the Equal Justice Initiative. We see the true nature of the law enforcement after Stevenson is put at gunpoint after he gets out of his car. He points out that most people would follow their instincts to run away, likely leading to death. The officers then illegally search his car and go through his things before finding nothing, and leaving, sounding disappointed. After being urged to file a claim where he is told to state he is an attorney, he gets frustrated that they would only listen to him if they knew there could be consequences.

We see the joy that others feel after learning that he is fighting for true racial equality.

Walter McMillan is desperate to prove his innocence after he is put on death row for the murder of Ronda Morrison. As the police department struggled to find a person at fault, they turned to Ralph Myers who had a previous criminal record. He claimed that McMillan forced him into his truck, and drove McMillan to the cleaners where he then allegedly killed Ronda. They also bribed Bill Hooks into saying that he saw McMillan driving his customized lowrider to the laundromat. During the time of the murder, there was a fish fry at McMillan’s house, and many witnesses could testify that McMillan was innocent.

Stevenson expertly alternates between the case of Walter McMillan and other cases to provide a comprehensive view of the systemic injustices prevailing in the justice system. When he interweaves different cases, he highlights the unwelcome influence of racial inequality and injustice. When he transitions from McMillans desperate fight for innocence to other legal cases, he effectively showcases broad patterns of discrimination and the unfair treatment of people of colour within the justice system. This approach allows readers to understand the widespread impact of racial injustice and how it is deeply embedded in the legal framework. This storytelling technique humanizes individual experiences and sheds light on the broader social and institutional issues related to racial discrimination and the pursuit of justice. This connects with readers emotionally, allowing them to empathize with the characters as they continue reading.

Stevenson expertly interweaves historical context throughout the narrative, tracing the roots of slavery and segregation and connecting them to other forms of systemic racism. By providing historical context, Stevenson helps readers understand the deep-seated nature of racial inequality and injustice within the United States. He effectively demonstrates how the history of slavery and segregation has shaped the contemporary justice system and how these historical injustices continue affecting marginalized communities today. Stevenson's inclusion of historical context enriches the reader's understanding of the pervasive and enduring impact of racial discrimination, shedding light on individual cases and broader social and institutional issues related to racial injustice and the pursuit of justice.

Stevenson's experience as a lawyer was met with resistance from the public, law enforcement, and lawyers who were arguing against him. After seven long years on death row, Walter Mcmillan was freed and proven innocent by his dedicated lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Steveson took on McMillan's case, working through little advocacy, uncovering the truth behind the wrongful conviction, and exposing how racial biases could so easily influence the judgment of those who are meant to be impartial. McMillan endured significant suffering at Holman State Prison, known for its brutality and cruelty. With multiple stabbings, Holman State Prison has earned a reputation for being one of the most violent prisons in the United States. His release marked the end of his ordeal, but he remained haunted by the memories and knowledge of other innocent men who were still behind bars. Despite feeling as if he had abandoned the men he had met on death row, he remained hopeful he could help the inmates escape the torture of the prison. After having proven the lies McMillan's case was built on, Stevenson sees his disillusionment with the American justice system.

In the final chapter of "Just Mercy," Bryan Stevenson chronicles his seven-year-long battle to prove Walter McMillan's innocence and secure his release from death row. Stevenson describes the resistance from the public, law enforcement, and other lawyers who opposed his efforts. Despite these challenges, Stevenson persevered and worked tirelessly to uncover the truth behind McMillan's wrongful conviction, shedding light on the pervasive influence of racial biases in the justice system. Finally, after years of advocacy and legal battles, Walter McMillan was freed and exonerated with the help of Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the enduring impact of racial discrimination within the justice system and the ongoing pursuit of justice for marginalized communities.

