The Wave by Todd Strasser (History)

This book begins with a teacher named Ben Ross; he is teaching his high school history class about World War 2. Then one student (Laurie Saunders) asks, “How could something as terrible as the Nazis and what they believed in become supported by so much of the German population?” This question prompts Mr. Ross to begin an experiment. He decided to recreate a similar situation. He first introduces his class to “the wave”, then he teaches them about their motto: strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action. Soon, Mr. Ross and his class begin to understand how a powerful and strong group can be so appealing for many people. This marks the beginning of the wave. Pretty soon this wave begins to spread and gain popularity, soon some students are even skipping class to join in Mr. Ross's lectures. While many believe the wave is a good thing that is helping the school and boosting school spirit, some believe this is a bad idea, and that Mr. Ross is manipulating his students. Some feel that the wave has begun to get out of hand. The wave does end up going way out of hand because soon there are meetings and special cards for members of the wave. This “controlled social experiment” is taking a life of its own.

In my opinion, the wave was a remarkably interesting book, it really shows why it is important to look at the group of people that you spend your time with and question whether or not they are good influences and not just pushing you to do/participate in things you do not really believe in or want to do. This also made me question how the music I listen to, the videos I watch, or social media in general influence me. And how important it is to critically think about what you see or hear. What I enjoyed most while reading this book was when the characters began to realize how out of hand “the wave” was becoming. I found their reactions very interesting, especially Mr. Ross's reaction as he was the one who began “the wave”. I also found it very interesting to read about the way that Mr. Ross chose to resolve “the wave”, and the impact that it had on the whole school. This goes to show how important it is to apply your own thinking and not let things become so out of control. If nobody had said anything or stood up for what they believed in and had just allowed “the wave” to take a life of its own, the effects could have been disastrous. I would recommend this book for anyone who would like to read more about World War 2 and what caused it. Overall, this was a super interesting and eye-opening book. I would highly recommend reading this book.

Reviewed by Ava N. Grade 7