A Hope in the Unseen

A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind

This book is the inspiring  story of Cedric Jennings’s journey from an inner city Washington D.C. school through his first year at Ivy League Brown College. It begins in 1994 when Cedric is a junior at Ballou Senior High.  He is hiding out in his chemistry classroom, avoiding the awards assembly in the gym where he would surely be harassed as a nerd upon getting his prize.  His long-time mentor, Mr. Taylor is gently but firmly encouraging him about his future, as he has done since the student was a ninth grader.  ”You see, Cedric, you’re in a race, a long race…You can’t worry about what people say from the sidelines.  They’re already out of it.  You, however, are still on the track.  You just have to keep on running…”  Behind him for support, Cedric also has has his single mother and his Pentecostal church, both of whom have complete faith that the lanky young man will make it.  One of Cedric’s early successes is making it into a summer science program at MIT.  Even though it’s a program for underrepresented students, Cedric finds himself completely unprepared academically, even though he is the top students at Ballou.  Even after he’s told at the final evaluation that he’s just “not MIT material,” Cedric may be disheartened, but does not give up.  No one ever told him that this would be easy.  His acceptance to Brown is a major triumph, both for him and his family, but there again he finds himself unprepared, both academically and emotionally.  His journey made me realize that it’s only the beginning when our students get into college; the hardest part comes next.

What I especially appreciated is how the writer and Cedric explored the student’s thoughts and feelings as he struggled — first escape from a violent inner city environment where education was not prized by the other students at the school, then to the hyper-competitive private college milieu where he started off behind academically (despite getting straight A’s in high school) and felt isolated and lost.  This is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read, and I recommend to ALL BHS students.

Anne Frank

PBS television, channel 9 around here, premiered a new movie version of The Diary of Anne Frank on Sunday, April 11.  This British version is two hours long and is also viewable online from April 12 – May 11, 2010 at the MasterPiece Theatre Anne Frank homepage.

The BHS library has a number of books about Anne Frank:

Anne Frank remembered : the story of the woman who helped to hide the Frank family

Anne Frank’s Tales from the secret annex

Anne Frank, beyond the diary : a photographic remembrance

Crusaders for freedom

The diary of a young girl

Searching for Anne Frank : letters from Amsterdam to Iowa

Shadow life : a portrait of Anne Frank and her family

A tribute to Anne Frank

Fighting Back

Fighting Back by Rocky Bleier

This book is about a professional football player named Rocky Bleir that was drafted into the military after his rookie year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He was sent to serve in Viet Nam and was severely injured in battle when a grenade blew off part of  his foot and leg. For his service, he was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.  The doctors told him that he would never play football again or even walk the same.  But he persevered and worked countless hours strengthening his legs,  and eventually going on to being the starting running back on the Steelers,  helping to win the super bowl four times .

I really enjoyed the part in the book when he described his feelings in the hours before the super bowl. I enjoyed this because it was cool to know what was going through his head after all he had been through heading into the biggest game of his life.

My Rating:

8 ½ out of 10
B+
4 out of 5 stars

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys books about tragedy to triumph.

Reviewd by Brian, class of 2010

Down These Mean Streets

Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas

Recently I read a wonderful book from the Berkeley High library called Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas.  The book is an autobiography that details the life of Piri Thomas, from his teenage years to his adult years spent behind bars.  Thomas’ book was thrilling! There was not a dull moment throughout the book; a scene that summarizes the concept of the book was when Piri was screaming at his brother about being African and Puerto Rican. The screaming gradually turned into tears and fist filled with anger all waiting to erupt upon the next person to make a remark. Piri would fight his father and little brother not realizing that he was fighting something dark inside of himself, after this series of fights Piri is kicked out of the house and left homeless struggling to find his way through New York and beat a strong drug addiction.

Down these Mean Streets deserves a 9 out of 10.  I recommend this book to readers who like activism, books written in the 1940s, Spanish speaking books, and twisted love stories.

Reviewed by P. Alcorn, class of 2011

Picturing America books

The library is pleased to announce that we have received a grant featuring fiction and non-fiction books on the theme Picturing America. There are a total of 19 titles, including three titles in Spanish translation. The titles are wide-ranging and thought provoking, including books as complex as Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville to picture books like Sweet Music in Harlem by Debbie Taylor. A complete listing of the tiles can be found at the programs website:
Picturing America.

We have the books on the plexiglass bookshelves right by my desk when you come in the library. There are also very cool bookmarks you can take, whether or not you borrow any of the books. The goal of the program, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, is “to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through libraries, schools, colleges, universities, and cultural institutions.” These books are a wonderful addition to our library, and are being prominently displayed along with coordinating bookmarks.

Kabul Beauty School

Kabul Beauty School : An American woman goes behind the veil by Deborah Rodriquez

This is the perfect book to read for that Non-fiction book project so many teachers are assigning this year. It is the story of how a hair stylist named Debbie goes to Afganistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. At first she is going not just to help, but to escape an abusive home situation. But she finds herself falling in love with the country, and ends up starting a beauty school to help the women support their families and become more independent. What I especially appreciated about her story is that she is able to laugh at herself and her own mistakes, using affection and humor to teach the women how to find strength in thier own abilities.

This is currently on order for the library.

A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

If you saw the movie Blood Diamond and were shocked by the way the military was using young children as soldiers, this is the book for you. It’s the true story of how a twelve-year-old boy from Sierra Leone gets caught up in his country’s civil war and is literally forced to become a soldier. The story begins when he and his friends are entering hip-hop dance contests, but changes quickly when his village is attacked by rebel forces. He and his friends are lucky enough to get away, but then spend months wandering from village to village, foraging for food and hiding from both the rebel and national armies. Beah is eventually captured and made a part of the national army. His training there converts him into a mindless killing machine. His days consist of killing with his AK-47, eating 60 second meals, and using drugs ranging from marijuana to brown brown, a cocaine-gun powder concoction.

He is eventually rescued by United Nations emmisaries, but the road back to a normal life is anything but easy. Read this short, gripping biography to find out how Beah eventually became a scholar at Oberlin College and a spokesman for child soldiers everywhere.