Hello Again!

It’s Wednesday already somehow! The week has been flying by and I am excited for a quiet weekend of reading (and possibly shopping for the upcoming holidays). But last week, before November started flying past us, I listened to three audiobooks! The Assignment was the first of those. I had this book on my radar for a long time and was excited to see that the audiobook was available on Libby. So without further ado, let’s jump into The Assignment.

SPOILERS AHEAD

It’s senior year and it’s time to go to history class. The class is required to graduate and since this is the last year, you have to take it. Logan and Cade are best friends facing the class together (at least it’s being held with one of their favorite teachers). One day Logan and Cade go into class like normal however, this is anything but a normal day. The entire class is given an assignment. The assignment is to reenact a conference on the Final Solution from World War Two. Logan and Cade are absolutely stunned into shock, how could this assignment be okay? How could it be given in the first place? From here Logan and Cade set out to prove that the assignment is not okay and get it removed from the course and all future courses. But fighting for what is right is not always the easiest thing or the least complicated thing.

I jumped into this book semi-blind. I had heard some things and that it was based on a true event that happened in a school. But as an ex-history teacher (who taught high school) I was absolutely floored by this story. I was shocked by what the students were asked to do and take on, I was equally shocked by some of the reactions from teachers, peers, and the community. I really enjoyed my time with this story and I ended up looking up the piece that happened in real life. I would like to check out some other works by this author in the future.

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

"An important look at a critical moment in history through a modern lens showcasing the power of student activism." --SLJ

This book tackles heavy topics that teens today are actually facing. The struggles and dilemmas the characters faced were relevant and handled in a believable manner. I think that teens are understanding that they too have a voice that their actions can spark change and this book shows the importance of their impact and can help to give them the confidence to speak up for what they believe to be morally right.

As a former teacher, I have a lot of feelings about this book.

I admire how Cade and Logan stand-up to injustice, and I hate how much anti-Semitism comes from the assignment their teacher gives. I hate that that is reality. It was so hard to put myself in the teacher's shoes and see that those hateful things were happening and the teacher stubbornly not admit that it was happening because of what he put into motion.

The twist when [redacted] is revealed was a massive shock that I didn't see coming.

At the same time, I empathize with the teacher, too. His end goal of teaching his students to think critically, even in the face of Authority, is admirable. It's what I did as a teacher, too. Is Weimer saying that teachers need sensitivity readers to check their lesson plans like so many writers? It feels icky. It feels like the massive controversy that embroiled the YA book world pre-pandemic when cancel culture was on a rise (see A Place for the Wolves by Kosoko Jackson and Blood Heir by Amelie Wen Zhao).

I agree that the assignment was not in good taste. I agree that Cade and Logan did everything they could do "solve" the inappropriate assignment "correctly." I agree that sometimes the everyday-people have to get the media involved in order to effect change. But I don't know that a story like this is what I would want my students to read. Too many teens (and as someone who has worked with teens for 12+ years, I feel I can say this) may learn to "cry wolf" at assignments they don't want to do. Even to just "gum up" the system so as to delay a particular assignment until it's time to move on to the next unit.

So, if Wiemer's objective with this story was to get me to question everything, it definitely deserves 5/5 stars. But, it leaves me feeling oogy-- and not for why I think it wants me to feel oogy-- and that brings it down to 2/5 stars because I don't like books that make me feel bad.

All that said, though, I am not the target audience for this book: teens are. So is my opinion --and more so my feelings-- applicably valid to this book?


SPOILERS BELOW









Diverse read:
- Cade is Jewish.

I thought this was going to be a lot better than what it was. I tried so hard to get into this story but I was completely let down. This may just not be for me but it missed the mark. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review this book!

A powerful look at justice, free speech, and even the practice of encouraging kids to argue for and against social issues in class. Deeply moving and deeply encouraged for most or all collections.

this story was so impactful and wonderful, i can't even begin to express the gratitude I have for being able to read an early edition rendition of this book!

