The Grapes of Wrath

What was the last book you read that really "moved" you? Caught your attention? Made you think a little bit? Made you a little emotional? I remember reading The Kite Runner a few summer's ago, and it really hit me. It is a great book and highly recommended if you haven't read it.

Currently, I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Yes, I was forced to read it because I'm teaching it to my Honors Sophomore English class, but wow, I get tears in my eyes almost every time I open up the book. It's a sad story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the great migration west to California and the Dirty Thirties, as it was nicknamed. It follows the Joad family as they are forced to sell everything they own because they are kicked off their land. Hearing that California is a better way of life and there is work in Cali, the 12 of them pack into a small truck and head from Oklahoma to Cali to find food and work.

Yes, this book is fiction, but it is based on a real time period not too far away from 2009. My grandma, in fact, lived during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and when asked to talk about it, she quickly changes the subject and says she doesn't want to talk about that time because it was not a happy time.

It is a big, long book. There are parts that are boring. It's not the best read I've ever had. But if you want a book that gives you a look into life 80 years ago, then I highly recommend this book. I guarantee it will move you.