A review by theresidentbookworm
To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite

4.0

This was one of my Salvation Army finds (five books for a dollar, can you believe that?), and I definitely didn't regret it. To Sir, With Love is like the older, British version of The Freedom Writers, a movie that I adore and a book I look forward to reading. Mr. Braithwaite really paints the picture of what the school he is teaching at and the students there are like. You learn about his troubles as an African American British citizen and realize that racism isn't exclusive to just this country. I was immediately grabbed in and brought along for the ride. I watched as Mr. Braithwaite taught his class how to respect him, respect each other, and eventually respect all people. The transformation of his students was touching, and I was really proud of all of them at the end. My favorite part in particular was when none of the students wanted to take flowers they had bought for a classmate's dad's funeral to the kid's house because he's colored, not black, colored, and Pamela volunteers. The end just made me cry. It was a very good memoir, and I really want to see the movie. My only complaint was that I think that his romance with another teacher was unnecessarily included. I just frankly wasn't interested. Otherwise, an excellent read that I would highly recommend.