Our Wildwood, Summer 2016, Volume 39

Book Shelf

by Michelle Simon HEAD LIBRARIAN MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL

As readers, we have opportunities to relate to real and fictionalized brave souls and put ourselves in their situations. Brave protagonists are not only the ones who lack fear in potentially unnerving situations but also are those who are not afraid to be different. As readers, we are able to try on voices and situations and play around with what brave traits are inside each of us. We are all brave whether we say yes to a fear or say no to something that’s not right for us. Engaging in the stories of others helps us to define what brave traits we inhabit and also to experience bravery we may never choose to know.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee

THE SONG OF ACHILLES By Madeline Miller Reviewed by Ryder M. 9TH GRADE

Reviewed by Jude M. 8TH GRADE

Our Wildwood /Summer 2016 22/23

In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of bravery is constantly reappearing. For example, Atticus takes the case he knows he is doomed to lose. To take it took a

A classic tale from Homer’s The Iliad, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller focuses on the greatest warrior of all Greeks, Achilles Achaion, through the

tremendous amount of courage: He faces the challenges of having an all-white jury while defending a black man. Another display of bravery, though it may not seem like it at first, comes from Mayella. She committed an awful deed when she accused Tom Robinson of raping her. Later we learn that the wounds she claimed were made by Tom were actually the evidence of being beaten by her father. Though she did something terrible, the courage it takes to live with an abusive parent is unparalleled. And the final demonstration of bravery is one that is present throughout the book—the bravery and courage that comes with being a child.

eyes of the exiled Prince Patroclus. Together, they bravely defy the wrath of Achilles’s mother, and not just any mother, the goddess Thetis, a cruel sea nymph. Thetis is angered by Achilles’s relationship with a human. Together, they face the danger of battle and the threat of a prophecy that could tear them apart. Side by side, they forge their path in history and fame in the great battle of Troy. I love this book because it focuses on the human aspects of mythological heroes. Their struggles and failings contrasted their bravery to fight through it all.

A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN By Mary Wollstonecraft Reviewed by Josh Grapes ’09 ALUMNUS Mary Wollstonecraft is the grandmother of modern feminism. Her entire life was a struggle against ignorance and

I AM MALALA By Malala Yousafzai Reviewed by Olivia A. 3RD GRADE

I chose this book because Malala Yousafzai showed bravery like no one I have ever seen. She was being brave for girls who did not have education and who

inequality, and her Vindication laid the groundwork for decades of progress. Amid the flurry of the French Revolution, she argued that sexism was just another form of aristocracy. All she demanded was an equal education. We might even call her conservative by the standards of our time, but powerful men like Robert Walpole called her “a hyena in petticoats.” Her Vindication is more than an important historical work—it’s evidence that what seems radical today may become the norm tomorrow.

lived in a world where there are very few women’s rights. I recommend this book to everyone who has trouble finding his or her inner bravery. I believe that we should use bravery in any way we can. Put your heart and soul into your courage and always stand up to what is right to you. For example, if you have a friend and your friend likes cats and you like dogs, don’t go so far in standing up to that person to the point that you say you don’t want to be friends with that person because they stand up for something different from you. Everyone has different beliefs and choices.