OMG I Just Noticed This Title Thingy Up Here

In the article "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written In Blood" by Sherman Alexi, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexi expresses his reaction, opinion, and counter argument to Meghan Cox Gurdon's article "Darkness Too Visible". He explains how he has met with sixty students who battled depression, suicide, gang warfare, sexual abuse, physical abuse, poverty, racism, and learning disabilities and asked the readers how people already scarred by these battles could be scarred once more by the books they read. He wondered if "a dystopian novel will frighten a kid who already lives in hell?" He finished the article by saying that the best kids books come from the people who've felt and experienced what  they're writing about.

Sherman Alexi incorporated many crafting strategies in his article. He included what seemed to be all of his opinions on the topic and added many anecdotes to support his claim. Most were the stories of some of the sixty students he met with. He projected paintings in your mind just by the descriptions of his anecdotes and portrayed the mood of the text with words loaded with emotion.

After reading "Darkness Too Visible" I felt a little uneasy about what I was reading according to that article. But then I read Sherman Alexi's article and, well, I did not feel uneasy. I agree with Sherman Alexi, and I think I had already disagreed with MCG but didn't really know how. I also really liked this article because it was very strong and not at all robotic. When reading it, I could tell that it was written with passion and emotion that, really, the whole thing stood out and really did leave you thinking. I think the author got the reaction he was looking for from readers like me. You could even say he got more.

Destroying Dark

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

            This was promptly shown in the story X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills. The story follows the 6 Uncanny X-Men and their rival/enemy, Magneto, as they speak for mutantkind against the cold convincing words of the Stryker Crusade company. Reverend William Stryker was accusing mutants for being demon spawn and organizing a group of ‘Purifiers’ to hunt them down. But through all the nasty darkness surrounding the antagonists, I realized that there is no inherent good or evil in the world, instead there’s just one big, moral ‘grey area’. However, there is still more than one shade of grey.

            For example, when Magneto sought out the X-Men’s help, they thought he was there to fight against them because they had fought on multiple occasions. But instead of against them, he fought with them, for the benefit of mutantkind. This proves that Magneto is not your every day villain. It shows that he has many different layers and had different perspectives from the X-Men, causing them to fight frequently. Or take William Stryker, who wanted to exterminate all mutants in the name of god.  He was shown as a kind man who believed strongly in religion, that is, if you looked through the cowl of darkness he hid himself in. Sure, he did dark things, but everyone has a dark side. He did beneficial things too. This shows that just because you do ‘bad’ things, it doesn’t make you a ‘bad’ guy.

            When I reflect on all this, I realize that if everyone thought like this, the world would be so confusing, but at the same time, so much more clear and less harsh. The hate would be driven out by love. There wouldn’t be so much darkness. You can see that no one will go outside and say, ‘I’m going to rob a bank because I feel like it,’ or, ‘I’m going to enslave all of humanity just because humanity must be enslaved.’ Of course no one would say that, because even if it was a truly evil idea, it’s not like the person would intend on practicing evil. Everyone’s got a conscience and it creates a diversity in everyone’s own little ‘grey area’. 

First Post

I spent most of my summer in Europe, and was not able to read many books. In all, I read three. Two from the list, and one that my father's friend gave me. I read The Great Gatsby, A Long Walk To Water, and Slam. 

Of the three, I particularly did not like Slam, although it made me laugh a multitude of times. Slam is about a 16 year old skateboarder (or "skater".) in Britain who struggles with family issues, school, and his love life. He has read Tony Hawk's autobiography 50 times and owns a life sized poster of Tony Hawk, in which he hangs in his room. He talks to the poster and in his philosophy, "the poster talks back." Although what really happens is he quotes Tony Hawk's book. As his problems in life escalate, he turns to Tony Hawk for help, who in turn, provides none. He meets a girl, and after a few weeks, she finds she is pregnant. I find it disappointing how the book is practically 'Sixteen and Pregnant,' but am also relieved that a young adult book covers the topic. 

The Great Gatsby, on the other hand, was a more enjoyable read. As a classic, I'm sure many people have heard of or even read the beautifully written title. The book follows the story of a young entrepreneur, Jay Gatsby, during the 1920s leading up to the great stock market crash of 1929. Though, a challenging read, it is worth the time, creating characters you grow to love and hate at the same time. At the end, I was overwhelmed by an oceanic wave of feelings. 

A Long Walk to Water was an eyeopening title that taught me many things the media could not about the past of Saudi Arabia. As the first book I read over the summer, this book has lost it's place in my memory. Although I loved how they incorporated the story of  the Saudi Arabian Lost Boys over the years into the present problems for young girls in Saudi Arabia. 

All in all, I could have read more over the summer, but my excuse is I was in a foreign country for two months.