A review by shirleytupperfreeman
Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo

I really enjoyed this thoughtful memoir of a relationship between teacher and student. Kuo is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants who drilled her in math problems at the dinner table. Kuo met Patrick when she began a Teach For America stint in rural Arkansas. Patrick was a poor, black 8th grader in one of the poorest school districts in the nation. He was ready to 'fall through the cracks' of our education system when Kuo began to mentor him. Patrick was beginning to thrive when Kuo left to attend law school, and then a few years later Kuo learned that Patrick was in jail for murder. Kuo writes compellingly about the hard decisions she faced - should she go to law school or keep teaching, begin her job in a non-profit or go back and try to help Patrick when he was in jail? All while recognizing that she had many choices and Patrick had few. I understand that tension between working for justice by trying to change a system and working for mercy by being in relationship with people for whom the system isn't working well. Michelle Kuo grew up in Kalamazoo so I was excited to read the ARC of a book with local connections. This will be published in July.