The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maggie and Lakshmi are opposites in many ways: Maggie is a professional African American psychologist married to an Americanized Indian man who loves and respects her. Lakshmi is an immigrant Indian woman married to a man who basically treats her like garbage. However, both women are also similar in that they are both haunted and still affected by their past. Umrigar does a nice job braiding these women's stories and lives together until a culminating event unravels their bond and changes their lives. 

My Thoughts:
Despite the fact that the main characters were extremely flawed, I enjoyed the novel. The characters were complexed and damaged and they rattled me in a way that kept me reading even though I often wanted to slap them. I also loved the story within a story aspect of the novel and how it was used to provide complexity, background, story-building and allowed the characters to reflect on their lives and past mistakes. I definitely look forward to reading more of Thrity Umrigar's work.

The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler

The Truth About Truman School by Dori Hillestad Butler is about two friends Zebby and Amr who decide to create an online school website that is informative and honest. However, when they proclaim that anybody can post to the website without censorship, things begin to get out of hand. Soon cyberbullies begin to write anonymous mean and vicious comments and posts about Lilly, a popular girl at school. 

The book examines the fine line between censorship and freedom of speech and honesty, responsibility and integrity within journalism. It also asks the question who are we really? The person online, who assumes an anonymous identity and thus says anything they choose? or, the person who we pretend to be in our everyday interactions. The book is a timely quick middle school read with thought provoking themes.

My Thoughts:  
I read this book in one day.  The idea of middle schoolers, or anyone for that matter, unleashed online without boundaries, censors, and supervision is not only timely, but terrifying. Just think how cruel some people can be in person; now give them an anonymous online persona. Middle school bullying and teasing was bad enough when I was growing up and we didn't even have the internet. This is a good book for middle schoolers to read and discuss with their peers.