When I picked up A Hope in the Unseen, I didn't know
what I'd think of it. It's not the kind of book I
normally read, but as this month's book club
selection, I gave it a chance. And I was quite
impressed.
A Hope in the Unseen is the true story of Cedric
Jennings, told by Ron Suskind (through Cedric’s eyes) a
reporter who got to know him while he was
investigating some of the worst public schools in
Washington DC. He wrote several articles dedicated to
Cedric and won a Pulitzer Prize. For this book he
quite extensively interviews and collaborates with
Cedric and most people involved in this story,
including his mother, father and pastor.
Cedric Jennings was raised mostly by his mother,
living in extreme poverty. Despite being kicked out
of apartments regularly and not having much food on
the table, Cedric was a smart boy and his mother
encouraged him to excel in school. But where Cedric
is from, it's not "cool" to do well in school, in fact
it can be dangerous, so he had to learn to ignore the
taunting of fellow students. And through the help of
some special teachers, Cedric won the chance of a
lifetime, to go to a summer school type program that
would further his knowledge in science and math and
give him an advantage to getting into an Ivy league
school after graduation. It didn't take him long to
see at MIT that his education level was far below most
of the other students’. And while he did his best, he
wasn't able to get into his first-choice college, but
second-choice, Brown University is still something to
be very proud of. But it doesn't end there...he
begins the true struggle to succeed in college, to fit
in with other students and to become comfortable in
his own skin.
Coming from middle-class white suburbia, but not far
from Detroit, I was familiar with the struggle for
inner-city kids to strive, but not with their
perceptions of it. This book opened up my eyes to
some realities and feelings I never had thought about
before. For instance, how it's not only very difficult
to get a good education or good grades in the inner
city, but how you're ostracized by your peers for
trying.
I enjoyed the book, especially how we did get to see
the world through more than just Cedric's eyes, but also through his mother’s, his father’s and friends’. I think this
gave the story a pick-me-up when otherwise it would
have gotten boring. To anyone who is interested in an
inspirational story, I'd recommend this book.
