Night by Elie Wiesel // A Heartbreaking Holocaust Story

Night (The Night Trilogy #1), by Elie Wiesel
Publication: January 16, 2006, by Hill and Wang
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Pages: 115
Format: Paperback
Source: Gifted
Rating: 

Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

My Thoughts:

Night was a beautiful read. It was heartbreaking, of course, but Elie Wiesel's writing was beautiful. It made me emotional, depressed, and experience such a broad variety of emotions that I can't simply comprehend it. After visiting Auschwitz and seeing it in person, imagining the suffering that was held within its walls, reading this book was even more emotional. I shed some tears, and left my heart with this story. It's a special one, and what I love about reading Holocaust stories is that each is different. You can't possibly ever get tired of reading these kinds of books.

I read this book a while ago, so I cannot really summarize it (and it's too emotional to do so), but let's just say that it's a must-read. I honestly feel like like it's a book that everyone should be required to read.

Night was stunning and a special read that should be implemented in more schools (preferably high schools). I am so happy that Elie was honoured with so many prizes for his work, including a Nobel Peace Prize.

Ugly by Robert Hoge // Quick Memoir Read

Ugly, by Robert Hoge
Publication: September 6, 2016, by Viking Books for Young Readers
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Pages: 208
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

When Robert Hoge was born, he had a tumor the size of a tennis ball in the middle of his face and short, twisted legs. Surgeons removed the tumor and made him a new nose from one of his toes. Amazingly, he survived with a face that would never be the same.
Strangers stared at him. Kids called him names, and adults could be cruel, too. Everybody seemed to agree that he was ugly. But Robert refused to let his face define him. He played pranks, got into trouble, had adventures with his big family, and finally found a sport that was perfect for him to play. AndRobert came face to face with the biggest decision of his life, he followed his heart.

My Thoughts:

Ugly is a book I should have read a long time ago. A LONG LONG TIME AGO. I really feel that my middle-grade self would've been obsessed with this kind of book, as it is a real story and a memoir where we readers get to read about Robert Hoge's life as an individual with a disability. I loved Hoge's narrating skills and the way he described his struggles; I can definitely say that I felt my heart break a few times while reading this, making me wish that I was there to comfort him when he was a little boy. This was just an overall great, quick (the best part of the experience) read that I will never forget.

If you can, recommend this story to any tweens (seventh or eighth graders) if you can. Robert Hoge's story is an important one, showing readers how he struggled with his identity as a child and how he tried to understand his limitations. I would say that the seventh/eighth grade audience is the perfect age group for this story; I do wish that it was intended for YA readers, however, because this lacked the emotional aspect of these kinds of stories. Hoge told his story and some of the feelings he had as a kid, but not all of my questions were answered, especially about how he handled his issues as an adult. The story, towards the end, also felt a bit rushed, but I really did enjoy reading this fresh story that should be more publicized. More people should really give this one a go; if you enjoyed Wonder, this will surely be a form of enjoyment for you.

You see, I'm not much of a middle grade reader. I obviously used to adore that genre, however, I normally do not pick up those books these days as I find that they don't usually fit my interests. Nevertheless, to re-emphasize, this book was different. I highly recommend grabbing it and spending two hours and one sitting reading it.

I'd like to applaud Robert Hoge and the publisher of this book for creating such a great read. It's always refreshing to hear about authors' perspectives on their own personal struggles, and Ugly was a success. 

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What are some other memoirs similar to this and Wonder?

Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje // A Very Confusing Story

Running in the Family, by Michael Ondaatje
Publication: November 30, 1993, by Vintage
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Contemporary
Pages: 208
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India, " Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and family memoir by an exceptional writer.

My Thoughts: 

I guess me admitting to you that this was a book I read for school is what helps you see WHY I didn't really enjoy Running in the Family. I had high hopes for the story, even though most of my friends who previously read the book hated on it, however, I was equally disappointed as they were. This was one of the most random and confusing stories I have ever read. I totally get that it is a memoir, and the random-ness of the writing style Ondaatje promotes is meaningful and metaphorical (in a way), however, I did not enjoy it. I am writing this review to obviously tell you if I recommend this or not, and even though I was forced to read it for school so I could analyze the author's purpose, I am trying to tell you to steer away unless you enjoy analyzing every bit of a novel for no good reason. 

