Equal parts inspiring and provocative. I was around when the original launched and I was at that time a fresh educator, just out of college. This time, I read this as a veteran educator who is leaving the field. It took on a distant feel for me due to this life choice. Regardless, it's a testament to the power of educators, writers, young minds, and the future.

This book follows the Freedom Writers (from the book and the movie!), but in a different format. In this book, young people from around the world write letters and each letter featured in the book is answered by a member of the Freedom Writer community. The book in great, and I really appreciated how the letters came from individuals living all over the world, you really get a sense of struggles happening everywhere. It was very eye opening. This took me an extremely long time to get through as the material is extremely heavy. I found the format led to a lot of repetition, which was a bit tedious after awhile of reading. I know the responding letters are uplifting and gave advice, but in most it was hard to differentiate a unique writing style, I found many of them used very similar wording and encouragement, so it was a bit boring to read after awhile. I found it hard to personally relate to many of the struggles in the book, so that aspect made it difficult to read at times as well. All in all, definitely worth a read, very eye opening and an extremely beautiful example of connections being formed around the world. The advice given is lovely! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

Do you remember the metamorphosis of Erin Gruwell, a young teacher who went from wearing a pearl necklace to really inspiring her students in Long Beach, California? She was a key figure in the 1999 book titled The Freedom Writers' Diary and 2007 movie. Now, roughly twenty years later, readers can explore DEAR FREEDOM WRITER; it's the latest work by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell and offers "Stories of Hardship and Hope from the Next Generation." This new book takes the form of call and response with current students writing about a concern – like grief, racism, substance abuse or being shunned; the Freedom Writers draft a letter in response. Reading the honest expression of students concerns about questions like the one from a first generation American (How much is the cost of the American Dream?) or the one (Why is it so hard for others to accept my pronouns?) from a self-described "Struggling Teen" is a very moving experience. These fifty letters provide essential insight into students' feelings and it's important to not minimize their concerns, but sometimes the "drama" combined with little opportunity to hear from concerned adults is maddening – a case in point is the one signed "Weeping Silently in a Voiceless Room" from a student with dyslexia. Freedom Writers offered some strong suggestions, though, including reaching out to teachers who are empathetic to the challenges being faced. They make a comment which could apply to many of the often "invisible" concerns the students describe: "Others may not acknowledge it or, worse, may not respect it. Dyslexia is one of the many documented learning disabilities that many people, including educators, simply don' understand. And if they don't understand it, it's easy to ignore it." DEAR FREEDOM WRITER will help raise awareness and knowledge for numerous and varied issues.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

Wow. This book was full of tough topics (which I knew it would be), but also full of really great advice. Like the Freedom Writer's Diary, this book is so important for teens. Especially ones struggling with these though topics, as there are never enough books for teens dealing with these situations, let alone ones that offer advice through a lens of already having lived it. While I struggled to get through this, it wasn't because it was bad or poorly delivered or any other reason than I just had to stop and be so grateful that I have never had to go through most of these things. As a librarian who works with teens I feel like reading this has given me a starting point for helping my teens, and understanding what they might be struggling with. Erin Gruwell's teaching continues to inspire and help those that need this advice so desperately.