Vincent & Theo

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

Everyone knows the name of Vincent Van Gogh; fewer people know the name of his brother, Theo Van Gogh. Theo and Vincent were best friends throughout their lives, and each had a deep and lasting impact on the other. In this joint biography, Deborah Heiligman uses the 658 letters that Vincent wrote to Theo throughout his lifetime to explore the relationship between the brothers, as well as the course of each man’s life. I listened to this as an audiobook, and Phil Fox did a masterful job of narrating. This is a great way to add some history into your summer reading list!

Favorite Passage:

“Who a person becomes later in life, how he lives, how he dies, cloud’s people’s memories of him, spinning and skewing-distorting-their portraits of him as a child. But we will draw Vincent as clearly as we can using not only impressions but also strong lines, sharp details. A picture will emerge.”

What I Loved Most:

I really enjoy art, and I think it’s fascinating to learn the history behind one of the most famous artists of all time. Van Gogh is the first artist I remember hearing about; even elementary school children learn about Starry Night. Learning about his relationship with his brother, and how Vincent became the artist he was, helps create new appreciation for his art. Due to her honest exploration of Vincent’s suicide attempts, I would recommend that only older high school students or adults read this. However, I’m glad she didn’t pull any punches in her description of how devastating depression and mental illness can be.

Read this book if you like:

Biographies, family relationships, mental illness, classic art

Book Details:

Internment

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

In this YA dystopia set in America, we have decided to round up all of the Muslim Americans and put them in internment camps. The collective American attitude is that Muslims are a threat to our national security, and that we need to take this dramatic action in order to keep our country safe. Layla Amin in seventeen years old when she and her parents are put into a camp. She becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution within the camp, fighting for her freedom and what she knows to be right.

Internment is a call to action. It forces us to acknowledge the prejudices in our current society, and looks at what might happen if we continue down the path that we’re on. It’s urgent and it will motivate you to create change. I devoured this book, and highly recommend adding it to the top of your TBR list.

Favorite Passage:

“What’s that thing people always say about history? Unless we know our history, we’re doomed to repeat it? Never forget? Isn’t that the lesson? But we always forget. Forgetting is in the American grain.”

What I Loved Most:

Before I read Internment, I read Uprooted by Albert Marrin, which is a nonfiction book about the Japanese Internment Camps in WWII (check out my review of it here). It’s not that long ago that we forced all of the Japanese Americans into camps… and it doesn’t seem that far fetched that we would do it again. I love dystopias in general, but I have never read one that seems as plausible as Internment does.

Read this book if you like:

Dystopias, teenagers who create change

Book Details:

Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II

~ rachelbenzine ~ 2 Comments

Review:

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II, the U.S. government forced over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans to leave their homes and go to internment camps. There was no evidence that any Japanese Americans had conspired with the Japanese army to plan the attack on Pearl Harbor, or that these Americans were any less loyal to their country than Americans of other race. But these Americans, both immigrants from Japan and those born in America, had to live in the camps for almost four years.

Uprooted tells the story of the Japanese internment camps, but it also describes the larger sociopolitical context that allowed the camps to happen. It starts by exploring the history and culture of Japan, as well as the process of Japanese immigration to America. Marrin describes in detail what life was like in the camps – like the fact that some people were housed in converted horse stables, with each family occupying a horse stall. This moving description of a terrible act in American history is a must-read.

Favorite Passage:

Can another uprooting happen? The short answer: Yes. Early in 2014, while discussing this dark chapter in our history, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia was brutally frank. “It was wrong,” he said, “but I would not be suprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It is no justification, but it is reality.” Scalia knew that in wartime military necessity and national security should not be used to shield government actions from scrutiny. Yet he also knew that Supreme Court justices still “wear epaulets under their robes.” For good or ill, the high court bows to military and political leaders when it comes to crises in national security.
— Chapter 7, Remembering the Past

What I Loved Most:

I feel like I must have learned about the Japanese Internment Camps at some point when I was in school… but I have absolutely no memory of doing so. I remember spending tons of time learning about the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor and other aspects of World War II, but I don’t recall learning about this major thing that happened on American soil in the war. And this seems like something that is really important for all Americans to know about. Our government rounded up a whole group of people and forced them into camps, based on literally nothing but their race. As Americans, we need to know about the mistakes in our past, and use that knowledge to make a better future.

Read this book if you like:

World War II, American history, using the past to inform the future

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