Spring 2023 Book Reviews by Marianne Whittaker

Nothing But Life by Brent Van Staalduinen

19493 — 2021-11-08 16:05:15 UTC

The protagonist, Dills, wrestles to find a way forward after he's been dramatically impacted by a school shooting.

Social Justice- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2021-11-08 22:30:34 UTC

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a nerve-racking, sci-fi novel that makes you feel like you are a part of the dystopian world! The book's revolutionary plot will have you on your toes. The story is based on many topics relating to social justice! Some of the main ones include oppression, power, poverty, compassion, wealth, and violence. The characters in the text reflect many of these topics. They make mistakes and learn from them. The way the book addresses these issues in a fictionally based plot makes it incredibly fun and interesting to read. This great novel not only leaves you with a great storyline, but also a handful of life lessons, and liberational thoughts.

2 Days - Social Justice

2021-11-08 22:47:40 UTC

L. B. Tillit's novel 2 Days is a great book to read and also learn from; there are many social justice issues shown throughout the book. The protagonist of the story (sixteen years old, Neema Powell) becomes pregnant at a very young age and is criticized due to this throughout the story. This relates to the aspect of sexism as she is the only one who's been criticized; her boyfriend Nate isn't even questioned about this incident. This shows stereotypical thinking and prejudice based on one’s gender. There is also another issue of sexism shown in the story; her mother’s boyfriend attempts to sexually assault and abuse Neema. This shows how the “more dominant gender” is attempting to overpower and oppress the less powerful gender. Overall, this story is a great source of learning about social justice, particularly sexism. I would recommend reading this work of literature; the reader may also notice the same issues I noticed and realize how they are happening in our society.

Social Justice Issues-Intertwined by Gena Showalter

2021-11-08 22:57:05 UTC

Everyone should read Intertwined by Gena Showalter because it has important issues that we should continue to address in our society. The story follows Aden Stone, a sixteen-year-old boy with four human souls inside of his head. The novel highlights the stigma around mental health and the main character, Aden. In this novel, some characters like Dimitri have sexist beliefs such as believing that a woman should belong to a man. To add to this, some aspects of this novel show racism directed at different characters. The characters handle these issues and explain why these things are unfair. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this book because it addresses serious topics that we can all learn from.

Social Injustice in One of Us Is Lying

2021-11-08 23:07:57 UTC

The impeccable novel, One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus explores the mind of many characters, but the character that faces the most injustice is Cooper Clay. Cooper, a teenager who plays baseball, remains a very simple character until his big secret is revealed; Cooper is homosexual. Cooper is stripped of his rights to share this information himself, while simultaneously being a murder suspect. Cooper’s father often supported his son, especially on trial, but after learning his son isn't entirely who he said he was, he turns his back on him; this is the first tragedy Cooper experiences as a victim of injustice. Cooper’s father should have shown love and support, even if he needed some time to process the information. Another huge injustice that is seen within this novel is when the news that Cooper is homosexual spreads. Universities stop giving and even take away scholarships, ignoring how good of a player Cooper is. The universities decision to do that is extremely homophobic and unjust. Finally, Cooper’s social status falls after his high school finds out he is homosexual. People make fun of him, showing hatred instead of kindness when he needs it the most. In conclusion, the novel One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus has a good representation of how injustice can destroy an individual, and I would recommend reading it.

Night Terrors | Social Justice (Spoiler Warning)

2021-11-09 00:26:40 UTC

Edward is a character in Night Terrors who has a superiority complex. Throughout the book, Edward has treated his coworkers terribly and discriminated against them because they are a lower rank than him. Due to this classism, Edward had successfully become disliked by the others, his selfishness leading to his demise at the end of the book. In this book, Sean Rodman showed a discriminatory character in a much more subtle way, as classism isn't one of the main isms talked about in books, unlike racism and sexism. Edward's relationships with other characters is also great because they fear to stand up to Edward. Instead, they prefer to talk about their hatred among each other. In the end, Edward is a classist character displayed well through the entire book.

Social Injustice in The Hate U Give

2021-11-09 01:05:27 UTC

The novel, The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, does an exemplary job highlighting how socially unjust our world is. The novel follows the life of Starr Carter, a Black girl, as she copes with the loss of her best friend, Khalil, who became a target of police brutality. The book highlights the social injustice issue of racism which arises from inequality. Starr lives in Garden Heights, a lower-class Black neighbourhood that is engulfed with gang violence. Her neighbourhood’s condition is a result of how the Black community is rarely offered opportunities outside of their hometown. It shows gangs and drugs aren’t their passion; it is their last resort. The novel shows that the reason the Black community goes downhill is due to the lack of opportunities they are given and not because of the colour of their skin. The book goes on to show the lack of kindness and compassion in our world. Starr attends a predominantly White school where her best friend’s death becomes an excuse to skip exams. Numerous students marched out of their classes pretending they were fighting for Khalil; the students’ actions did not show respect towards the Black community as they used their grief for selfish gains. This is an eye-opening moment, as it shows the reader how our youth is being raised and highlights the need for change. Lastly, the book displays the lack of justice in our world when the White cop, who kills Khalil, is declared not guilty because it was reasonable to find a Black teenage boy holding a hairbrush threatening. In conclusion, this is how the novel, The Hate U Give, displays the social injustice that persists in our cruel world.

