Elijah Hernandez

I had read this book because knowing that the students in this book were young people of color who were transformed piqued my interest. However, as I read more and more, I was convinced that this book isn't really about the young children of color who were able to have life-changing experiences; the book in itself was the definition of what many people now would say as "white savior complex". This was very disappointing for me as I had high hopes. I, myself, am a person of color who has experienced many injustices from blunt racism to even the most subtle racism. Even in the summary of this book, it was explained that Linda had spotted a young man who she had automatically concluded to be a scholarship student. Furthermore, she had come to the conclusion that she was going to be the one to save him from his dilemma as if he was incapable of surpassing his struggles without the help of a white woman. Understandably, institutions never really favor people of color, however, this book made it seem as if every young person of color can't get anywhere without the help of a white person in their lives.