Day in the life stories

Sarah Schweitzer's story "Together despite all, glimpsing the distant finish" is a beautifully written and well-crafted story. Schweitzer's close observations make for very captivating and real scenes while her in-depth reporting creates an interesting background and tells a very emotional story. The story of Marc and Jen gives readers an inside look of life beyond the news cameras for a victim of the marathon bombing. The scenes of arguments and then compassion make the story feel even more real because that is the nature of strong relationships. How does a couple handle such a devastating tragedy? How do they adjust their lives to adapt to these new circumstances? How does their child deal with this situation, one he may still not fully understand? This story does a great job analyzing these question. I am really looking forward to listening to Schweitzer speak and talk about her experiences, especially with reporting this story.

I also read "Reading Underground" and "Elite Korean Schools, Forging Ivy League Skills." Each of these stories were also good and interesting in their own way. "Reading Underground" had a very interesting angle. The story observes scenes around the New York subway system and how people are always reading. I enjoyed the writers well crafted descriptions as they paint a nice picture of the scenes that take place underground. The Korean school story was very interesting and somewhat disturbing. The amount these kids endure is baffling and what makes the story particularly interesting is how the schools control the kids' lives. 15-hour school days and the kids are even discouraged from having relationships. One line describes an administrator telling two kids to stop holding hands and study. "Romances" are considered a waste of time. The writer did a good job making the story feel real and like the reader was right in the middle of the school observing all of this. That, I believe, is the goal of the story.