Walk In My Shoes by Alwyn Evans

Hi guys ., :D

I chose to read this book because it was different in a way that most books i read are from a guy's perspective (like Percy Jackson !! woohhoooo !!) so yeah ., and this one is told from a girl's point of view and i could honestly say there is a HUGE difference and i find it very interesting. Anyways, since our topic this term is social justice, i will talk about this book's social justice issue and how it is seen in our world today and i'll also talk about this book in general. :D

So, to begin with, this book's social justice issue is very common in our world today. It is about refugees. Im assuming we all know what refugees are. hehehe. It is about this girl called Gulnessa and her family which is made up of her mum (name not mentioned), her older brother Hassan and her two youngest siblings Zahra and Zainullah (girl and boy respectively). Abdul, who is a friend of Gulnessa (or Nessa as she is mostly called) is also a refugee who escaped with Nessa and her family. Nessa's dad is mentioned in the story and he is apparently in the mountains looking for something but does not escape with Nessa. They all come from a war-torn Afghanistan and with some connections, they managed to make their way to Australia where they plan to settle. However, when they arrive, their doubts start coming true with some shocking results. That's all i'll tell you guys, coz its gonna ruin it for you. so just read the book. :D

Okayy, so with the book's social justice issue, as i said before it is about refugees. This is a very uncommon issue in our world today and it is slowly getting worse. People come from all over the world where war and famine have stricken and go to a different country to settle. In my opinion, this book depicts the story very well in terms if the plot and it actually taught me what they do to refugees when they arrive. In the book, Nessa and her family are put into a refugee camp with other Afghani refugees which they refer to as Camp in the story. There, they are fed and have somewhere to sleep. However, their living conditions in there are just enough to keep them alive. They find it very new in Australia because it is nothing like Afghanistan, they do not know what a bed is, they do not know what cordial is and a really awkward onee ., they do not know what a tampon is. This shows the reader how refugees feel when they arrive to a foreign place and of course, there is always the language barrier that is always hard to overcome. In the book, Nessa and her family struggle to communicate with the Australians and often need an interpreter to properly interact with them. This book really emphasises the struggles that refugees face in all aspects of their everyday lives. It makes the reader feel how hard it is to be in the refugee's position hence the title WALK IN MY SHOES and after reading this book, even I feel happy for Nessa and her family when they _____________________ ___________ ____ _ _ _ _ _ _____ (READ THE BOOK GUYS!! :D)

This book taught me that I should be grateful for what I have because most people in the world dont even have half of what I have. This also taught me that I should be grateful that I still live another day without having to worry about getting shot, getting kidnapped, having no food or no home. Another thing that it taught me is that thinking of others before myself is important because if we wanna be children of God then regardless of the person's sex, religion, culture, I should accpet them for who they are because in the end of the day, we are all equal.

Read this book guys, it's heart warming, and it will teach you a thing or two abbout life. :D

Please comment!! :D
Vince Exconde

P.S: the book starts out kinda boring so yeahh ., but the pace eventually picks up which is good ., loLzz ., xD

nineteen eighty-four by george orwell

this book is set in the year 1984 (funny that), and it is about a totalitarian agenda ruling over the city of london. it is , just like the book animal farm, about the russian revolution that ended up going sour. the main character winston smith. he is a man that is following big brother and the party, but at the same time is sick of all of it and he starts writing in a journal about how he hates the party and what it stands for. he is constantly under surveillance, as is everyone else, because in every room of every building there is a two way telescreen that watches your every move. he meets a woman named julia whom he has a love affair with and then ends up getting caught with here in a room by a secret telescreen. they are taken in by the ministry of love and interrogated. winston gets tortured and is taken into a room where he is to face his biggest fear and he there admits to all of his thoughtcrime. he at the same time of admitting this, betrays julia. he pretty much just gives up and thinks that big brother is just wonderful by the end. its a long, hard read. but totally worth it :)

The Book Theif by Markus Zusak

This is a book narrated by Death set during the Second World War in the town of Molching.

It shows the story of liesal meminger a small German girl who must live with her foster parents after her parents are taken away and her brother dies of a sickness while on a train.

this book deals with the oppressive reign of the fuhrer and the discrimination of the Jews.while liesal along with the majority of the populace live in poverty.

being a Jew in Germany during the time of WWII was worse than being dead, you were the scum of the earth believed to be not even worth the carbon atoms that sustained you.

simply knowing a jew could put you is danger and we won't mention what you would suffer if you were helping them as Hans Hubermann was willing to do.

in this society discrimination run rampant and justice was a mere concept not a reality with people being looked down on because they did not have a strong belief in their leader.

this book gives us a taste of what life was like and how constant the fear of accusation was.

