Zeitoun

by Dave Eggers
Lexile:  840
Genre:  Nonfiction

Abdulrahman Zeitoun came to the United States from Syria to start a new life.  He settled in New Orleans, met and married his wife Kathy, had three daughters, and was running a very successful contracting business.  But then Hurricane Katrina struck and turned his life upside down.  Kathy took the kids and left the city, but Zeitoun decided to remain behind to take care of their house and other property they owned.  He survived the storm unscathed and began to do his part in helping others by rescuing people in his canoe, taking care of abandoned dogs, and checking on houses for friends. During one such check, he his arrested, taken to jail, and accused of looting.  He is also accused of being a terrorist.  His basic rights are denied and he has no idea when, or if, he will be released from prison.  Zeitoun can not believe that this is happening in the United States, the country he has called home for so long.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ace of Spades

Image
 by FaridahAbike-Iyimide Genre:  Realistic Fiction Devon and Chiamaka are seniors at Niveus Private Academy and are looking forward to their final year at the school before they apply to attend prestigious universities.  They have both worked very hard to ensure that their college dreams will come true.  But all of a sudden, a mysterious person named Aces has begun texting the entire student body their deepest secrets.  Devon and Chiamaka are determined to work together to expose whoever is doing this so that they can finish out their senior year.  As they dig deeper into the Aces mystery, they uncover a disturbing past that has led to what is happening today.
Read more

Here the Whole Time

Image
 by Vitor Martins Genre:  Realistic Fiction Felipe can't wait for his summer vacation to start so that he can hide away from the world in his tiny apartment and basically do...nothing.  Felipe is tired of the name calling and teasing that he receives at school and from the world in general due to his extra large size.  When he comes home from his final day from school, his mom surprises him with the information that their neighbor, Caio, is going to be staying with them for the next 15 days.  Felipe is horrified.  Caio and he used to be friends when they were younger, but haven't spoken in many years.  Felipe has secretly had a crush on Caio and now he is going to have to deal with someone in his space.  Felipe is sure that the next 15 days will be the worst time of his life.
Read more

Prairie Fire

Image
by E.K. Johnston Lexile:  930 Genre:  Fantasy Once a dragon slayer finishes high school, they must devote 4 years of service to the Oil Watch. Siobhan has stood by Owen's side to make sure that he can graduate and now he has met that goal and is off for great adventures.  Siobhan has decided to enlist as well.  They commit to the dangerous job of protecting their country from dragons.  Siobhan and Owen, along with friends Emily and Sadie, are hoping for the happy ending where dragons cease to be a problem and their friend Owen becomes the famous dragon slayer of all.  Will they get their happy ending?
Read more