This book is... not necessarily about the author's life. It's more about everything that has to do with his life. His family, where he was born, his family's issues, things that run in the family... all of the things that aren't specifically about Michael. What was most interesting is that Ondaatje went from one time period to another so frequently that I was just left confused. The chapters are relatively short, separated into sections that have titles that are supposed to have some kind of metaphorical meaning. I couldn't see it, whoops. There were poems scattered all over the place about feminism, life in Ceylon (which is now Sri Lanka), and weird stories about Ondaatje's family that will put a smile on your face before you realize that... it's just weird.

So that is what I got out of this book when I read it for the first time, without going online and reading sources about what others think. However, when I began making notes about this book, I began to see that IF the metaphorical meanings are true, they are beautiful and somehow related to Michael's story. These metaphorical meanings helped me enjoy the book, even though they could truly be based on someone's opinion. Readers will never fully understand why an author wrote a novel or article or... whatever it may be.

Running in the Family may be your kind of book if you're some English genius who is the best at analyzing novels and diving deep into them. I am no English major genius, so this was a weird experience for me. If this were written in a normal, chronological order, there definitely would have been some kind of potential for it to be enjoyable.

What are some books that need to be analyzed in order for one to enjoy reading it?

Trapped in Iran: A Mother's Desperate Journey to Freedom by Samieh Hezari and Kaylene Petersen

Trapped in Iran: A Mother's Desperate Journey to Freedom, by Samieh Hezari and Kaylene Petersen
Publication: August 21, 2016, by Indiana University Press
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Pages: 216
Format: ARC
Source: BEA/Publisher
Rating: ½

In 2009, Samieh Hezari made a terrible mistake. She flew from her adopted home of Ireland to her birthplace in Iran so her 14-month-old daughter, Rojha, could be introduced to the child's father. When the violent and unstable father refused to allow his daughter to leave and demanded that Samieh renew their relationship, a two-week holiday became a desperate five-year battle to get her daughter out of Iran. If Samieh could not do so before Rojha turned seven, the father could take sole custody--forever. The father's harassment and threats intensified, eventually resulting in an allegation of adultery that was punishable by stoning, but Samieh--a single mother trapped in a country she saw as restricting the freedom and future of her daughter--never gave up, gaining inspiration from other Iranian women facing similar situations. As both the trial for adultery and her daughter's seventh birthday loomed the Irish government was unable to help, leaving Samieh to attempt multiple illegal escapes in an unforgettable, epic journey to freedom. Trapped in Iran is the harrowing and emotionally gripping story of how a mother defied a man and a country to win freedom for her daughter.

My Thoughts:

Trapped in Iran by the phenomenal Samieh Hezari is phenomenal. It's a read that definitely requires a lot of patience and strength since it is based on a tough, sad subject. I am obsessed with books that are about the things a person will do to save their children. There was a movie that I watched like year, Not Without My Daughter, which is so similar to this — which made me realize that the Iranian Revolution is such a powerful topic that I need to read more about. Samieh Hezari's story needs more popularity; more people who are able to fall in love with all of this.

This is a story that is so jam-packed that I couldn't believe it. It just seems as good as any movie's plot. However, it was all real, and I was able to feel the deepness and emotion in every word Samieh wrote. I was fortunate to meet her at BookExpo America in 2016, however I had not learned much about her story at that moment so I was only able to pity her a little. Now? I understand all of the struggles she faced and I can see why she felt like she needed to release this story and share it with the world. 

Trapped in Iran is brilliant. It is about a mother's struggle in saving her daughter and herself from the harmful Islamic regime which does not grant women any right to support her children if the father does not allow it. Men have a greater importance, and it kills me to see that this journey of Samieh's only occurred a few years ago. Not Without My Daughter, the famous film, occurred decades ago (with the film arising soon after), but this? This is recent. This is so heartbreaking.

In the beginning of the book, I was frustrated with Samieh's situation to the extent that I wondered why she didn't do anything else. It got me a little upset here and there, definitely affecting my rating. Everything eventually made so much sense and I was able to see desperation in Samieh's writing. My experience of reading this book was fabulous to the point that it took me two sittings to read. If I read this in one sitting, I would have had to stay up all night, indulging in the gorgeous writing and brilliant story. I spent the whole time through crossing my fingers and praying that everything will be alright in the end. But like many instances in life, it is not about the outcome or the ending, but about the journey in between.

This is an emotional roller coaster. You get hooked on it instantly, and as the plot moves forward, you become so obsessed with the story that you NEED to know what is going to happen. PLEASE BUY IT ASAP. 

