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A review by ellierose232
Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration by Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds
4.0
I love the idea of this collection, I love the diversity in contributors and the personal stories. I do not, however, love the fact that James Dashner was a contributor. I read the first page of his essay and found only hypocrisy- who is he to preach hope when he ripped it out of another person’s hands? Allegations of sexual assault came out in February of this year, and this book was copyright 2018 as well. I firmly believe that supporting his work is sending a message that we do not support the victims. I did not read his section, and I hope that you won’t either.
That said, I read some truly powerful essays in this collection. It is important to spread hope, love, hard work and empathy at a time like this. My favorite essay was Jeff Zentner’s: Nobody Remembers the Names of People Who Build Walls. He discusses the power of literature to build empathy, saying that “In the days to come, you Book People will have to be the keepers of our values. You will need to carry inside you a bright and inextinguishable flame.” He mentions that at the end of the day “history honors the names of people who tell stories so powerful that walls crumble and fall before them.” I hope you all love, hope, read and find courage in these things. Then stand up and fight back!!!
That said, I read some truly powerful essays in this collection. It is important to spread hope, love, hard work and empathy at a time like this. My favorite essay was Jeff Zentner’s: Nobody Remembers the Names of People Who Build Walls. He discusses the power of literature to build empathy, saying that “In the days to come, you Book People will have to be the keepers of our values. You will need to carry inside you a bright and inextinguishable flame.” He mentions that at the end of the day “history honors the names of people who tell stories so powerful that walls crumble and fall before them.” I hope you all love, hope, read and find courage in these things. Then stand up and fight back!!!