The Hate Crime

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I read this book for a literary class I am taking in high school. I thought the book was very interesting. I liked how the book taught lessons on life. It shows how anti-semitism can hurt people no matter what kind of anti-semitism they use to hurt others. I thought this book was good for someone who might be studying anti-semitism or the Holocaust to see how even many years after the war people are still struggling for equal treatment. I hope that other people find this book as interesting as I found it.

Not only will this book serve as a teaching tool, but it was interesting to read and kept my attention the whole time. I would definately recommend this book to all age levels even though it is recommended for a younger genre of kids.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I read this book for a literary class I am taking in high school. I thought the book was very interesting. I liked how the book taught lessons on life. It shows how anti-semitism can hurt people no matter what kind of anti-semitism they use to hurt others. I thought this book was good for someone who might be studying anti-semitism or the Holocaust to see how even many years after the war people are still struggling for equal treatment. I hope that other people find this book as interesting as I found it.

Not only will this book serve as a teaching tool, but it was interesting to read and kept my attention the whole time. I would definately recommend this book to all age levels even though it is recommended for a younger genre of kids.

Rating:
Summary: The Hate Crime
Review: The Hate Crime by Phyllis Karas is an interesting and exciting book that has a very important message. I chose this book because my teacher used it as an example for our project, and I thought it looked like something I would enjoy. It reminded me of the movie American History X, and since I like that movie, I thought I would like this book. The story is realistic fiction. The author uses this genre because she wants to get a specific point across about anti-Semitism. It would have been difficult to discuss the same theme using a different genre.
There are three main characters in this novel, and several secondary characters that are also important to the story. Zack is the main character. He's an athletic, popular sophomore in high school. He's friends with everybody, and has no real problems. Rachel is another main character. She is the best looking girl in high school, and is Zack's girlfriend. Pam, a secondary character, is Zack's ex-girlfriend. They were forced to break up by their parents because she's Christian and Zack is Jewish. Mrs. Levy is also a main character. She is Rachel's mother. Her character is important to the story because she is a concentration camp survivor. Zack's father is a secondary character, but is important to the story because he is an attorney.
The book takes place in modern day America in Boston, Massachusetts. Zack's father is the Essex County District Attorney. I think the author chose a realistic setting because the events of the story could have actually happened. The book spans a few weeks throughout a high school lacrosse season. The author refers to Zack's games all through the story.
The story begins by describing Zack's life as a being pretty regular. His father prosecutes a lot of high profile cases, and tends to bring his work home with him. He tells Zack that his latest case is about anti-Semitic graffiti that was spray painted on the side of a Jewish Temple. The graffiti contained the names of seven concentration camps from the Holocaust in World War II. At first, Zack didn't realize the seriousness of the crime, but throughout the story it became clearer to him. By speaking to his father, Mr. and Mrs. Levy, and making the connections as to why he had to break up with his first girlfriend, he started to understand the hate crime. What he realized throughout the book that anti-Semitism hurts everyone, not just Jews.
The theme of The Hate Crime is that crimes that attack a person's race or religion need to be addressed in today's society. The author uses the characters and their backgrounds to get her theme across. Zack is Jewish, but is unaware of the history of the Holocaust until someone paints racial slurs on a Boston Jewish temple. The main character's girlfriend is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. This is how the author includes historical facts into the story. Phyllis Karas also uses conflict and resolution to get her message of how anti-Semitic acts hurt everyone. It is Zack's teammate that is directly involved in the hate crimes. The author places the setting in the present to allow the reader to know that hate crimes are not a problem of the past.
I would rate this book as being fair. The book is called The Hate Crime, and all it talked about up until the seventh chapter was Zack and his girlfriend. It didn't seem to relate to the topic. It also talked a lot about lacrosse, and I think a lot of these parts could have been left out. I liked the fact that it help me learn more about the Holocaust, and what happened to people in concentration camps. I would recommend this book to people who like lacrosse and want to know more about the Holocaust.

Rating:
Summary: The Hate Crime
Review: The Hate Crime by Phyllis Karas is an interesting and exciting book that has a very important message. I chose this book because my teacher used it as an example for our project, and I thought it looked like something I would enjoy. It reminded me of the movie American History X, and since I like that movie, I thought I would like this book. The story is realistic fiction. The author uses this genre because she wants to get a specific point across about anti-Semitism. It would have been difficult to discuss the same theme using a different genre.
There are three main characters in this novel, and several secondary characters that are also important to the story. Zack is the main character. He's an athletic, popular sophomore in high school. He's friends with everybody, and has no real problems. Rachel is another main character. She is the best looking girl in high school, and is Zack's girlfriend. Pam, a secondary character, is Zack's ex-girlfriend. They were forced to break up by their parents because she's Christian and Zack is Jewish. Mrs. Levy is also a main character. She is Rachel's mother. Her character is important to the story because she is a concentration camp survivor. Zack's father is a secondary character, but is important to the story because he is an attorney.
The book takes place in modern day America in Boston, Massachusetts. Zack's father is the Essex County District Attorney. I think the author chose a realistic setting because the events of the story could have actually happened. The book spans a few weeks throughout a high school lacrosse season. The author refers to Zack's games all through the story.
The story begins by describing Zack's life as a being pretty regular. His father prosecutes a lot of high profile cases, and tends to bring his work home with him. He tells Zack that his latest case is about anti-Semitic graffiti that was spray painted on the side of a Jewish Temple. The graffiti contained the names of seven concentration camps from the Holocaust in World War II. At first, Zack didn't realize the seriousness of the crime, but throughout the story it became clearer to him. By speaking to his father, Mr. and Mrs. Levy, and making the connections as to why he had to break up with his first girlfriend, he started to understand the hate crime. What he realized throughout the book that anti-Semitism hurts everyone, not just Jews.
The theme of The Hate Crime is that crimes that attack a person's race or religion need to be addressed in today's society. The author uses the characters and their backgrounds to get her theme across. Zack is Jewish, but is unaware of the history of the Holocaust until someone paints racial slurs on a Boston Jewish temple. The main character's girlfriend is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. This is how the author includes historical facts into the story. Phyllis Karas also uses conflict and resolution to get her message of how anti-Semitic acts hurt everyone. It is Zack's teammate that is directly involved in the hate crimes. The author places the setting in the present to allow the reader to know that hate crimes are not a problem of the past.
I would rate this book as being fair. The book is called The Hate Crime, and all it talked about up until the seventh chapter was Zack and his girlfriend. It didn't seem to relate to the topic. It also talked a lot about lacrosse, and I think a lot of these parts could have been left out. I liked the fact that it help me learn more about the Holocaust, and what happened to people in concentration camps. I would recommend this book to people who like lacrosse and want to know more about the Holocaust.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book has non-stop action. It moves in a fast paced way though the different parts of Zack's life as he deals with sports, relationships, and the hate crime. I never found myself bored while reading and the first person point of view was very interesting to read. Zack was very brave and it was interesting to go on his adventures. The characters reacted in a very beleivible way and seemed very real. The ending was a happy one and there is a good twist at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book has non-stop action. It moves in a fast paced way though the different parts of Zack's life as he deals with sports, relationships, and the hate crime. I never found myself bored while reading and the first person point of view was very interesting to read. Zack was very brave and it was interesting to go on his adventures. The characters reacted in a very beleivible way and seemed very real. The ending was a happy one and there is a good twist at the end.