Logan and Cade's History of World Government class has one of the best teachers in the country, or so they think. He was Maryland's teacher of the year before coming to their school. He makes history come to life and despises textbook readings and multiple choice tests. His assignments push students to learn the why behind history and to understand how it impacts our lives today.

So when he gives an assignment for students to reenact the Wannsee Conference from the point of view of the Nazi SS Officers and to support what they feel is the best strategy for the murder and disposal of Europe's 11 million Jews, Logan and Cade are left shell-shocked and devastated.

Immediately they realize there is no debate about murder, no debate about the Holocaust. They may not be Jewish, but they don't have to be to know this assignment is morally bankrupt.

So they decide to stop the debate and try to get the assignment cancelled in favor of more appropriate learning and discussion.

This is a book about standing up for what is right, about friendship, what ties us together as humans, and about the need for both safety and identity - how it can tear a person apart to have to choose one over the other.

Each character in this book, from the heroes to the villains, from the side characters to the main duo are well rounded and realistic, full of flaws and lovable aspects alike. The book shows the ease with which hatred can slide into our lives and flourish and the cost and ultimate worth of standing up to that hate.

All teachers should read this book. All high school students should read this book. I can't image it as anything other than a modern classic in the making. I can't wait to share this one with my students.

A truly powerful book. A must read. The Assignment masterfully deals with and does not shy away from the tough issues raised in this book.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All I can say is: WOW. I could NOT put this book down. I had to know what happened! This was an important read and teens everywhere should be required to read it - teachers too!

One of my favorite books of the year!
'
http://yabooknerd.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-assignment.html

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.

The Assignment follows multiple points of view after a teacher gives an assignment to debate for The Final Solution. Two students stand up and fight back against the assignment which causes the entire town to chime in.

Things I enjoyed: the story is obviously an important one to tell. Students should feel empowered to stand up against hateful and racist assignments. Teachers should also be examining their curriculum for harmful activities and assignments. This is also based on a true story, which is interesting.

Things I didn't enjoy: the story felt super simplistic and the resolution easy. The teacher goes from being adamant that the assignment is vital and then after a few conversations condemns himself. Unlike The Wave (which this book is compared to), where the teacher is trying to get students to see how easy people can be persuaded by hate and lies, this book just shows what happens when one teacher gives a terrible assignment. I don't think that is a fair comparison. The point of view changes every chapter sound the same. I never knew what character's point of view we were in. I also didn't like the romance. It felt out of place with the other themes of the book. Maybe the romance was there to lighten the mood but it felt off. The scene at the end with the student singing in the hallway was so weird. I can't imagine anyone doing that in that moment. The dialogue and language also felt old.

Overall, will someone get something out of this book? Yes, definitely. I just felt underwhelmed and like the point was made within the first 50 pages.

I am a big fan of my friend Liza Wiemer and excited about her newest YA book! This is one I will recommend to many because it is a powerful, necessary story to hear about empowering teenagers to know, and do, what is right.

Did not finish. This novel was not for me. I had a hard time connecting to the story and the characters.

What an amazing book! I wish this one was getting more hype. I thought everything from characters, to plot, to writing was done so very well. I cannot recommend this one enough.

The Assignment by Liza Wiemer is a timely and relevant read for YAs. Based on a real assignment, the reader gets a view of the different perspectives of the characters involve. At this time in history, this story is relevant and important. The forward and afterword are just as important as the story itself. Adding this to my shelf and recommending to my secondary education friends! Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea of this book, and thought it was an incredibly interesting premise. I thought the characters were relatable and well-written. Reading in a classroom would be fascinating - the whole time I wondered what my students would say. There are fabulous lessons here.

This is really an important book right now in America. The Assignment, by Liza Wiemer really approaches the subject in a way that is accessible to young people of today. While I didn't consider it a "perfect" book, I do feel that this book has great value in helping students take pause and look closely at some of the things going on in America today and might help to give them strength to hang onto their values and not follow along and bend to peer pressure that takes them away from what they truly believe. This looks at the effect of what happened when two students stood up for what they believed despite the possible consequences.

