Daniel’s Comments (group member since Jun 24, 2019)

Daniel’s comments from the Multicultural Library EDGTE 480 group.

The Hate U Give
Review: 5/5

After watching the movie instead of reading the book…kidding. But, after reading my previous two books concerning Arab/Muslim characters, I wanted to read one from the perspective of another group facing social difficulties and I picked this book because I had heard a lot about it, but never investigated it. It turned out to be exactly what I expected. The story of a young black girl growing up dealing with the pressures that are currently being placed on that group by white police officers and general cultural apathy. I think this book would be EXCELLENT for ESL learners in high school. First and foremost, for cultural reasons. Racism is an open secret in the United States and many immigrants I’m sure are aware of this but may not understand it. This book provides excellent insight to this. Especially police shootings. For language reasons, the book is not complicated and discusses a lot of common high school themes that may make it easier to read since they could relate to the age group’s emotions and experiences, especially if they are a minority in their school.

Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine
Rating: 5/5

I did not know this was a sequel until after I started reading it so I had to back track and read a little about the previous book, but it was easy to pick up on and get going. So, this book is about Ibtisam Barakt, a young girl coming of age in Palestine in the ‘70’s. I do not want to give a lot away, but she has gone through more than many will ever have to. It is the story of the author’s life during this time. This is a really intense book and I do not think that it would be great for ESL learners because there is a lot of symbolism and political concepts that may not be easily graspable. Well, I take that back. I do not think it would be great for all ESL learners unless they are ESL from Arabic countries, then they may already understand some of the issues and be able to piece it together but Hispanic, East Asian, etc. may struggle with this. Regarding cultural, I want to apply the same standard as well. In fact, I think it would be better for an already English-speaking teacher to read this if they are unfamiliar with the political and social issues of the area. It is a great book and deals with a lot of personal issues that this young woman faced. Her story is remarkable, and I recommend this to anyone.

Love, Hate & Other Filters
Rating: 4/5

This book is about a fictional Maya Aziz, an American Muslim girl whose parents are from India and is about to graduate from high school. This book can help young adult readers understand the difficulties of being a Muslim girl in high school dealing with Islamophobia in the United States. Early on, there is a bombing attack carried out by terrorists. This book also involves the issues Maya has with her parents about what to do after high school and what school to go to. This book addresses the issues of living with strict immigrant parents-and the Harvard article that we read for this module addresses some of those issues which is why I believe this book is a great choice for students and possible teachers to read, especially if they do not have any experience with Muslims or children of strict foreign Muslim parents. It discusses the pressures she feels from her family and how her religion is more of an identity to her, and not a practice. She is prone to bullying from another student due to this. This is a great book for cultural reasons. For ESL, it does not contain anything over the top or anything that would be difficult to understand. Definitely great with dealing with cultural and social pressures that are foreign to many Americans.