From Erin Delaney: seven reasons she just nominated One Amazing Thing:
I just finished reading One Amazing Thing last night, and I’d like to nominate it for the freshman common reading. I think it’s a good fit for us for a few reasons:
1. It has an international, multicultural focus that we haven’t really explored yet. The book features a diverse group of characters, all of whom want to visit India for a variety of reasons.
2. The book is made up of the characters’ stories, which means that most readers will be able to find at least one interesting. It also helps us to break up the book if we decide not to teach the whole thing.
3. Many of the stories lack a resolution. This gives the students the opportunity to discuss how the stories could end.
4. The book discusses some contemporary social issues, such as terrorism and prejudice. It also discusses natural disasters and our response to them.
5. The book shows how a group of strangers form a community. I think this is a really apt topic for our freshmen to discuss.
6. (This is more from my perspective as an English teacher) The book is beautifully written. I especially liked the way the characters analyzed each other’s stories. After one character would tell his or her story, the other characters would each be thinking about different aspects of the story. It’s a great literary analysis lesson about how we choose to focus on different aspects of the text and how we interpret them differently.
7. Lastly, from a practical perspective, it’s not terribly long or difficult to read in terms of vocabulary or style. However, it is still a book for “grown ups” because of the challenging issues it discusses.
I really enjoyed the book.
