out of the darkness by ashley hope perez

The very fact that it makes us uncomfortable enables us to develop empathy for others, without having to experience things firsthand.

By the end, however, I felt hopeful and contemplative, like reading the book empowered me to help make the world a better place based on what I had learned and felt. What’s the big deal?” Then, midway through, as the weight of the book’s awful events settled in, I started to think maybe the book banners were right.

I started off thinking, “This book is fine. Reading this book in its entirely helped me experience for myself how important it is for those who make decisions about the fate of a challenged book to read the whole book. Others who are lucky enough to escape such experiences can develop empathy for those who do experience them. However, I know there are students out there who are living realities of similar racism, abuse, and violence, and will find this book a healthy way to process those experiences and become change makers for the future. One might say that a high school or middle school student should not be exposed to such content. This is historical fiction intended to reveal the darker sides of history, the racism and abuse that live on today, perhaps in part because nobody wants to talk about it. Nothing in the book felt gratuitous, but rather purposeful. It was also very well-written and the disturbing content written in such a way that a naive reader might miss most of it entirely. The book actually had more disturbing sexual and violent content than I expected.

I had a short conversation online with the author (who is a cousin of my teacher friend) in which she explained her reasoning for the content in question. I read this book because it has been challenged at my children’s school district and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Out of the darkness by ashley hope perez