*A review copy was provided by the publisher via BookExpo America in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is the last emotional book you read?

Popular by Maya Van Wagenen // The Cutest Memoir Ever!

Popular: How a Geek in Pearls Discovered the Secret to Confidence, by Maya Van Wagenen
Publication: April 21, 2015, by Speak
Genre: Memoir, Contemporary
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

Stuck near the bottom of the social ladder at “pretty much the lowest level of people at school who aren’t paid to be here,” Maya has never been popular. But before starting eighth grade, she decides to begin a unique social experiment: spend the school year following a 1950s popularity guide, written by former teen model Betty Cornell.

The real-life results are hilarious, painful, and filled with unexpected surprises. Told with humor and grace, Maya’s journey offers readers of all ages a thoroughly contemporary example of kindness and self-confidence, along with a better understanding of what it means to be popular.

My Thoughts:

Popular by the fabulous, inspirational Maya Van Wagenen is just a beautiful memoir. I wish that someone handed this story to me when I was in eighth grade, struggling with friendships and being a newly-turned teenager. This is the realest an inspirational story can get, and I loved it. Maya's input of her personal struggles and story was absolutely amazing, and I am begging all of you to read this and see what is making the whole world fall in love with her writing. 

Maya is quite similar to me and she faced similar struggles as I did as a tween so this was really heartfelt. She is also such an AMAZING writer, making her story feel so organized and captivating. You can feel the passion she has of writing throughout the story as she explains each and every one of the important details of her life. The whole book was so easy to read as I knew that it is all opinionated. Maya just has a real voice and I loved reading about her and her uniqueness. She was inspired by Betty Cornell, a former model who wrote a book about how to become popular, and the fact that Maya followed all of Betty's recommendations proves the uniqueness of this "popular project" after all.

If you're looking for a quick read, GRAB THIS. Even if you did not struggle with many issues involving popularity as a child, you'll still find something relatable in Maya's story. Her writing is light, special and meaningful. I can now label this as the CUTEST MEMOIR EVER. I haven't felt this happy and excited with a memoir/autobiography for a long time. This shows you something.

Popular is actually a really POPULAR memoir, and I can totally see why. (See what I did there?!) Anyone will find something they enjoy here. I cannot wait to see what Maya Van Wagenen has in store for us readers!

What is your favourite memoir?

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi // My First Experience With a Graphic Novel in English Class

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi
Publication: June 1, 2004, by Pantheon
Genre: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel, Memoir
Pages: 153
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

My Thoughts:

 You can't even imagine how long it has taken me to write this review. Eight months, maybe? Nevertheless, I LOVED it. This is the second graphic novel memoir that I have read, and it was so intelligent and unique. It definitely gave me a new outlook on the Iranian Revolution, an event I previously read about in Marina Nemat's Prisoner of Tehran (if you read that and enjoyed it, then this will be just as good). Persepolis is an outlook on crises in the Middle East, and I completely recommend it for anyone of any age. We often hear about what the governments' roles are in these types of situations, however we have limited information as to what citizens are enduring. Marjane Satrapi provided us with this information, and I have grown a bigger sympathy for people because of this memoir. It has made me a better person, I can admit.

Persepolis paints a picture of Marjane's life and how she overcame the many struggles she faced. It's a deep story that is much more than what meets the eye. I adored it so much and found that the graphic novel style imagery just made the book's plot fly by faster. And to be quite honest, the book itself was absolutely in-depth to the point that it felt like fiction. Marjane's story felt like something an author wrote to make readers intrigued. However, this is valid and legitimate, proving that people's lives can be so complex to the extent that we feel that it is totally unreal.

I now feel intrigued to read more of Marjane's writing - I want to see how her story continues and how she became the person that she is. It's not everyday where you get to read a story like this, and I feel quite lucky that this book was chosen as a required read for my English class. It boosted my interest, simply because it is a graphic novel (and I once had an Archie phase so this made me nostalgic in a way) and because it was promising. It holds a unique topic that our world needs to talk about more often. It's an influential, inspiring story that can teach everyone that all we need is a little hope, that no giving up should ever occur or else that'll tear us down. 

Marjane's writing was also easy to read with bits and pieces of depth that is up for interpretation and analyzing. I love analyzing books as I read, so I definitely found many hidden messages in between the lines. I just can't get this out of my head, so I actually am going to request the sequel from my local library so I can see the continuation. It's SO good, and I feel like we need to raise awareness of these unknown books. GO MEMOIRS.