The Power of ONE by Bryce Courtenay

well i have to say this book is definetely different from the ones i usuallly read.
recomended by miss and by pretty much everyone i know the 'Power of ONE' well
caught me!!!

it has a lot to do with social justice. placed in south africa 'peekay' a rooinek which mean a southafrican of englich descent has to go through a lot of mental and physical struggle when his dear mother goes into some type of depression and is sent to boarding school at a very young age (5). he was the youngest by two years and was picked on for being a englishman. the kids in the boarding school bullied him, beat him up inspite of being so young!!
but peekay the smarter one learns the few tricks of the trade of getting out of trouble. born with a beautiful smart mind he moved his way to the top of class!! and helped the oldest bully into passing his exams. and many more...
then after a year of boarding school in the end of the year his gradfather send him money to catch a train to his gradfathers home instead of his usuall place. on the journey he meets hoppie an appointed man to look after him introduces the art of 'boxing' this catches peekays eye and he falls in love with the sport.
this story talks about the relationship between the roineks, boers (southafrican of dutch descent) and the africans. how the blacks are treated as dirt and how the two white races always end up fighting each other. this sory talks about where ever you go you will always find trouble but you should use your brain not your heart to get out of it.
the story also talks about peekay meeting other people once he gets to his gradfathers house with his mum. how he finally gets the boxing lessons and the death of his dear friends.
how he is so smart he gets a schilar to highschool at age twelve!
i dont want to write any more or ill ruin it!
but i give this book and ten out of ten
an absolute awesome book recommend this for a class who is doing social justice!
boys mights like it a bit more due to the long boxing related topics!!!
but overall an outstanding novel! well done to the author a very thoughtful book!

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Uglies is a book written by Scott Westerfield. It is about a girl named Tally who lives in a fictional world in which everyone is made "pretty" through cosmetic surgery when they turn 16. 

Basically It's about a girl named Tally who wants to become "pretty" and live in a paradise known as New Pretty Town and leave Uglyville once and for all. There's a lot of twists in events and Tally is forced to make decisions if she really wants to become a pretty or not.. you should just read the book to know the story.

anyway, the story is set in a fictional world where all the not so good looking people live in Uglyville and all the good looking ones live in a high-tech utopia called New Pretty Town. Also, everyone gets a surgery to make them good looking when they turn 16.

The book also indicates many social justice issues such as body image and peer pressure. 

Body image is perception of the looks and attractiveness of their own body. the book demonstrates this many times and is a major theme in the plot. In my opinion, looks aren't everything, and i hate how most people use person's physical features as a prior basis to a person. anyway, moving on, Peer Pressure is the influence from members of one's peer group.This, too, is an important theme in the book. many of Tally's decisions in the story are usually influenced by her peers, thus having a great effect in her life. peer pressure, to me, is also a big thing in life. as i am a fourteen year old boy, my actions are also influenced by my peers and i understand the reason's for Tally's actions and decisions.

aand, that is all i can say now. sorry i couldnt write that much, it's passed my bedtime.

good night.

-jØseph

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Errmm like Maria I picked my book from the pile in the library with my very effective method of eenie-meeny-miney-mo. I reckon the cover of this book stood out from the rest with its gold-ish green camouflage and weird title of Milkweed.

"I am running. Thats the first thing I remember. Running. I carry something, my arm curled around it, hugging it to my chest Bread of course.Someone is chasing me. "Stop! Thief!" "

from the beginning this story had me hooked, I made sure it wasn't a racism based novel because Ive read too many of those. It is a novel about life in the Warsaw Ghetto through the eyes of a little boy, who looks 8 years old, who has no real identity and doesn't really know whats going on around him or has any education and social skills. He has absolutely no memory of his past, only that he was given the yellow stone he wears around his neck by his papa and that he is a gypsy. What helps him survive is his petite size and quick feet when it comes to stealing food and finding shelter.

A redheaded older boy named Uri finds Stop-thief and takes him under his wing, introducing him to a whole group of young thieves.They look out for one another like family, and share both the bad and the good. Without parents and no real demonstration of LOVE they show it to each other and are civil in an uncivilized world. Uri gives Stop-thief a new name and made up his background, telling him his name is Misha and he comes from a large Russian gypsy family and was kidnapped and brought to Warsaw. Also to remember that he's not a Jew. Misha’s small body, quickness, and experience stealing comes in handy for him and his friends.sneaking out through a two-brick hole to get food, he saves his friends from dying of starvation.

Surprisingly Uri becomes a soldier and makes sure Misha doesn't get on the trains headed for the concentration camps. Young and naive at the time with all this was going on, Misha does not understand the danger of the situation. His version of the Holocaust is innocent, cute, and horrifying at the same time.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about history or the holocaust. There are definitely violent, morbid, and disgusting parts to the story, which I think is fitting. I think it is wonderful that authors are writing these kinds of novels. Youth should be able to get a good picture of what happened during the Holocaust so that it never occurs again, even on a smaller scale. After this book I hope people will try to treat each other a little bit better, I mean same thing applies with everyone else's books. I recommend this book to any-one who reads this book review and isn't afraid of violence and well holocaust. A.... 8/10 for me.
=D

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Kyra is thirteen years old.
She lives in an isolated community.
She lives with her father, her 20 siblings and his three wives.
She cannot leave. They will beat her.

Kyra is not allowed to meet with the boy of her dreams Joshua.
Not allowed to read. Not allowed to question the 'prophets'.
She is being forced to marry her 60 year old uncle.
She will be a seventh wife. Not if she can help it.

This is an amazing book, so nice to read and it really makes you think.It's kind of scary to see what she had to go through.There is, in my view, a lot of social injustice in this book.The community is, also in my view, being oppressed. This book is like the blood of the lamb trilogy but better.

I don't want to spoil the whole book, I give it a 9/10.