I am the Messenger

2021-11-09 03:06:15 UTC

The novel I am the Messenger introduces the story of a young, ordinary man facing challenges from an unknown in order to become the best version of himself. The protagonist, Ed Kennedy, receives cards with clues to deliver messages. The first card Ed received was the Ace of Diamonds with three addresses and times written on it. He arrived at the first address and noticed discrimination happening against women. Ed felt scared and overwhelmed between the choices he had to help others; however, he knew what to do. This is an example of social justice in the novel because Ed is taking a stand for what’s wrong and trying to achieve it when he has the chance. In the end, Ed learns that an ordinary man has the right to live beyond normal expectations if they try to attain it.

You Are My Only

2021-11-09 03:40:30 UTC

I read the novel You Are My Only by Beth Kephart. This book was a suspenseful and heartfelt novel. The book also covers the topic of social justice in different ways. The main character, Sophie, was stolen when she was a baby, and she is now 14 years old. Sophie has no idea she was stolen. Sophie does not have her rights. She does what her kidnapper says. Sophie is not allowed to go to school, or leave the house, nor do anything else. This book presents to the readers how unfair Sophie is treated. This novel makes readers feel her pain, and every reader hopes for Sophie to get her rights as a kid and equality as a human being.

Social Justice in Restart

2021-11-09 14:43:58 UTC

Gordon Korman is widely known as a writer for children. His story intrigues and entertains anyone of any age. Most people can appreciate and relate to his stories and characters, however he is overlooked when it comes to more “philosophical themes.” His book, Restart, my AR novel, challenges this common misconception. The book is about Ex Athlete, Chase Ambrose’s path to recovery after gaining amnesia. In his forgotten life, he was a bully, something to be feared; now given a second chance, he can either right his wrongs and become a new man or return to his old self. One of social justice's main points is equal opportunity, as Chase is a new Chase, the people around him should give him another chance to be a better Chase. The main theme of this story is Second Chances and how a second chance is all someone may need to be a better them. In his past life, the Weber family was always a prime target of Chase’s exploits. Their two children, Shoshana and Joel, more specifically Joel were usually the victims of his “attacks”. The situation became so bad that Joel had to move away and left his family and Shoshana with nothing but regret and hate for Chase Ambrose. The new Chase knew nothing about what he did to the Webers and rightfully so, they hated Chase. Through the course of the story, Shoshanna learns to trust the new Chase, knowing he’s not the same menace who terrorized them. Soon after, people like Joel and others see Chase as the kind, gentle giant and not the tyrant. There are people all around the world like Chase. People who have made terrible decisions in the past, people who didn’t get a proper first try, people with many different circumstances, all of those people could benefit from a second chance. The second chance is an opportunity to have a fair shot at life again, so sometimes that second chance is equality. Restart, while being a book for a younger audience, is still packed with themes that older viewers can find if they just analyse the text a little more

Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson

2021-11-09 16:38:12 UTC

The novel Invisible Emmie is about a young girl named Emmie Douglass, who is now starting her seventh-grade year at Lakefront Elementary School. Emmie is a quiet, reserved, artistic individual who mainly keeps to herself and has a very close relationship with her best friend, Brianna (Bri) Davis. One day, during lunch, Emmie and Brianna write fake, “mushy,” funny love letters to their school crushes. Emmie writes her letter to Tyler Ross, and after Brianna reads it, she realizes that it is pretty sweet and heartfelt. Unfortunately, Emmie loses the paper as it slips out of her backpack on her way to class. Her letter is found by Joe Lungo, a friend of Tyler’s. This leads to one of the social justice issues presented in this novel - bullying. He continues to taunt Emmie about the note as he spreads it throughout the grade, showing and texting it to everybody Emmie knows. After Emmie loses the letter, Bri talks to her about it and soon realizes that her letter was with the one Emmie had written. They get into an argument about the letters, and Brianna leaves, telling Emmie she does not know if she can ever forgive her. Due to Joe deciding to spread the letter around, texting it to people, and taunting Emmie with it constantly, Emmie is now all alone.

West Side Story

2021-11-09 21:07:04 UTC

Social Justice in West Side Story

West Side Story, a novelized adaption of the original Broadway musical, is heavily influenced by the fatal environment and lack of justice in the gang scenes of New York City. In the novel, the main characters, Tony and Maria, fall in love despite their roots in rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Despite the original gang rivalry, the hatred in the book stems from race over any other factor. The Jets, Tony´s former gang, is mainly filled with those of European descent. On the other hand, Maria‘s brother's gang, the Sharks, is mainly formed of Puerto Rican immigrants who traveled to New York City in search of a new home. The rival gangs tear apart each other's communities, disrespect culture, and assault victims at their most vulnerable times. As Tony and Maria fall in love, they embrace each other's culture, learning to say “I love you” in both Polish and Spanish, and hope that one day they can unite their families without ethnicity being an issue. The optimism of their young love eventually leads to their untimely deaths, disallowing an opportunity for any change to influence their lives, showing the lover's hopes for a peaceful lifestyle.

Social Justice in Divergent

2021-11-11 00:29:28 UTC

Divergent is truly an interesting novel to read. It is a book placed in a seemingly alien society, being upheld by beliefs that are meant to provide everyone with a role that helps society based on their personality. However, there are a number of social justice issues present in the text, that is amplified by people who have personalities that don’t necessarily fit in: the Divergent. The main character, Tris, plans to expose the social justice issues in the world, those being (spoilers incoming!) the war plan from the Dauntless, who are planning to hurt and attack the Abnegation, and the Erudite’s greed, and will to control everything. Of course, she doesn’t start with these plans in the beginning, it takes time, experience, and a strong will to resist the Erudite’s control plans. The story’s character development and pacing are wonderfully timed, it sucks you in to feel connected to the character, and the romance is a nice touch. I recommend Divergent for everyone who wants to have a little bit of dystopia in their life, and it is a great way to be thankful for the world we live in right now.