The first time I saw this book, I was attracted to it immediately. I thought, Kung Fu High School must be a science fiction or a fantasy novel. Then, based on my interest in these genre, I picked it from the bookshelf and began to read it. The minute I finished the first chapter, I knew I was totally wrong. This is neither a sci-fi novel nor a fantasy novel, it is just a regular one about a school in U.S. The school was called Martin Luther King Jr High School, but as time went by, people abbreviated it to Kung Fu High school. Though the book was much different than I originally figured, I continued reading it.

The first concept of the novel resonated with me and it is that people think can actually change a person. The school in the book, for instance, used to be a very good high school, but later someone died there from a heart attack. After that, wealthy kids began to transfer to other schools. Because of that, people began to think that the school was only open to the bad kids. From that point on, students in this school began to behave badly, and nearly everyone learned martial arts in order to protect themselves. There are massive fights in the building. Drug dealing and other awfulness emerged at the same time. Unfortunately, throughout the plot, students did not learn things at school; they were just trying to survive. This reminds me of reality. For instance, many in this world simply give up because others humiliate them. Criminals are not bad when they are born, most of them turn into bad people because of the negative influence of others. Therefore, this story showed a very troubling phenomenon that some people in this world are not kind, and that we should be nicer to others and encourage everyone around us.

Secondly, the story of Jimmy’s “rebellion” encouraged me. KFHS was controlled by a drug dealer called Ridley. He was the big boss at school; no one was more influential than him. Before Jimmy, nobody dared to challenge him. Everyone just thought to be obedient that even police did nothing to solve the problem. But Jimmy stood out the day he transferred to KFHS. From that day, he planned to take down Ridley by utilizing his smart plans and his power. Although one can argue that the reason that Jimmy dared to fight Ridley was because he was the best fighter in the world, I still think his story was very encouraging. Today, few people dare to stand out to fight the evils that pervade us. Most people just want to maximize their own gains. We should be like Jimmy and dare to fight for justice.

Ultimately, this novel succeeded in what it sent out to do. It first attracted readers by its clinching name, then depicted authentic problems in this society. I highly recommend this book because it taught me so much.