Catherine C.’s Reviews > And Still We Rise:: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City Students > Status Update

My goal for this week is to read 50 pages.

If I were the author I would change a lot of the wording that the current author uses. The book has a great plot and it makes you want to keep reading more, however I often find myself having to reread the page once, or even twice! The book was meant for older kids, so I understand that the language is much more advance, but even for an advanced young reader the sentences seem like there is always a word missing.(55)

In my book one of the main characters is Toya, a smart gifted girl, who had a baby boy and had to put a pause in her life. She was on a great path, and was trying to get accepted in to Harvard, but ended up dropping out of school, to become a stay at home mom. However even after this Toya was able to move out of the city. Here Toya was able to have a clean start, and was able to start a new life. (50)

My book is a great non fiction book based on a true story. It is all about these gifted inner city students who struggle to persevere. The story is told from the students point of view, however the author has a clear hidden purpose . The author is trying to raise awareness for all of these students who struggle, and face so many obstacles. I sometimes find myself wondering what the authors childhood was like.(40)

If I had to rate my book I would rate it a 7. This is because my book is very advanced for me, and it is very real unlike fiction. When I read the pages I feel like a little kid again, because with big pages and small font it is easy for you to loose your spot. It is also very easy to get distracted. Despite all of this, the book as a great story about kids who struggle, that I think everyone should get to hear. (40)

One of the three main characters of my book is Olivia, an orphan who struggles to stay in school. She has no legal guardian, and looks after herself with the money from her night job. Teachers want her to succeed so they pick her up and drop her off at school, to make sure that she has a proper education. I am so fortunate, that I am nothing like Olivia, because my parents provide for me, and support me.(40)

In my book the author has not set a clear purpose, however he has showed hints of the purpose. He wants to inform the readers. He talks about a character named Olivia, who has no family and lives in foster care. He talks about how smart she is, but she never gets the right environment to show it. Olivia talks about how blessed the kids with families and money are, and how they'll never understand her pain.(45)

So far we have meet one of the teachers named Miss Little, who is not happy with her class sizes. She keeps going on and on wondering how she is going to properly teach AP English if there are so many students, until she decides she is going to get rid of some of her students. She told the class to write an in class essay on the "Great Gatsby", she said she will decide who will be in her class by using the essays.