Get over it already! Have you ever heard that from your friends before? People always say things are easier said than done and it is definitely true. Moving on is not an easy thing to do. A death is always difficult to just let go because it permeates our lives so deeply. However, dealing with death as a teenager is never anything I would want to experience.
Jen is an average teenager in high school with a cute boyfriend, a committed mom, and a loving sister. Her life looks perfect from the outside but the cracks will soon be too much to bear. Jen is not an overly popular girl in school but sometimes she wishes she were. In her eyes her life is too boring, but Jen learns that you must always be careful what you wish for. The events that cause her to become the talk of the school are not what she wished for. Her seemingly perfect boyfriend Charlie commits suicide and leaves Jen picking up the pieces of her life. It seems that nothing more awful can happen to Jen but soon enough she discovers that when it rains it pours. Soon enough the people around her start crumbling and Jen decides she is her own Jinx. Jinx arises out of the ashes of her life. She watches her sister with careful eyes and learns to love her for everything that she is. Jinx ‘s poetry helps her to build relationships again and to trust herself around people.
Jinx is heartbreaking story of people learning to mourn and to heal. Margaret Wild writes such a beautiful story that it is difficult to keep your eyes dry. The only downside for this story is that it ends too soon. Wild writes in short poems to tell the story of her characters. The poems read as narrative and paint such a vivid picture for the reader. Due to the poetry form the book is a very fast read but not an incomplete read. Suicide is very prominent in young adult literature but it is not often that we are taught how to let go. This book makes letting go a possibility.
For young adults this story is a perfect blend of poetry and narrative. It’s not too simple or too complicated. This story is simply honest. The short poems would allow for young readers to not get bored and to help them understand that there is no right way to write. A book does not have to be written in prose to tell a story. Wild opens the doors for young people to accept their poems as a valid form of expression. Poetry is not just abstract or pretty. Sometimes poetry is tough and sometimes it can break your heart.
Below is an example of how Jinx can be tied to another book or for special projects.
7 comments:
You definitely make me want to read this book. I am going through a tough time and maybe reading a tear-jerker like this will help me move on.
I am not a big poetry person, but the poem you included in the video was enough to make me curious.
This is a really great review and the book sounds inspirational in a way. Do you think that this book may be too strong for students in junior high? Also do you think this novel could be incorporated into any other subjects?
This book sounds as if it could lead to some really great classroom discussions. It's also interesting how poetry plays a part in the book--this seems to be a rising theme in YAL, which might even raise the possibility of including a YAL novel like this one into a poetry unit.
I like the idea that she thinks she is a "jinx" and responsible for thr bad things that happen around her. I feel like that is always a common theme in adolescene, for example, kids feeling that they are responsible for a parents' divorce.
I must be honest that when I first saw that it was poetry I was a little scared. I love poetry but i find that sometimes teen poetry can be represented as too much of a cliche. However, this book is amazing.
Heather, in response to your question I think this is a great book to have for a poetry lesson only because I really enjoy the fact that these poems say so much in such few words. I also think this book is acceptable for students in Junior high. I think that it is honest but it is not inappropriate.
This seems like it will be like the book I read, I Heart You You Haunt Me. It is written in verse. It is simple. But it has a deep meaning. Also, I like that she feels so responsible for everything. Hopefully she realizes she is not- I can't wait to read it.
I think this would definitely be an interesting format, short poems, by which to tell the story. I think in a lot of ways through poetry more emotions can be shown and related to. I always like a good tear-jerker too! I think this would be a great book to include in the classroom especially because of the format. Great review!
Post a Comment