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Open Your Eyes: Extraordinary Experiences in Faraway Places
Living in a new place is very different from visiting one, especially when that place is far away from home. Traveling gives us the rare opportunity to see who we might have been if we had been born someplace else. For some, it's a chance to recreate ourselves. For others, it's a time to realize who we already are. In Open Your Eyes, ten writers will be your guides to the journeys that changed their lives: a boarding school in England; parenthood in France; the most beautiful spots in Italy; China on the Yang-tze; a tiny shop in Tokyo, Japan; and even to Pilzen, Czechoslovakia as World War II is ending. Though each story offers an original viewpoint, all of the stories reflect back on two important themes: where we come from and how we become who we are.
Edited by Jill Davis.
Edited by Jill Davis.
201 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2003
6 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 11, 2016
Works as a set of brief fascinating travel memoirs. Also works to introduce readers to excellent new authors. Also inspirational - up until the last story, world travel was something that happened to the authors, mostly when they were young... but in the last one, we meet two people who had to work against obstacles to have the horizon-expanding adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend it. And, yes, it is definitely a good idea for young people to get a passport and go exploring, or at least to take part in a semester abroad.
Unfortunately the book cover gave me an incorrect idea what it was about. When I first picked it up I thought it was SF, or at least "alternative auto-biography" (wouldn't that be a cool book?). Then I thought, well, at least it might have some graphic novel kinds of illustrations (which it didn't, but at least it did have some pix of the authors' youth). But no, I guess it's meant to be merely universal, given that the memoir essays cover so much of the globe and so many eras, and so a more earthbound illustration would have had to choose what part of earth to cover.
Anyway, I repeat, very enjoyable. Maybe not all that important to folks other than the target audience, but well worth the time to read.
Unfortunately the book cover gave me an incorrect idea what it was about. When I first picked it up I thought it was SF, or at least "alternative auto-biography" (wouldn't that be a cool book?). Then I thought, well, at least it might have some graphic novel kinds of illustrations (which it didn't, but at least it did have some pix of the authors' youth). But no, I guess it's meant to be merely universal, given that the memoir essays cover so much of the globe and so many eras, and so a more earthbound illustration would have had to choose what part of earth to cover.
Anyway, I repeat, very enjoyable. Maybe not all that important to folks other than the target audience, but well worth the time to read.
October 18, 2013
The heartfelt memoir, Open Your Eyes, by Jill Davis, is recommended for middle school students to adult readers. I would recommend this book as it contains short but meaningful anecdotes/life stories. These stories teach readers life lessons which they can carry on with them forever. Kathleen Krull was afraid to travel, but she stepped out of her comfort zone, faced her fears, and now traveling is part of her life. Piper Dellums was so happy when she found out that she was getting an authentic, South African, foster sister. Instead, Piper got a sister named Carrie who was extremely snobby and got anything she wanted. Digging deeper into Carrie’s heart, Piper finds out that her sister is actually just like her, and then they become best friends. If you're ready for life changing lessons you should check this book out, because you'll really love it!
April 1, 2011
I was not too pleased with this book, it had bits of interest, but overall I did care for it. I would suggest this book to those who dream of travel and seeing different parts of the world. I warn that there are a few words that may be offensive. This book was made by several authors, each having a foreign experience. The goal of this book was to teach its readers to be respectful to other cultures.
There are travels to Italy, france, england, and china. A girl in the states learns by experiences the ideals between white and black african roles. Piper, a black american, houses a white african who never understood the rights of black africans. A young girl travels to france only to get lost in it's beauty, and a young man who goes to school in England learns about the love that he holds for his family home in America.
There are travels to Italy, france, england, and china. A girl in the states learns by experiences the ideals between white and black african roles. Piper, a black american, houses a white african who never understood the rights of black africans. A young girl travels to france only to get lost in it's beauty, and a young man who goes to school in England learns about the love that he holds for his family home in America.
