Sunday Synopsis

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Believe it or not, a sixth grade student recommended this book and loaned me his copy that he had gotten from his mother. Some of the content is mature in nature, so it surprised me that he read it.

The tag line reads... "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." There are two boys, both named Wes Moore, born the same year, both living in or near Baltimore, and both from fatherless homes, though different cirumstances left them that way. Both had trouble with school, both had trouble with the police, and both had difficult childhoods. How does one of them end up in prison for life and one becomes a Rhodes Scholar, a veteran, a White House Fellow, and a business leader?

The narrative is told in alternating points of view. This solidifies the similarities between the two Wes Moores, but it also serves to demonstrate the differences. It truly explores urban culture and the growth from boy to man. It's a story about struggle, family, education, drugs, street life. It is both shocking and inspiring.

If left me feeling like I need to do something, even though this is not the culture I live in. The inner-city culture is part of everyone's world, even though some would deny it exists or claim it is someone else's problem. If the youth of our country, particularly our inner-city youth, feel like the world has given up on them, what chance do they have? I don't have the answer, but I feel inspired and motivated to do something. I hope you will, too.

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