The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore (#102 in 2019)
"This is the story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore. One of us is free and has experience things that he never knew to dream about as a kid. The other will spend every day until his death behind bars for an armed robbery that left a police office and father of five dead. The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his. Out stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the crucial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed. It's unsettling to know how little separates each of us from another life altogether."
For book lovers: I know I normally write my own synopsis of the novel, but this first paragraph of Wes Moore's book does a better job than I ever could. Wes Moore, the author, was the Rhodes Scholar, but he found this other version of "Wes Moore" in another area of Baltimore who lived a life quite the opposite of his. At the start of each section, Moore includes a lyrical portrayal of one of the prison visits with the other Wes Moore. In these parts, he shows how they relate to one another on a very basic level of humanness. In his timeline narratives, however, Moore illustrates the divisive nature of their lives and the choices they each made that contributed to their opposing presents and futures. Moore recounts some of his own missteps through his child and young adulthood. His own recollections show how his path could easily have been that of his counterpart, the other Wes Moore, had he made different choices. The publication date was 2010, and I'm honestly surprised that this hasn't yet become a Netflix documentary. There are so many books that impact us, but not too many that change the way we view life, humanity, or those who are different from us. This book does all those things. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For parents/teachers: We constantly harp to our young adults to "make the right choices" and how making the wrong choices could so easily derail a perfectly fine future. This book illustrates just that and is so impactful for young adults, and part of that comes from the fact that the comparison between the two Wes Moores is clear. I think adults are able to detect personality similarities and subtleties between two different people, but for children and young adults things are much more understandable at the literal level. These two men literally share a name and a city, but the choices and futures they create are so vastly different. I firmly believe that this should be required reading for all students between the ages of 14-18. Many of the most poignant differences between the Wes Moores took place in their young adulthood and formative years. Perhaps if we can show students how easy it is to choose the other path, it would become more obvious to be conscious of their thoughts and actions as they're making them. It's easy to say that children become products of their environments, but the truth is that it's our choices that ultimately make the difference. I'm pretty sure it Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series who said, "it is our choice that show what we truly are far more than our abilities," and that is the absolute truth.
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