It's senior year for Logan March and Cade Crawford, students at Riviere HS in upstate New York and they are thrilled to be in the same history class with their favorite teacher, popular Mr. Bartley. But they find themselves shocked and appalled when Mr. Bartley gives them a assignment which they find unacceptable. The assignment is to debate the Nazi's Final Solution by researching the Wannsee Conference held on January 20, 1942 during which the fate of Europe's Jews was decided and then taking a side for or against the decision to exterminate all Jews. And rather than having students choose their own position, they are randomly assigned pro or con.
While some of the kids in their class immediately begin to embrace their inner Nazi, Logan and Cade are open and clear about their opposition to the assignment, and they flat out refuse to do it. After speaking with Principal McNeil, they receive an email saying that he and Mr. Bartley would like to meet with them. Before that happens, Cade and Logan head up to Fort Ontario, where the Safe Haven Museum and Education Center is located. a place known for having harbored 982 Jewish refugees from August 1944 to February 1946. There, Logan and Cade work on an alternative assignment based on this rescue to bring with them when they meet with Principal McNeil and Mr. Bartley.

Although Mr. Bartley agrees to offer their assignment as an alternative for students who feel the way Logan and Cade do, the two friends are still not satisfied. After talking to her father, who tells Logan about an organization called Humanity for Peace and Justice, she and Cade must decide if and how far they are willing to take their opposition to the Wannsee Conference assignment into the public realm.

Although the novel is centered on the assignment to debate the fate of Europe's Jewish population as if the students were Nazis sitting around that table in Wannsee, there is a lot going on. Naturally, an assignment like this would bring out the best and the worst in students, as well as those who have no real opinion, and Wiemer hasn't ignored them. The novel is told from different perspectives, including Principal McNeil and Mr. Bartley, and gives readers some needed insight into the thinking of these different characters, though the majority of the novel is told from the point of view of Logan and Cade.

Neither Logan or Cade are Jewish. I didn't actually find Logan to be a very interesting character except for her passionate stand on the assignment. Her father is a professor, and not terribly available to her, nor are they struggling financially. Cade is much more interesting. His family runs the Lake Ontario Inn and his parents are very dependent on his help to keep things going and it's clear they have money problems. Cade used to be very close to his grandfather before he passed away. He and Cade's grandmother came from Poland before WWII, and before he died, he told Cade about something that happened in Poland that plays strongly into Cade's decision to oppose the assignment.

The Assignment is based on actual events and students, which I remember reading about when it went public. And I remember that my reaction, as a teacher, as someone who wrote a dissertation on an aspect of the Third Reich, and as a human, was that this was not an assignment to give to any student. Yes, teach them about the Holocaust, including the Wannsee Conference, but don't make them take sides in a debate about genocide. And I felt the same way as I read this novel.

At one point, Mr. Bartley shows his class the movie Conspiracy . This was an HBO film from 2001 that re-enacted the Wannsee Conference with several well-known and well-liked actors playing the parts of the Nazis. It's a tough film to watch, and I'm not sure I would show it to high school students, certainly not without a trigger warning.

The Assignment an excellently written book and it will undoubtedly get readers thinking about what they might have done under the same circumstances. And it is definitely a book that will resonate in today's world. While I read, I kept thinking about William Faulkner's line, "The past is never dead. it's not even past." What do you think?

This book is recommended for readers age 13+
This book was an eARC received from NetGalley
Author Liza Wiemer published an Opinion piece that you might be interested in reading. You can find it HERE

The New York Times recently (September 11, 2020) published an article about the 982 refugees who lived in Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. You can read it HERE

Based on a true story - A teacher assigns a class to write a paper arguing in favor of Nazi's position. People are horrified. But do they all have the courage to speak out against a favorite teacher? Great book, thought provoking and sure to spark discussion. I will definitely get this one for my children.