Reaction to Confessions...

I found this book to be much different from the other books we have read. It could be partly because this book discusses religion, Judaism specifically, and not race. Religion is an internal culture and a person cannot be identified by simply looking at a person. This book focuses on self-identity and finding oneself through experiencing other religions or cultures. When I was a freshman in high school, I ventured out to explore other religions to make sure Catholicism was the religion for me. I think the author presents this life experience in a really interesting way that I feel many students would be able to relate to. Despite the religious differences, I felt myself mirroring Justine many times throughout the book and felt empathy towards the obstacles she endured. It is a book I feel children need to read because it puts these struggles into simple perspective.

When looking at this in terms of Judaism, I feel it did not focus enough on the actual religion to be an educational book for students to read to learn about Judaism. While there are some aspects of Judaism thrown in there, it is not enough to where it really gives students a grasp for what Judaism is, what their belief system is, and how it is important to them. While at the end of the book, Jussy realize that she doesn't want to be Catholic and instead realized that she wanted to remain Jewish, I as the reader didn't get enough understanding for why that was and what really changed her.

I did like that the Holocaust was not a huge theme of the book. While Jussy's grandmother was a Holocaust survivor, the book did not dwell on the horrific events of it, but it turn discussed how it made her grandmother a stronger person. I feel like this would be a great way to introduce the Holocaust to students because it introduces the event, but does not overwhelm them. Another book would follow that would discuss more about the logistics of the Holocaust. While I understand Judaism is not all about the Holocaust, the Holocaust was an event that affected millions, killed millions, and still affects many today.

Overall, this book highlighted a lot of great points and is a great book to help students understand that it is through experience where we can find our true selves.