Picoult’s “Small Great Things” doesn’t shy away from the impending issue of racism that’s plagued the United States for centuries. The book takes place in Mercy-West Haven Hospital, where Ruth Jefferson, an African-American nurse, is assigned to care for a patient named Davis Bauer. What makes him anything other than ordinary is the fact that his parents, Brittany and Turk Bauer, are white supremacists. As per their orders, Ruth is taken off the case by her supervisor, Marie, in exchange for a white co-worker named Corrine. Understandably upset, Ruth takes the high road and holds her tongue. However, one day while Ruth is in the nursery room, Corrine asks her…
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Book Review: I Am Malala Fights for an education for all
“I Am Malala” By: Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb 327 pp. Little Brown. $26.00 Malala Yousafzai, one of the youngest recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, wrote an engrossing memoir about her unpredictable life in Pakistan. Yousafzai co-wrote it with Christian Lamb, a British journalist. Her memoir has been translated into 40 different language and has sold more than a million copies thus far. The autobiography begins with Yousafzai describing how her life had changed since the Taliban, an extremist Islamist terrorist organization, had her shot for speaking out against them. Yousafzai only gave a sneak peek of this shocking narrative before discussing the day she was born.…
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Book Review: “The Museum of Innocence” is more than a love story
“The Museum of Innocence” By: Orhan Pamuk 532 pp. Vintage Books. $15.26 Orhan Pamuk, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote “The Museum of Innocence” discussing Kemal and Fusun’s love affair in Istanbul. Pamuk has become a prominent Turkish writer with more than 20 books being published so far and translated into 63 different languages. The text begins with Kemal reminiscing about the happiest moment in his life. He tells his readers about, his fiance, Sibel. Sibel is a wealthy woman who people believe is the perfect match for Kemal. That is, until he encounters his cousin, an 18 year old shop girl, named Fusun. Unlike…
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Portofino: It’s More than an Italian Restaurant
When stepping inside the Portofino restaurant off Austin Street in Forest Hills, the aroma of melted cheese and pasta fills the air. Visitors are greeted by a host who will seat them at a table, however, a few lucky visitors are greeted and seated by the owner of the restaurant himself, Carmine Polito. Polito, who spoke to “Good Morning New York” about his restaurant, displays a charming and polite demeanor, greeting guests with a smile. When he showed my family and I to our seats he was friendly, and engaged in a conversation with us while we waited for our food. I asked Polito why he enjoys being the…
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Professor, Advisor, and Supporter: Meet Professor William Orchard
Think about it; most of us will have a professor who pushes us beyond our comfort zone throughout our time in college. Over the course of fifteen weeks we will grow to either be inspired by them or question how they’ve managed to become a professor at all. In Professor Orchard’s case, he strives to inspire students through his thoughtful yet challenging assignments. Orchard currently teaches the English Honors Senior Seminar “Bad Romance: Fragments, Heartbreaks, and Other Tales of When Love is Not Enough.” It’s a class where students are encouraged to explore how failed relationships can give people the opportunity to visualize a different way of being in this…
