Try This! - Halloween Edition #3

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October is LGBT History Month!

Student Review: Fist Stick Knife Gun by Geoffrey Canada

Geoffrey Canada. Fist Stick Knife Gun. Beacon Press, 1995. 179p 13.00$ ISBN 0-8070-0423-5

I just completed a book entitled Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence, written by Geoggrey Canada. This book describes what life was like for Canada and his three brothers in the poverty stricken streets of the South Bronx’s in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. His father was an alcoholic and not a strong presence in his life, so in many ways he was raised by his mother and the streets of New york. Canada uses wonderful illustrations which kept me interested in his story.  His illustrations lead me to believe the target audience he is trying to reach are teenagers, though I am sure it would be good for any age.  Unlike the teachings of martin Luther King, Canada’s parents told them to match violence with violence. Their age of innocence ended at a very young age and they had to learn to survive in the “jungle they lived in.”

I checked out Fist stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence, because I was intrigued to learn about the harsh reality that people faced and are still facing everyday.  I was shocked by some of the things I read.  I found myself constantly anticipating the next page.  I also was intrigued by the hard facts that Canada wrote about.  He uses interesting figures mixed with his personal story, to tell a remarkable story.  It introduced me to concepts I was not familiar with.  Canada opened my eyes to inner-city problems such as recreational drug use, hand gun sales and usage along with the need for safe places for children.

I like this book because it painted a vivid picture in my mind of the run down streets of New York.  Not only did it transcend time, but it allowed me to enter a poverty torn urban world, which is the polar opposite of my world here in Columbia, Missouri.  Since he personally knew the characters, his descriptions of them are in depth and unique.  During the entire book there was an “awe factor” which made it quite suspenseful.  The harsh and tragic times these urban children faced are a lifestyle I am totally unfamiliar with. I enjoyed his writing style and the helpful message he tries to send.  It wasn’t a dull “self-help” book; there were many parts where he describes stabbing, shootings, and murder, which kept it thrilling and suspenseful.  If you’re looking for a book to keep you on the edge of your seat, I recommend this one. There were also times in the book where it was nothing but facts and statistics which bored me. I got through the severe childhood that he endured, and after that he changed. It became him trying to help and give back, which made me lose interest.

Try This: Halloween Edition #2

Student Review: The Martian by Andy Wier

Andy Weir The Martian Crow Publishers 2014 369p 25.00$ ISBN 978-0-8041-3902-1

The Martian is a very intellectual book filled with scientific evidence and lingo surrounding a sarcastic good hearted astronaut with a degree in botany and chemical engineering. His name is Mark Watney and he gets stranded on mars after a severe stand storm hit him and his crew while doing a routine Mars expedition. Due to the weather and extreme conditions the crew was forced to do an emergency evacuation, leaving Mark Watney behind. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crewmates hatch their own plan. He must ration his food, become the first person to grow a plant on Mars and manage his oxygen level until help arrives.

Overall the book is great, the first couple chapters were a little slow due to the fact that it was a lot of math and things I didn’t understand. But if you’re into chemistry, botany and a lot of references to the periodic table then this book is for you. The book is modern and funny as well as suspenseful and exciting. I was anticipating every next page because I was so intrigued on how a human would somehow survive on Mars. The book is edgy, and by that I mean it had a lot of curse words, which is understandable considering he was stranded on Mars. I loved how even though all odds were against him, he still managed to keep his spirits up and make light of a bad situation.

I saw the movie and quite frankly, it wasn’t as good as the book at all. It skipped a lot of important parts and it wasn’t as edgy, due to the fact it was a family movie rated PG-13 and the book was more or less rated R. The movie skips through every single bit of math that was dragged on in the book. At first I was bored by all of the math that was in the book. Then I saw the movie and noticed that there was no math in it, and really appreciated it. In the movie he makes contact with Earth in the first 5 minutes and in the book it look about 5 chapters. So all in all, the movie was good, just majorly shortened so they wouldn’t bore the audience. At the end of the movie, Mark Watney gets to hermes rather fast. Which is not how the book was. In the book they calculated exactly how he would meet up with Hermes and what it would take to make his ship lighter in weight. I really loved this book though, I wish it wouldn’t have ended.

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Try This! Halloween Edition #1

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