I don't think I would call myself much of a reader. When I get a book from school I usually wait until the last possible minute to start reading (if I decide to pick it up). By that time it's always too late and I never finish what I've started.

This summer changed my outlook on reading. I had decided to take a really hard English class which required a lot of reading. Being the non-reader that I am, I decided to get my act together and start reading one of the summer books. I got myself Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska and began reading. By the end of the first 20 minutes, I fell in love. I couldn't put it down.

Being the Jewish granddaughter of someone who had told me stories about her life growing up after World War II, I found that I related to this book very well. Sara Smolinsky is one of the four daughters of Reb Smolinsky. She lives in poverty on Hester Street in New York. She leaves home when she is seventeen because she doesn't want her father to ruin her life like he had her sisters'. She lives on her own working in a sweat shop and studying at college. It takes her six years, but she finally accomplishes her dream of becoming a school teacher. Sara is the most courageous, strong-willed character I have ever been introduced to. She is an inspiration to me. She shows me never to give up in what you believe in. The harder you work to achieve something, the more rewarded you feel when you've accomplished it