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

well i know this makes me a total asshole, and i don't mean this to say anything about the people or the work they're doing, but this book is objectively pretty bad. approaching terrible. i think it's all in the editing and their assumption that anyone reading this book already knows about them and what they're doing. also, their commitment to including everyone and all their stories, involving each child, while keeping it anonymous made their task of putting this book together more difficult, i'm sure.

and there are good things about it. i was worried that i'd find a white savior story, and it really didn't seem like that at all, at least not the way it was told. we get important stories of growing up in poverty, violence, danger, with show more drugs, gangs, violence all around. it is truly heartfelt. they do a relatively nice job of putting the diary entries of 140 or so people together in chronological order from freshman year to graduation to make a general arc of what went on in the four years of this class. (this couldn't have been easy or simple.) and it's important for people to understand that children in the usa go through these things, that we are not immune to this level of trauma, and that we can do something about it.

however. there are myriad problems with this book as it is written. i think it's largely the editing, because it was both obviously edited too much, and also not edited enough. the overblown prose was bad, but also ok in the end. i remember being that age and thinking that purple, mawkish prose was adult and quality writing, so i forgive these kids for writing that way. but some of the writing is obviously not theirs. it's probably edited for length or for understanding, but there's just no way some of these kids were talking this way. i know it's from around 20 years ago and slang was different then, but these essays just don't flow or feel true at all. (except for the experiences. those feel real and so it's a shame that the voices don't.)

we also see these kids change, but they tried too hard to show us this in each essay alone, rather than in an overarching thread that takes us from the first entry to the last. so instead we get things like "No one ever believed in me so I never believed in myself." and the next sentence would be something like "Now I know that I have to believe in myself and that I can do it." but there is no idea how they got there. Each entry is this story of hardship that is important to tell, and then suddenly they have self belief or understand their worth or something, but no information about how the change happened. (ex: "No one really understood what I was feeling. They were so caught up in what they thought about me that they didn't really care. It really bothered me that they didn't even try to understand me. Deep down inside I was just a scared little girl who was simply misunderstood. Maybe it's not so bad to be misunderstood. Now it's time for me to learn to hold my ground and be self-reliant." what??? how does this even happen. virtually ever entry is like this.)

and even more than that: what were they even doing? we are constantly told that the freedom writers have this amazing mission, that their work is important. but we are literally never told what they're doing. we aren't told how this class does anything that is radical or different, just that it is. we aren't told how this teacher makes a difference, just that she does. we aren't told what these kids do to change themselves, just that they do. we are told how important their message is, that it's so important that they're flown all over the country, interviewed by multiple news outlets, that they get all this corporate support and sponsorship because their work is so important, but we aren't ever told what their message is. something about tolerance? i literally don't know.

their work (the actual work they do and the work they did on themselves) sounds like it is something really important and quite amazing. i just don't really have any idea what it was and this book does a terrible job in telling us. so to be clear my rating has nothing to do with them individually or their organization, just this mess of a book. show less

The story behind this book was incredibly inspiring, but I was hesitant to read it after I had watched the movie. 'No way could these kids' diary entries be that engaging,' I thought. I was totally wrong. I could not put this book down and read it all in one very long sitting. I do wish that the publisher had done less editing - it was obvious that the very first entries were written (or re-written) completely, and in the editing process much of the individuals' unique voices were lost.

What the Freedom Writers have accomplished, though, is amazing.

"The Freedom Writers Diary" is a wonderfully inspiring compilation of journal entries from the hands of a group of underprivileged students. Erin Gruwell, the students' English teacher asks them to write down their thoughts and experiences into a journal as a way to inspire them to write. The stories show heartache and the terrible backgrounds that these kids have grown up in, while also showing the disrespect that the students at first have for Ms. Gruwell. As the journal entries progress, we begin to see that Ms. Gruwell has truly instilled hope into their lives. These kids now desire to learn and succeed in the harsh situations they live in. I believe that this is a wonderful book to include in an English class, both in high and show more lower class settings. I think it is inspirational for students and also for teachers. This book shows that a teacher can truly make a drastic difference in the lives and minds of his/her students. Pairing this book with the movie would be a good lesson. show less

There's something truly great about giving a voice to the voiceless. I think this is Ellen Gruwell's gift more than anything else. This book is the diary of the diverse kids in a class room who learned to listen to each other and encourage each other when very few others would. An integration program in LA brought at risk inner city kids into a school where they were possibly more doomed to fail than before. Their teacher taught them that they had more in common with each other than they knew, but also that there were characters in books that had some of the same problems that they did. Sometimes finding your own voice starts with listening to someone else.

