We March on to Defy the Stars

“My dear children, read. Read everything.”

March is an invigorating and empowering memoir to have the reader think, reflect, and empathize with Carl Lewis and his Civil Rights journey. Before reading this text, I knew about the Civil Rights Movement, or so I thought. I realize now that I knew the basics of this movement and not the specific details. Through Carl Lewis’ perspective, the reader experiences his journey from his beginnings in the church to his involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the March. Having Lewis in a reflective moment where he is at Obama’s 2008 inauguration where it causes him to look back at how he got to that moment. It was inspiring to me as a reader to see how he was unsure of his role, but chose to do what was right for not only himself, but for his country.  The series shows the hope Lewis had for himself and his vision for a better future.

The graphic novel - communicating this memoir via graphic novel was at times the best mode of storytelling. Having said that, at times the illustrations were difficult and hard to read. This always brings me back to conversations I’ve had with my students and own children about the level of difficulty a graphic novel contains. This graphic novel makes it easy for the reader to infer and personally connect to the characters and details.

The ideas expressed in March seem to be on the forefront of the world we live in today and makes it relevant to our readers. Reading this memoir provides our readers with hope that they can change their circumstances and stand up for what they believe.

Defy the Stars was a novel that on the surface was not engaging, but once delved in, presented some ideas that makes a reader think. This novel explores the idea of opposite forces having to co-exist or work together.  Defy the Stars has the plot structure to entice all sorts of readers in junior and senior high - intergalactic fighting, environmental issues, life on other planets, political and moral philosophy, the advances of robotic technology, and a romance between two characters from different worlds.

On our team, Judy, chose Defy the Stars as she felt how the narrative was presented is engaging to all readers and the ideas brought about were what students should be talking about. The rest of our group chose March for its relevance to the time the word we live in today.