How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

careful where you read it, an emotional trip on each diary entry. Inspirational if the worlds teachers were all half as good. If we were all half as good as we could be toward each other... a must read for all schools, but how many will be brave enough to highlight their short comings.. and ours..

this is definitely an interesting book. I do like it. I had to buy it though for one of my college classes. Its a good reference for teachers and up coming teachers. I really like how it explains things in depth also.

As an adult that grew up with similar circumstances this book just proves that one person can make a difference. I was lucky enough to have a social worker that did that for me. Hope these folks are still making a difference. I admire their courage and the courage of Ms G

This is a fascinating, inspirational book about a young teacher who helps inner city kids in a Long Beach, CA school find their voices in writing instead of violence , drugs and killings. The story of their four year journey is a story every teacher should read and take to heart.
Told in the form of the kid's diary entries, we are privy to the horrible problems of daily life that these kids have and through the marvelous ideas of their teacher, Ms Gruwell, are able to conquer. Great things happen to these students as a result. Please read this book.

I wish that everyone who doubts that one person could possibly make a difference in the world would read this book. Talk about inspiration! Erin Gruwell, as a beginning teacher who was "stuck" with the students that no one else wanted to teach, transformed those 150 students over the course of their four years in high school into a group of passionate, determined young men and women instead of the doomed nobodies that they originally saw themselves to be. These teens have lived terrible lives, survived situations that many people try to pretend don't even exist, and have come to adulthood believing in themselves for the first time. Many of the journal entries in this book actually made me cry.
I am a beginning teacher myself, and though my students are not the at-risk youth that Ms. Gruwell taught, I can strongly identify with her and with her accomplishments - giving me hope that someday I can make as significant a contribution to my community that she has to hers.

this collection should be shared with all - i had never heard of this amazing group of individuals before the film was produced and after viewing that film i just had to have this book. so inspiring!

Anyone who teaches in a public school should read this inspiring book! All of those kids who are labeled "at risk" are really at hope if we just take time to have the relationships they so desperately need!

Freedom Writers Diary is a literature selection that all high school instructors and high school students should read. The reader learns that if you believe and have the desire to achieve success it will happen.

I watched the movie first (which was really good), and, as usual, the book was that much better. It's heartwarming, not the warm fuzzy type of heartwarming, but the real book about real people overcoming real situations type of heartwarming. The human spirit never ceases to amaze me, and these kids really soar. I highly, highly recommend this book.