American Like Me - Post 2

I read the book, "American Like Me", by American Ferrera. This book is a collection of essays from many public figures and inspirational people. I chose this book because it intrigued me the most from the list of books (it was the first one I saw). While ordering "American Like Me" on Amazon, I looked into the featured authors and got excited seeing names like Liza Koshy, Randall Park, Laurie Hernandez, and Auli'i Cravalho. I know of these people from my childhood but never fully had the chance to learn about their stories or life experiences. The opportunity to hear from different voices and perspectives was another aspect of this book that excited me. I thought the short stories would be more digestable, and as I was reading I found myself getting more and more excited to read about new experiences. 

From the beginning of the book up until the end, I found myself engaged. Yes, there were stories that were a bit more interesting to me personally than others, but I didn't feel at any point that I was bored or there was a lull. When I wasn't fully captivated by the story, I took the opportunity to observe the writer's style, choice of words, and fluency. I found it interesting how some writing styles were able to spark my interest more than others. A specific one that caught my attention was Laurie Hernandez's. I have personally been a fan of her since I grew up in gymnastics, so her story was one I was looking forward to. Regardless of that, I noticed that her inclusion of emojis added extra excitement to what she had to say. Carmen Carrera took a different approach as well, writing a letter to her 10-year old self and saying the things she wishes she could hear back then. In the stories themselves, I liked getting a different view of what each author associated with being American and growing up in America. From dining at an all you can eat buffet to dancing at a bar while listening to La Bamba, these stories are all unique. I gained lots of perspective on what it was like to grow up in different areas of the country or from different ethnic backgrounds. While their experiences were different, the writers look back and realize that is what makes them American, their differences and uniqueness. Even though I may have grown up differently from all of these people, I felt a sense of pride in being an American.

I would highly recommend this book to my classmates. To back up that statement, I can tell you that I've already recommended it to my two book-loving roommates. Not only was the book entertaining, it had a lot to offer. I came out proud of the different cultures in the country, and hope anyone who had a childhood that was different from the so called "typical american childhood" is able to find some sense of belonging reading these stories. I like that it included recognizable names so we can see how they used their differences to get to where they are now. You often don't think about what someone has had to overcome when you see them on your TV, and this book was a great opportunity to humanize some public figures and demonstrate that differences are empowering and important.