Bryan Stevenson masterfully organizes the events in "Just Mercy" to construct a compelling argument about the inequalities in the justice system. By intricately weaving together past legal cases, personal encounters, and historical context, Stevenson effectively sheds light on the racial injustice within the justice system. His approach of sharing the events in chronological order allows the reader to emotionally connect with the characters and empathize with their experiences. By interweaving different cases, Stevenson highlights the widespread impact of racial inequality and discrimination, effectively demonstrating the deep-seated nature of these injustices within the United States. Additionally, Stevenson's inclusion of historical context enriches the reader's understanding of how the history of slavery and segregation continues to shape the contemporary justice system. Overall, Stevenson's skillful organization of events in "Just Mercy" constructs a powerful argument about the urgent need for systemic change within the justice system to address racial inequalities and ensure fair treatment for all. In light of the powerful argument presented in "Just Mercy", it is clear that there is an urgent need for systemic change within the justice system to address racial inequalities and ensure fair treatment for all. We should actively support and advocate for reforms that promote equal access to justice and challenge discriminatory practices. Engaging with our communities and lawmakers is crucial to push for meaningful changes that dismantle systemic injustices and uphold the principles of fairness and equality within the legal system.

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Have you heard of Red Dress day? Every May 5 people honour the many indigenous women who have gone missing and have been murdered. This day is very important, as this is an epidemic that is happening in Canada, yet such a small amount of people know about it. Many communities honour red dress day and those who they have lost. During red dress day people will hang dresses outside. This has been going on for a very long time, but we have only been honouring red dress day since 2015.  The murdering of people is already a horrible act. but Indigenous women have a 12 times higher chance of this happening to them. How can we prevent this from happening in the near future?

Some ideas to prevent this are that we can spread awareness about this epidemic as this is not a very well known problem. We can't help people if almost nobody knows the problem. additionally we can also provide support to those who have lost family members. Finally, Actions speak louder than words, instead of just talking about how we can help, do something that can help.

With the information shared, I hope you will spread awareness about this epidemic and walk this path of truth and reconciliation. Even if you have no connection to Canada, anyone could be a target of a similar issue.

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Black history month is an event to celebrate black achievements. This idea was started by historian Carter. G Woodson. He was taught to read, so he found a job reading newspapers to miners, who would debate and ask him to do more research. He was eventually accepted into Harvard University where he studied history. Through his studies he realised that lessons were biased, and removed many parts of black history. He found a job as a highschool teacher and that was when he found more biased lessons that didn't have many perspectives. He believed that if African Americans could see people like them doing mainly white professions, they would see that they could do things like that too. He founded Negro History week in 1926, having it purposly overlap with Abraham Lincon's birthday, and Douglass day. Eventually President Gerald Ford made Negro history week black history month in 1976.

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I chose to read Iron Widow because of the author. I had previously read Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor also by Xiran Jay Zhao. One thing that draws me in is the culture that is represented in the both books. Zhao is Chinese, and we see her use Chinese myths and creature, as well as emperors and famous legends in her stories. This is relatable for me because we don't see many cultures other than western cultures and maybe a little bit of greek.

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Theme: The theme of this book is the importance of family. Cassie lives with her brothers, mom, and grandmother on a farm growing cotton, while her dad is away working on the railroad after the price of cotton dropped. Throughout the book, we see the importance of family, like when Uncle Hammer sells his car so that he could give the money to the Logans so they could keep the farm. Saying "You can't live in a car, can't make money in a car and you certainly can’t raise 4 wonderful kids in a car". This shows that he cares about his family more than expensive items that he can buy.

Character analysis: Cassie and her family are often mistreated by most white people because they are seen as lesser and deserve less than white people do. White people can do anything to them and nobody bats an eye, but when a black person does so much as bump into a white person all of a sudden they are in trouble and must apologize immediately or something bad will happen.

Author's craft: Mildred Taylor used many factors that made us want to read more. This takes place when segregation was still around so the language they spoke was different than we do now, and Mildred Taylor uses that language so well that we believe that it was a time where they spoke like that. She also writes situations and solutions that would happen to kids.