Book 1: Post 2
The first book I chose was American Like Me: Reflections On Life Between Cultures by America Ferrera. I was intrigued by the fact that each chapter was written by different people that shared stories about their life and culture. There are thirty-one stories of people who grew up with deep and personal connections to more than one culture. The more I read, the more I related to struggling to establish a sense of self and finding a way to belong growing up in America while being part of a different culture. The collection of stories from other artists, actors, and athletes I grew up admiring is one of my favorite aspects of the book, along with the images before each chapter.
I really enjoyed reading all the different stories in this book. While most of the stories were in an essay format, some were letters to their younger selves, and my personal favorite was Joy Cho's poster-like formatting. I loved Laurie Hernandez's expressive language, how she added emojis to her writing, and how she never shied away from being expressive and her curly hair. Another one of my favorite chapters was Wilmer Valderrama, which highlighted his acting journey and the struggles he and his family faced. One of my favorite parts was how he ended up being coworkers on That 70's Show with the actor Kurtwood Smith who played his favorite childhood villain.
This is definitely a book I recommend; it's an easy read and incredibly moving. Since each chapter is a different story, it is easy to get lost and read the book in one sitting. I related to some of the stories I read, and I learned something from them as well. America Ferrera used her influence to share a collection of different stories of what it means to be an American when your ancestry doesn't reflect the typical American family. I will end this with one of my favorite quotes from this book by Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, "you can be unapologetically proud of your culture, your heritage, and your heart, and you can celebrate everything about yourself without justification."
I can really relate to struggling to establish a sense of self, one of my favourite movies is The Pursuit of Happiness because it deals with this and finding yourself. Another thing that resonated with me was the quote you chose as someone who grew up in one culture, and have parents from two other completely different cultures the idea in the quote is definitely something I've come to learn growing up.
ReplyDeleteI also read American Like Me and can relate to your thoughts on it. It is super fun and easy to get lost in this book. I also enjoyed how people made their sections their own by formatting it differently and adding their own style to the pages. I love That '70s Show and that moment with Wilmer and Kurtwood was so full circle and was one of my favorite parts too!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about how moving this book is. I like how you included examples in your writing and even included that quote at the end. I'm glad you were able to find that you related to many of the stories and I think many young people could benefit from reading these stories.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI also loved Joy Cho's poster-like formatting! When I first got the book and flipped through quickly, that was the first page I read. I was impressed by how she could communicate such an important story and message so concisely!