#54: Blonde Roots

Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo is an alternative history that imagines what would have happened if Africans had enslaved Europeans instead of the other way around. It tells the story of Doris, the daughter of English farmers, who is captured by a slave trader and sent overseas. She ends up at the plantation of a wealthy landowner, but desires freedom, so much of the story concerns her attempts to escape and what happens because of these plots.

I found the premise to be interesting, but the story was hard for me to finish. The plot seemed to move slowly at first, and I put the book down for a while before eventually finishing it. Still, there were some interesting facets, especially the reimagining of American culture if it had been based upon African traditions rather than European ones. Overall, I found the book to be intriguing, but not a must read.

#53: Teacher Man

Teacher Man is Frank McCourt's memoir about his career spent teaching high school English in New York City's public schools. As a teacher, I found his story to be very interesting and entertaining. McCourt described all of the difficulties and rewards of being a teacher. The thing that stuck out was his willingness to find unconventional solutions to problems, even when it caused him to butt heads with administrators. His main concern was connecting to his students, but some of his superiors frowned upon his methods. This lack of flexibility among administrators and overseers of schools is a major source of what is wrong with schools today. Overall, I found McCourt's writing to be humorous and inspirational.