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The Essay (2012)

by Robin Yocum(Favorite Author)

4.46 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1611457661 (ISBN13: 9781611457667)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Arcade Publishing

review 1: A winner! Jimmy Lee Hickham grows up in a dysfunctional family with a mom, dad, and two older brothers. His family name is disreputable and his home is on a road of poverty and filth. In high school, he discovers that he has a talent for football and a talent for writing. Both of these are outlets for his anger and frustration but also his ability to be grateful for recognition and small victories. His football coach becomes one of his mentors and his English teacher becomes another. He also forges a strong relationship with his older brother, Edgel, who was imprisoned for arson (and is now released)and he never really knew him before. Besides really liking the character of Jimmy Lee, I think I enjoyed this book because it was set up so much like a mystery. I loved finding... more out the answers. YAY!
review 2: Loaned to me by my sister, The Essay is a short novel set in Ohio's Appalachia in the 1970's, a region of my state I frequently drive through on my way to northern Virginia to visit family. Included in the narrative are places I know well…Ohio University in Athens, where my daughter studied journalism in the 1990's, and Cincinnati, where I've lived most of my life, Chillicothe, where our son and his wife went before a judge to finalize the adoptions of their two children. I don't know that life has changed appreciably for folks living in Ohio and West Virginia's Appalachia as it certainly doesn't look much different than it did 40 years ago, especially in West Virginia. What struck me so in this book was the strong message that good teachers are invaluable in the lives of students, teachers who believe in them, who encourage them in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds to persevere and strive for something…in this case for a college education. I am a retired teacher, and I know that teachers make a difference! This should be required reading for all students in colleges of education…maybe also for high school students. less

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