On a scale of one to ten, I would rate "Goodbye to the Trees" a five. I would not consider this to be the worst book that I have ever read, but it certainly is not the best. I felt that the plot was poorly written and developed. This could have been improved greatly by adding historical background for the reader. When I reached the end of the book, I felt that there were many issues unresolved. I was left hanging. For example, some characters are mentioned at the beginning of the book, but are never mentioned again. The reader is left wanting to know more about those characters and what happens to them in their lives. I felt as if a couple of chapters at the end of the book were missing.

I think that it is natural to compare this book with others that have been written about discrimination. Charles Dickens wrote about discrimination of orphans in "Oliver". "Annie" also described discrimination of orphans in early England. Discrimination against other groups of people is seen in such literary works as "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Diary of Anne Frank". All of these describe discrimination against large groups of people. In "Goodbye to the Trees", discrimination plays a large role, but tells about one individual, rather than portraying an entire group of people. All of these books, however, describe the universal pain that all people who are discriminated against feel. The hurt penetrates their hearts and souls. Even though small battles are won by characters in each of these books, the conclusion of all of these books leaves the issue of discrimination still unresolved. The authors are forced to abandon the characters in their crisis.

Could the author do anything else but leave the reader with unresolved issues? Perhaps not, for discrimination is still with us today. Until we as a society can fully eliminate this problem, no book will ever be able to come to full resolution at the end. The issues are still not resolved. We are all left hanging as to the outcome. Perhaps this generation and the next will be able to write a satisfying conclusion.

By Holly Hartong