Truancy by Isamu Fukui

Teachers are meant to make lives miserable! They assign homework every night in order to ensure that we have no social life left. Oh and if you act up, punishment is guaranteed. Luckily, in reality teachers are only trying to help. Sometimes school may seem like a punishment but it is not meant to be. School is meant to enrich us with knowledge and a thirst for more knowledge, but what if school really was a punishment?

Truancy, is a book that portrays what school could turn into if we continue to stifle imaginations. It is a very gutsy attempt to show that hindering students is something that can only lead to chaos. Isamu Fukui is a young writer that tells the story of Tack. In the world where Tack lives he has no choice but to abide by rules. His education is a forced. The students are reprimanded from having creativity or questions because they are meant to learn that rules are to be followed. Tack tells the story of a world where students revolt in order to fight the powers of administrators. The underground world reveals a violent and yet hopeful chance for students. Tack has to decide if he is with the Truancy or against them. Either way Tack learns that his world should not be so hindered by school.

Fukui is a writer that appeals to young students because of this sense of revolution towards school. His intolerance for strict punishment is obvious. The book deals with issues like Zero-tolerance policies, attendance policies, and even test taking. While this book can appeal to many high school students, it can also be confusing. The book deals with students wanting to take back education. Students can learn that taking tests does not ensure intelligence and they realize that creativity is important.

However, this book is often trite and overworked. While it has some interesting points it feels as if the reader is being forced to accept the views of the characters. It is a slow moving book that has some very insightful views, but it certainly does lose some appeal. The book can be confusing because it might spark more controversies against education. Surely a book cannot be disliked for mere controversy, but in this case times are tough. Many schools have had to worry about students bringing weapons to school and unfortunately in this book the issue of violence is prevalent. While the story attempts to persuade students for a passive revolution it is difficult to predict how young malleable minds would interpret the message. It is definitely a book worth talking about in high school but for younger readers it might be too much violence and anger.