Did not finish
December 6, 2008Checked out this collection of travel stories as part of my lazy mission to eventually read everything published by M.T. Anderson. His essay here, "A Brief Guide to the Ghosts of Great Britain," is excellent, explaining why he went to England for his senior year of high school and undergraduate education, and why the experience still haunts him, in ways that are enriching but also depressing. Anderson is kinda merciless towards his younger self, and the essay is characterized by the same melancholy mood as his novel, Thirsty. The essay is accompanied by an extraordinary photograph of Anderson shortly after graduating from college in the early 1990's, dressed like something poncey out of Evelyn Waugh.
December 11, 2011
Open Your Eyes is a collection of short non-fiction stories written by numerous young adult literature novels. The stories are based around the central theme of finding yourself through travelling to unknown places.
This book inspired me to travel. I found myself imagining different places in the world I could discover, and what I could learn while exploring those places. I loved hearing about the experiences of authors that I respect, like Lois Lowry. They inspired me to make plans and to make something of my life. I want to make my own stories to tell my children, stories that will inspire them to live their own lives.
This book inspired me to travel. I found myself imagining different places in the world I could discover, and what I could learn while exploring those places. I loved hearing about the experiences of authors that I respect, like Lois Lowry. They inspired me to make plans and to make something of my life. I want to make my own stories to tell my children, stories that will inspire them to live their own lives.
Read
April 30, 2015*4.5*
So this didn't help my wanderlust at lot. It only strengthened the desire.
All the original stories were beautifully written and truly inspiring!
Some I enjoyed more than others, and were so blantly stunning I felt as though I had lived the stories out in my time, and had met these enticing people and places.
Some were historical educating, drawing emotional dept to some of histories biggest obstacles such as World War 2, black oppression, and much more.
Overall I can say I loved reading this book! Seeing these authors experiences written out so that others can learn and glean from them.
So this didn't help my wanderlust at lot. It only strengthened the desire.
All the original stories were beautifully written and truly inspiring!
Some I enjoyed more than others, and were so blantly stunning I felt as though I had lived the stories out in my time, and had met these enticing people and places.
Some were historical educating, drawing emotional dept to some of histories biggest obstacles such as World War 2, black oppression, and much more.
Overall I can say I loved reading this book! Seeing these authors experiences written out so that others can learn and glean from them.
April 17, 2008
This book of essays that deals with travel and living experiences abroad is directed towards middle-to-high school students, but can be enjoyed by those who are much older. I particularly enjoyed the tales of Lowry and the MK who lived as young girls in Japan and China, respectively. The stories are a wide range, from a POW in WWII Germany to a young woman's travel tips. Interesting book of travel and life experiences from many points of view.
July 8, 2009
Nice series of essays about growing up and being someplace else by various authors. Particularly good and hilarious is the essay by M.T. Anderson, where he makes fun of himself, and gently of the rest of us too. Harry Mazer's piece about his plane being shot down at the end of WWII is excellent also.
July 29, 2011
This helped me to realize why I like the authors that I do. Overseas experiences really help to broaden horizons and make people see even our own culture more clearly. The only reason this book is not rated higher for me is its language and events. History can be tough, especially personal history.
Read
August 30, 2016As a collection of stories this is hard to rate. There are a few 5, number of 4s and a lot of 3s and one I really struggled to finish. Overall though, a good book to get different perspectives on traveling abroad and get you thinking. It is interesting to note different books written by authors and discover some that would be worth reading.
October 6, 2008
The stories were too short to get much out of them. A couple were interesting enough, but the others lacked real interest. I guess my overall disappointment was that I felt there was no point to them.
November 23, 2009
Book of short stories for written by YA authors such as: M. T. Anderson, Jean Fritz, Lois Lowry, Harry Mazer, & Katherine Paterson. It chronicles how a change of surroundings and unfamiliar situations forced them to think and to feel.
A wonderful collection for memoir writing for young people.
A wonderful collection for memoir writing for young people.
July 29, 2008
Excellent kids book - stories of travel from now famous authors.
October 14, 2009
A nice variety of stories and exotic locations. Some funny, some serious, all show how much travel teaches us.
August 21, 2009
I flew through this book. It's a collection of short travel stories. Each author had a unique voice and told their stories really well. It made me want to travel even more than I already do.
