The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
by Freedom Writers
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List Price: $13.95
Our Price: $7.90
Your Save: $ 6.05 ( 43% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Main Street Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.235
EAN: 9780385494229
ISBN: 038549422X
Label: Main Street Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 1999-10-12
Publisher: Main Street Books
Release Date: 1999-10-12
Studio: Main Street Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
Comment: An excellent read. It really opens your eyes to the world around us. Lots of laughs many tears and would love for a teacher like that around here for my children (England) that is! FAB!!!!! If fact have just ordered the other two related books x
Customer Rating: 
Summary: books
Comment: this is a very good book, because it can educate everyone about the importance of the respect of other poeple with a different culture.It's also very easy to be read and contemporary.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Freedom Writer's Diary
Comment: I agree that this book was written retrospectively because I was confused by Ms. Gruwell's introduction myself. I read it more than once because I was sure I had missed something. She clearly wrote it beyond the original point she claims to have written it.
After reading only two of the first "Diary" entries I had to stop and check through the book to see who was responsible for adapting because to me the editing felt like over kill and took away from the natural flow of what were most likely compelling narrations at some point. To me it felt unnatural and contrived -- yes the stories were heart breaking, but I felt like I was getting the stories through the eyes of say a Diane Sawyer or a Lisa Ling report instead of through the eyes of the 14 old CHILDREN that had been through it.
Being a writer means finding your own voice. A big red flag went up for me when all of the entries were written in the same exact voice. The beginning entries were supposed to be private thoughts of FRESHMEN remedial students, but in no way was that reflected in the entries. You would be hard pressed to find a COLLEGE freshman these days with the vocabulary required for the entries.
Even if the student hadn't been remedial students the writing was so unbelievable! There is no way to convince me that any freshman in any academic level would chose the words and expressions to describe thier personal lives that were used in the entries. The editing did a huge disservice to the kids.
Through out the entire book, I found myself mumbling, "Yeah, right" and "What kid talks like this?" under my breath.
Of course we all picked up the book out of curiosity and admiration, but lets face it-- we also wondered about the authenticity. That is what hooks the reader from the start, draws you in and keeps you engaged. That is what shines more light on the cause.
To those of you who will figure this in bias to "inner city kids" save your breath because I was one. Also, I wanted to identify with the kids, but oddly enough, even though the subject matter is real and gritty, it feels forced and I dare say flowery. It seems they left in the four letter words for shock value, but took out the rawness, which as a reader I am much more interested in.
Although I was a little disappointed by writing style; I applaud and support the students and Ms. Gruwell and will continue to follow news about the Freedom Writer's Organization, but I must admit I was very much looking forward to settling in for an captivating read and I feel let down.
I also have a very difficult time believing that the projects the students discussed in their entries took place all in one school year let alone in one semester. You figure each class is less than an hour long there simply isn't enough time in a curriculum for it to hold true.
(Also, the movie is supposed to be an honest depiction of the book and there were entries that somewhat resembled some of the journal entries that were read aloud to narrate the movie, but the outcomes of the entries in the movie were completely different than ones in the book. So which is true the harsher stories read in the movie or the moralistic entries from the book?)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Freedom Writers Diary
Comment: After seeing to movie and feeling moved to learn more about this group of writers, I purchased this book. As with the movie, there are some harsh realities brought to light, but it's a good read. Having grown up in a relatively easy-going community in very white America, I felt it was a good experience to see that things are not so easy for MANY kids. Now that I'm raising my own kids I feel it's important for them, also to gain a bit of perspective. This is really an important piece of literature...thanks to those who brought it to the public.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Freedom Writers Diary
Comment: This book, the freedom writers diary, is one not to forget. Throughout the book they mention what they call the 'undeclared war', this is supposed to describe the gang violence and discrimination of Long Beach, CA. This book is wonderful and inspiring novel that will hit you emotionally. It is a definite page-turner
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Freedom Writers Diary : How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
Comment: An excellent read. It really opens your eyes to the world around us. Lots of laughs many tears and would love for a teacher like that around here for my children (England) that is! FAB!!!!! If fact have just ordered the other two related books x
Customer Rating:
Summary: books
Comment: this is a very good book, because it can educate everyone about the importance of the respect of other poeple with a different culture.It's also very easy to be read and contemporary.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Freedom Writer's Diary
Comment: I agree that this book was written retrospectively because I was confused by Ms. Gruwell's introduction myself. I read it more than once because I was sure I had missed something. She clearly wrote it beyond the original point she claims to have written it.
