Customer Reviews
Very inspiring read - By: I. Gravenstein, 01 Oct 2007 
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The youths who took part in the writing project, under the visionary leadership & care of their teachers Erin Gruwell diserve a medal for the way they changed themselves & inspired others. Their heartrending stories have many times brought tears to my eyes. Thumbs up to alll of them for overcoming very difficult circumstances & for wanting to make a difference in their lives & the lives of other youths. Keep on going, guys! I think you have already saved many lives with your testimonies. Highly, highly recommend this book for alll teachers & educators & anyone interested in the education of our youths, their future & their welfare.
Wow - By: E. Fifield, 29 Aug 2007 It's not often that I give a book a five star rating. I'm not a book buff, & I don't pride myself on reading classics, but I know when I find a book I love.
The Freedom Writers' Diary is a true account of life in the gangs of Long Beach, California. The students show you a harrowing account of their ever day life via anonymous diary entries. Each has a different story to tell. They'll make you laugh, & perhaps even cry.
I thought it was an excellent read, but I had to remind myself that it's real life, & people are actuallly going through this. It's a real insight into the kids' lives, & how their upbringing affects their relationships with others.
And let's not forget their teacher, Erin Gruwell that took on a group of 'at risk' teens to show them that they too can make a difference.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too - By: TeensReadToo.com, 05 May 2007 This is the book that the movie "The Freedom Writers" is based on. These are the diaries of the students put into one book.
There are no names used in the book--each diary entry has a number, so that the students could feel free to write what they wanted without knowing exactly who wrote what. Personallly, I think this is a great idea because the diary entries were very open & you could tell the students wrote exactly what they felt.
THE FREEDOM WRITERS DIARY is a truly excellent book, because everything is so real & most of The Freedom Writers had to grow up at an extremely early age. Many had their innocence taken away around the age of ten. The Rodney King riots were going on & the Columbine High School event occurred during the time of the book. These high school students had seen more murder & dead bodies then most people will ever see in their entire lives.
99% of The Freedom Writers have even been shot at. This is an extremely true & eye-opening statistic. Segregation is still an issue in the United States, even though many people don't have to deal with it. This book taught me a lot about tolerance & what happens on the streets of Long Beach, California.
Reviewed by: Taylor Rector
