Skip to main content

Book Reviw: The Radius of Us

 



The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt is about Gretchen and Phoenix.  Both have experienced extreme trauma resulting in mental health issues that plague them and prevent them from moving forward in life. Despite Phoenix inadvertently triggering a panic attach in Gretchen, they come together and support one another as they battle through extreme anxiety and halting guilt.  

What I loved about the book was that the author, Marie Marquardt, is an active member at El Refugio - a non profit that serves detained immigrants.  When she tells Phoenix's story as he makes his way out of El Salvador with his younger brother, and awaits the US Courts decisions about remaining in the US, it is authentic.  She knows the stories of people like Phoenix and writes his story with compassion and empathy.




What I did not understand was why Gretchen seeks out Phoenix, after fleeing from him when he appears out of nowhere at the park.  Not only does she take off with her little cousins, but she has a full blown panic attack, literally ending up in a ball on the floor.  Her father has to come and help her through it.  If Phoenix is such a trigger because he resembles her attacker, is it Stockholm Syndrome that compels her to find him and enter into a relationship with?  I am not sure I buy the need to apologize.  There are even moments in the novel when Phoenix questions Gretchen about this.  Of course she denes it.

In addition, when Phoenix resigns himself to his fate of being deported back to El Salvador despite the Green Light death threat, it is Gretchen that comes to the rescue.  The thought of the white savior took root in my mind.  In the end, I decided against it because both Phoenix and Gretchen support one another through out the novel.  

Out of five starts, I would rate this book a 4 star.  

#theradiousofus #sketchnores

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Reading Strategies Book Using The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt

On a different no As I progress through The Reading Strategies book by Jennifer Serravalino, I stumble through new and familiar strategies.  Strategy 5.4 is the good old plot map.  I added it to my sketch notes, in order to turn my sketch notes into a one pager.  Depending on the reader, this is an activity that be done as the reader progresses through the book, or at the end of the reading.  In the past, I have asked students to pick the five most important events only.  After, students can write a summary of the book if required. On a different note, at one of our professional developments, Penny Kittle spoke.  She briefed over thematic notebooks, in which students write to the theme based off the book they are reading.  Because books hold various themes throughout them, students can write to theme prompts reading a singular book.  (At least this is my understanding).  I created several theme notebooks to practice this.  I try to just pick the next notebook in the pile, as if it was
Post a Comment
Read more

The Reading Strategies Using War Games by Audrey & Akila Couloumbias

  This summer, I have been trying to go through Jennifer Serravallo's book The Reading Strategies.  I have always been a big fan of sketch-notes/one pagers, and have incorporated many of her strategies into them.   Strategy 2.16 Choose Books with your ID in Mind      I really liked this strategy because knowing what your likes and dislikes are, it is easier for students to find a genre that will interest them, thus making it easier for them to read.  If I think about building a reading habit, and thinking of James Clear's Atomic Habits , he states that habits should be attractive and satisfying.  Knowing what you like, and finding a book that fits your identity, not only makes the book both attractive and satisfying, but also allows the reader to better connect to the story and want to pick another book when completed.     2.17 Visualize to Focus This a great strategy to help readers visualize and make a movie in their mind's eye while reading.  It is not an unknown strateg
Post a Comment
Read more