Beyond Tears

This memoir was not only well written, but I could actually picture myself in the speaker's position. It's about the speaker's childhood self (the age is hinted around preschool age, I believe) that has to stand up to a boy bullying her. When she finally acts though (stepping on his foot to get him to stop), the teachers don't believe that the boy had done anything to deserve what she did to him. What did she learn? She learned not to do anything she would later regret.

The dialogue in this memoir is simply amazing; it isn't complex or overly detailed, but it holds a simplistic and childish feeling  that relates to the character's situation. After all, the girl is roughly a toddler so her speech shouldn't be too over-the-top. Not only that, the speaker/author does well in explaining how she felt back then and speaking about how she feels now when dwelling on the memory...especially when she explains to the reader the lesson she learned from her experience.

I like this memoir a lot because I, and I'm sure any other kid, can relate a lot to this. We've all had that moment in school where someone's being a jerk and decides to horse around a bit, usually resulting in throwing things at you or pulling your long hair. You try to fight back, but when you get caught, none of the teachers believe you without having a witness. Because I can relate to the way the character feels, that makes this memoir appeal to me even more.


Beyond Tears