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Readers'
Comments - Grinder
I read Grinder in one sitting. I think
it is a very powerful statement about the effect the Iraqi
War is having on the families of soldiers trapped in this
conflict and on the devastating consequences for the soldiers
themselves. Heddi's personal journey from war supporter to
war opponent is convincing and poignant. I cried with her
as she made the presentation to her class and found the courage
to be truthful about her father and her ex-boyfriend. I wish
every high school student was required to read this book before
they enlisted in the armed forces.
Just as Heddi's presentation may have saved
the lives of some of her classmates, this book might also
make students consider the possible costs of enlistment. Thanks
for writing this Claire.
Elaine
Hartley, former language arts teacher, Columbia, Missouri
What do you do when the most powerful nation on Earth goes to
war against a small country nearly halfway around the globe?
What do you do when you are a citizen of that nation which is
waging war in your name? What do you do when a majority of the
people of the most powerful nation on Earth believes the lies
spoken by their elected government? What do you do when that
majority accepts the pre-emptive strike on Iraq as both just
and necessary? What do you do with your knowledge and conviction
that the war is destructive not only to Iraq, but to the people
and society of the United States?
Claire Garden wrote a novel.
She has drawn a sketch of an alternative society that embodies
values of pacifism, simple living, informed consent, cooperation
in work, mutual aid, decisions made by consensus, appreciation
of diversity. The setting of her alternative society is rural
Iowa. The point of view of the narrator, Athena, is that of
a 16-year-old member of an intentional community. The targeted
readers for her story are young adults---the persons most
at risk for direct involvement in the war and whose minds
are in the process of becoming their own.
What adds tension and drama to the story is the continuing
interaction between those who support the war and the actions
of the government, and those who have researched the truth
behind the lies that the government tells. Claire Garden presents
a style of communication between people that allows these
two sides to interact and influence one another. She has been
able to enter into the minds and hearts of her characters
on both sides of the divide in such a way that the reader
can sympathize with them all.
And in the end, Claire Garden finds hope in the actions
of an aware and committed few.
Esther
Frances, Mount Vernon, Iowa
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