The book: When their Brampton high school goes into lockdown and a suspected terrorist is arrested, racial prejudice emerges in unexpected and unpleasant ways. Told through the voices of Jay, a white football player and Haroon, a brown third-generation Canadian, we see how the same event can impact people in very different ways.
The authors:
(1) Deborah Ellis is the author of more than twenty books for children. Her deeply rooted sense of social justice comes through in her lively & lucid writing, which often focuses on children marginalized by war, poverty and disease. Of her characters, she says: “Courage interests me—when we have it, when we don’t, and how we make the decision to be brave or cowardly…”. Probably her best-known titles are from the Breadwinner trilogy, set in Afghanistan.
The authors:
(1) Deborah Ellis is the author of more than twenty books for children. Her deeply rooted sense of social justice comes through in her lively & lucid writing, which often focuses on children marginalized by war, poverty and disease. Of her characters, she says: “Courage interests me—when we have it, when we don’t, and how we make the decision to be brave or cowardly…”. Probably her best-known titles are from the Breadwinner trilogy, set in Afghanistan.
To read an interview with Deborah Ellis, go to: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/experts/dellis.asp
(2) Eric Walters has published over 45 books for teenagers, including the 2007 Book Club choice Shattered, about a Toronto teenager volunteering in a downtown soup kitchen & one of the regulars, an ex-soldier from Canada’s UN mission to Rwanda. Eric began writing about 15 years ago, when he wanted something that would interest the reluctant readers in his Grade 5 class, and his continued commitment to teenagers’ concerns is evident in each novel he writes.
I thought that bifocal was an ok book, i found it very boring and the only exciting part of the book was the beginning when they had the full lock down at the school. The book though was very well written and the authors got their point across about racism. This book shows that racism is still alive today and should be dealt with right away.
ReplyDeleteAaron. W DCHS
I enjoyed this book. It was interesting how the book gave the two differenet points of view into racism. It was intense. Racism is a powerful thing and can affect people in many different ways.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read a book that is from two perspectives at the same time. I liked it. The book pointed out the stupidity of racism rather clearly. Sadly racism is still well and alive in the modern world we live in.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this book and wondered what high school students think about using it as an alternative to reading 'The Chrysalids' in Gr. 9 English or 'To Kill A Mockingbird' in Gr. 10? The story, inspired by the arrest of two Mississauga students in 2006, is told in the alternating voices of two well-known Canadian young adult authors. Set in a high school bristling with racial tension, we hear some of the misunderstandings that occur when people judge others by race, gender, religion or socioeconomic group, and how easily intolerance can spiral out of control. Reactions?
ReplyDeleteWhile Bifocal does convey an important message about the destructive force that is racism, the book often suffers from a heavy-handed approach by the authors. While I completely agree with the (admittedly oversimplified) message of "prejudice is bad," I found the story to be preachy and predictable. The diction often seemed aimed at a younger audience than the subject matter implied, and at times I actually rolled my eyes at the cliched dialogue. There are the seeds of a gripping, interesting story in Bifocal, but Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters need to learn not to talk down to their readers, and to focus on the characters and plot, rather than their sermon.
ReplyDeleteThis book was intriguing and made me think about the message of it, although the actual plot was not as entertaining as the book continued. The idea of the points of view of the two different characters was also interesting.
ReplyDeletemy teacher is making me read this book in class and it sucks. she assigns like 4 chapters for homework everyday. the book isnt even that good.
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