I am begging you to pick this up. IT IS WORTH IT and one of the best books I have read in English class. There's just so much to talk about, so let's have a discussion about this!

Are there any other graphic novel memoirs out there?

Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat // Heart-Wrenching and Memorable

Prisoner of Tehran, by Marina Nemat
Publication: May 6, 2008, by Free Press
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ½

What would you give up to protect your loved ones? Your life?

In her heartbreaking, triumphant, and elegantly written memoir, Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat tells the heart-pounding story of her life as a young girl in Iran during the early days of Ayatollah Khomeini's brutal Islamic Revolution.

In January 1982, Marina Nemat, then just sixteen years old, was arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death for political crimes. Until then, her life in Tehran had centered around school, summer parties at the lake, and her crush on Andre, the young man she had met at church. But when math and history were subordinated to the study of the Koran and political propaganda, Marina protested. Her teacher replied, "If you don't like it, leave." She did, and, to her surprise, other students followed.

Soon she was arrested with hundreds of other youths who had dared to speak out, and they were taken to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Two guards interrogated her. One beat her into unconsciousness; the other, Ali, fell in love with her.

Sentenced to death for refusing to give up the names of her friends, she was minutes from being executed when Ali, using his family connections to Ayatollah Khomeini, plucked her from the firing squad and had her sentence reduced to life in prison. But he exacted a shocking price for saving her life -- with a dizzying combination of terror and tenderness, he asked her to marry him and abandon her Christian faith for Islam. If she didn't, he would see to it that her family was harmed. She spent the next two years as a prisoner of the state, and of the man who held her life, and her family's lives, in his hands.

Lyrical, passionate, and suffused throughout with grace and sensitivity, Marina Nemat's memoir is like no other. Her search for emotional redemption envelops her jailers, her husband and his family, and the country of her birth -- each of whom she grants the greatest gift of all: forgiveness.

My Thoughts:

Prisoner of Tehran is one of those books that I will just never forget. I read it A LONG time ago (not kidding; it was November 2016) but it is so raw that I feel like I just read it last night. This was one of my English class' required reads, and I expected to like it less because (A) I watched a movie about someone escaping Iran, which was AMAZING, but I didn't want to experience the same kind of storyline again and (B) the cover is definitely not the prettiest. Nevertheless, I adored it and I couldn't wait for all of my friends who had English class after me to pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did. Marina Nemat is a lovely writer who writes like she experienced all of this not too long ago. It has been quite a while, but you can feel the pain and sorrow in every word she writes. 

I actually was fortunate to "meet" Marina (she came to speak at our school) and it was a perfect experience since I can hear the thoughts of the brilliant author who changed my life. Everything she told us was life-changing. She spoke about inclusion and diversity, and how we (this generation) are the key-life-changers of the world. When she spoke, she made it seem like we are able to conquer anything. It was amazing to see her in real life and (sadly) see how affected she still is after all of her traumatizing experiences in Iran.

Prisoner of Tehran starts off pretty normally. We readers feel the tension because we know that there are going to be (many) rough moments throughout this story, but we first learn about Marina's life before the Islamic Revolution... before things changed and got her into prison. I'm going to make a generalization here: we constantly think that people who take big risks in life are only in the movies, or are one of a kind and come along once every few generations. Marina showed that she thinks she is an ordinary person though took a risk to speak up. Because of speaking up, Marina ends up in the notorious Evin Prison and her life changes from there. She has a life sentence, but she occasionally feels that death is the best way out of her troubling life. Ali, one of the prison guards who beat her, begins to come into her life more and more, and we see that the tensions between the relationship of a captor and captive become clear and kind of... interesting.

The people who Marina talks about are characters, in reality, as this is a novel, but we have to keep in mind that this story is as real as ever. It's a beautiful story that moved my whole class and I, and a story that told us about someone's life in somewhere across the world. Marina now lives in Canada, half an hour from where I live, and it's amazing to see how successful she has become. She was first successful with having courage to do what she did, but she is now even more courageous to tell her story. I felt such a connection to this book like never before and I seriously am so thankful that I was able to analyze it and pinpoint every literary device Marina uses because why not? She is a writer who easily told her story but left some important messages in between the lines.

This is such a lovely story and I wish that Marina would make a film based on her story. She is such an influential woman who mastered the art of writing with this memoir. I never knew much about the Islamic Regime in Iran, and in the midst of learning about this woman's life story, I learned so much about that. 

What are some other books about the Iranian Revolution that you know of?