Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Freedom Writers Diary

September 15th

Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and had been reading it all summer. Like I said, it's been a slow few months for reading.

I watched this movie when it came out, and I loved it. My sister bought me the book a few years ago because she knew how much I enjoyed the movie.

I don't read books after the movie very often. (Unless I'm rereading them.)

I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick it up.

So - my thoughts:

First, the novel covers SO much more than the movie. The movie told the stories in more detail. The novel included a different journal entry for each student. It was a small glimpse into the lives of the students. There was no happily ever afters because we didn't get far enough into their stories.

The audience sees change in the Freedom Writers (both in the movie and the novel), and how much Erin Gruwell changed their lives.

It's inspirational. The novel is, the movie is, the Freedom Writers are and the teacher is. 

If I had one complaint, it was the way they all wrote. Every journal entry felt like it could have been written by the same person. The grammar and story telling was the same. To be perfectly blunt, it was boring. It made the entries boring. I'm guessing this was a case of too much editing. It didn't feel real to me.

I don't think I'll read this book again, but I am glad I finally read it. It gave more insight into the students that weren't mentioned in the movie. The movie tells a story though, and this tells short stories about the students. You can't feel connected to any of the stories because once it's over - that's it. You aren't coming back to it.

It makes me want to watch the movie again.

Until next time.








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