After reading only two of the first "Diary" entries I had to stop and check through the book to see who was responsible for adapting because to me the editing felt like over kill and took away from the natural flow of what were most likely compelling narrations at some point. To me it felt unnatural and contrived -- yes the stories were heart breaking, but I felt like I was getting the stories through the eyes of say a Diane Sawyer or a Lisa Ling report instead of through the eyes of the 14 old CHILDREN that had been through it.
Being a writer means finding your own voice. A big red flag went up for me when all of the entries were written in the same exact voice. The beginning entries were supposed to be private thoughts of FRESHMEN remedial students, but in no way was that reflected in the entries. You would be hard pressed to find a COLLEGE freshman these days with the vocabulary required for the entries.
Even if the student hadn't been remedial students the writing was so unbelievable! There is no way to convince me that any freshman in any academic level would chose the words and expressions to describe thier personal lives that were used in the entries. The editing did a huge disservice to the kids.
Through out the entire book, I found myself mumbling, "Yeah, right" and "What kid talks like this?" under my breath.
Of course we all picked up the book out of curiosity and admiration, but lets face it-- we also wondered about the authenticity. That is what hooks the reader from the start, draws you in and keeps you engaged. That is what shines more light on the cause.
To those of you who will figure this in bias to "inner city kids" save your breath because I was one. Also, I wanted to identify with the kids, but oddly enough, even though the subject matter is real and gritty, it feels forced and I dare say flowery. It seems they left in the four letter words for shock value, but took out the rawness, which as a reader I am much more interested in.
Although I was a little disappointed by writing style; I applaud and support the students and Ms. Gruwell and will continue to follow news about the Freedom Writer's Organization, but I must admit I was very much looking forward to settling in for an captivating read and I feel let down.
I also have a very difficult time believing that the projects the students discussed in their entries took place all in one school year let alone in one semester. You figure each class is less than an hour long there simply isn't enough time in a curriculum for it to hold true.
(Also, the movie is supposed to be an honest depiction of the book and there were entries that somewhat resembled some of the journal entries that were read aloud to narrate the movie, but the outcomes of the entries in the movie were completely different than ones in the book. So which is true the harsher stories read in the movie or the moralistic entries from the book?)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Freedom Writers Diary
Comment: After seeing to movie and feeling moved to learn more about this group of writers, I purchased this book. As with the movie, there are some harsh realities brought to light, but it's a good read. Having grown up in a relatively easy-going community in very white America, I felt it was a good experience to see that things are not so easy for MANY kids. Now that I'm raising my own kids I feel it's important for them, also to gain a bit of perspective. This is really an important piece of literature...thanks to those who brought it to the public.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Freedom Writers Diary
Comment: This book, the freedom writers diary, is one not to forget. Throughout the book they mention what they call the 'undeclared war', this is supposed to describe the gang violence and discrimination of Long Beach, CA. This book is wonderful and inspiring novel that will hit you emotionally. It is a definite page-turner
Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.
As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks. So she and her students, using the treasured books Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo as their guides, undertook a life-changing, eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. They learned to see the parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries and dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers” in homage to the civil rights activists “The Freedom Riders.”
With funds raised by a “Read-a-thon for Tolerance,” they arranged for Miep Gies, the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family, to visit them in California, where she declared that Erin Gruwell’s students were “the real heroes.” Their efforts have paid off spectacularly, both in terms of recognition—appearances on “Prime Time Live” and “All Things Considered,” coverage in People magazine, a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley—and educationally. All 150 Freedom Writers have graduated from high school and are now attending college.
With powerful entries from the students’ own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students.
The authors’ proceeds from this book will be donated to The Tolerance Education Foundation, an organization set up to pay for the Freedom Writers’ college tuition. Erin Gruwell is now a visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, where some of her students are Freedom Writers.
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