Book Blog #179: The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins

Title: The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids
Author: Alexandra Robbins
# of Pages: 448 (paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction, Education, Psychology
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: In The Overachievers, journalist Alexandra Robbins delivers a poignant, funny, riveting narrative that explores how our high-stakes educational culture has spiraled out of control. During the year of her ten-year reunion, Robbins returns to her high school, where she follows students, including CJ and others: Julie, a track and academic star who is terrified she's making the wrong choices; "AP" Frank, who grapples with horrifying parental pressure to succeed; Taylor, a soccer and lacrosse captain whose ambition threatens her popular girl status; Sam, who worries his years of overachieving will be wasted if he doesn't attend a name-brand college; Audrey, who struggles with perfectionism; and The Stealth Overachiever, a mystery junior who flies under the radar.
Review: "Everyone is searching for that summer feeling again. School does not let a kid live...competitiveness and work combine to create one of the most stressful environments."

Anyone who has gone or is going through high school will know of (or embody) an overachiever. With a rigorous class load and the constant pressure to get straight A's, high school life can seems extremely stressful. This books shows overachievers that they are not alone. People across the United States have been enduring the same struggles even before the publication of this book in 2006. If you're an overachiever, this book is incredibly relatable.

Robbins brings up some great points; how anything less than perfect is viewed as failure, how college's shouldn't be judged by their title (to name a couple). When the reader realizes that the dreaded "oh" reaction to college decisions isn't limited to his or her school, reality finally hits. Workaholism is a problem on a much greater scale than most of us realize.

This is probably one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read. Although a little long winded (Robbin's began to be a little repetitive with her topics near the end), overall this book is incredibly value in the hands of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and many others. I recommend this book specifically to those who consider themselves or are considered by others to be overachievers.

Book Blog #178: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Title: The Grapes of Wrath
Author: John Steinbeck
# of Pages: 464 (paperback)
Genre: Classics, Historical Fiction
Rating:★★★☆☆
Synopsis: First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads-driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.
Review: Although this book exceeded my low expectations (I did not find Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men or Cannery Row particularly memorable), the shock value of the ending was lost on me. A friend had assumed I was never going to read the book and spoiled the ending years ago.

While this book reveals the shocking conditions of the migrant farmers during The Great Depression and emphasizes the importance of unity within family and community, the repetitious scenarios Steinbeck uses to enforce his message seem excessive - I am confident that he could have had the same impact without at least a hundred less pages.

As it is an important and well-known piece of literature, I would recommend that everyone should read it at least once in their lifetime. However,  I do not plan to read it again in the future.