Led by Faith is the incredible true story of Immaculee Ilabagiza. She was a Tutsi tribe member during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which the Hutu majority attempted to stamp out the Tutsi ‘cockroaches,’ as they called them. She came from a family of four children, of which she was the only girl. Out of the six members in her family, only she and one of her brothers survived. Immaculee hid in a small bathroom with seven other women for ninety one days, all the while hearing the killers outside hunting down the Tutsis.
Lone Survivor is a true eyewitness account of Operation Redwing written by SEAL Marcus Luttrell. In it, he tells the remarkable and tragic story of how he became the only surviving member of SEAL team ten. Near the beginning of the book, to help explain the phenomenal stamina, strength, and courage SEALs have, the author describes his experiences in SEAL training.
Just Mercy is a first-person account of Bryan Stevenson, a black lawyer, who helps prisoners that did not receive fair trials as part of a non-profit organization. Stevenson writes about various clients that he has worked for over the years and how the justice system has failed them.
How About Never--is Never Good for You? is Bob Mankoff’s engrossing memoir that focuses primarily on his experiences as a cartoonist and editor of TheNew Yorker magazine. Wryly funny and a little tongue-in-cheek, this book is a quick and enjoyable tidbit. The story initially focuses on Bob Mankoff’s life, but gradually shifts to his professional experiences and the cartoons of The New Yorker.
The Battle for Room 314 by Ed Boland, published in 2016, tells the compelling story of his year teaching in an inner-city high school in New York City. As a young man, Boland worked for Project Advance, a non-profit working to place low-income, inner-city students in elite boarding schools and eventually Ivy League universities; however, he begins to feel unfulfilled and wants to widen his impact to help more deserving students.
John Urschel played professional football and is completing his Ph.D. at Harvard University in Mathematics. This memoir reveals John’s challenges of living with divorced parents, trying to become a math major and earning a Ph.D., and making it to the National Football League. Mr. Urschel’s biography is heart-warming and shows the ups and downs of his journey of making it to the NFL and earning a Ph.D. Urschel was interested in math at a very young age and loved solving math problems. It wasn’t until later in middle school that Urschel became interested in football.
Mighty Moe is a story that highlights the true essence of women's empowerment: incredible achievements and minimal recognition for said achievements. This is the story of a female named Maureen who, in the face of misogyny, ignorance, and conflict, achieved a record-breaking marathon time. The most compelling aspect of the book was that it is a true story. This book promotes empowerment and perseverance in the face of challenges. I was not disappointed with the book for any reason.
Life is hard enough being a teenager. But when you and your family are secretly illegal immigrants from Iran, things can get even more complicated. Sara's parents fled Iran when she was only two years old, and she didn't learn her undocumented status until her sister tried to apply for an after-school job, but couldn't because she didn't have a social security number. This memoir follows her teenage experiences with her family and at school as well as her progress toward getting her green card.
Louis Zamperini was an army air forces bomber during World War II. And before that, he was an Olympic sprinter. But now he is a captive of the Japanese forces. His plane crashed and he survived thousands of miles in the open ocean with little to no water or food. His raft eventually washed up near a Japanese base and he was sent to a POW camp. This book tells the incredible story of his survival against all odds and about the amazing life he led.
This book tells the story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father’s story and the death of his mother. This book follows the story of his father’s experiences in Poland and Auschwitz, as well as that of his entire family. It tells of the romance between his father and mother during this time and their struggles to stay together despite the circumstances. This book shows the relationship between the author and his father throughout. This graphic novel portrays the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats during the Holocaust.
