The Freedom Writers Diary by the Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell

I really enjoyed this selection of diary entries written by teens from the Bronx and other such places. Their teacher, Erin Gruwell, discovered in her first year of teaching that many of her difficult students had never heard of Anne Frank and her diary. When she shared it with them, they found similarities with their own lives: and the idea of writing a journal to share their hopes and fears with was born. In her second year of teaching, Erin shared the journal of a young girl from Bosnia, Zlata, and the students were so encouraged by this that they decided they wanted to meet her. And so began an inspiring journey that lead the majority of Erin's students to being the first in their families to go to college. On the way, they met Zlata, Miep Gies, other Holocaust survivors, and many others who would encourage and inspire them. The diary entries in this book are all anonymous, and through them we learn not only about the life-changing meetings with the people mentioned above, but also about the daily trials and tribulations the teenagers face in their daily lives. All have experience of friends, family or acquaintances being shot, they experience racism or the effects of the schisms between different races in their communities, they write about the poverty or the violence they have to content with in their homes and they reflect on their relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends, families, and other students.

This was a really eye opening and inspiring read, especially for a teacher teaching in an inner city school. I'm glad I encountered it in an independent bookshop - it caught my eye as I stood in the doorway, the first book I was drawn to, and I'm glad I picked it up and bought it!