Sofia is a 13-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. Since she was 8 years old, on select weeks, Sofia shares her favorite books with other young people her age! She is one of the most well-read youth that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!
Note: This one is an adult book that is popular among young adults!
Dear readers,
Please let me introduce you to Homeschooled by Stefan Merril Block, a devastating memoir about Stefan’s relationship with his mom and how she emotionally manipulated him into homeschooling. His mom’s abusive nature while she so desperately wanted Stefan to stay as her little boy was heartbreaking to read about. I really want to thank Ricki for recommending this to me after I read Educated (link to review), a book of a similar nature which I also loved!
Goodreads Summary
A heartbreaking and empowering debut memoir about a mother’s all-consuming love, a son’s perilous quest to discover the world beyond the front door and the unregulated homeschool system that impacts millions like him. Stefan Merrill Block was nine when his mother pulled him from school, certain that his teachers were “stifling his creativity.” With no background in education and no formal training, she began to instruct Stefan in the family’s living room. Beyond his formal lessons in math, however, Stefan was largely left to his own devices and his mother’s erratic whims. She forced him to bleach his hair and to crawl like a baby in a strange and regressive attempt to recapture his early years. Long before homeschooling would become a massive nationwide movement, at a time when it had just become legal in his home state of Texas, Stefan vanished into that unseen space and into his mother’s increasingly eccentric theories and projects. But when, after five years away from the outside world, Stefan reentered the public school system in Plano as a freshman, he was in for a jarring awakening. At once a novelistic portrait of mother and son, and an illuminating window into an overlooked corner of the American education system, Homeschooled is a moving, funny and ultimately inspiring story of a son’s battle for a life of his own choosing, and the wages of a mother’s all-consuming love.
My Thoughts
Homeschooled is a truly upsetting read that will have you forgetting that it is a memoir. I remember all the crazy scenes, including self-harm, where I couldn’t imagine such a horrific upbringing was real. This novel made me grateful for all of my wonderful teachers who nurture education and guide us through the material we have to learn, not just abandoning us like Stefan’s mother. The effects of the isolation his mother’s homeschooling caused were evident and caused Stefan to make social mistakes like going on a dating chat room. It really seemed like his mother was trying to isolate him at times, embarrassing him in front of his friends and corrupting the way he saw other people. Though this novel is not an accurate portrayal of all homeschooling, it definitely tells an important story that rings true to many across America. Bringing awareness to these practices is the key to avoiding them. Stefan’s mother should not have been able to single-handedly be responsible for all of Stefan’s schooling.
Homeschooled is an Adult novel because of the emotional abuse Stefan faces and his intimate coming of age story. It is an important story that can and should be read by upper high schoolers.
**Thanks so much, Sofia!**
