Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo

Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: September 2, 2018
Format: Book
Favorite Quote(s): 
"They were Iqbal, too."
"I just beg of you, don't forget. Tell somebody our story. Tell everybody our story. So that the memory will not be lost."

Review:
This is a fictionalized story of a real hero, Iqbal Masih, a young boy who escaped the carpet factory in Pakistan that he was enslaved in. He joined the Labor Liberation Front and helped free hundreds of children from bonded labor. He was recognized globally when he received the Reebok Human Rights Award in Boston in 1994. This story was a beautiful telling of who Iqbal must have been: a brave, selfless boy who never lost hope despite his circumstance. He then used his newfound freedom to free others and then told the world about what was happening to children. It is a quick read and is definitely worth the few hours (or less) you dedicate to it. I sobbed through the end, which I was aware was coming, from knowing of Iqbal before reading the book. However, the way the author addresses it in the story is beautiful. Well done. More people should know his name.

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: July 29, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Favorite Quote(s):

"Now I know the secrets of the dark, sweet liquid in my cup. The smell washes over me again, and this time I gag on it. It's no longer the smell of a loving bedtime routine, but the smell of pain, and working for no pay, and not being able to go home."

Review:
Read this book. It will not ruin chocolate for you, but it will change how you buy it.

I knew about the origins of chocolate already, but the story of Amadou, Seydou, and Khadija have thoroughly shamed me out of my inaction. I have the privilege (so so so many privileges) of living in the next town from the Equal Exchange headquarters and that is where I will exclusively shop for the products they sell. Among so many other privileges that I have, I have the privilege of being able to vote with my money. I will keep their story in the forefront of my brain and make purchases that reflect the world that I want to live in to the best of my ability.

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finished Reading: July 11, 2018
Format: Book
Favorite Quote(s):

"I can't understand why dark northern soldiers and light ones are separated into different brigades. The dead are all buried together in hasty mass graves, bones touching."

Review:
I'll be arriving in Havana, Cuba tomorrow and wanted to read something about Cuba before arriving. I, sadly, know very little about Cuban history and what I do know was told to me through American history books. In the historical note, Engle quotes William Randolph Hearst to one of his journalists covering the Third War for Independence (known in the US as the Spanish-American War): "You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." I'm afraid too much of the history that I have learned is through this lens.

The Surrender Tree is a story written in verse from the perspective of 5 characters (all but one are based on real people). It details the actions of a healer during the three wars for Cuban independence from Spain. For so few words, the story of Rosa was powerful. I was brought to tears twice in the short 2 hours it took the read the book. I recommend this book, not only for the history lesson, but for Rosa and the lessons in humility, kindness, and selflessness she teaches readers.