I saw Hilary Swank on late night tv promoting her movie based on this book, and I requested it from my library. I later wondered why in the world I thought it would be of interest to me.
I'm happy to say that I was wrong.
I loved this book, couldn't put it down, stayed up for a few nights reading it and woke up at 5 a.m. today to finish. Erin Gruwell is a new teacher with fresh hopes for her students. She has the worst of the worst, kids who have been kicked out of other schools, have parents in jail, have seen gang murders, and more. In a desperate attempt to spark an interest in their learning, she finds a connection for them in stories of other children who found hope when there seemed to be none. Her students begin reading about the Holocaust. Anne Frank. Elie Wiesel. They can relate these stories to the horrors in their own lives.
Through a number of circumstances, her students end up meeting Steven Spielberg and later Miep Gies, in whose house the Frank family hid in Amsterdam, and who preserved Anne's diary. They raise funds to fly Zlata Filipovich (Zlata's Diary, another book the class studies) and her family from Sarajevo to the U.S. for a visit. They take a summer field trip to Europe, visiting Amsterdam and Auschwitz and Sarajevo. On another trip, they visit Washington, D.C.
To say that this book is a story about a teacher that brings hope and a better life to each of her students is inadequate. It's about the teacher and students, both facing their own challenges, finding a common ground, and giving each other life changing gifts that they never could have imagined. It's about dedication, determination; it's uplifting, heartwarming, inspiring.
I have no desire to see the movie, but the book is definitely recommended.
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