Sunday, October 09, 2011

The Wave - Strasser

The Wave by Todd Strasser is a young adult book that is based on a true incident that occurred in a high school history class in California in 1969.  

During a discussion of World War II and Nazis, students question the reality of the events they have heard.  They can not believe that people would not have known what was occurring or that they would follow along like sheep. So, the teacher begins an unsanctioned classroom experiment. 

He creates an organization called The Wave and sparks something in the students. He convinces them to take part in the group and to draw other students in.  Only after the project begins to get out of control, students threatening others who do not want to join and events of prejudice in the name of The Wave's authority, does the teacher find himself forced to show the students that they have joined their own little Nazi-regime.

The premise of this book was quite interesting.  However, it was an older young adult book, written in the 1980's.  Therefore, it was quite simple and short.  It neglected to really get into the meat of the event and read more like a novel, so as to keep young adult's attention. 

In my opinion, the quality of young adult books has gotten better since this was written. I would love to read a "newer" version that expects more of teens readers. But, the story was interesting enough that I'm glad I didn't miss this version.

2/5- Just okay.  Choose with extreme prejudice.

more reviews at:
Read Me Book Blog
 

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