There's something truly great about giving a voice to the voiceless. I think this is Ellen Gruwell's gift more than anything else. This book is the diary of the diverse kids in a class room who learned to listen to each other and encourage each other when very few others would. An integration program in LA brought at risk inner city kids into a school where they were possibly more doomed to fail than before. Their teacher taught them that they had more in common with each other than they knew, but also that there were characters in books that had some of the same problems that they did. Sometimes finding your own voice starts with listening to someone else.

I've been meaning to read this ever since the movie came out, and finally began reading it 'on the side'. Then I found it so compelling I couldn't stop. The storyline is almost cliché: a group of student toughs is enlightened by a determined teacher against the odds. This story, however, is entirely real. I had to keep reminding myself of this, that real people lived and died exactly as described (and still do). It's also not a simple before-and-after story. True, this is a story of several individuals being affected by someone who cared, and discovering an understanding of and caring for others. However, not all the rough spots are contained up front and then dispensed with. Throughout, the students are relating flashbacks from their show more lives or encountering new challenges, and telling it like it is. This is definitely not a Hollywood-esque story about Long Beach becoming paradise.

There was a lot to appreciate in learning along with the students about the Holocaust and the Bosnian war. Much of it was already familiar to me, but I could still relate their exposure to my own initial encounters with these stories. Another perfect example of tragedy arising from intolerance would have been the Rwandan story. I'm sure it would have been talked about in their class but it doesn't receive mention here.

In addition to the reality check and sharing the experience of hearing these heart-wrenching stories, a third benefit I gained was the great pointers to more great reading. Many works described I was already familiar with (e.g. Schindler's List, Catcher in the Rye, Romeo and Juliet, the Diary of Anne Frank) but others are new to me (Zlata's Diary, Night, The Wave) and I'll be looking into them.

I can appreciate numbering the entries, but why weren't pseudonyms used to identify entries by the same people - or dates attached, so we know how quickly time is passing? Eventually I didn't miss having these, but it made the initial portion harder to get into. show less

When a rookie English teacher, Erin Gruwell, is faced with 150 Freshmen remedial students, it's time to sink or swim. Looking around her classroom on the first day, she is struck by the way they segregate themselves into groups based on race: Black, Asian, and Latino, with a lone Caucasian student lost in the crowd.

Gruwell, comes up with an idea to get the kids to write by having each keep a journal. They can write anything they want with no repercussions, and write, they do. Gruwell soon realizes that for many of these kids, just surviving the streets is an accomplishment. By listening carefully and creating interactive activities, Gruwell encourages the students to see how similar they are to one another rather than focusing on show more differences. And for the first time, many of these kids find an adult who is actually taking an interest in them.

As the students move through grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, something wonderful happens. They begin to believe there's more out there than just gang fights and the streets. They learn about respect and begin to have dreams. Together, they compiled this book, which covers a wide range of social issues. Together, they garnered world-wide attention and demonstrated tolerance. Together, they did what most adults thought they couldn't: graduate and go to college.

For a dose of inspiration, pick up this book and read what can happen with a little nurturing and respect. Since this is the 20th anniversary edition, it also includes both tenth-anniversary and twentieth-anniversary entries.

The Bottom Line: This is a story about transformation and coming of age during a time when riots in L.A. were common. Highly recommended reading for high school and college programs. Also, recommended reading for parents and educators. Even though this was written over twenty years ago, many of the topics are still relevant today, maybe even more so.

For the complete review including Book Club Notes, please visit the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. show less