The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell & Freedom Writers- Book Review

The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell & Freedom Writers- Book Review

Title: The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them 

Author: Erin Gruwell, Freedom Writers

Publisher: Broadway Books

Publish Date: September 1, 1999 (this 20th anniversary edition in 2019)

Rating: 3/5

Summary(blurb): In 1994, an idealistic first-year teacher in Long Beach. California, named Erin Gruwell confronted a room of "unteachable, at-risk" students. She had intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust. She was met by uncomprehending looks none of her students had heard of one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. So she rebooted her entire curriculum, using treasured books such as Anne Frank's diary as her guide to combat intolerance and misunderstanding: Her students began recording their thoughts and feelings in their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves "the Freedom Writers." 

Consisting of powerful entries from the students' diaries and narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an unforgettable story of how hard work, courage, and determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students. In the two decades since its original publication, the book has sold more than one million copies and inspired a major motion picture. And now, with this twentieth-anniversary edition, readers are brought up to date on the lives of the Freedom Writers, as they blend indispensable takes on social issues with uplifting stories of attending college and watch their own children follow in their footsteps. The Freedom Writers Diary remains a vital read for anyone who believes in second chances.

**This book review may contain spoilers**

This is a touching memoir of a first-year high school English teacher in Long Beach, California named Erin Gruwell, from 1994 to 1998. She was given a freshman class full of rejects and hopeless kids, students coming from housing projects and juvenile hall, students plagued by gang violence and dysfunctional families and death and lack of love from a very young age. To help these students, Ms. Gruwell (or Ms. G as she's known by her students) puts every effort into make her class learn about tolerance and understanding. 

Ms. G starts introducing her students to books like Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata's Diary, helping them connect to stories where teens that were similarly in desperate situations turned to the pen instead of violence. Although all the children hated Ms. G at first for being a white person with a 'white savior' mindset, it can be seen that that's not the case; in fact, original Freedom Writer Dr. Manuel Scott attests that she came into the classroom that freshman year with a "heart to serve with humility, and a desire to love and empower" them. 

Ms. G does her absolute best for her students, inviting guest speakers to the class such as Miep Gies (the woman who hid Anne Frank), multiple Holocaust survivors, and Zlata Filipovic, who wrote and published a diary (much like Anne Frank's) of her experiences during the war in Bosnia. They go on multiple field trips, even going to Washington DC, and compile journal entries that Ms. G had them write into a book (this very book, in fact). They host multiple events such as concerts and basketball games to finance their travels, and even received a donation of 35 computers by John Tu (CEO of Kingston Technology). 

She eventually teaches the class for all their high school years, and nearly all her students go on to college and higher education even though they initially thought they would never even get a high school diploma.

The book itself is a collection of diary entries from Ms. Gruwell's teaching years written by all 150 of her students, across all four years of her teaching the class. The diaries are numbered as to keep each student's identity anonymous, and every diary is written by a different student. These entries illustrate how Ms. Gruwell slowly but surely changed their life trajectories, and what environments these students were in that led them to despair about their future prospects. These students had led harsh and brutal lives-- they'd been involved in gangs, watched their friends and family get shot, gotten evicted from their home, watched as their dysfunctional family broke apart, shoplifted, gotten sexually abused, gotten into drugs, and more. Ms. Gruwell, the books she provides, and her "toast for change" (with apple juice and plastic champagne glasses) inspires her students to really start making an effort to work hard and change themselves for the better. It was certainly a very inspiring book, and I believe it's a story that primarily emphasizes the importance of education and its capacity for change, but there were some parts that I disliked about it as a book. 

One of the aspects I had the most problem with was how similar all the narratives were, which meant that the book became repetitive very quickly. I understood that each diary entry was written by a different student (one entry for each of the 150 students and labeled with numbers to protect anonymity), but since nearly all the students were in extremely bad situations with gang rivalries, broken families, and more, a lot of the narratives were much the same. They were nearly all stories about:

- Their harsh past experiences

- How Ms. Gruwell was turning their lives around

- How class discussions applied to their own life

- Stories of special events (field trips, guest speakers, etc) that enlightened them

Reading 150 stories that are essentially four stories is... well, not as exciting as one might think. Of course, it was incredible to learn how Ms. Gruwell's teaching methods led students to truly believe in themselves and even meet the then-Secretary of Education (Richard Riley) in person, but the same lesson would have gotten through with less than half of the entries written. 

Also, the lack of character in the book was another factor that detracted from the book. The only person really mentioned by name here is Ms. Gruwell, and since all the students are numbered, there wasn't a coherent narrative I could focus on to really get into the story. Readers are forced to follow the journey of the students as a collective, while reading individual entries and individual stories that hold special meaning to one individual. It would have been better if the diary entries followed a few people over the course of the entire four years that complemented/augmented each other's narratives. That sounds much more like a split-perspective novel (like Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass), which I would have been able to read much more smoothly. I can recognize some students here and there from multiple entries due to unique circumstances (such as cystic fibrosis and a lung transplant), but mostly all the students blend together. The story is powerful, one of change and growth, but it's not personal enough for people to connect to. Sure, there are many entries which others may be able to connect to, but it's impossible to follow their personal journeys because they only write about it once. 

Lastly, the book was so heavily edited that it felt like the student's voices didn't shine through as clearly. Many diaries were written in very similar voices, and sophisticated metaphors were used in many of the earlier entries which suggests that the entries have been heavily edited. The book does say that each entry was peer reviewed multiple times, and some earlier entries were written afterwards once they embraced diary keeping and striving for change, but it felt as though that took away from the raw narrative. As I was looking through reviews of this book, I saw someone who wrote that it would have been much better if the diary entries were handwritten instead of typed because it would have brought out more of the individuality of each student. I agree-- if this book was composed of pictures or scans of handwritten diary entries, I would have felt a more personal connection. The effect may have been dulled as every student writes one entry, but reading handwritten entries would definitely have allowed for a deeper personal connection. 

All in all, The Freedom Writers Diary was an inspiring story of 150 underprivileged teens in Long Beach striving to become the best they can be, all thanks to a special teacher named Erin Gruwell. The collection of diaries conveyed poignant messages of change and the power of education, and just how influential one person could be in literally changing the lives of many people. However, it did have its drawbacks. I would recommend this book for anyone 8th grade or above (it does contain some sensitive content), and teachers in particular. 

Rating: I would give this a 3/5, as it was definitely an inspirational story that conveys a very important message, but it had many weak points such as similar narratives, lack of character, and heavy editing.