October 23, 2011
It was really good. I thought it was cool learning about travel expiences and different stories in that matter. It had some good lessons too. I would definantly recommend it!
September 10, 2013
Not what I expected. It was okay, but nothing scintillating. There were points of interest for me, but... Well, let's just say there were a lot of buts.
January 3, 2017
Short stories of travel and life abroad written by famous authors. It was a fun quick read. Experiences that shaped the individuals they were to become... quite fun.
October 14, 2018
I enjoyed most of the stories but I didn't like the last because the writer didn't really have much to say. Overall Its a good book.
January 13, 2020
Open Your Eyes is a series of true stories put together by Jill Davis. All of the stories are about interesting places to show the perspective of other people who may have different perspectives than you.
This shows the paths of many people such as Piper Dellums who was a black kid from the United States in the 70s. Her parents decided to help an exchange student from Africa, but they did not know that this African student would be from South Africa. This means that she had extreme racist views toward black people when she got there. But Piper and Simunye (the exchange student) eventually get over this and realize there differences and similarities.
Another one of the true stories in the book is about an American girl who moved to Tokyo. She didn't speak any Japanese and was only eleven. She was biking around by herself and came up to a shop that was selling nice dolls and he was telling the girl stories about each one but she couldn’t understand him. They then related over the beauty of the empress and the poor man gave the little American girl a fan that resembled the one that the empress was holding.
My favorite part of this book was the story of Harry who joined the army to become a pilot fighting for World War II. The story was great at telling the horrible and surprisingly good parts of the war. He talked about his friends he lost during the war but also the ones he made, He talks about the horrible things he sees but also the beautiful things. That is the main reason that I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventures and wants to see more in life.
This shows the paths of many people such as Piper Dellums who was a black kid from the United States in the 70s. Her parents decided to help an exchange student from Africa, but they did not know that this African student would be from South Africa. This means that she had extreme racist views toward black people when she got there. But Piper and Simunye (the exchange student) eventually get over this and realize there differences and similarities.
Another one of the true stories in the book is about an American girl who moved to Tokyo. She didn't speak any Japanese and was only eleven. She was biking around by herself and came up to a shop that was selling nice dolls and he was telling the girl stories about each one but she couldn’t understand him. They then related over the beauty of the empress and the poor man gave the little American girl a fan that resembled the one that the empress was holding.
My favorite part of this book was the story of Harry who joined the army to become a pilot fighting for World War II. The story was great at telling the horrible and surprisingly good parts of the war. He talked about his friends he lost during the war but also the ones he made, He talks about the horrible things he sees but also the beautiful things. That is the main reason that I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventures and wants to see more in life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2024
Reading “Open Your Eyes” took me back to the same youthful optimism I felt coming home from my Rotary exchange year in France. The book is a compilation of short stories written by YA authors about their own international travel experiences at formative years (typically childhood or adolescence). There’s just something about those teenage years when your entire world is summed up by your friend drama, family, and all-consuming school. At the same time, teens often have this strong curiosity about the world and a hope that they’ll make a mark on it someday. (At least that was my experience!) Those years are the perfect (albeit scary) time to leave your comfort zone and gain independence. This book is perfect for teens who’ve never traveled far from home but are interested in everything the world has to offer!
August 11, 2025
I skimmed most of these stories and found them dated, as well as reflective and thoughtful in a way that was probably very meaningful for the author, but perhaps not so interesting to MG readers today.
I was reading for the apartheid story by Piper Dellums, which would be great for use alongside the SS unit on apartheid. The very beginning has two moments that I'm wondering if MG readers can handle: a racial epithet that I'm not sure kids need to be introduced to, and a passing comment about seeing a Life magazine picture of 3 lynched men hanging from trees.
I was reading for the apartheid story by Piper Dellums, which would be great for use alongside the SS unit on apartheid. The very beginning has two moments that I'm wondering if MG readers can handle: a racial epithet that I'm not sure kids need to be introduced to, and a passing comment about seeing a Life magazine picture of 3 lynched men hanging from trees.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews