RU LIFT

Top 10 Historical Fiction Novels From Booklist

2009-04-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in historical fiction, and looking for good books, here is a recent list from the journal Booklist.

Cheers,

Environmental Internship Opportunity

2009-04-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

Greetings! In an effort to make this blog more useful for RU students pursuing careers in English education, I am going to start posting brief messages that call attention to various developments/opportunities in the Chicago area and in young adult literature.

This first such posting highlights an internship opportunity for future teachers interested in working with middle school youth and schools. Take care, TP

Keep Chicago Beautiful – Education Internship

Type: Internship - unpaid

Location: Chicago – Downtown

Job detail:

2009 Summer Intern

Intern would develop a completed seminar for middle school children on Environmental Careers. The program would teach students the many environmentally focused career opportunities that are available in the corporate, governmental, NGO and nonprofit sectors with a focus on science and technology jobs. The program will be rolled out to middle school teachers and could either be incorporated into the daily curriculum or as a stand-alone program. The intern will work with teachers, corporations, government and Keep Chicago Beautiful to tailor a solution for public and private school curricula. Experience with building a science, math or technology related curriculum is required. Ability to promote diversity is a secondary goal. The Keep Chicago Beautiful office is located in downtown Chicago and is close to public transportation.

Intern skill requirements:

Enrolled in an accredited education curriculum is strongly recommended
Creative and innovative spirit
Ability to work independently and incorporate multiple viewpoints into a cohesive recommendation
Ability and motivation to probe and understand science and environmentally based concepts
Good project and time management skills needed to drive to project completion
Good interpersonal skills to work with corporate, NGO and governmental organizations
Solid knowledge of MS Office applications as well as internet research skills (Programming not needed)
The motivation to understand the needs of both middle school aged children and middle school teachers
Leading focus groups with middle school teachers will be a part of the role
Good analytical and writing skills

Some local travel to meetings with Keep Chicago Beautiful members is required although personal transportation is not needed.

Contact Information:

Joyce Kagan Charmatz, CAE Fax: 312-863-6194

President, Keep Chicago/Illinois Beautiful Mobil: 312-296-5310

25 East Washington Street, Suite 1104 E-Mail: joyce@kcb.org

Chicago, Illinois 60602 Office: 312.863.6196

Vampire Academy

2008-12-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is everything a reader is looking for in both a young-adult literature novel and a vampire novel. The first in a series of books, Vampire Academy, takes readers into the lives of Lissa, a moroi princess, and Rose, a dhampir, have been on the run for two years after their escape from St. Vladamir's Academy, but this comes to a screaming halt when they are caught by the guardians and forced to return to the academy. This is unfortunate for both Rose, who is not only Lissa's best friend but training to be her guardian to protect her from strigoi, and Lissa who has powers that only Rose knows about, and the more she uses her powers the weaker she becomes. Lissa's life was turned upside down when both her parents and her brother were killed, and now all she has is Rose. Lissa will do anything to protect Rose, even if saving her means almost killing herself. Rose has a unique bond with Lissa and can enter her thoughts and even be transported to see different situations that Lissa has gotten herself in. More importantly, this bond enables Rose to feel Lissa's feelings, and Rose can feel that Lissa's powers are getting to be too much for her. Rose struggles with what she should do...as Lissa's best friend she has promised not to tell anyone about Lissa's struggles, but as her guardian she is now afraid for her life, and needs to make a decision fast or one of them could be dead!

This is a great novel for teens and adults! Filled with lust, passion, friendship, death, and more Richelle Mead takes us into the lives of vampires and all of their trials and tribulations! After a few chapters and finally understanding all of the "vampire classifications" and how the vampire society worked, I was in awe of Mead's ability to make me as a reader want more! This novel is more based towards high school students, and because of the sexual content I would not recommend for a younger audience. If you are looking for a novel that will make you yearn for more than this one is for you...and the good new is that this is only book #1 in the series so there is more to be had!

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is a Teens Top Ten Best Books nominee for 2008. For a complete list of nominees click on the following link:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/2008_nominees.pdf

Sucks To Be Me: The All True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe)

2008-12-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

Sucks To Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) by Kimberly Pauley is a fantastic read for young adults...especially those that struggle with making decisions! Sixteen-year-old Mina is a normal teenage girl who worries about normal teenage girl things like best friends, boys, school, and prom. The only difference being is that Mina's parents are vampires. She has known all along that they are vampires, and this fact has not effected her life in very many ways, that is until now. Now that the vampire council has found out about Mina's existence she must choose whether she wants to become a vampire herself. Doesn't sound too complicated right? Well it is the toughest decision she will ever make. If she chooses to become a vampire she will get to stay with her parents, but she must forget everything and everyone from her life prior to becoming a vampire, and she is just not so sure she can do that. Furthermore to help her make her decision she has to go to classes that provide her with everything should would ever want to know (or not want to know) about being a vampire. Throughout the novel Mina struggles with her decision and the many ways it will affect her life. Mina's main struggle is trying to figure out which is more important family or friends. How can she make a decision that will affect her entire life at only sixteen years old? Well she has too...and she will!

Sucks to be Me is a great novel for young adults because it encompasses an issue that most adolescents go through: balancing friends and family. This is Kimberly Pauley's first novel, but it sure does not show! She does a great job at providing readers with a real glimpse into the life of Mina, and we can truly feel her emotions as she struggles to make a life-altering decision. I would recommend this book for junior high and high school students probably starting in seventh grade. I think it is a great book to lead into a discussion about the struggles that adolescents face when forced to prioritize family and friends. Go get it and read it today!

To read author Kimberly Pauley's blog click here:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/4918687

This novel is a 2009 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers nominee. For a complete list of nominees please use this link:
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/quickpicks/quickpick.cfm

Sweethearts

2008-12-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr is a brilliant novel for young adults. Zarr's second work of young adult literature, her first was the much acclaimed Story of a Girl, is the story of Jennifer Harris. Jennifer was an outcast in grade school, constantly ridiculed for being chubby, not having the right clothes, and not having any friends. She was completely alone. Her mother worked and went to school, and she did not know her father. Jennifer took care of herself day in and day out. That is until Cameron Quick came along. Cameron was the one person that understood Jennifer and was able to look beyond what she was on the outside to the person she was on the inside. Constantly clicking, Jennifer and Cameron spent all of their free time together and had a special bond. But Cameron struggles with his own problems, like an abusive father and a mother who refuses to leave him. Jennifer and Cameron form a life-long bond that is special beyond words, and they help each other through difficult times, only getting by on the wings of their friendship. Then the news comes...Cameron is dead. Jennifer is overcome with grief, and believes that she has lost the one person that "loves" her. The only way for Jennifer to get through the tragedy is to reinvent herself. Jennifer becomes "Jenna", and the novel catches up with skinny, popular "Jenna" during her senior year in high school. "Jenna" has a boyfriend that other girls would die for, and friends that "love" her. However, "Jenna" has never shared with anybody that she was once the chubby outcast that other kids would not talk to...that is everybody except Cameron Quick. The only person that knows of her past is Cameron, and he is dead so she has nothing to worry about, right? That is what she thinks until she receives a letter from her "dead" former best friend and childhood sweetheart. This is when everything in her life is turned upside down. Just when "Jenna" thinks she has everything figured out she learns that life simply is not that simple.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr provides readers into a glimpse of the life of a girl who is facing issues that most young adults face. The book touches on issues of neglect, abuse, bullying, search for identity, friendship, and more. I believe it offers something for all readers out there, and you will not be disappointed! I think that the issues dealt with by Zarr in this novel make it a great book for junior high and high school depending on the reading levels of the students. This novel is what young adult literature is all about, touching upon issues that all young adults may face and providing them with a "character" that is striving to learn about herself in the face of all of these issues. A great read!

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr is a Best Books for Young Adults 2009 nominee. For the complete list of nominees please use this link:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/titlesnominated.cfm

CHIGGERS

2008-12-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

Chiggers by Hope Larson will open your eyes to the fantastic world of graphic novels! Fun! Fast-Reading! Wonderful Illustrations! Great Storyline! Chiggers is all of these things and more. A winner of the Eisner Award, Hope Larson's graphic novel is for adolescents and adults alike! A thoroughly enjoyable read...and this coming from someone who never thought I would pick up a graphic novel...let alone enjoy one!

Abby is being forced to go to summer camp AGAIN! She is hoping this year things will be different. However, when she arrives everything is the same, and cabin cliques form on the first day, and although Abby is trying her best to fit in she has the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, and says the wrong things. When one of Abby's bunkmates is infected with chiggers and has to go home everything for Abby changes. Shasta is the new girl. The cabin clique decides the first day that she is stuck-up and annoying. Abby finds her interesting and decides to befriend Shasta despite what the snooty girls in the clique have to say. But Shasta has a lot of secrets and strange things start happening to her...like lightning being attracted to her wherever she goes! Will Shasta be the friend that Abby is hoping for at summer camp or is she just the same as all the other girls?

I think that this is a great graphic novel. My fear of graphic novels has been cured! The illustrations literally transport you into the book. The story-line flows well and keeps the reader interested in what is going to happen next. Hope Larson has done a great job at capturing adolescent girls. I think this would be a great book for students that have never read a graphic novel before. I would recommend this book for sixth grade and up. I think that although the story is about adolescent girls, adolescent boys can learn some lessons as well from this one! This was one of my first graphic novels, and I am now excited to see what else is out there!

Here is a link to an interview with Hope Larson author of Chiggers:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?id=18076&page=article

For more recommended graphic novels please use the following link:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsforteens/nominations.cfm

HAPPY READING!

The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer

2008-12-08T16:28:00.001-08:00

He could be any ordinary, respectable citizen.

But he's not.

This man watches with careful scrutiny the five Herbert girls - Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy, and Autumn.

Like The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, the story is told with alternating viewpoints of predator vs. prey. Norma Fox Mazer carefully weaves the dialogue between innocent schoolgirls to a haunting pedophile.

The reader sees the girls pursue through life, completely unaware of the impending danger.

Then, the reader sees The Man carefully calculating his next plan, making a schedule of the girls' movements.

As a special education teacher, I always have a tendency to read these stories through the eyes of my students. I found this book very difficult to read. The five Herbert girls range in age from eleven to seventeen and have very similar voices within the text. The students would need specific character notes to keep the girls and their point of views straight. While I don't deny Norma Fox Mazer's talent, I believe this book would be a little too much for my middle school students.

The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman

2008-12-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

Gecko Fosse drove the getaway car in yet another one of his brother's foolish escapades. Arjay Moran fought back against bullies, and one was killed accidentally after a punch. Terence Florian ran with the worst gang in Chicago. All three are incarcerated in the criminal justice system...that is until they meet Douglas Healy.

Gecko, Arjay, and Terence are released into the custody of Douglas Healy. Healy has grant "to create a living situation for boys in the juvenile detention system." He will be living with and supervising the trio in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They will be carefully overseen as they attend a public high school, participate in community service, take part in group counseling, and share the cooking and cleaning. There will be no unsupervised time and no contact with family or old friends for six months. If one of them messes up, they all go back to juvie.

In an altercation in the middle of the night, the boys accidentally but severely injure Mr. Healy. Leaving him, in a coma, outside the entrance to a nearby emergency room.

From the first sentence, this book captures the reader in a single sitting. As a special education teacher, I see myself recommending this book for students to read during silent reading. Middle school or high school literature teachers could work this in a class study of people trying to turn their lives around. The Juvie Three could be read along with Touching Spirt Bear or The Outsiders.

Wonder Woman: Love and Murder by Jody Picoult

2008-12-08T15:48:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make...Wonder Woman: Love and Murder by Jodi Picoult was my first graphic novel, ever. I had no idea what to expect, and I had some confusion as to why Jodi Picoult was publishing a graphic novel.

Jodi Picoult is best-selling novelist who has published novels such as My Sister's Keeper, Second Glance, The Pact, Plain Truth, and The Tenth Circle. The Tenth Circle had a graphic novel embedded into the text. Her novels deal with real-world ethical conflicts, so the thought of her tackling Wonder Woman surprised me.

In this episode, we are introduced to Wonder Woman via Diana Prince, her human alter ego. She's working with humans at the Department of Metahuman Affairs and struggles with relating to humans on a personal level. She can save humans, but the day-to-day effects of the everyday life give her trouble. The people that she is working for want her to bring in Wonder Woman for questioning, in response to the death of Max Lord. Let's see where this leads....

Overall, I found this book to be an enjoyable read that would be well placed in a high school library. However, I am not sure the academic merit of this text. High school literature teachers could work in readers of superheroes - then and now. Students could analyze how society viewed women in comics in the past and present. Jodi Picoult's other works would be well-placed in a best sellers course as they deal with many current issues.

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

2008-12-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days?

Well...Tyler has had one of those lives.

Laurie Halse Anderson, the author of Speak, tackles another prevalent teen issue in Twisted.

Tyler has had enough. Unappreciated by his parents, bullied at school, ignored by the female population...he's fed up.

The novel chronicles his coming-of-age journey. He commits the Foul Deed, spray-painting graffiti on his high school and is forced to complete mandatory hours of community service and probation to pay for his crime. Tyler assumed anything was better than jail time. That summer spent working long hours landscaping transformed Tyler into a strapping young man. As the novel unfolds, we see the days in the life of a teenage boy.

As a female, I had no idea the violent thoughts that run through teenage boys heads. Is this normal? This book will serve as a companion to Speak. Both novels tackle tough teen issues with grace. Teens do not feel like adults are talking at them about prevention or rape or teen suicide. They feel like someone is "down in the trenches with them" helping them find their way out.

Anderson effectively wrote from the male point of view and tackled current teen issues.

She discusses this below:

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

2008-12-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

Wow...the only words that came to me after I finished reading this memoir by Ishmael Beah.

Ishmael is a native of the Sierra Leone region of Africa. The novel chronicles his journey of boy turned soldier. He opens the book with a conversation between him and his high school friends.

“Why did you leave Sierra Leone?”

“Because there is a war.”

“Did you witness some of the fighting?”

“Everyone in the country did.”

“You mean you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?”

“Yes, all the time.”

“Cool.”

I smile a little.

“You should tell us about it sometime.”

“Yes, sometime.”

This memoir is his "sometime". Before reading this memoir, I don't think any native-born American citizen can relate to the honest, heartbreaking story the Ishmael, now twenty-six years old, unfolds. At the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal.

The memoir is written in conversational style and is an easy, yet terrifying, read. The book may not be for all readers, due the graphic violence with in his story. However, this text serves as an important place in any world history or world literature course. Beah's narrative needs to be read, discussed, and talked about over and over again. Too often, the American media turns a blind eye to the plight of child soldiers.

Penelope by Marilyn Kaye

2008-12-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

The Modern Day Fairy Tale: You've probably heard of Penelope. The wealthy girl from a well-to-do family, with an enchanted bedroom, and some of the coolest clothes in the world. There's just one problem: She was born into a cursed family with the face of a pig.

From an ancient curse, the Wilhern family nervously awaited the day a daughter was born. After centuries of only male Wilhern's, finally Penelope was born, and the curse was true. She had the face of a pig. Well...actually just the nose of a pig. Her beautiful long brown hair and chocolate eyes were all normal and fine. The only way to break the curse is to find another blue-blooded man of her own kind to love her all of her days.

So with gag orders for everyone that enters the house, Penelope's parents and a matchmaker seek out to find the guy that won't run away from her snout. It doesn't go well. She's been locked up in her house her whole life to avoid a scandalized life, no contact with the outside world, and insecurities about her looks--which aren't even her looks, they're her great-great-great grandfather's fault.

Finally, Penelope leaves the nest, goes to the city and wears a scarf to avoid any speculation. She meets a few friends, sees the city and starts to enjoy her life. She becomes a celebrity, and in turn learns to love herself despite her mother's attempts to bring her down. After a thwarted wedding attempt to break the curse, Penelope stands up for herself--even if she has to live the rest of her life with a snout--and declares her freedom. The curse was misunderstood! You'll have to read it to find out how...

This novel is an awesome look into the insecurity so many teens and young adults have in their lives. Even without support from the people who really should love you the most, Penelope takes the reader on a journey to find herself, her real self who has been there all along. Everyone has something they'd like to change about themselves; Penelope learns that she's pretty great just the way she is.

This novel could be taught in the classroom, with a connection to classical texts or a genre unit for fairy tales or folklore. But I think it would serve best as an enjoyable fun-read. The novel is easy to read, funny, and a page turner of pure enjoyment.

Check out the video below for a look at the trailer to the movie:

2008-12-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

Honey & Clover by Chica Umino

"Love triangles-

Who says you don't learn math in art school?"

Takamoto, Mayama and Morita are roommates at Hama Art College. Their lives are not in any way fantastic; scraping together enough money to buy meat, getting to class on time, and improving their art are their main concerns. When Hagumi Hanamoto, a relative of the students' mentor Professor Hanamoto, arrives at Hama, the three friends become mesmerized by her artwork which is dark and unsettling; this quality of her art, which hints at her inward unhappiness, strongly contrasts her outward beauty and delicate nature.

The revelation of Hagumi's unhappiness in the face of her brilliant art makes the guys begin to realize that there may be more to life than art. Morita, an aimless genius who has recently returned to school after taking a break, falls in love with Hagumi instantly. The presence of the mystical Hagumi in the lives of these three college students opens up their eyes to the love that they have been denying themselves and love triangles and relationships develop that complicate their lives in more ways than they can imagine.

Honey & Clover delves deep into the lives of a group Japanese art students and examines Japanese culture at the college level. Written in manga, the traditional reading style of Japan-top to bottom and right to left-Honey & Clover is anything but easy to read, especially since it is written as a graphic novel. As an avid reader, I assumed that this challenge would be easily overcome, but, as it turns out, the Japanese names and ideas that the novel is about were a lot harder to digest than I imagined. I would definitely say that this book is well suited for grades 10 and up. Not that the subject matter is too racy for lower grades, but the content itself is a little bit hard to tackle. Watching the live action version of the novel was helpful, but it caused me to focus on the unimportant details of the novel rather than the overall message. This isn't a book I would necessarily recommend, unless it was for a class which studied the graphic novel or japanese culture.

The first video is the trailer for "Honey & Clover" and the second video is Part 1 of "Honey & Clover," which can be watched in its entirety by clicking here.

Sometimes going unnoticed is not a bad thing.

2008-12-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes going unnoticed is not a bad thing.

Everyone goes through some type of change or transformation, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. This transformation will seemingly bring about new situations in ones life that can and will cause more problems.

In Twisted, Laurie Halse creates a character that we all can associate with at one point in our lives. Tyler Miller goes through most of his early teen years unnoticed and quite meek. He wouldn’t be one to stand out in a crowd unless he was among a high school football team. Tyler does something that gets himself into a lot of trouble that leads him to getting a summer job in landscaping. This job turns scrawny Tyler into brawny Tyler. With his new found physic he gains attention now from people that would never have even looked his way; Even Bethany. This tale of Tyler goes deep into the life of this young teen and his struggles with an angry father, people letting go of his past, and the occasional teen drinking party. With mayhem in his life and thoughts of suicide, Tyler soon finds out that being popular for the wrong reason is not always a good thing.

This book by Laurie Halse is an excellent read for teens. The story deals with issues that are prevalent in young America. Issues such as finding your identity, suicide, and undergoing a transformation are done very well in a tasteful and often times humorous manner. Readers will definitely walk away with something good after reading this book.

Teenagers doing what they do best…getting into trouble.

2008-12-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

Teenagers doing what they do best…getting into trouble.

Going back in time to the 1800 a group of teens are trying to get themselves out of a Jam that the inevitably got themselves into. These teens with super powers have realized, while back in time that they are not the only ones with this “special” abilities. Of course each member has to take care not to disrupt the current situations of the past; otherwise they may disrupt the latter situations of the future, which is there present. Trying to find a way out as quickly as possible each member of breaks off on their own, they run into individual problems of their own.

“Runaways” is a book about teens with special abilities that find out that their parents are super villains. Joss Whedon continues this story with the second installment of the series. This book will take its readers on a seemingly complicated journey of several subplots that parallel well together and until tie the plots up well in the end. Because this book is a sci-fi graphic novel, it is not for everyone. But if your imagination is tolerable of an adventurous tale that takes you into the past then this book is for you. The artwork in this book is vivid and on the realistic side more than the cartoonish side. Even though many teens may not have super villains as parents but many teens feel that way. This book can present to its readers the importance of a team that all are on one accord to attain a common goal, readers will enjoy the quick read feel and the nice eye candy of this book. This book in the series stands well alone but will do better if the previous installment was experienced as well.

Teaching a graphic novel may be difficult to fit in to a school curriculum but I have found that it can fit in the National Teaching standards. In fact I talk to an English professor at the Illinois Math and Science Academy and he gave me a proposal that he is working on so that teaching graphic novels can be implemented into schools curriculum. Here is a portion of it:

A. Preliminary Learning Experience Design
What are you proposing, and why is it compelling in light of the needs of our students?

Since the 1980s, the so-called graphic novel, or long-form comic, has become a popular and accomplished literary and artistic form. Transcending its origins in pulp fantasy and adolescent entertainment, this evolving and hybrid medium represents, in the words of author and artist Eddie Campbell, "an emerging new literature of our times in which word, picture, and typography interact meaningfully and which is in tune with the complexity of modern life . . . ." This course offers a survey of some of the best graphic novels of the last thirty years, and it provides the skills for reading comics critically in terms of what they say and how they say it.

IMSA students have had limited classroom exposure to what some observers speculate may become the major literary form of the new century. Most, if not all, sophomores read Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale; many juniors read Gareth Hinds's comic adaptation of Beowulf after studying Seamus Heaney's translation from Old English; seniors in "Portraits of Creativity" discuss Lynd Ward's 1929 "novel-in-woodcuts," Gods' Man, an early forerunner of today's graphic novels. More sustained study of such works would allow students to understand the conventions of comics as a medium, to survey the recent development of the graphic novel as a form, and to use graphic novels as a springboard for grappling with pressing social and political issues of our times. A semester-long elective in the graphic novel would help students to develop new skills in reading visual narratives, which would nicely complement our offering in film studies, while considering the relation between image and text within a fascinating segment of contemporary world literature. A dedicated course on graphic literature would also provide broad exposure to various genres while giving students the opportunity to experiment with a range of sequential visual-verbal narratives themselves. NCTE's recent publication of James Bucky Carter's Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels (2006) and the forthcoming release of the MLA's Approaches to Teaching the Graphic Novel reflect the increasing use of such works in language arts classrooms and provide pedagogical strategies for incorporating these texts into the curriculum. Moreover, recent scholarship shows that graphic novels can be used to help a range of students, from reluctant readers to gifted ones.

The course also seeks to address some concerns raised in the February-March 2005 English external review, including the perceived lack of "a significant range of diversity of authors and content across gender, ethnicity, and epochs" in our course syllabi. Our reviewers recommended that we "consider what IMSA students will likely read in university English courses and select reading materials that will complement and even go beyond university readings rather than repeat or parallel them." Graphic novels offer the kinds of readings suggested by our reviewers, namely "diverse works that . . . expand the faculty's as well as the students' literary experiences, especially those dealing with contemporary writers and issues." We'll study male and female writers and artists from across the world (North America, Brazil, England, France, Iran, and Japan) working within various genres (history, biography, journalism, memoir, etc.) in book-length comics today. Readings range from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's apocalyptic and postmodern Watchmen (1986-7), named one of Time magazine's 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present, to Marjane Satrapi and Alison Bechdel's award-winning graphic memoirs Persepolis (2000-2003) and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006). These varied works also present opportunities for collaboration with colleagues in other disciplines, or what our reviewers called "cross-disciplinary interdisciplinary teaching," which they did not see in our classrooms. Specifically, we could work with World Languages on Osamu Tezuka's pre-1980 Japanese manga or French cartoonist and L'Association co-founder David B.'s memoir Epileptic (2005), and with History on Joe Sacco's journalistic account in Palestine (1996) of the Palestinian experience under Israeli occupation during the first Intifada or Chester Brown's 2003 "comic-strip biography" of nineteenth-century Manitoba founder and Métis rebel leader Louis Riel.

2008-12-08T05:45:00.001-08:00

eleven by patricia reilly giff

Imagine you struggle with reading.
Imagine coming across a story in an old newspaper
in which you can only recognize the word
"MISSING"...
and a picture of yourself as a toddler.
Imagine how your life would change
if the story was about your childhood kidnapping.

On the eve of his eleventh birthday, Sam does what he does every year- searches for his birthday presents. This year however, what began as adolescent impatience turned into a mystery of epic proportions. He didn't find his birthday presents, but he did find a newspaper clipping that makes Sam believe that he was involved in a kidnapping at a young age. In addition to his fear that his entire life as he knows it- his relationship with his grandfather, the death of his parents, the role of his neighbors and extended family in his past-has all been a lie, Sam's difficulty with reading is preventing him from getting the whole story from the newspaper. In order to help him uncover the truth about his past, Sam decides he must find someone he can trust to help him read the article and keep his secret.

The day after his alarming discovery, Sam is assigned to work on a project with Caroline, the new girl in school who is constantly reading. Upon talking with Caroline, Sam realizes that he needs to befriend her because her loner status and love of reading made her just the person Sam needed to help him in his investigation. What begins as a forced partnership for a school assignment, blossoms into a strong friendship that is threatened by Caroline's nomadic existence. Her parents are planning on moving her again and both Caroline and Sam are afraid that they won't figure out the mystery of his past before it's time for her to leave town.

As he learns more about her lack of family stability, Sam begins to realize that the life he has been living and the family he has been living it with is actually pretty good. There is Mack, his grandfather who has loved and supported him for as long as he could remember; Onji, Sam's neighbor and the deli owner who makes lunch for him everyday; and Anima, Sam's other neighbor who reads to him each night. Meanwhile, Sam's dreams and vague memories are growing more frequent and the number eleven, which appears in them, is becoming more and more ominous. What could this number represent? Would he and Caroline be able to figure it out? Is Sam's only "true" family actually his family at all?

Although Patricia Reilly Giff focuses on an uncommon problem as the basis for the main conflict, the characters and the search for self-identity are what make the book worth reading for readers between grades 5 and 9. There is the bond between Sam and his grandfather, the close knit relationship that Sam shares with both Anima and Onji and the formation of an unlikely friendship between Sam and Caroline. Sam's search for his identity is also evident in the development of his woodworking skills, his determination to improve his reading skills and his search for the truth about his past. Eleven would be an excellent choice for reluctant boy readers because it addresses the problem head on through Sam's aversion to reading because of his difficulty with it. In addition, the book examines ways for these reluctant readers to approach their own reading difficulties by getting help from people who care: family, teachers and friends. Eleven is a great read for those students who may not realize just how common reading problems actually are.

2008-12-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

"Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.

Irresistible boys with sly smiles and dangerous intentions.

White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hook-ups.

This is Manhattan, 1899..."

Set in the fantastic world of turn-of-the-century New York, The Luxe encapsulates the scandal and intrigue of the lives of the socially elite. The novel focuses on Elizabeth and Diana Holland who are the daughters of one of the oldest and most well-renowned families in New York. When the Holland name is threatened by the death of their father, however, Elizabeth must participate in a marriage of convenience in order to secure her family’s financial future, all the while putting aside her true feelings for a family servant. Her fiancée Henry Schoonmaker, a notorious womanizer who is secretly being seduced by Elizabeth’s best friend Penelope Hayes, is forced into the marriage of convenience as well and also must put aside his love for and involvement with another woman- Diana Holland. Murder mystery, blackmail by servants attempting to live above their class, sexual tension, and elegant balls all add to the deliciously decadent and intriguing plot that is mesmerizing from the start.

Anna Godbersen’s thorough historical research adds elements of reality to her non fiction melodrama. Historical events, descriptions of turn of the century socialites, and intricate descriptions of clothing and interiors- all of these details create The Luxe into a historical romance that towers above others of its kind, despite the fact that among the details there is little in the way of social commentary regarding important topics of the period. Whether or not Elizabeth, Diana and Penelope behave as young socialites at the turn of the century would have actually behaved hardly matters when the novels mix of feminine rivalries, sensational settings and scandalous plot lines creates what can be characterized as nothing less than addictive reading.

Similar to the Young Adult book series Gossip Girl, now a popular television series, The Luxe draws readers into the lives of rich, spoiled, turn-of-the-century New York young adults. Although the plot and historical details may attract girls more than boys, the novel is geared towards readers in grade 9 and above. The novel, although not significantly successful at exploring social struggles, could be used to examine the missing social commentary through a comparison to novels written in the early twentieth century, such as Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, when such social struggles are actually occurring. However, as a twenty-something avid reader, I found this novel to be a completely satisfactory “guilty pleasure” read during a time when most of my required reading lacks the elements that this novel proudly advertises.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

2008-12-08T04:22:00.000-08:00

What if it was made illegal for a child to be aborted from the moment of conception, but instead could be retroactively aborted between the ages of thirteen and eighteen?

This seems like a frightening and crazy concept, but that is the reality of life for Connor, Risa and Lev in the novel Unwind. All three of these teen are up for "unwinding," in which the child is not technically terminated, but disassembled and used for body parts to give to those who are sick and injured. Connor is a delinquent teen who has trouble controlling his emotions, so his parents condemn him to "unwinding." Risa has no parents and is at an orphanage. She tries to show her worth at a piano recital, but does poorly and is sentenced to "unwinding" to cut costs. Lev is the tenth child in an extremely religious family who actually volunteers himself as a tithe, or human sacrifice, and is celebrated for this with a ritual religious party. On the way to the "harvest camp," Connor decides to escape and go AWOL. While escaping, he meets up with Risa and Lev. In desperation, these three unlikely companions must go on the run together until their eighteenth birthdays, when they can no longer be "unwound."

This scenario comes about in the unspecified future after there has been a second Civil War, "The Heartland War"--this time fought between pro-life and pro-choice armies. In order to bring the war to an end, the two sides come to a compromise with the "Bill of Life," which states that a human life cannot be touched from the moment of conception to age thirteen and then "unwound" between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.

Written by Neal Shusterman, this novel puts any interesting twist on the topic of abortion. But in addition to that, the book also touches on issues such as organ transplants, euthanasia, and the rights of parents, children, and society. These issues can also be tied to things like the death penalty and harvesting stem cells for profit. The book therefore offers up many of the moral and ethical dilemmas regarding life and the right to it. Unwind is a futuristic dystopian possibility taken to the extreme, much like the novel 1984 by George Orwell. They are both chilling dystopian novels, so I can see using them in conjunction with each other in the classroom. Discussions of the novel would have to be treated a bit cautiously, since the topic of abortion is such a volatile one, but this novel could spark quite the moral debate. And a strength of this book is that Shusterman is rather even-handed at looking at all of the issues brought up in his novel. He doesn't come down on one side or the other, but looks at the good and bad of both sides and challenges "not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive." This book is frightening, thought-provoking, and worth the read.

How They Met, And Other Stories by David Levithan

2008-12-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

It was at Starbucks. It was on a plane. It was in physics class. It was during the war.

These are just some of the examples of "how they met." What happened? Was it a disaster? Did it last a lifetime? Well, you'll have to read to find out.

How They Met, And Other Stories is a compilation of 18 short stories about love. Not "love stories" as David Levithan describes in his author's note, but instead "stories about love." They are so varied and unique, yet come together in such a remarkable way. I'll give you a taste of just a few examples:

"Starbucks Boy" is the first story in the book, and begins "It was my aunt who pimped me out." From there, I was hooked. The story follows a guy named Gabriel, who is staying in New York with his Aunt for the summer and ends up babysitting a precocious six-year-old named Arabella. She continues to bring him to a Starbucks nearby (because what six-year-old New Yorker princess doesn't love Starbucks?), where he falls for "Starbucks Boy." But will he ever get up the courage to talk to this mocha God?

The Number of People Who Meet on Airplanes was one of my favorites, though I feel I could say that about a lot of the stories. As the title suggests, it's about a couple who meet on an airplane. What a coincidence! ...or is it? The theme of the coincidences leading up to love is one that can be seen in several stories, like How They Met, which is about the meeting of Levithan's grandparents.

A Romantic Inclination was the first of these short stories Levithan wrote and is about Sallie, James, and Physics. Physics? Yep. Levithan himself actually wrote the story in high school. While bored in a physics class, he got the idea to look through his physics book for any "romantic notions" he could find and this story is what ensued.

Many of the stories in this collection were written by Levithan throughout high school and college, which is quite astounding to know once you've seem how smart, funny and beautiful they are. Many of the stories were also "valentine stories"--stories he wrote to give to to his friends on Valentine's Day every year.

Reading this book made me smile, continually. I'm sure I looked like a complete fool reading these stories on the El since I couldn't stop myself from grinning. That is the kind of humor and charm Levithan writes with and these stories contain. And I felt like most all of the stories could be expanded into novels. That's actually how several of his other novels have begun. The characters are so developed and unique that many times I wanted to keep reading about them after the story was over! I also liked that many of his stories were about gay and lesbian youth and relationships. That's not something you often find, especially in schools. When I was reading the stories, it felt more like "pleasure reading" to me, but if there would be a way to incorporate a GLBTQ story into the classroom, I think it would be a good thing. The stories also could obviously be tied to classic literature with themes of love. And the fact that they're short stories would lend well to being incorporated in class.

Three Little Words, A Memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

2008-12-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

SOON. Soon, soon, soon… the little four letter word that shaped young Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s life. After being taken from her mother before reaching the age of four, Ashley and her infant brother Luke bounced from foster home to foster home. Having more than a dozen “mothers” in her life Ashley struggles to find herself amidst the discombobulated life of strangers.

In Ashley’s memoir Three Little Words she describes the time she spent in the foster care system. While a few of her caregivers genuinely cared for her, the majority of them were straight out of a nightmare. One cannot help but admire her for having such strength and determination through such a horrid ordeal.

This memoir isn’t just a heart wrenching read but it is also important in pointing out both the strengths and weaknesses of the foster care system. Ashley herself experienced the bullying of her care takers as did many of the foster children she lived with. Foster care is an important social issue and this text really brings it to light in a very personal way.

Although Three Little Words covers a life that many of us are fortunate enough to have not experienced, the emotions and thought processes of Ashley will strike a cord with every reader. This memoir would be a great read for students both in junior high as well as high school. In addition to encouraging students to write about their own past experiences it can also be tied into a discussion on current social issues and possible solutions. Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s memoir is truly a must read.

Dirty Work By Julia Bell

2008-12-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

At fifteen life is fun and full of hope. Many teens think about boys, friends, and school. However some young girls are stolen from their homes and forced to work. The word work is almost a joke because what they are really forced to do is accept rape. Women are lured into prostitute rings and are forced to give their wages to their owners.

Julia Bell’s Dirty Work is a dark story of how lives can be changed in an instant. Hope is an average teenager that wishes for a more exciting life. Her friends are fun and risk takers but she is a good girl that is forced to travel with her parents. Her normally luxurious life is simply the norm for her. However, her life changes when she meets Natasha. At first Natasha is interesting, but as the story progresses life with Natasha is scary. Natasha is not who she claims to be, in fact her name might not even be Natasha. Hope finds out that the life she is being bought into is far from fun. Hope and Natasha tell their own stories of how frightening it can be to be treated as property. Bell tells an alarming story of two women fighting for their freedom.

Bell’s writing is absolutely fantastic in this story. She writes honestly and vividly. She does not write a pretty story of teens because her topic is not pretty. Her book is worth reading for the frankness with which she writes. Some of the young adult books I have encountered are often a bit too pretty. Sometimes happy endings are not so definite. Bell’s writing offers promise but it also offers a sense of reality. This book is interesting for young adults because it is a good precautionary tale. Dirty Work teaches us that we are not invincible and that the world can be a frightening place. It is not a teacher’s job to scare students but it is their job that students be fully aware of what is out there. Sometimes teenagers tend to have a sense of super powers. Many teens feel like bad situations can never hurt them, but that is not the case. We are not immune to catastrophic events.

While the book is very interesting, I find that the content is suitable for high school student’s more than Junior high students. The book is not vulgar but it is definitely honest. It deals with issues of social class and the hopelessness of feeling powerless. More importantly, this book allows for the issue of gender to be discussed in a classroom. Gender can be examined because it raises the question of how different two lives can be based on gender alone.

The video included is a glimpse at the situations that Bell talks about within the book. The idea that young children in Russia are left to defend themselves with little to no money. This video is a real life representation of the world that Bell describes.

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

2008-12-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

A new baby, a new life...back on the right track. But then he starts to call again. Not once, not twice- but constantly nagging, pressuring, tempting you to reunite with HIM. The monster is back.

Glass by Ellen Hopkins follows Kristina Georgia Snow, and her meth addicted counter personality Bree, through their rendezvous with the “monster”. After more than a year of being clean, and an infant son to care for, Kristina copes with her new found responsibilities.

In the sequel to Crank, Hopkins takes her readers through the dangerous and often fuzzy life of a crystal meth addict. Not long after her follow-up tale beings Bree takes over the life of Kristina and her life quickly spirals out of control. She soon ends up hanging out with her “old crowd” and even getting kicked out of her home and losing her son. Yet the meth is more important than any of that, more important than family, more important than love, even more important than the life of her infant son.

Kristina’s journey is unforgettable. There are a multitude of connections she is able to make with Hopkins audience from family life, boys, sex (including rape and sexual harassment), drugs, even desperately wanting to do what is right but somehow never being able to succeed. At times in the novel I felt furious at Kristina for what she was doing to her family, while at others she seemed almost pathetic and I wanted to reach out and help her.

I think this book would be a nice addition to a high school classroom. I would not suggest using this text in the classroom for junior high aged kids simply because the content may be a bit too strong. The form of the novel is writing in poetry which makes it very intriguing as well as a quick read. Glass could be used in a variety of subjects in everything from English to Health, the numerous issues it addresses makes it possible for the text to transcend many boundaries.

The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle

2008-12-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

In Aryn Kyle's debut novel, The God of Animals, twelve-year old Alice Winston has more on her plate than the average preteen. When her sixteen-year old sister Nona elopes with a rodeo cowboy, she is left to endure the verbal abuse from her father, Joe. Frustrated that his family business is declining and that his prized rodeo daughter is no longer around, he has to find a way to make ends meet. Looking for a 'meal ticket' to riches, Joe decides to open his ranch to wealthy borders. As Alice is the only family member left by her father's side, she witnesses first hand how her father lies and cheats to keep his business alive.

Alice's mother Marilyn, has no idea of the mishaps going on because she has not left her bedroom since Alice was a baby. It is implied that Marilyn is suffering from postpartum depression, but 12 years sounds absurd. Alice is forced to grow up on her own, giving her character a voice more mature than an average 12-year old. Looking for the affection and adoration that her father gives his borders, Alice stumbles across her English teacher's phone number and decides to give him a call. An awkward friendship forms between the two, but Alice feels that it is much more. She begins to live a deceitful life, just as she witnessed her father doing.

When Joe's parents arrive for an unexpected visit, Alice does not know what to expect. They don't know of Nona's departure, the ailing health of her mother, or the stealing and lies that are the foundation on which the family stands. As all the secrets unravel one by one, both explicit and implied, the reader becomes destined to figure out the truth that lies beneath.

This coming of age novel is not appropriate to be incorporated in a Language Arts curriculum. Aryn Kyle addresses every theme that Young Adult Literature is common for, and then some (i.e animal cruelty, postpartum depression). The novel was uncomfortable and awkward at times, especially the bond that forms between Alice and her teacher. It is a lengthy novel that at times is drawn out, which would make it a better read on audio than in book format. Below is Aryn Kyle offering insight on her first novel that started off as short stories.

Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

2008-12-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

In Saving Zoe, by Alyson Noel, 15-year old Echo is dreading the one-year anniversary of her sister's death. Being used to living in a world where no one paid her any mind, Echo has found unwanted attention ever since Zoe was brutally murdered. Since her sister's death, Echo has become all to familiar with the stares, whispers, and inappropriate gestures, she knows that all she has to do is survive through this day. Gaining strength from her two best friends, Abby and Jenay, Echo knows that this year will be a little easier than when the murder first occurred.

A year ago while awaiting her fourteenth birthday party, instead of cake and ice cream, Echo finds police officers and news cameras. After learning that Zoe was brutally murdered, she knows that someone has to stay strong for her mom and dad. Not knowing how to make sense of it all, Echo goes through the five stages of grief with the help of her psychiatrist. Just when she was ready to step in to stage 5, the acceptance stage, Echo receives an unwanted visit from her sister's ex-boyfriend Marc.

When Marc reveals that he has Zoe's diary and would like Echo to have it, Echo wants no part of it. She has already laid her sister to rest, and does not want to bring sad memories back to the surface. As Marc insists on her having it so that she can really know her sister, Echo is offended and disgusted. Seeing that Marc will not leave her alone, she takes the diary and learns of the secret life that her sister was living. Not wanting to know more, Echo wonders if this diary holds the key to the loose ends that the police could not tie together. Should she follow her first mind and leave Zoe's memory as is, or should she try to save her sister's memory so she can truly rest in peace? These are the type of questions that leave the readers turning page after page until the very end.

Alyson Noel does a wonderful job balancing all the issues that Echo must face. This novel is engaging from page one to page two-hundred thirty. Educators can use this novel as a way to address death, sisterhood, friendship, betrayal, dating, drugs, sex, violence, all the issues that teenagers face in this evolving society. This novel is an appropriate read starting at the junior high level. The craft of Alyson Noel's writing makes Saving Zoe a must read.

Tamar by Mal Peet

2008-12-07T06:17:00.000-08:00

As William and his son Jan walk through the luscious garden they discuss the impending birth of Jan's child with his beautiful wife. William makes a request that shocks his only child. If the child is a girl name her Tamar. Jan's curiosity is peeked, yet never the less he agrees to the name but only if his wife likes it. William believes this is fair and waits for the news patiently. Jan and his wife attend a family lunch with William and Marijke, Jan's mother. Jan gives his father the good news that he and his wife agree to name their daughter Tamar. Marijke brings in the gravy bowl, at the sound of the name Tamar she drops the bowl all over the table and the belly of her pregnant daughter in law. If this is not a sign of things to come I don't know what is.
Jan abruptly leaves his wife and child,fully abandoning them. William and Marijke continue to forge a relationship with their granddaughter, but not without the secrets and lies that the Hyde family has been built upon.
The lies catch up to William causing him to pretend he is still apart of his secret regime, parachuting into the Nazi occupied Netherlands. William stands upon his balcony and jumps out killing himself and leaving something of a Pandora's box for his beloved Tamar.
As a part of the Arnhem offensive William and his friend Ernst were trained as Special Operations Executives during World War II. The jobs of these young men were to spy on the resistant Nazi army and bring forth intelligence to the English. The two men were given the code names Tamar and Dart, both being named after rivers in England, but just like the true meaning of the name Tamar secrets and lies begin to shadow even the two friends.
It becomes Tamar's responsibility to find out the secrets of her grandfather and become the woman her destiny calls for. With the help of her cousin Johannes, better known as Yo-Yo. Tamar, who is only fifteen must cope with the loss of her grandfather and figure out the meanings behind the letters and clues left in this box with her name on it.
In this box holds mystery's that will take Tamar back to World War II and back to the secrets her grandfather has held for decades inside of a simple box. Tamar must make choices that no fifteen year old should have to make, fear propels her to take the journey into finding out who she is. Her grandfather William and grandmother Marijke are not who they appear to be which ultimately means that Tamar is not whom she appears to be.
Mal Peet infuses history, mystery and fictional characters into a compelling book that causes you to stop and look at the world around you.He goes beyond the basics of the history of the war to bring the reader in the history of the Intelligence people who were making a difference in the war. Peet guides us through the motives behind the secrets and lies that guide Tamar's existence. This text could easily be used in both U.S. History classes and Literature classes in any high school. Mal Peet uses the actual history of what was going on during this time, even going as far as to interview men who were involved in the Arnhem offensive for the Dutch, becoming trained for Special Operations in England. Peet allows us to see the emotional depth that William, and his granddaughter must confront on their journey's. The reality of the book along with the fictional elements make a case for unit based thinking if introducing this book in a high school setting. However this book can easily be seen as an adult book as well. It becomes more cross categorical in this way. Overall, Mal Peet has stuck to a style of writing that puts you right into the suspense and thrill of espionage, passion, and betrayal, as its sub title suggests.

EXTRAS by Scott Westerfeld

2008-12-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

In the post-Rusty, post-Prettytime era, Extra Aya Fuse has a pathetic face rank of 451,396. Her best friend is a hoovercam named Moggle. She wishes she could be more like her Big Face brother, Hiro, whose face rank is less than a thousand. But she needs to find the perfect story to kick if she wants to be anybody in the Reputation Economy after the Mind Rain. And that perfect story is the legendary Sly Girls and their panic-making Mag-Lev surfing.

As you can see, reading Scott Westerfeld's Extras, the 4th novel of his New York Times bestselling Uglies series, requires the understanding of a whole different language in this postmodern, futuristic, science-fiction world. A world where currency no longer exists. A world where the only thing that matters is fame.

Let me put it this way. Everyone is this world is Perez Hilton: constantly looking for a story, breaking a story, and relying on increasing hits to survive. Except instead of a computer blog, it is kinda like, planted inside of you...you are kinda...a computerized, mega-version of yourself. And with the flick of a finger your "eyescreen" flashes before your eyes (note the girl's eyes on the cover of the book), allowing you to instantaneously submit stories to your feed, read other people's stories, ping and be pinged, play thumb-twitch games, summon your hooverboard or instruct your hoovercam...

...okay, I'm probably losing you in the lingo again, so back to Perez. The bigger the story you kick (break), the more famous you are likely to become, which means your face rank gets better (highest being "1"), which essentially makes you more powerful and rich. And 15-year-old Aya is onto something BIG...bigger than she could have ever imagined...that is sure to make her the most famous Extra of all time...and the world will depend on it.

Being that Extras is the 4th book in the series, I'm sure I missed a lot in the previous books, Uglies, Pretties, and Specials (all of these terms are different groups of people in this world...again, Aya is an Extra, or someone who really doesn't count for anything significant...there are also tech-heads, surge-monkeys, manga-heads, pixel-skins...ok, too much lingo again). And it took awhile to pick up on all the strange lingo. Personally, science-fiction doesn't do it for me. But I found the idea of fame as a form of economy and a typical way of life fascinating, and even familiar.

Everyone is "ranked" and has an accessible feed. There are cameras recording everything. I couldn't help but link this to the current cultural trend of blogging, MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook -- the computerization and globalization of social networking and information, and essentially life in general as an increasingly cyber experience, linking and tracking everybody. Aya feels like life is meaningless without her hoovercam recording it. Without increasing her face rank and getting the world to take notice of her, she feels she has no identity.

Teenagers today are growing up in a similar culture, and Extras certainly opens up a discussion regarding the benefits, consequences, and relevance of an increasingly less private, globalized, technologically-driven world, and how it impacts one's identity. I would be truth-slanting if I said I didn't think these were important ideas for students to brain-rattle over, and even though I haven't been infected by Radical Honesty, I promise, EXTRAS is very kickable in high school.

Here is a video of author Scott Westerfeld discussing Extras and some other reasons why this book is educational:

Arab in America by Toufic El Rassi

2008-12-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

It seems that often in today's world, the term "Arab" is synonymous with "terrorist." And post 9/11, being an Arab in America has become an even more precarious situation.

These are some of the issues that Toufic El Rassi grapples with in his graphic novel, Arab in America. Functioning as part autobiography and part history, this novel portrays Toufic's own personal experiences as an Arab growing up in America, along with stories of others who have been affected by anti-Arab sentiments or policies and an overview of historical background dealing with the relationship between America and Arab nations.

In 8th grade, Toufic came to the shocking realization that he was not like everyone around him at his white, suburban Chicago school. He grew up ashamed and alienated because of his nationality, Egyptian and Lebanese, and dealt with issues of conflicting national identity and feeling like an outsider in the country he had called home since the age of one. Surrounded by anti-Arab propaganda in the media and pop culture, stereotypes and prejudice, several of Toufic's Muslim and Arab friends either denied their religion and nationality or embraced it even more extremely as a sign of protest. Toufic, however, goes to neither of these extremes, but does become interested in more revolutionary and radical ideas, in part through the band "Rage Against the Machine." Toufic also finds it exceedingly frustrating that people are so ignorant they end up using the wrong racial slurs against him, explaining that "Americans don't even know who they hate."

In addition to Toufic's personal experiences of discrimination and prejudice, he gives several poignant examples of Arabs and Muslims having their rights violated, usually through detainment or deportment, along with giving examples of prejudice against Arabs in popular culture--ranging from song lyrics to quotes from pundits, "experts," and government officials to movies...even Star Wars! In his discussion of history, Toufic outlines information about Arabs and Muslims, effects of the creation of Lebanon and Israel, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11 and the aftermath of backlash against Muslims and Arabs (and whoever looked like them), along with America's history of relations with the Middle East, including the war with Afghanistan and both Gulf wars.

Arab in America would be a useful tool in the classroom to help illustrate the current treatment of Arabs and Muslims in America and America's involvement in the Middle East, but I would recommend it only for 11th and 12th grade students and in conjunction with a history class or interdisciplinary English/history class. Though Toufic does well explaining most of the history he discusses in the book, there is definitely a need for a good historical background since he only touches on several very complicated situations. Many students that lack this background knowledge would most likely find those parts of the story hard to grasp and therefore may be turned off to reading the novel. Even with background knowledge, I feel like I learned quite a bit.

Other downfalls to using this book would include the brief instances of female nudity and its lack of a clear story line or focus. The book seemed to jump around a lot from one issue to the next and from one historical event to the next without a clear organization. So, if I used this novel in the classroom, it would probably be in excerpt form and either relating to the history involved, to conflicts surrounding nationality and identity (like in American Born Chinese), or to issues of discrimination and prejudice.

The Secret Life of Sonia Rodriguez by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

2008-12-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Diary,
There are a few things I want to get off my chest. I have a few things that drive me loco.
1. Lazy people(see mi ama, my drunkle, and my big brother)
2. Teenage boys (see the boy from the pet store with eyes that make you just want to... sorry went off on a tangent)
3. People who don't take advantage of a good education (see everyone in my neighborhood)
I will express more later mi ama is yelling Sonia..Ayudame, Spanish for Sonia help me keep being lazy!
Sonia
Dear Diary,
Okay, I'm back well let me tell you the real story about my life. I am an American born to immigrant parents, well not so immigrant, they're both here illegally. Anyway, mi papi tells me to never stoop to their level, meaning I could become an uneducated lazy person, but I am more so I need to do more. Mi ama is pregnant again with twins, a boy and a girl. My big brother Rodrigo smokes marijuana, drinks beer, and has dropped out of school to never return. My drunkle, better known as my drunk uncle, has made advances towards me and looks at me like... it's scary. He comes back and froth, I don't want him around at all. All he does is drink and complain.
Then there's mi papi I love him so much he makes me happy to be a Mexican woman. He works three jobs everyday. He brings home his money and takes care of all of us. I'm not going to tell him about my drunkle. I don't want to lose him. He is such an honorable man that anyone hurting his only daughter would hurt him. That will be my little secret.
There is also this boy who is so smooth he makes me sick, but he smiles this smile and his eyes dance. I can't fall in love, that's how girls in my neighborhood get in trouble. I am going to college, no matter what. Even if I have to stay up to two in the morning to finish my homework. I have many more secrets to tell, but not all of them need to be told right now, be patient just wait.
Sonia
The Secret Life of Sonia Rodriguez is a marvelous coming of age story especially for teenage girls who are experiencing the pressures of family life and future life. Sonia has many plans and none of them include the typical life of a Mexican girl in her neighborhood. She refuses to stoop to the level of others.
Her refusal to go along to get along lands her in Mexico with her grandmother and cousin the summer leading to her Junior year in high school. Sonia makes the most of her time with Abuelita and her cousin. Sonia heeds their advice and begins to make changes in her heart. Sonia is becoming the woman she needs to be to go where she wants to go. Sonia experiences many challenges some of them include family conflict with her future endeavors, as well as, a blossoming relationship. Alan Sitomer does an excellent job of giving us a play by play of life for Sonia and a view to the secrets that hold Sonia in this perpetual state of despair. This book is surely an easy book for teenagers to connect to.
Sonia's experiences are relatable, entertaining, and enlightening without being to overwhelming.

Satchel Paige Striking out Jim Crow by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso

2008-12-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

Satchel Paige Striking out Jim Crow

For it’s 1, 2, 3 strikes you’re out at the old ball game! Baseball is America’s great past time. I don’t think there’s one person in this country that doesn’t enjoy 9 innings at the ballpark with a hotdog in their hands. When we cheer for our teams, we cheer for people from all different races, countries, and backgrounds.
But that wasn’t the case not so long ago. Until Jackie Robinson broke the color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, baseball was segregated like the rest of the United States. Jim Crow laws ruled our country. That meant one league for the Black players and the major leagues for White players.
But before Jackie Robinson, there was another exceptional ball player that was making heads turn. He was Leroy “Satchel” Paige. Satchel Paige was a phenomenal pitcher in the Negro League.

Satchel Paige Striking out Jim Crow is a graphic novel by James Sturm and Rick Tommaso. The story is told through the eyes of Emmet Wilson, a baseball player that has one game against Paige before a career ending injury. Wilson tells of life as a sharecropper working for some very cruel white men. In parallel, the novel tells of the accomplishments of Satchel Paige, and of the segregation he still faced as a national star.
Satchel Paige Striking out Jim Crow begins with a short introduction by Gerald Early that gives a good summary of Satchel Paige and segregation in baseball. At the end of the book, there is more history explaining different parts of the graphic novel. At the end readers find out more about sharecroppers, different teams and players, lynching, and Paige’s different rituals.

Overall this book is a valuable read. I think students in middle school and high school would benefit from reading Satchel Paige. It would be an excellent addition to a Civil Rights unit. So often students only learn about a few key players in history. With Satchel Paige, students will begin to realize that it’s not just one or two people that change history, it’s everyone taking small steps for freedom and equality that changes history.

Unraveling by Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman

2008-12-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

The world around Amanda is unraveling. She wants someone to love her for her. Amanda wants to be popular, known by all her peers. She wants to be the life of the party. She wants to be herself, but she doesn't know who she is. Amanda is angry, hurt, and sad. Defeated by her own self worth. How much is she worth?
School is awful, home is even worse. Amanda is so tired. She is slowly unraveling each thread she try's to push back only begins to show. It all started when she was born to teen aged parents. Her mother was young and ambitious, she wanted to be a writer. Amanda's dad was young an honorable. He didn't want her mother to be alone so he married her and moved her into his parents house. Amanda's mother was raised in an abusive home, so her dad knew what the outcome would be. her mom was already dissatisfied and she has gotten worse over the fifteen years of Amanda's existence.
She also has a younger sister. Ms. Malady is what Amanda calls her, but her name is Melody. She and their mom get along like queens over high tea. Just a heads up, they both irritate Amanda! Her dad is the only realistic person in the house. He encourages Amanda to just be herself, but her mom encourages Amanda to be someone else.
Well unbeknown to her Amanda has met the perfect guy. He is wonderful and he wants her or so he says. Amanda's best friend Paige, who usually keeps her level headed, says to be careful. Amanda tells her it's just innocent fun. The hottest guy in school wants her and his girlfriend, an arch enemy is clueless.They make out in his car and he has promised to take Amanda to the homecoming, if she does something he likes. Okay, sex is a big deal, but it's the hottest guy. If he chooses Amanda this will make her popular and she will at least have a happy school life besides it's just sex.
Amanda's thoughts about herself and her life set her on a tale spin toward disaster. She is depressed and confused about her place in the world and it shows. Amanda is an awesome poet, who uses her words to explain her thoughts, many of these poems show up throughout the story line. As she goes through up's and downs and more downs she discovers something about herself that will lead her back to peace. Amanda's reflections about her life deeply connect to many teenager girls who long for what they don't have. Popularity and beauty are in the eye of the beholder. Amanda's disconnection with her mom is a-typical of many girls, but she feels unwanted by the person who should love her the most. Amanda is unable to communicatepositively with her mom which leads to further disconnections. The pain is obvious for both parties and it takes a tragedy to bring the two warring sides together. The loss of a loved one allows Amanda and her mom to connect on levels neither knew were possible.
Baldini and Biederman give a realistic view of life for teenage girls and the relationships that develop with their mothers. This writing team does a fantastic job of pulling in all the elements of love and hate without becoming to depressing. I enjoyed this book to the fullest.

Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie

2008-12-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

Aya of Yop City opens the story with a beautiful picture of a perfect baby. The eyes are deep and piercing with the roundest cheeks. The baby even has a little smile. The conversation begins with the fate of this beautiful baby being decided. Sometimes people hatch plans that sound good at the time, but blow up in their face. Adjoua and Moussa work together to devise a plan for Moussa to claim the baby as his and marry Adjoua.
Well the plan comes together until the baby makes a touch down to Earth. Let's just say the baby look nothing like his "so-called" father and Gradfather Sissoko knows it. See, Mr. Sissoko is a major business owner in the small town of Yopougon. His brewery is the only source of employment for most of the towns people. He is shrewd in his business dealings and dislikes Adjoua and her family, anyway, so posing a baby as his grandson who he sees is not only angers him even more.
This anger forces Adjoua and her parents to attempt to find someone in their family who looks like the baby. None of their family remotely look like the baby, but this isn't all Adjoua's friend Bintou has fallen in love with a Parisian. She forsakes her friends and family to spend every moment with her beloved, believeing he is a businessman from Paris. Bintou even sleeps with this man to prove her love. Let's just say plans are best laid when the truth is central.
Lies become the theme of Aya of Yop City, with Aya wanting her freinds to be honest. The title of the book is Aya of Yop City, yet Aya is not the main character of the book. She takes a lesser role of confidant and friend to Adjoua and Bintou. Aya is the voice of reason for her friends, even when they don't listen.
Marguerite Abouet, takes us into the realities of life in her small town in the Ivory Coast in late seventies. This graphic novel flows from story A to story B with Aya the so-called main character being a side charcter to her friends.Aya leads a life of truth, yet the people who have raised Aya to be honest are not all that honest themselves. Aya of Yop City is an awesome tale of the city. It reads like a soap opera and has fantastic graphics. You actually feel like you are right in the midst of the story. However, cliffhangers are not meant for television alone. Aya of Yop City leaves a cliffhanger that makes you want to jump out your seat. I can't wait for the translation of the next book.

Essex County Vol.1: Tales From The Farm by Jeff Lemire

2008-12-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

A matter of life and death. As Claire laid on her death bed she asked her big brother for the most important favor of her short life. Claire asked Ken, her brother, to raise her ten year old son Lester. Putting Lester with strangers would have killed her faster than the cancer. Ken being scared half to death decided to follow his sister's wishes, and take in her son. This begins Lester's new life as orphaned boy. Lester is having the hardest time dealing with his loss. He and his uncle attempt to communicate, but neither knows how.
Lester relies heavily on his security blanket to get him through. His security blanket consists of his phantom cape and mask, along with his Flash comics. Ken and Lester visit town one day and while uncle Ken takes care of business for his farm in Essex County Lester buys his favorite comic and meets the man who will change his life, for the better.
Lester and this stranger become buddies and realize they have multiple interests including their love of hockey and their love of the unknown. Through this relationship Ken develops a better communicative relationship with his uncle and begins to let go of his coping mechanisms. Lester finds freedom by finding himself in this stranger.
Overall, this book is an awesome story of growth in a small town. efflemire.com/.">Jeff Lemire has transformed his childhood community into a place that leads to redemption for a family. The graphics of the text are a dynamic feature of this book. The grittyness of the pictures puts you in Essex County on Ken's farm. The graphics also allow the reader to have a complete picture of Lester's life the bleakness, then the hope that comes. The protagonist is only ten years old, which would lead some to wonder if this text is really young adult literature, but it takes on the themes of death, life, anger, and hope in a manor that is far beyond the grasp of a child. This book attacks every theme from a young adult perspective, even the langauge appeals more to teenagers than children. Jeff Lemire has done an excellent job of drawing the reader in and hooking you from the first graphic to the last graphic.

Truancy by Isamu Fukui

2008-12-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

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.

Jinx by Margaret Wild

2008-12-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

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.

Eclipse

2008-12-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Vampires, werewolves, and humans, oh my! Meet the love triangle in Eclipse. Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.
When we last left off from New Moon, Edward and Bella were reunited after a terrifying encounter with the Vampire Royalty, the Volturi. Jacob, Bella’s best friend and a werewolf who hates vampires, decides he can’t be Bella’s friend as long as she stays with Edward.

In Eclipse, Bella struggles to connect with Jacob and to find a balance between him and Edward. Edward continues to repent for absence from Bella. Jacob confesses his love for Bella. Does Bella feel the same way? Jacob fights dirty for Bella’s love, but so does the vampire.

While all this is going on, someone is creating newborn vampires who go on a killing spree in Seattle. Vicki, the revenge-seeking vampire, is using the newborns to target Bella and the Cullens (Edward and his vampire family) for killing her love, the vampire James.

Will Bella escape Vicki’s wrath again? Will Bella find a way to keep both her werewolf best friend and vampire soul mate in her life? Is she ready to give up her human life and all her human experiences, including the physical, to become a vampire? Read the book and find out.

Eclipse is an extensive third part of the series. The book entertains readers through captivating metaphors (“I maybe the sun, but I can’t fight an eclipse.”), a connection to the classic Wuthering Heights, and a sort of demented fairy-tale love story. Although some parts of the book are slow, it’s worth reading to the end, and then reading the final book in the series Breaking Dawn. If a high school class did a novel study on Wuthering Heights, Eclipse would be a great add on for a book club. Now that Twilight is a movie, adolescent girls will be more enticed to read this series.

Wake

2008-12-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

Wake by Lisa McMann

What do you dream about? Do your dream about that crush in your class? Do you dream of falling endlessly through the sky? Do you dream about “forbidden” things that you would never tell a soul? Our own dreams give us enough to think about. But imagine being sucked into other people’s dreams and not being able to do anything about it.

That’s exactly what happens to Janie Hanagan in Wake. It begins when Janie is 8 years old and sees the dream of a businessman naked during his big presentation. From that point on, Janie becomes a part of anyone’s dreams when she is in their vicinity. During a sleepover, Janie sees her friend trying to save a little boy from drowning. Her friend has this dream for years and years and Janie has no idea why. Janie also finds out something very interesting about the other girl at the sleepover that continues on for years as well. But no one would believe Janie if she told him or her what she saw.

In her senior year, Janie has study hall right after lunch, which translates to nap time for many students. This is not ideal for Janie. Time after time, Janie is a part of nightmares where the person dreaming asks her to help them. But what can she do? It’s not her dream; she has no control over what is happening. Or does she?

Then the unthinkable happens. Someone finds out Janie’s secret, and that makes all difference in the world…

Wake by Lisa McMann is a quick, enjoyable read. This book is ideal for reluctant readers because the chapters are short and the book moves quickly. Anyone interested in dream interpretation would also like this book. McMann does a nice job of showing readers that although we might feel alone at times, there is always someone in our world that understands us and can help us in the most unpredictable ways.

Skim by Mariko Tamaki

2008-12-05T14:29:00.001-08:00

Is Laguna Beach real? Ever seen that show? MTV claims this “real” drama depicts the life of true high school kids dealing with the everyday drama. Because that’s what the world needs to see, a bunch of whiny students with too much money and too much time on their hands. The real life dramas are usually unnoticed and yet the media tells us that kids are ok. Some kids aren’t ok. Some kids are lonely and suffering but that doesn’t get ratings. How are kids supposed to relate to reality shows or books if no one is being honest?

Enter, Skim. Skim IS the epitome of teen angst. She is chubby and has few friends. Skim wanders the hallways alone and confused. She isn’t your typical teen. She is quiet, smart, funny and very alone. Her interest for WICCA makes her standout but it also makes her stand alone. Her friend Lisa is that friend that is a better enemy than friend. To top it off, Skim’s parents aren’t exactly the “Leave it to Beaver” kind. The boys in school don’t interest her, but her teacher Ms. Archer…. that’s another story. Skim is the real drama. Her school is hit with a bombshell when a popular boy commits suicide. All eyes turn to Skim because they all believe her be the “type” to try and kill herself.

Skim finds a new way to deal with her problems and she finds out that the “popular” crowd isn’t always happy. She finds that sometimes people just need someone to listen to them. Looks can be deceiving in this book.

Skim, by Mariko Tamaki is a very enjoyable book to read. I first thought “ugh graphic novel” but as soon as I started reading it I knew I wanted more. Skim’s diary of high school is very insightful and real. She shows us that people are not who they appear to be. More importantly, this book deals with the issue of suicide in an interesting manner. The author merely presents the idea but she leaves it to the reader to learn how suicide affects different people. Tamaki also teaches us that an exterior façade does not give us insight into the person within. This is book is perfect for teens because it is a story they can relate to. Who hasn’t felt alone at some point? The growth starts with the character but ends with the reader. Teen readers grow to understand that high school is difficult for a lot of people but there is always hope. Also, this book is a perfect for teens to understand that seeing a person is different than KNOWING that person.

Santa Claus in Baghdad and Other Stories about Teens in the Arab World

2008-12-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus in Baghdad and Other Stories about Teens in the Arab World by Elsa Marston

How truly unique are we? Sure we all look different, act different, dress different, and have different personalities. But deep down we all want the same thing. We all want to feel safe, we all want to feel like our lives have purpose, we all want someone to love us, and we all want to help those we care about.

In Santa Claus in Baghdad and Other Stories about Teens in the Arab World, Elsa Marston shows readers how identical we are to people on the other side of the globe. Marston has compiled eight stories from different Arab countries including Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt. Each excerpt tells of a different desire through hard times whether it’s during an on-going war, a divorce, moving somewhere new, or life in a refugee camp. The stories talk about hope, love, believing in yourself, and friendship in all different forms.

These eight stories are true stories about teenagers ranging in ages 13-19. They are written from a teenager’s perspective with wonderful descriptive language. This book can be used in a number of ways. Both middle school and high school students can use this book in a social studies class for current events or a culture fair. In a writing class, students can use this book as a reference and then students can write their own stories.

In the world we live in, it’s critical to find a way for us to unite in our commonalities. Teenagers always think no one understands them. Through books like Santa Claus in Baghdad, they’ll know they aren’t alone and in our hearts, we are all the same.

Bad Monkeys

2008-12-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

Secret crime fighting organizations, time in a psychiatric hospital, crazy clowns, super technology, and one hell of a life story…sounds like a top television show, right? Wrong. This is the premise of the sci-fi thriller Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff.

The entire story takes place in a psychiatric interview room. Jane Charlotte starts by telling the doctor that she’s there for killing the wrong person, but that she’s a part of a secret organization that fights evil. The name of the organization is unknown, but she’s part of the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons, or code name “Bad Monkeys”.

Jane then goes on to tell the doctor about her life and how she got to be a part of the Bad Monkeys. She begins her story with her mother disowning Jane at the age of 14 for not taking care of her younger brother Phil. Then Jane talks about her first encounter with the evil fighting organization while trying to escape from a serial killer while in high school. Her story continues to her eventual initiation to the Bad Monkeys and the specific evil villains she kills.

Throughout the story we come back to the present tense in the interview room with the doctor. After every incident Jane discusses, the doctor checks the facts and questions the holes in her stories. Jane has an answer for everything, which the reader finds out makes her one great liar.
Her last assignment is to bring down the last person on Earth she thinks is evil. From here on, the reader is taken on a roller coaster of twists and turns to a thrilling ending which will make the reader question what they know about good and evil.

Bad Monkeys is page turning. It sucks you in until the very end. I would recommend this book for juniors and seniors due to the complex vocabulary, multiple metaphors, and constant referrals to Biblical stories. I can also see Bad Monkeys used in a creative writing class for surprise endings.

Bad Monkeys offers a great opportunity for a discussion on how we view people, and how we want to believe that no one is completely evil. Questioning morals and judgments forces us to reflect on what we know, what we think we know, and what really is.

A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn

2008-12-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard about author Howard Zinn was when I was in high school, and I saw this movie (about 1:30 minutes into the video):

I love history. I also love the character of Will Hunting and was intrigued by this book, A People's History of the United States, that he called one of the "right f*cking books." I ended up buying it when I was in college. However, I have had a hard time actually reading it entirely because I always have to read other books for class.

So imagine my happiness when I saw that Howard Zinn's A People's History of American Empire was one of the choices for this project. This book is part comic book, part autobiography, part propaganda, and very history. It is a graphic (drawings as well as some "real" pictures mixed in there) novel in which Zinn examines America - history, government, politics, foreign policy, and people - with skepticism and criticism towards those in positions of power and with admiration for those who are less fortunate, yet have fought for what is right and just. Zinn inserts himself in the novel as the narrator, beginning with the Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 and taking us through the current war in Iraq, along the way relating his own life experiences, such as fighting in WWII and encouraging African American students to protest against segregation at a college where he taught. He exposes a side of American history that we usually don't see: ruthless power struggles between Americans, and between America and the the rest of the world, arguing that America is an ever-aspiring and expanding empire with undisclosed imperialistic priorities and ulterior motives, more than a republic of good natured, democracy-touting equals.

I found myself teetering between feelings of disgrace and disgust in the dealings of the American government, and awe and pride for the grassroots efforts of seemingly powerless, disadvantaged people throughout the world in overcoming injustices and making things right for the sake of humankind and true democracy. Whether or not you agree with Zinn, this book definitely inspires the reader to question...everything. History, people, government, country...Zinn begins a discussion on all of it that is sure to inspire internal debate as well as public.

While the graphics aid with comprehension and turn a complex historical perspective into "storytelling," there is still A LOT of detailed historical elements in this book...and it wasn't a breeze for this grad student to follow it all, let alone a teenager. I would love to discuss Zinn's arguments in a high school setting, but on top of the complexity, it leans way liberal left, and I wouldn't be surprised if educators questioned the appropriateness of this book at the high school level.

But, as Will Hunting said, it definitely "blew my hair back."

Here is another video of a segment from the book and its graphics, narrated by this guy:

Can death be the only way out?

2008-12-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

A father who is hook on crack cocaine, a mother who lives a life of boyfriends and alcohol and a young teen boy who is trapped between this and struggling to stay Alive in a very hostile urban environment…Jayson Porter is a young African American who barley has hope for a fulfilling life. His mother has a bi-polar nature to herself, one minute she loves him and shows him affection while the next she abuses him physically and verbally. With out the support of his parents Jayson works at a car lot washing cars where he undergoes even more abuse from his boss. Often time Jayson wonders if it is worth risking his life getting on the bus that crosses gang territory to get to work. With all his hardships Jayson wonders if life is even worth living. The thought of a leap off the 18th floor balcony reins prevalent in his mind daily.

The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff is a look inside the life of a young African American boy who faces opposition in life in an urban setting. Adoff gives his readers an easy to read novel that is written in first person that allows the story of Jayson Porter to easily unfold in the minds of the readers. Adoff depicts the characters and the settings of the environment well with great dialect and usage of vocabulary that will keep you wanting to read more and more.

This book is relevant for today because the conditions that Jayson faces are not alien to many young African American teens. The book will go well in inner city urban high schools. Even though the book contains notions of sex, drugs and profanity, it does not however, display them in a positive light. Subjects of gangs, drugs, abuse, and even suicide are addressed in this book and will be a great way to discuss them among teens. This is a must read for the urban young adult.

2008-12-01T23:13:00.000-08:00

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

What

an autumn

football game brought

together,

a summer

beach party tore

apart.

Like lovers in a

fairy-tale,

Jackson and Ava

believed that

they were

destined

to be together-

forever.

A tragic accident.

A dare gone wrong.

How could Ava live with

her guilt?

She wished for

nothing more

than for Jackson to come

back to life. She

never thought

her wish would come

true.

There was only

one problem-

he came back as

a ghost.

Could things

really go back

to being

Ava + Jackson = Forever?

While Ava tries to figure out why Jackson has returned to haunt her after his death, she finds herself being lured in two directions; she is forced to choose between the love she lost and the life she still has ahead of her. While her conscience is telling her to remain faithful to Jackson, her heart is telling her that she must allow life to go on. Ava's ultimate conclusion turns out to reveal a lot more about Jackson and his reasons for beginning a paranormal relationship with her than she could have ever imagined. Although her journey through life after tragedy seems, at times, predictable, what the novel lacks in spontaneity, it more than makes up for in sentiment regarding emotional healing.

In I Heart You, You Heart Me Lisa Schroeder has written an evocative story of love, loss and forgiveness that, from the very beginning, demands the attention of its readers from the very first line of verse. While a novel in verse can sometimes seem, even to avid readers, intimidating or unapproachable, Schroeder's refreshing use of verse not only adds poetic style to her novel but also removes unnecessary details that would have clouded the novel's emotional expression.

All things considered, I Heart You, You Haunt Me is a fantastic choice for young adult readers who either a) cringe at the thought of reading or b) want to introduce themselves to the reading of verse. Because of a brief sexual reference, I would recommend this book for readers in grade 9 and above. Personally I think the novel is geared more towards female readers, however, it can be argued that its themes, which include death, love and guilt, speak to all readers whether male, female, young, or old.

In order to explain the relationship that Ava and Jackson may have shared after his death, here is a clip from the hit ABC series Grey's Anatomy which chronicles the interactions Izzy has with Denny, her dead boyfriend.

Two Will Come Vol. 1 by Kyungok Kang

2008-12-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

Imagine knowing that two people in your family are destined to take part in a murder, and not being able to do anything about it. One is to be the victim, killed by the other, their own relative. Yet there is nothing that can be done to stop the curse. Generation after generation two family members fall prey to this evil curse placed upon them and all they can do is wait. Wait for their loved one to ruthlessly kill another who they hold so close to their hearts.

Two Will Come Vol. 1 is the first installment in Kyungok Kang’s graphic novel following the life of Jina, a high school girl dealing with all the dilemmas in being a teenager. Jina is oblivious to her family’s cursed ancestry and instead in preoccupied with friends and love interests, allowing the reader to form attachments with not only her but the other characters as well.

Much of this first volume sets up the history of the family and introduces the long cast of characters to the readers. We learn that hundreds of years ago Jina’s family killed a sacred serpent called Imoogi and the snake placed a curse upon the family that generation after generation will suffer this disturbing fate. When Jina eventually learns about the curse placed upon her family, she has to live life much differently… but to find out who the unlucky two are you'll have to read Two Will Come Vol. 2!

The fact that this book is a two part read makes it less likely to be a reasonable text to include in the classroom. Although it is a graphic novel, and so therefore takes the form of the traditional comic book included several installments, it makes it harder to incorporate. It is a nice addition to include a graphic novel to students of all ages for the purpose of exposure to various types of literature, but they do need to be carefully chosen. The content of Two Will Come is appropriate for both Junior High and High School students but the novel is lacking in providing the suspense to continue on through the series.

No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin

2008-12-01T17:32:00.001-08:00

Can you imagine not being able to drink, vote, not even being able to drive, yet being placed on trial as an adult and sentenced to the death penalty? Until recently only eight countries in the world still sentenced people younger than eighteen to death for their crimes, and the United States of America is one of them.

Susan Kuklin takes her readers into the life of families who’ve experienced murder, violence, and teenagers on death row. No Choirboy interviews families in the cases of five teenagers who have been sentenced to death for their crimes without the chance of parole.

Forging through a world hidden from those on the outside of the prison walls Kuklin gives these young men a voice. They are given a chance to tell their side of the story and what it is like to know that you will spend the rest of your life behind bars and alone. They trace their journey from their upbringing all the way through the happenings of the actual crime and on to their current state.

This book would be an appropriate text for high school students and has the ability to make meaningful connections. The subject matter of the text allows for the opportunity for open ended conversations to take place as well as the integration of present happenings in society. No Choirboy would work well in an English course and even a Political Science or Government class due to the debatable issues over the death penalty. The book may be to mature for kids in junior high as they are all true stories and the text is often hard to handle.

This text is important to read for young adults because it brings up a subject that although may not be experienced by many, is important to know about. No Choirboy really highlights the different paths life takes you and yet how similar each and every one of us is-even when we don’t think we have much in common.

Incognegro by Mat Johnson

2008-12-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

Every day, people all around the world try to pass themselves off as something they're not. A member of middle management lies about his credentials to become a member of the executive elite; a woman dresses like a man to avoid discrimination in the workplace. In Mat Johnson's Incognegro, a man's decision to cover up his true identity leads down a mysterious path to fatal results.

Incognegro tells the story of Zane Pinchback, a light-skinned African American news reporter from 1920s Harlem. Zane makes quite the dichotomy out of his racial status: posing as a white man, he writes a syndicated column under the guise of "Incognegro," traveling to the segregated South to provide a bird's-eye view of lynchings and racial terrorism. When Zane's darker-skinned twin brother is accused of the murder of a white woman, Zane must adopt his white persona to save his brother from becoming fodder for his newspaper column. Along his journey to Mississippi to save his brother, Zane encounters the Ku Klux Klan, backwoods hillbillies, and attempts to keep his pseudo-British sidekick in check. In the end, there is both vindication and tragedy--showing that no nearly-true story can have an entirely happy ending.

I think Incognegro would be a great addition to the classroom. It would be a great companion piece to many pieces of literature commonly taught in English classes--from A Raisin in the Sun to the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I was especially reminded of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man while reading this novel; Incognegro delves into the issues of black-white racism without being too preachy or heavy-handed, and provides a historically accurate view of what life was like in the South in the early 1900s. Again, as with many books I've read for this unit, this novel would be well used to make cross-curricular connections with a history class--or even an ethics class, for that matter.

I suppose the one downfall of Incognegro is the fact that it's a graphic novel. The "comic book" format just isn't for everyone; I can think of a few students who dismiss graphic novels as "not real books." That said, the book is a short, lightly humorous take on an intelligent young African American man attempting to make his way in a white-centered world.

the host By Stephenie Meyer

2008-11-30T16:38:00.001-08:00

What would you do if your body was invaded by a parasitic soul and you are expected to just give up your body and mind to this soul? Would you put up a fight? Would you willingly give up control of your body, your mind, your actions, and your emotions simply because a glowing worm said so?

This is the situation Melanie Stryder, one of the few remaining humans, is put in. In a failed attempt at finding a family member, she tries to kill herself so that she can not be taken by the Souls, the aliens that have invaded Earth. The reader is introduced to Wanderer, the soul implanted in Melanie’s body, and the reader starts to see that Melanie is not going to go away quietly. Wanderer and Melanie begin to work together, forming a bond that shouldn’t exist, as they search out Melanie’s brother and her boyfriend, who they hope are still human. In a world where humans are feared by the Souls and the Souls are feared by humans, is it possible for a human and soul to work together?

Stephenie Meyer takes a break from writing about vampires and werewolves to write her first “adult” novel in the science fiction genre. the host can be easily read by high school students, though I am sure anyone who is a fan of Stephenie Meyers will be more than wanting to read it. Strangely, it starts off slow and is slightly difficult to get in to, but it does pick up and readers will be hard pressed to put it down. Meyers claims that she did not intentionally write an “adult” novel, so it is no surprise that I am willing to recommend it for young adults as well.

This book could be taught in the classroom, but most likely in a science fiction geared class because of its subject matter. The novel has many themes (i.e. loneliness, love, struggle for survival) that could easily be tied into more classical work being read in the classroom…it would all be up to the teacher to figure out how it could be done!

prey By Lurlene McDaniel

2008-11-30T15:39:00.000-08:00

Picture this: a tall, shapely woman, dressed in figuring hugging clothes and wearing stilettos.

Did you picture a high school U.S. History teacher? Pretty positive you didn’t, but neither did any of her students. Especially not Ryan Piccoli. The above description fits Ms. Lori Settles (in the hallways and locker rooms she’s known as Stilettos Settles) to the letter, and none of her students seem to mind. In a novel told from three different viewpoints, the touchy subject of teacher-student relationships is discussed. It is really Ms. Settles fault that Ryan would do anything for her, becoming the ultimate teacher’s pet? Is Ryan being taken advantage of by a teacher who should have his best interests in mind or is he taking advantage of a teacher who developed a soft spot for a student? These questions and more are raised as the reader is taken on a disturbing journey of unquenchable desire, supposed love, and immoral decisions.

Lurlene McDaniel takes a turn from her typically heart warming novels to bring us prey, a book she admits is written about a topic outside her norm (others agree). As mentioned, prey discusses a topic that has recently garnered more attention: female teachers having sexual relationships with male students. Because of this contemporary topic and the issues it raises, this would be a book that I would recommend to not be taught in schools. I do not see any problems with students reading this book, but for a teacher to use this book in his or her classroom, Pandora’s box would certainly be opened. Imagine a female teacher trying to teach a book about a female teacher having a sexual relationship with a male student…in a classroom that is bound to have male students. For an independent reading book, prey could easily be put on the list under the heading of “contemporary topics,” but I feel that it should not be a required read of any student.

I have read other blogs that have expressed some of the same concerns about this book, and there are also comments about how the book is written. If you have read any other novels by Lurlene McDaniel, you know what a good writer she is, and sadly this book does not always live up to her high standards. Some parts do not feel complete, while others are perfectly crafted. It could be said that because McDaniel chose to step outside her comfort area, the book seemed to struggle, and I would be willing to agree.

Overall, the book is a good read, but don’t go on my word alone…let the author tell you about it herself!

Game by Walter Dean Myers

2008-11-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

For some students, high school is a time when dreams of sports stardom rise and fall in a dramatic arc. Some athletes go on to serious collegiate and professional careers; others fade into obscurity before earning their diplomas.

Walter Dean Myers's Game follows the first-person story of Drew, a high school senior who dreams of playing college basketball on a full scholarship and eventually making it into the NBA. During his junior year, Drew carried his team through a successful season to a good showing at the state championships. But as a senior, he is confronted with unanticipated adversity; the arrival of a Czech player who becomes the coach's new darling throws a wrench in Drew's plans to be the standout player. As the season progresses, Drew confronts his new reality: he can play like he always has and become a benchwarmer, or he can share the limelight and remain on the court. The choices that Drew must make to escape the realities of Harlem to reach college stardom are not easy, and the season ends with surprising results for Drew and his teammates.

Drew is a strong narrator for this book, proving himself to be as tough a talker on the outside as he is vulnerable on the inside. It would be easy for late high school students to relate to Drew's story, as many students strive to get into the best school with the best program, with the best scholarship. While not every student could relate to Drew's fantasies of athletic success, I think that many students could identify with Drew's fears of being left behind by his closest-held dreams. The plot of Game might focus somewhat narrowly on the basketball court, but the themes of the book run wider to making the sometimes-scary transition between high school and college.

However, it's possible that some students might be put off by the high level of basketball terminology used throughout Game. Admittedly, I don't know much about basketball aside from the meanings of "dribble" and "slam dunk"; for students who are readers like myself, and aren't familiar with the dozens of slang terms used on the court, Game could become a tedious read.

If Game were to be used in the classroom, I would recommend it be used in conjunction with high school seniors writing college entrance essays--simply as a counterpoint to the intense focus of the college application process, to encourage dialogue about anxiety and to remind students that the application process will likely work out as they hope it will. Many students come under an incredible level of stress and scrutiny while applying for college; perhaps reading Game could provide a little bit of levity and distraction that helps these high school juniors and seniors navigate their way toward their hopes for the future.

Rapunzel's Revenge By Shannon & Dean Hale

2008-11-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

Tired of the typical fairy tales? You know the ones with the fair maiden in distress and the charming prince who comes and saves her after risking life and limb in a fight with an evil doer? Well, look no further than Rapunzel’s Revenge for a twist on the classic fairy tale of the girl with the super long hair.

An unconventional twist on a conventional story line, Rapunzel’s Revenge is a story about a girl who is tired of being lied to and wants to make a change in a world where everything isn’t exactly as it seems. Rapunzel has spent many years with a woman she thought was her mother, to only find out that the woman is an evil witch who forces everyone one to work for her as she sucks the world dry of water so no one can have any plants. It comes as no surprise that Rapunzel gets locked up (in a tree this time), but this time, Rapunzel decides to fight back. She meets up with a young boy named Jack, and from there on, their adventures hardly resemble a fairy tale as they fight their way back to the evil witch to try and make things right.

Well-known young adult writer, Shannon Hale, takes a break from writing a typical novel and teams up with her husband to pen her first ever graphic novel. Simply put, a graphic novel is a book length comic book, but don’t let “comic book” be a deterrent to teaching this novel in your classroom. A book certainly appropriate for middle schoolers, its format is likely to be a huge selling point in convincing students to read. It can also be used in a high school classroom (feasibly at all levels), as part of a unit that deals with classical texts and modern interpretations of those texts. Another possible avenue for using this book is to discuss authors’ abilities to switch genres, and how some authors succeed and others do not.

Shannon Hale was unsure of the response her first attempt at a graphic novel would have, but according to reviews and the critics, her style switching was a fine choice. There are plans for another segment (if not two more), so this book can be used to keep readers reading :)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid By Jeff Kinney

2008-11-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Because Greg would insist, let me start by saying that Diary of a Wimpy Kid is not a diary…no matter what you may think by reading the cover. In fact, don’t think this “diary” is going to be full of just words either because as it also states on the cover, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is “a novel in cartoons.”

Greg Heffley takes the reader on the wild ride known as middle school, showing the world how miserable being a kid can be. Not only is Greg “stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons,” but he has a super cool older brother, Rodrick, and a best friend, Rowley, who he could live with out. Rodrick never lets Greg tag along with him because Greg does not even factor in on the coolness scale, but Rodrick gives Greg plenty of pranks and practical jokes to pull on Rowley, who he has been avoiding “since the first day of school.” Greg gives the reader a play-by-play interpretation of a middle schooler’s life…if something seems exaggerated, it probably isn’t because, according to Greg, nothing is worse than being a kid in middle school.

Jeff Kinney takes a different approach to writing a novel for kids by incorporating a first-person narrator telling the reader about his daily life with comics to enhance the text. A great book for students in middle school (though older students would enjoy it too!); it is an easy and quick read, and a read that may motivate some reluctant readers to become willing readers.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid also addresses the issue of bullying, but does so in a way that is less “in your face” for students of a younger age. It could be easily used as a launching point for respect for others and in the classroom, whether in its entirety or with a teacher selecting excerpts.

Another positive, Kinney has recently published two more “diaries” of Greg’s. If a student enjoyed the first one, it would be an easy task to encourage them to continue reading about Greg and his struggles as a middle school kid…just as I plan on doing!

Jellaby by Kean Soo

2008-11-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

You think having to hide anything from your mom could be hard? Try hiding a huge purple monster!

Meet Jellaby. A lovable, silent, monster who accompanies Portia Bennett on a journey to find his home. During a dream sequence, Portia finds herself in the woods where she stumbles upon what seems like a monster. When she wakes up, she realizes it is real--and tries her best to hide the new discovery, and new friend, from her mom.

After their first meeting, Jellaby follows Portia home to stay outside of her window during the night. At school, Jellaby waits outside until he sees Portia's friend Jason get bullied. He urges Portia to do something about it, or else he would reveal himself and save Jason--so begrudgingly Portia comes to Jason's aid. They end up in the Principal's office where Jellaby makes his first appearance. Trying to talk her way out of the situation, Portia finally realizes she has to tell Jason and make him swear not to say anything.

She names him Jellaby. Why, you ask? Well, because she liked that name, even though Jason thought "Fangzilla" would be a more fitting name. But after Jason's babysitting technique of having Jellaby watch Godzilla was thwarted by Portia's outrage, when they offered the naming options up to the big monster in the room, Jellaby it was.

They decide to find Jellaby's home. He draws a picture that looks like it came from the city. So, Portia and Jason come up with a master plan to take Jellaby to Toronto on Halloween--because after all, Jellaby already has a costume.

This is a book that would be suitable for 6-8th grade and could be used in the classroom as a student's choice reading, to start kids reading for fun.

This graphic novel leaves the reader wanting more--and come April 21, 2009--Jellaby In the City will be released for all of the young adults and adults alike to witness what happens next!

Click on the link below to read an interview from author Kean Soo:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=106543

I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin

2008-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

In C.K. Kelly Martin's novel I Know It's Over, Nicholaus Severson, is a typical 16-year old teenager looking for different ways to enjoy his approaching summer vacation. Often referred to as Nick, he has formed a tight bond with his childhood buddies, Keelor and Nathan, since his parent's divorce a year prior. Among other things he plans to: play hockey, work, eat junk food, party, smoke, drink, and maybe have sex. As the end of the school year comes to a close, all Nick has to do is count down the days for the partying to begin. Everything involving the upcoming summer break seems etched in stone, but when Nick meets Sasha, a girl that will change his world forever--things become topsy turvy.

While devoting so much time to Sasha, Nick all but forgets his friends and the bond they share starts to dwindle. Nick is torn between his two friends and Sasha, but doesn't want to lose either one. With all the drama surrounding Nathan and Keelor, Nick turns to the only person that knows him best. It's clear that Sasha does a little more than comfort Nick, when they have sex for the first time. Needless to say, Sasha becomes pregnant and Nick is involved in some drama of his own, but what's a teenager to do.

In this novel, Martin explores the topics that teenagers face nowadays. The problems surrounding the divorcing of parents, sex, drugs, and homosexuality are all relevant issues that some teens are afraid to discuss. This book serves as a means to address these topics thoroughly and effectively. As for age groups, this selection is more appropriate for Juniors and Seniors in high school due to its frequent reference to sex and sexual language. At any rate, Martin does an excellent job in grasping the reader's attention and making this novel a page turner. It leaves readers with the feeling of wanting more long after the last page is read and finished. Here's a trailer of the book provided by the author's website: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=31704514

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

2008-11-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Twenty-eight year-old Izzy Spellman runs background checks on potential "future ex-boyfriends" and passes out drunk on her parents' front porch.

Her adolescent little sister, Rae, trails strangers for fun, negotiates taking a bath as if it were an international business deal, and winds down at Izzy's regular bar by confiding into the bartender over a ginger ale, while he waits for Izzy to come and claim her, again.

Their perfect older brother, David, is a successful, dashing lawyer (responsible for Rae's negotiating skills) who was once the victim of Izzy's criminal acts of childhood sibling rivalry, in the form of sneaking in his room at night and cutting his hair or erasing his hard drive.

Their parents bug their rooms and sweat out the truth about typical adolescent rule-breaking as if they were being interrogated for the murder of JFK.

They all take turns retrieving their Uncle Ray from his "lost weekend" disappearances of gambling, hookers, and booze. After all, according to Izzy, "it is an essential rite of passage, for all the Spellman children to, at one time or another, take a road trip to collect their uncle."

They are all blackmailing each other, all spying on each other, all tailing each other, and all smashing out each others taillights so that it is easier to spot each other while they are doing it.

This is the Spellman family. As you can see, the parents' PI firm, Spellman Investigations, is not only the family business, but it is also at the heart of the family's personal lives as well. In fact, the Spellmans seem to spend more time investigating each other than their professional cases.

This is not a novel driven by a captivating plot, but by the quirky characters and their everyday relationships with each other and the people that they meet. It is sarcastic and mature and reeks of a furtive humor that is blatant to the reader, but just a day in the life for a Spellman. And narrating it all is Izzy Spellman, in a love/ hate relationship with the only life that she has ever known, yet one that seems to keep her from being the "normal" woman she wants to be.

This isn't a youth literature book; it is an everyone book. This is also a Wes Anderson movie just waiting to happen. I wasn't surprised to learn that author Lisa Lutz is also a screenwriter and that The Spellman Files has been bought by Paramount Pictures. I picture this novel developing into a movie like the Royal Tenenbaums or Running with Scissors, one carried by in-depth, introspective characters and a dry humorous plot in the background. I dug this book, big time.

2007's The Spellman Files was followed up in 2008 by The Curse of the Spellmans, and Revenge of the Spellmans will be released in March of 2009.

Here is a brief video of author Lisa Lutz talking about The Spellman Files:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2008-11-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

Dealing with crushing poverty, a legacy of alcoholism, and a number of deadly tragedies sounds like just another depressing YA downer novel. But thankfully, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was written by the hilarious and masterful Sherman Alexie, so instead, it is a refreshingly funny and honest story that will hook you from the very beginning.

Arnold Spirit, known as Junior on the rez (the Spokane Indian reservation he lives on), is the bluntly hilarious, yet endearing narrator who loves drawing cartoons and playing basketball. But the 14 year old must learn to deal with the life of being a "part-time Indian" when he leaves the rez in Wellpinit to attend an all-white school in Reardan, a town 22 miles away. In Reardan, there is HOPE--hope for a better education, hope to one day leaving the rez for good--because in Reardan, there are white people! Junior is a smart kid with a lot of potential, but by leaving the rez he must not only deal with being the only Indian in his new school (besides the team mascot, that is) and with making friends, but even more so with being seen as a traitor to his people--who already picked on him before he left. Leaving the rez also means leaving his best (and only) friend, Rowdy, who has his share of problems but always stood up for Junior. Throughout the story, though, Junior shows his bravery and determination, even in the face of tragedy, in order to leave the reader with a sense of hope...without being cheesy.

In this semi-autobiographical story, Sherman Alexie gives us an honest and unapologetic look at what it's like to be an Indian growing up on a reservation, or as Junior puts it, "a poor-ass reservation kid living with his poor-ass family on the poor-ass Spokane Indian Reservation" (7). In addition to the unrelenting poverty that those on the reservation must deal with their whole lives, there is also the issue of alcoholism that is rampant throughout the reservation. And with that, alcohol-related deaths. Even though these are difficult issues to deal with, Alexie does so in a sharp, real and eye-opening way. His ability to be simultaneously funny and bluntly honest can make you both laugh out-loud and want to cry. But Alexie shows that this is part of the Indian experience. In the story, Junior explains that "sure, Indians were drunks and sad and displaced and crazy and mean, but, dang, we knew how to laugh" (166). Alexie also shows the importance of friendship and family, along with the difficulties of identity and conflicts between what one wants out of life and what is expected of them.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian reminded me a bit of American Born Chinese. Both contain young male narrators who deal with issues of conflicting ethnic identities and while TATDOAPTI (long title!) is not a graphic novel, it is illustrated with great cartoons throughout. As Sherman Alexie's first young adult style novel, I would jump at the chance to use this text in the classroom, perhaps as part of a unit on multiculturalism or identity. The only thing, other than language, that could possibly offend book-banning enthusiasts would be a couple (funny) references made to Junior's love of masturbation. Nothing graphic, though.

So, if you still aren't convinced about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I will allow Stephen Colbert to help me do so. Sherman Alexie was recently on Stephen's TV show, The Colbert Report, to promote the book. It's a great interview and Alexie actually accomplishes the unthinkable--leaving Colbert speechless!

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Sherman Alexie

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Black Box by Julie Schumacher

2008-11-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

How do you deal with the crumbling affects of having a sibling suffering with depression?

This novel by Julie Schumacher addresses some common (but largely stigmatized) issues that young adults are facing--depression, suicide, and hospitalization, all of which are closely tied to issues that carry less of a stigma--parental arguments, grades, and the potential of a budding romance.

Black Box introduces Elena, the younger sister of Dora, who like so many teens is diagnosed with depression. The reader is taken on the hard, excruciatingly painful journey from a sibling's perspective. Elena worries about Dora's stability to overcome her depression, and confides in Jimmy--a friend who knows all too well what can happen to a teen going through it. Together, Jimmy helps Elena look up the medications Dora is taking (or hoarding) to find out about what a real black box warning is. Elena struggles with issues of loyalty and deep concern for her sister's downward spiral.

This novel hit very close to home for me, having had a who brother dealt with similar issues. Not often is this issue confronted in literature responsibly, but Schumacher hits the mark. Not often is the point of view from a loved one suffering over a sibling's heartache offered to the reader with such intense honesty, and the perspective is true to the trials and tribulations a younger sibling has to go through. Depression not only affects the person going through it, but includes the family of the depressed. Black Box undoubtedly will touch many young adults (and adults who've gone through it, also) with its real testament to the second hand effects of loving someone going through such a hard time.

I would teach this book--over and over and over again. The message being portrayed is something young adults need in their lives to understand and empathize with the realness of a very common occurrence. Accompanied by an eloquent and well formulated author's note at the end of the novel, Schumacher breaks new ground with an invaluable read for the young adult audience.

Her writing is easy to understand for a young adult and incredibly realistic. Nominated for 2009 Best Books for Young Adults, Black Box is a clearly defined must read.

Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich

2008-11-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

Imagine a world where there are two realities--a real and virtual one. And in these two worlds characters have the option, better yet the privilege to take on different lives by simply placing a pair of specially made goggles over their eyes. In Aaron Alexovich's comic, Kimme66, this is how the protagonist 14-year old Telly Kade lives her life in the 23rd century. With these virtual reality goggles, she escapes her reality-world where no one pays her any attention; not even her family to become someone else in the viral-world where she's important, liked, and loved. Here, Alexovich creates this alter-world (referred to as lairs in the text) in which Telly can be anyone she wants to be with ease. In her lair she has two friends who knows of her existence Nekokat and Kimmie66. They have been friends for years and know of each others deepest and darkest secrets, or so Telly thought.

In this comic book, Alexovich creates a narrative full of suspense that is unrelenting in combination with the vivid images that communicates more than words to readers. A plot with such twists and turns benefits from this type of mixed media with words and images. When Telly receives a suicide note from Kimmie66 she doesn't know what to believe, and the illustrations accompanied with the prose visually shows her agony. How can she research Kimmie's death any further if she only knows her by her screen name in their alter-world? Telly wants to believe that Kimmie (given her sketchy personality) is simply pulling another one of her famous pranks, but when a girl in the real world commits suicide matching Kimmie's identity, Telly only knows one world where she can travel to learn the truth.

After some researching, Telly discovers that the history of the virtual world and the goggles have a direct link to Kimmie's family, but she needs her mysterious friend to figure out the relation. But where does she begin? Will Telly follow the avatars resembling Kimmie that continues to appear in various lairs? But how could Kimmie's avatar be alive if she's dead? It's questions like these that keeps readers engaged and wanting more of the story and characters, page after page.

Aaron Alexovich takes his readers on a visual ride as Telly searches for the truth behind her friend's life that she thought she knew so well. What could possibly make Kimmie take her own life? Or did she? This is the mystery that Telly's determined to solve in this science-fiction tale of worlds colliding and friendships being stretched to the limit.

As far as educational appeal goes, this novel can be integrated into a high school curriculum very easily because of the fresh material and subject matter that speaks to this age group. Kimmie66 offers what other novels leave up to readers to create in their imaginations--images of characters and settings. For students who are visual learners, this novel would enhance their reading experience and compliment their learning style. Overall, the author thematically integrates topics that should be addressed in high school such as: searching for identity, sense of belonging, and suicide. Too often, these topics are overlooked and left out of the traditional high school curriculum. Like Gene Yang coming of age novel, American Born Chinese, this book serves as a means to address these very important social issues.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

2008-11-22T17:10:00.001-08:00

Layla. Rosanna. Elise. Donna. Delilah. They all have something in common with Audrey: they are all women immortalized in song by a former lover.

Audrey Cuttler thought she was just another normal teenager. She worked at the local ice cream shop. Her idea of a good time was scoring concert tickets with her best friend, Victoria. Her biggest worry was trying to avoid her high school nemesis, the stuck-up Sharon Eggleston. She had a typical high school boyfriend, Evan, who was the lead singer of just another wannabe MTV band. And they went through a typical high school break-up.

This was Audrey's life--until Evan decided to express his anguish over their break-up by writing a little song entitled "Audrey, Wait!"...and his band performs it in front of the entire school...and it catches on to local radio...and then the Billboard Top 100...and then MTV. And suddenly, Evan's band, The Do-Gooders, are the hottest band in popular music, and "Audrey, Wait!" is the hottest song on the charts...and everyone is interested in Audrey and her life.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway is not your typical, coming-of-age, dramatic YAL book. There are no dramatic "D" themes (drug problems, eating disorders, untimely deaths, diseases, and in the case of my last YAL book, Debbie Harry Sings In French...teenage drag dressing). Audrey has a healthy social, family, and educational life in practically every way. Until the song "Audrey, Wait!" becomes the representation of everything she is, turning her personal life into the newest tabloid obsession practically overnight.

Imagine at age 16...

- running from the paparazzi on your first date with a new boyfriend

- explaining to your parents why the house phone is ringing off the hook with reporters from all over the country requesting interviews

- Internet message boards bashing you

- fan clubs dedicated to you

- videos of yourself (and you didn't even know you were being taped!) broadcasted on YouTube

These are the adventures that Audrey takes the reader on, and after a while, the reader starts to feel like one of Audrey's friends. She tells her story as if the reader is a familiar confidant living in the same world as her, someone who is fully aware of who she is, because the reader has heard the song "Audrey, Wait!" a million times and seen her picture in all the magazines as well. Each chapter is cleverly introduced with a popular song lyric and the name of the song and band; music, the reader can assume, that Audrey loves and listens to herself. Some music that I also happen to listen to. By the end of the book, Audrey and I were BFF.

I don't know if I would push to have this book included in a high school curriculum for any particular educational value, but I wouldn't shun it for any reason. The author does point out parallels to The Scarlett Letter and also references Charles Dickens. Furthermore, Audrey loves to point out all the PSAT words that she throws around in her trendy vocabulary.

Overall, I think it was a very entertaining novel and a clever way to address the struggle of forming and discovering your own self-identity while the world is watching and simultaneously taking it upon itself to form one for you.

Conception by Kalisha Buckhanon

2008-11-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

The gift of life is said to be the greatest of all gifts given, but what if the receiver of this gift, joy--blessing is a child? In the intriguing but subtle novel, Conception, by emerging writer Kalisha Buckannon the protagonist, 15-year old Shivana Montgomery has to answer this question. Living in a world where nothing comes easy, and the worst is expected from those with the same underprivileged upbringings as Shivana, she has to find her own way. In searching for the love she never found at home, the protagonist falls prey to the charm and guile of an older man and becomes pregnant. Not once in this roller coaster of a novel does Buckannon let up on the drama surrounding Shivana and her unborn child.

One technique the writer relies on is the mystery of the spirit child that has been trying to reach earth for generations. This unborn soul serves as an omniscient narrator in a sense because it's the point of view that opens and remains dominant throughout the book. Buckannon's choice to make the final resting place for the spirit child the most unlikely choice in Shivana keeps readers turning the page. As a pregnant, unwed mother-to-be Shivana is alone, and feels as if no one loves her. Surely she could ask for help from the baby's father, but he's made it clear that a family isn't what he was looking for in their affair. Or maybe she can ask her mother for help; the woman who--bitter from the trials of life, has abused Shivana for years. Being too young to know how to properly care for herself (better yet a baby), Shivana finds herself in a predicament that makes her desperate to find a way out of this mess. But will she find a solution by any means necessary?

In the modern day of love, lies and teenage pregnancy, Kalisha Buckhanon welcomes readers not only into Shivana's world, but that of the unborn child. Readers are privy to the past lives of the child as it reveals the journey it has taken to be born. All the mothers who were chosen, but unable to bring the child full term and to life are representations of the hurdles the spirit has endured over the years. Thematically, Buckannon connects Shivana and the unborn child through their individual tribulations. Now it's up to Shivana to alleviate the unborn child cries for life. Maybe this child will be the one to give Shivana the love she's been longing for?

Contrary to other books on teenage pregnancy, Conception gives voice to the sometimes voiceless. This novel can be used as a way to expose preteens to the pressures of sex. With so many teens progressing at such a rate, being a mother at fifteen can be seen as the norm. After reading this story students can realize the power behind the word conception.

March Toward the Thunder by Joseph Bruchac

2008-11-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

In literature, Native Americans are usually portrayed as a vestige of the Old West, half of an ongoing game of cowboys and Indians. Yet in March Toward the Thunder, a historical novel that would make Sherman Alexie proud, Joseph Bruchac shares the life of a young Abenaki Indian soldier in the US Civil War, an experience based upon the life of Bruchac's own great-grandfather.

March Toward the Thunder follows the brief soldiering experience of Louis Nolette, an Abenaki Indian from Vermont who joins the Union army for the money. Finding himself a member of a mostly-Irish brigade, Louis must navigate the bloody battlefields of Virginia. While Louis befriends the fellow soldiers of his regiment, he is constantly aware of the fact that his status as an Indian renders him something of an outsider. Marching from battle to battle, Louis's keen Indian eyes, ears, and intuition become welcome resources to his military superiors. Along his journey, friends are found and lost, creating a document that shows the brutal reality of war in terms as honest as any I've ever encountered.

Because of its capability to present historical accuracy in such a fascinating format, March Toward the Thunder would be a wonderful addition to any high school English curriculum. I think it would be appropriate for early high school, given the fact that its subject matter is intense without being overly graphic in its depiction of war. It would be easy to tie this novel in with a curriculum about the Civil War; both Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln are minor characters in the book, and so Whitman's Civil War poems and The Gettysburg Address could be read in conjunction with the novel to create a deeper understanding of the climate and background of the US Civil War. Such a unit would allow for cross-curricular learning with a history class, allowing students to learn more about the battles discussed in March Toward the Thunder while they read semi-fictionalized accounts of them in English class.

However, due to the fact that the entirety of March Toward the Thunder takes place during a 2-month span of time during the final summer of the Civil War, its plot line is somewhat redundant. A repetition of marching, battle, marching, battle, and more marching is repeated to create the story line. For those students interested in the Civil War, this will not seem too repetitious--but for students who are less than intrigued by the mid 1800s, the constantly repeated action might cause a lack of interest.

Ultimately, I think that March Toward the Thunder would be a great YAL addition to a unit on Civil War literature. Taken in the modern context of the US's current involvement in Iraq, reading a 15-year-old's first-person account of the horrors of war could lead to interesting discussion on students' thoughts about joining the military and going off to fight a war. Louis is a genuine and relatable character, both as an American Indian and as a teenager. Students in any English classroom would be able to relate to him and his search for friendship, belonging, and safety--even if his search is situated in the midst of one of the bloodiest wars in US history.

Color of the Sea by John Hamamura

2008-11-19T18:07:00.000-08:00

Very often, YA novels about World War II feature European concentration camps and Jews in hiding. In John Hamamura's Color of the Sea, the experiences of Japanese-Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor receive some much-welcomed attention.

Color of the Sea follows the life of Sam Hamada, a boy born in Japan but raised in Hawaii. Early on, Sam undertakes the training of a samurai at the behest of his father, ultimately learning a code of honor that forms the core of the man he grows to become. After high school, Sam moves to Lodi, California with hopes to attend college. In Lodi, he meets and falls in love with Keiko, a first-generation Japanese-American girl from a very traditional family. When World War II starts, obstacles arise--Sam joins the army, and Keiko's family is sent to live in an internment camp. From the plantations of Hilo to the ashes of Hiroshima, Color of the Sea is an in-depth look at both traditional Japanese values and the lives of Japanese-Americans during a time in history when the Japanese in America were seen as enemies.

One thing that I appreciated about Color of the Sea was the opportunity to take a closer look at a period of American history that is often marginalized or ignored. The internment of Japanese-Americans is something that many would rather just forget about, but this novel allows readers the chance to relate to the characters as people rather than caricatures meant to be representative of a racial group. If this book was used in a classroom, it would be a great opportunity to partner with a history teacher and explore what was happening in the United States while battles were being fought all over the rest of the world.

The one caveat I had with this book regarded its use of sexual language. Frankly, I felt Hamamura's use of sexual imagery was a bit over-the-top--and almost embarrassing to read. I imagine this sentiment would hold true for teenage readers, as well. Honestly, reading phrases like "Sam, hovering like a cloud, opens, lets every guarded part of himself fall...and [his] hard, lovely penis [penetrates] her" for a class assignment that would later involve discussion would probably be way too mortifying for the average 16-year-old, especially if a teacher's lesson plans called for the text to be read aloud in class (233).

While the sexual imagery in Color of the Sea makes me think that it's less likely to be used in a YAL classroom than other books might be, I think that its subject matter makes it a valuable resource to be used in class. I would recommend it for older high school readers, based upon the aforementioned sexual content and the novel's incorporation of semi-complex Japanese ideology.

Gangsta Rap by Benjamin Zephaniah

2008-11-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

Around the world, teenagers dream of becoming famous for making music. In Gangsta Rap, Benjamin Zephaniah explores what happens when these dreams come true.

Gangsta Rap follows the story of three teenage boys from East London who have been expelled from school; they care nothing at all about academics, and instead all of their focus is on rap music. As a last resort, they are given the opportunity to attend an alternative school and pursue their musical interests. The boys form a rap group called Positive Negatives and cut a single that quickly becomes a hit. Their fame--and the problems inherent in being famous--escalates, leading to both tragedy and triumph for the members of the group.

The strengths of Gangsta Rap lie in the imaginative relatability of its story line. I think teens would enjoy a peek into what it's like when their contemporaries ht the big time. The book is a quick read without difficult concepts or ideas; I imagine it would be a great recommendation for a reluctant reader. However, a weakness in the book lies in its use of London dialect. Having lived in England for a year, I was familiar with many of the terms being used. But for a reader unfamiliar with British slang, the unfamiliar terminology could be a frustrating turn-off.

Ultimately, I think the book would be a great addition to a YAL curriculum. The ideas expressed in the book would definitely lead to great class discussions about the costs and benefits of fame and the importance of loyalty, and its readability would make it more likely that most students would be engaged. Because of the focus on rap music throughout Gangsta Rap, a cross-curricular connection with music (focusing on the origins and musicality of rap and hip-hop) would be easy to create. Gangsta Rap would be a wonderful way to invite fans of rap music to share their ideas in the classroom.

A YA Look into Teen Pregnancy and Loss: November Blues by Sharon M. Draper

2008-11-16T14:19:00.001-08:00

If you were a 16 year old pregnant girl, would you sell your baby to its deceased father's parents? That's a wild idea that becomes an actual situation to ponder in Sharon Draper's November Blues.

November Blues by Sharon Draper is the followup novel to the Coretta Scott King Honor Book, The Battle of Jericho. Without having read the first novel, it wasn't hard to understand what happened. At the beginning of November Blues, Josh Prescott (Jericho's cousin) died suddenly in a pledge stunt. November Nelson was his girlfriend. Both Jericho and November are taking Josh's death pretty hard. Especially when November finds out that she is pregnant with Josh's baby.

November struggles with having to deal with being a 16 year old teen with the opportunities to go to Cornell and have a fine education, now left with a tough choice to make. Even though Josh is gone, through November and Jericho's memories the reader really does get to know him well.

Draper gives the reader a glimpse into how devastating it is to lose a loved one in adolescence, the consequences of teen pregnancy and the pressures of body image for young girls. To thicken the plot, Josh's parents decide after being exceedingly bereft from the loss of their only son, that they want November's baby. They have a big-wig "beige" lawyer to draw up papers for November to give the baby to the Prescott's in exchange for a large sum of money, her college education paid for, and no baby responsibilities. Talk about crazy! Although the deal is tempting for November, she stands up for herself and takes her time to think about it.

While all of her friends are talking about sports, shopping, summer plans and "kid stuff," November is down in the dumps about her pregnancy. She stays home all summer instead of tearing up the town like her friends. The reader gets to meet a onslaught of characters and their involvement dealing with Josh's death and November's scandal. Her roller coaster of emotions truly shows through, and the tough decision she makes will affect her entire life.

Complications arise, and November comes through. This novel is definitely a page turner and worth the read. It's not just another book about teen pregnancy; it offers the perspective of a teen girl in an easy to read format and addresses some difficult issues in a non-preachy way. This book is a great pick for someone looking to read a story for the sheer pleasure of it--from a seemingly authentic teen perspective.

Debbie Harry Sings In French by Meagan Brothers

2008-11-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

Our teenage years are a time to get to know ourselves and a time to figure out who we are. A time that involves, say, the death of a parent, taking care of a widowed, alcoholic parent, a deadly drug overdose, getting shipped to rehab, getting sent across the country to live with an estranged uncle, questioning our sexuality, and dressing in drag. Right?

Well. This is Johnny's life. Maybe he's had it a little rougher, a little stranger, than most teenagers.

Oh---and the person who helps him through all this...is Deborah Harry.

Yes.

Blondie.

I think I could stop here, and you might already be intrigued enough to want to give Meagan Brother's (who apparently is a bit of a rocker herself) Debbie Harry Sings In French a read. Personally, I was sold when I read the title.

Any music enthusiast would get a kick out of this book, as DHSIF is full of popular music references from The Cure's Disintegration, to Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth, to Patti Smith's Horses. "Music" is practically a character in the novel and one of the few "friends" that Johnny finds comfort in. But when he hears a few Blondie lyrics sung in French on the radio, it is Debbie Harry that becomes his muse, his savior, his motivation, a role model, someone he can aspire to be lik...

...wait; does Johnny want to be a girl? He isn't gay, or at least he doesn't...think he is? Is he? I mean, he has a girlfriend, so he is straight, even though he kinda likes to dress up in heels and dresses...right?

Coincidentally, I found that Johnny's confusion regarding his sexuality and obsession with Debbie Harry might not be so abnormal. A song that also happens to have lyrics in French recently enraptured me, too: "Poster of a Girl" by the Canadian band Metric, whose lead singer, another stunning blond named Emily Haines, could very well be argued to be the "Debbie Harry" of this generation, IMHO. I happened to be looking for a performance of this song on YouTube while reading DHSIF, and this particular video of the song begins with a request from a boy to hear "Poster of a Girl," and this boy echoes very similar sentiments of Johnny:

Straight from the sleeve, and I couldn't agree more, "this witty and tender novel introduces shades of gray into the black-and-white ideas of sexuality and gender." Johnny's serious struggles and silly triumphs interwoven with musical insights and discoveries are strange, yet familiar, and very entertaining. It would be very appropriate for liberal high school teaching and contribute to discussions on social relationships, sexual self-discovery, and drug abuse. I give this book "two hands-with-rock-horns" up. Any book that involves teenagers arguing over their favorite Beatle is one that I support.

What did she get her self into?

2008-11-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Blacklisted By Gena Showalter.

In a world shared by humans and aliens, Camille seems to have everything going for her in life; she is a straight A student who also obeys her parents.

Camille's life Is pretty simple until she finds herself wanting the attention of Erik, a boy she has had a crush on for a while. She soon finds out that Erik will be at a hot club, hanging out with some friends. In hopes of finding him, Camille goes to the hot club, But she gets more than she had bargained for. Erik is under investigation by the A.I.R, which stands for Alien Investigation and Removal. It seems that Erik is hiding a big secret. Camille finds out through her time with Erik that sometimes you have to do bad things for a good reason.

Blacklisted offers its readers a journey through a sci-fi world with young romantic elements that drives the plot of the story. It challenges the questions of what does the individual do when the government over governs and lives are at stake.

This book by Gena Showalter is exciting and fun, filled with sci-fi components that will keep young adults interested. The plot line may get a little edgy at some points with minor profanity and small notions of sexual contact. This book would be particularly good for an older students either juniors or seniors. Many students will be able to relate to young romance and the strange things they would do for it. Also it gives students an accurate judgment as to when to do something bad for a good reason. The book does this well and also include the ramifications of the decision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK7vVzns1fU This is a link to "Underworld" a series created by Gena Showalter. Just to have a visual representaion of her work. Pay attention to the edgy subject and the tension she makes her characters undergo. Very similer to that of Camille and Erik.

Welcome to RU LIFT

2008-09-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to RU LIFT! In just a few weeks, new reviews of young adult literature will start to appear here.

If you are an author on this blog, please review the "information for authors" on the right hand side of the screen. This information has been updated and is good to go for Fall 2008.

Don't worry about making mistakes--they are typically easily correctable. A good first step to take, if you want, is to write a short post introducing yourself to your readers on the web. You can borrow freely or not at all from your previous posting to the Blackboard website.

More soon!

The Status of Young Adult Literature in Today's Society By: Barb Rohleder

2007-11-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

Literature has always been a tool that reflects the time and society during which it was written. Many classic novels that teens have read in the past include, The Jungle, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Of Mice and Men. These classic pieces of literature expose the truth behind the society of the time. Not only were these pieces of historical fiction used to make a statement, but they also had characters in which readers of the time found relatable. Nowadays, the influence of the meat packing industry has subsided in Chicago, racial segregation is no longer legally allowed, and the United States is not in the midst of a Great Depression. Even though these are great novels, their storylines no longer engage the young adults of today’s society because these problems no longer affect them. As society changes so must the literature in which young adults are exposed to.. As educators, we must keep current with the trends of young adult literature or risk losing young readers because we are too afraid to capture them with engaging literature that pushes our comfort level.

For people who do not want to lose the value of the classics, don’t worry there are still pieces of young adult literature that value the classics and history, authors are just finding new ways to express these stories. Some authors such as Lisa Klein have taken on traditional pieces of writing and changed them to have a different outcome from the original. In Klein’s work Ophelia: A Novel, she rewrites Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the eyes of a female character. Not only does this express a desire to keep the classics around, but it also shows support for strong leading female characters, which is an expression of feminism in literature. Too often books written in the past, revolved around the struggles of a male protagonist, leaving the female readers searching for someone with which to identify.

Another tool that authors use in today’s literature to express the classics is a graphic novel. In Gareth Hinds’ account of Beowulf, the reader is thrown into a visual as well as literary retelling of this epic poem. The illustrations do not take away from the story, but enhance it instead. The same goes for Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography. In this graphic novel, readers learn about Malcolm X through a blend of literature and pictures. For readers who struggle to visualize what has happened in the past, the graphic novel is a great way to engage them in the story. Graphic novels are not only used to express the classics, but they can also bring to light the current issues that teens are facing. In Nadia Shivack’s Inside Out: A Portrait of and Eating Disorder, readers follow the journey of the author’s battle with binging on food to stay physically appealing to those around her, a struggle that many teens face.

Today’s young adult literature does not hide the fact that teens or society are not perfect, it does rather the opposite by exposing it and letting teens know that they are not alone in their struggles. From stories such as Make Lemonade, SPEAK, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Monster, and Twisted, we learn that sometimes the choices of teens do not always have positive outcomes, but the main characters in these novels learn how to deal with these consequences they best way that they can. In all of the afore mentioned novels hard hitting issues such as date rape, physical abuse, teenage pregnancy, and underage drinking are discussed. The authors of today’s young adult literature realize that these are all issues that teenagers face. Therefore, they are creating characters that are more realistic and engaging for young adults.

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s books, SPEAK, Catalyst, and Twisted, the reader is exposed to both strong willed female and male protagonists that overcome the obstacles that they face in their lives. In all three novels when faced with an obstacle, whether it is date rape, loss of a parent, or contemplating suicide, all three protagonists, show a realistic resolution of a teenager. The novels portray the struggles that these teens face because of their actions. They do not all end neatly with happy endings, but rather they have realistic conclusions that leave the reader wondering what will happen next for these protagonists.

Teenage literature also exposes the fact that not all marriages and families are perfect. Many of today’s novels show non-nuclear families. We are no longer living in a society where the household contains a mom, dad and 2.5 children. Instead children are raised in families with a single parent, a grandparent, or divorced parents. Today’s literature reflects the changes to the typical family and lets young adults know that they are not the only ones who don’t live in a stereotypical “perfect” household. In Twisted, readers learn about a marriage that is barely staying together. Similarly, in Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos, the readers see how a marriage in which parents fight and argue affects the lives of their children.

Along with facing the realistic side of teenage angst and struggle, today’s young adult novels also portray the influence of war in our society. No matter how we choose to look at it, the issue of war is splashed all over the news, television, and radio. It would be foolish for people to believe that war does not affect today’s young adults. In How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, the author shows the growth of an American teenager moving from a self-centered girl who only worries about whether or not she can go shopping with her friends, to a worldly and informed teenager who learns about her Jewish heritage and the war between Israelis and Palestinians. A non-fictional account of this issue is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. His story reflects upon his survival of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Even though young American adults are not drafted into wars as teenagers, the war still affects them. They may go into the military later on in life, or they may know or have lost loved ones in the war. With books such as these, authors show that they too can change with society.

I believe as educators we too need to change with society and literature. I am not saying that we need to forget the classics, but we need to realize that there is more out there for young adults to read, than just Romeo and Juliet or To Kill a Mockingbird. We need to realize that young adult literature is pointing out the significant changes in our society that many of our teens are already facing. We as educators need to use these novels as tools for safe discussions on the hard pressing issues in teenage life, so that when teens go to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, they are informed and aware of their consequences.

The Nature of Young Adult Literature

2007-11-27T06:28:00.000-08:00

In all the books I read for this unit many had a similar theme throughout. Even if it was not the main theme, hope, was prevalent in many of the books reviewed on this blog. From a young woman who has lost her mother, in Mistik Lake, to a boy who has lost his best friend, in This is What I Did, the books all bounced back from the depressing main plots, to reveal a core that gave hope in the end.

In the heavy themes that have plagued young adult literature in the last few years, there have been many complaints about this growing genre that is called "realistic fiction". I think in response the literature we've seen in 2007 for young adults has stepped up with realistic themes that still inspire kids to believe that there is hope that even when things seem all bad something comes along that can give them hope for their future.

This theme was most apparent in the book Spider-Man Reign. Kaare Andrews tried to bring hope to the current reality with a futuristic post 9/11 society. His portrayal of the future as bleak and scared of the terrorism that plagued a city into buying into a military state was creepy enough to remind me of our present day problems with terrorism. Yet the storyline that brought back Spider-Man, and teamed him up with children gave you hope in the end. The kids in the story were tired of a life of terror and stood up and fought with Spider-Man, giving me a sense that even when things are at their worst if you don't give up hope things will get better.

Hope seemed far away for the daughter of an alcoholic mother in Mistik Lake. The author Martha Brooks piles problem after problem on her young heroine. making the book start out with no hope for Odella or her family's future. Mistik Lake provides a way for the reader to see there can be hope for Odella and her family. Whether it's with Odella's new love, Jimmy, who is the bright shining light in her future, or her new baby sister who brings a family together in it's grief. The struggles that a young adult would perceive in this book would have to be countered with the glimmers of a better future that Odella's budding love for her boyfriend and baby sister bring to her.

This Is What I Did is by far the strongest in dark themes of the books that I read for this blog. Yet Ann Dee Ellis does a wonderful job of infusing humor and entertaining illustrations to bring hope to Logan, a character who so desperately needs it. His life seems miserable by anyone's standards and yet he slowly gets back into it with the misguided help of his family and his new friend Laurel. Logan finally finds some much needed self esteem and joy with a part in the school play and coming to terms with what he did. In the end Ellis leaves the reader with the sense that things will get better for Logan. Hope prevails for Logan in this well done young adult book, that speaks to the awkward adolescents of the world.

Many of the other books read by my classmates in this unit had messages of hope as well. The protagonist, Amy, in How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, sees her situation as bleak even though to an adult it doesn't seem so bad. Yet the author turns her trip to Israel into a learning experience giving Amy some hope in her supposedly ruined summer vacation. Another one of the books read by one of my classmates stood out in my mind as speaking to many mainstream young adults with a message of hope and that was The Breakup Bible. Many adolescent girls go through a devastating breakup at one time or another and can use the hope that is given by the end of this book.

Young adults in this day and age have it rough. There are many topics that they deal with that weren't even relevant 50 years ago, so the literature that was published in 2007 speaks to their current problems. Bullying, love, and abuse are all issues that today's teens find themselves dealing with. The literature that they're reading speaks to their problems by not giving them quick fixes, but instead gives them a viewpoint to a problem that they may not have seen before but also can fill them with compassion and hope for their fellow man.

Spider-Man: Reign By Kaare Andrews

2007-11-27T06:25:00.000-08:00

Thirty years in the future and all hope is lost. New York City is terrified of terrorism and will do anything to protect itself. Even if that means imprisoning the city in a big laser powered barrier, ironically called the Webb. The Webb is meant to keep the terrorists out and the citizens, good and bad, trapped in.

Peter Parker is old now and long ago gave up the fight to protect the city as Spider-Man. Disillusioned and half crazy, he spends his days talking to his long dead wife, Mary Jane. J. Jonah Jameson, Peter's old boss, is now an even crazier old man who has sold the Daily Bugle to a corrupt corporation controlled by the the even more corrupt politicians. Of course there is a little more to the story line that involves some background knowledge of Spider-Man, but if you've seen any of the movies you should be somewhat prepared to read the futuristic Spider-Man: Reign.

Kaare Andrews writes and draws Spider-Man like no other, making him seem dark and angst ridden. The characters are all lean and full of emotion. This Spider-Man could not be played by Tobey Maguire. The novel is too dark and full of despair for the youthful innocence of the movie's Spider-Man. He cracks none of his signature jokes and doesn't even don his signature red and blue spidey suit until the end of the novel. Although, for classic Spider-Man fans there are some old super villains to be fought.

This book would probably be good for older middle school students and up. There is quite a bit of violence, blood, and death in this novel so I would keep it away from the younger Spider-Man fans. But there is a message, as there often is in Marvel comic books. Andrews uses the story to tell of a city so scared of terrorism that it puts itself in a cage locked away from the rest of the world with no hope or truth.

Beowulf By: Garth Hinds

2007-11-26T23:08:00.001-08:00

“I am Beowulf. Many deeds of note have I done in my life.”

Action, epic battles, monsters, and dragons, all are found in Gareth Hinds’ graphic novel account of Beowulf. The story begins with the introduction to the setting and the kings that Beowulf will later help. Then this exciting graphic novel is broken into three mini-books.

The first book focuses on Beowulf’s battle with what seems to be an undefeatable monster, Grendel. In this section the reader learns about many fantastic feats that Beowulf has already overcome, leading the reader to believe that Beowulf will defeat the wicked monster that torments King Hrothgar's kingdom.

The second book focuses on Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother. Here the reader sees the struggle that Beowulf has with a grief stricken monster in a fantasy world of an underwater lair. After succeeding at defeating this foe, the novel leads the reader into the third and final book.

Book three’s setting takes place years after the battle with Grendel and his mother. Beowulf is now the leader of his people and he has to defend them from a dragon. Does his strength run out or does he defeat this evil foe? To find out read Beowulf, by Gareth Hinds.

Reading Beowulf in a graphic novel form was an interesting and unique experience. I found the illustrations to be extremely helpful in interpreting the text. Since Beowulf was passed down for centuries using oral tradition, there is no known date of the original recording of this epic poem. Hinds based his graphic novel from the A.J. Church translation of 1904. Due to this translation, some of the words are challenging and harder to follow than that of modern English.

That begin said I would not recommend this graphic novel to middle school students, because even though the illustrations help to interpret the novel, the overall meaning is lost, if you only look at the illustrations. I would suggest reading this novel freshman or sophomore year of high school. It would make a great accompaniment to the traditional version of the poem that many high school students are often required to read. I also found it refreshing to see a different version of an epic poem that is shared so frequently.

Tough Boy Sonatas By: Curtis Crisler

2007-11-26T22:30:00.000-08:00

What does the word poetry conjure in your mind?

For many it might bring to mind Shakespeare, emotions, and love. For most, Gary, Indiana, is probably the last place they would think of to find poetry, but in his book Tough Boy Sonatas, Curtis Crisler brings poetry to life in this hardened town. In Tough Boy Sonatas, Crisler portrays the lives of young men who sometimes struggle to survive in Gary, Indiana. There are many different aspects of life covered in his poems, ranging from drug use, abuse, sex, gang violence, to growing up in a neighborhood and surviving the streets. This collection of sonatas portrays how the childhood of many young men is taken away at a young age due to circumstances that are sometimes beyond their control and choices that they make.

One of my favorite poems in this book is “Girlfriend.” It tells the story of how a girl can go from being the tomboy of the neighborhood to being the girlfriend that the neighborhood boys want. As a reader, the words that Crisler uses are common for teenagers to use, so it makes the poetry easier to understand. In addition, the imagery that Crisler creates with his words is very realistic, but it is also supported by the detailed illustrations of Floyd Cooper. Many of the sonatas have an illustration that helps bring the poem to life and makes it easier to visualize. These illustrations also help to draw in reluctant readers, because they make the poems so enticing.

Overall, I found this collection of sonatas, to be detailed and expressive. At times, I had to put the book down because the realism was so overwhelming. With this collection, I believe Crisler has found a way to bring to light important issues that many inner-city teens face, in a creative and engaging manner. I would recommend Tough Boy Sonatas, to students in high school, who not only live in a major city, but in a small town as well. I believe it is very important for teens to see the issues and dilemmas that other teens may face while growing up in this decade.

Young Adult Literature and the Contemporary World

2007-11-26T21:50:00.000-08:00

The Future of YAL

The Age of the Non-Reader Turned Reader

By Janine L. Collins

There are so many things going on in the world today that it may seem difficult to stay abreast of them all. However the young adult literature (YAL) that I have read over the course of this semester provides a way to keep young adults, their parents, teachers, and other interested and well meaning individuals in the loop. Two of the themes that I see strongly represented in the young adult novels Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography, Nat Turner: Revolution Volume 2, What They Found: Love On 145^th Street, The Wednesday Wars, and Life As We Knew It, are injustice and change.

Injustice, whether personally experienced or viewed on a local or global scale exists in many forms. For example, we live in the 21^st century yet the effects of slavery, racism, and the injustices they have produced are still experienced by many young adults today. Change, whether environmental, situational, physical, or emotional is a reality (and sometimes a harsh one) in the lives of young adults. These five novels and others of the day depict how these two issues affected the lives of young adults from the past and those in the present. The novels deal with these issues from the perspective of young adults but in writing styles that appeal to adults as well.

The injustices faced by children of the past, such as inattentive parents due to the pressures of jobs and careers were also prevalent in the 1960s. In Gary D. Schmidt’s novel, “The Wednesday Wars” the central character has to learn how to deal with the stressors in his life on his own. His family is too busy with maintaining an image, or in the case of his sister being a free spirit to help him cope. His father is too wrapped up in the family business, keeping up with the Joneses, having the perfect house, and the perfect family which consists of the wife and two kids in suburbia. His mother, as it is alluded to, is so stressed with the cares of maintaining this image that she hides the fact that she smokes from a family to which it is obvious. She doesn’t speak up when she disagrees with the father and just blends into the background of the perfect picture. Children today experience these same issues. Often they are left alone because parents are working late or too busy with the cares of life to attend to them. Some parents are not home until many hours after the child comes home from school. Family time that would be spent at the dinner table is a rarity these days. Yet it is so important to the emotional and social health of children that it sparked the “Family Table Campaign.”

In the graphic novels “Malcolm X” by Andrew Helfer, “Nat Turner” by Kyle Baker, and “The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain” by Peter Sis we see individuals from the past fighting against the injustices of their day. We also see the characters in Walter Dean Myers novel, “What They Found: Love On 145^th Street”, which is based on life today, striving to overcome the effects of these same injustices.

As I said, we all experience change in some form. In the past adults have viewed the lives of children as being stress free- no matter what the social class. Any change children had to experience was often met with an instruction to “Get over it”, “Don’t worry about”, “Just accept it”, or “Just do it.” As we see in today’s literature children have just as many stressors in their lives as adults. The stressors may be minor to us, such as, being stood up at the prom as Nick was in “Probably Still Nick Swansen”; thinking your new teacher hates you, or being better at basketball than your boyfriend. However, these are major issues in the life of a child. Today’s novels also deal with issues that we would love to shelter children from, such as racism, global warming, date rape, and murder, and the death of a primary caregiver. Today’s novels deal with issues from the past and the present. Some of the topics are strong and in-your-face. Yet teens are drawn to these novels because they deal with issues that are significant to them.

The novels in YAL relay the message to teens that they are not alone, and that there is no problem to large or tragic for which there is no resolution. Teens are also shown through these novels that someone cares. Not only by the characters that play this out, but also by the teachers that place the novels in their hands. This opens the door to trust because a level of compassion is shown when you place a worthy book in the hands of the target reader.

As Mallory mentioned in her essay, the genre is growing. We see so many new genres within YAL. The fiction and non-fiction of my day (early 1970s through the early 1980s), has evolved into realistic fiction, science fiction or fantasy, historical fiction, graphic novels, self-help, and how-to books. Today’s literature is suited for a variety of readers and not just the voracious and advanced sort. We see this in the graphic novels of Malcolm X, Nat Turner, and “American Born Chinese” to name a few. In these novels the mixture of text and graphics has an appeal to both mature, well-read individuals, such as me, as well as younger and apprehensive readers. To test the appeal of these graphic novels I took them to a 6^th grade reading class for low-level readers. They loved them! They wanted more time to look them over. It seemed to encourage them that a teacher would think “comic books” were acceptable reading material. In the past these books had been thought of as being of no benefit to children. I think back to the days of the Archie Comics that I used to read. My teachers didn’t think of these as educational material, and were viewed more as leisure reading material of no significance. However we see through today’s graphic novels that the material and drawings have not only become more complex, they have also been incorporated into school curriculums. This should be viewed as a positive because the education focus of late is to ‘do whatever you can to get kids reading.’

The age of the non-reader is declining with recent trends in YAL. Not only are non-readers finding subject matter that hits home, but the different formats that these novels take appeal to these apprehensive readers as well as the advanced readers. The issues that young adults face are not bound by time. We see this in “Make Lemonade” and “Story of a Girl”, and in “Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes” and “Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature”.

The Future looks bright for YAL, the children who will read it and the adults who present it to them. My hope is that this literature will help young adults cope with the issues of today so that they can be productive members of the global society.

Ophelia: A Novel By: Lisa Klein

2007-11-26T21:49:00.000-08:00

"This above all: to thine own self be true." ~ Shakespeare’s Hamlet

What if Romeo and Juliet was told from Juliet’s point of view? Would many still love the tragedy just as much? Would readers still identify with the tragic star-crossed lovers? What if Shakespeare’s Hamlet was written from the perspective of a female? Well Lisa Klein answers that question in Ophelia: A Novel, which is her brilliant interpretation of Ophelia’s side of the Shakespeare’s tragedy.

The novel exposes the reader to what Klein believes happened between Hamlet, his Uncle Claudius, Ophelia’s brother Laertes, and Hamlet’s trusted advisor and friend, Horatio. Ophelia is no longer just the girl who falls in love with Hamlet the Prince of Denmark, but she is the girl who blooms into a woman under the watchful eye of the entire royal family.

All of her life Ophelia has wanted nothing more than a normal family, but since her mother died in childbirth, her father and older brother raised her. When she has the chance to go and live as a Lady of Queen Gertrude’s court she begins to see the darker side of what seemed to be the perfect family. This story tells the tale of Ophelia’s search for love, but the only results she finds are desire and heartache in the death of her husband. Unlike Shakespeare’s story, Klein does not end hers here. She takes the reader into Ophelia’s world after Hamlet’s death. The reader follows Ophelia into her new life and the love that she finds from those around her and in an unexpected place.

I believe that Ophelia: A Novel is one of the greatest reinventions of Shakespeare’s work that I have read. Reading this novel reminded of the movie, Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Both of these works try to make Shakespeare’s work more current and up to date, which engages teenagers in the classics. Even though Klein’s work is set in the 1600’s, she creates such a realistic character in Ophelia, that she is very identifiable with today’s teens. Ophelia faces the same struggles of love, lust, and finding out who she really is, as many of today’s teens do.

Ophelia: A Novel would be a great read for young adults in grades eighth and older. The vocabulary of the novel does follow some old English writing, which may prove challenging for some readers, but for the most part, it is easy to follow. I also believe that the chapters are so well written that they leave the reader wanting to know more about what will happen next to Ophelia. As a teacher, I think this would be a great supplemental text during a unit on Shakespeare, because the initial parts of the story stay true to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

2007-11-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

Nick and Nora meet under weird yet common circumstances. Nick is a member of an all queer band, but he's not queer. He has just broken up with his girlfriend when she shows up at the club his band is performing at. Of course, he's heart broken but he can't let Trish know this. So, what does he do, he pops the question to Nora, the daughter of a record company executive, "will you be my girlfriend for the next five minutes". Who knew that the next five minutes would turn out to be so tempting. As Nick tries to fight the temptations of wanting Trish, Nora tries to help. And all he need is that special decoy. They fight the temptations of falling in love chapter after chapter.

The themes the authors are trying to show are hurt, relationships, and love.They did a great job of keeping the actions flowing by changing the switching back and forth between the two main characters. They also show how sometimes true love comes with risks, and if Nick would just stop and look, he would see that love has been there all alone.

I would suggest this reading to high school students with an interest in realist-urban fiction. This story seems real. The characters and the setting. The book gets off to a fast start and never slows down. A great read.

Digital Booktalk: Baby Brother

2007-11-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation By: Simone Elkeles

2007-11-26T21:02:00.001-08:00

Spending time with friends, tanning at the beach, shopping on Michigan Avenue, and going on dates with your new boyfriend, these are the ideal activities for a teenage girl to do during a perfect summer vacation. Too bad for Amy Nelson, the protagonist in How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, her summer will not be filled with any of these activities. Amy is a spoiled teenage American girl who is thrust into an eye opening experience when her part time father decides he wants to take her to Israel to learn more about his culture and where he grew up and lived. Against all of her crying and whining, Amy’s mother agrees with her father and sends her to Israel for the summer.

Throughout the novel, Amy is placed into many uncomfortable situations, the first one being that her dad never told his family that he had an illegitimate daughter in America. When Amy meets his side of the family for the first time, she realizes that she is very removed from her father’s heritage, and she is not sure she wants to embrace it at all. As the novel progresses, Amy learns about her Jewish heritage through her grandmother and an older teenage boy named Avi. She also comes to realize that her cousin O’Snat and her more in common than she initially thinks. Her summer vacation may not be ruined after all, if she can find away to break down the walls that she has built around her.

Overall, I really enjoyed Simone Elkeles’ book How to Ruin a Summer Vacation. At first, the portrayal of the main character turned me off because she was so self-centered and arrogant. However the more I thought about it the more I realized that teenagers are very concerned with their own world as opposed to the world around them. Elkeles’ portrayal of Amy was an accurate, yet sometimes stereotypical portrayal of an American teenager. I also found the fact that Amy was raised in a non-nuclear family to be very realistic. Many teenagers today are raised by a single parent and only see some parents as part time parents, as Amy did. Elkeles portrays the difficulty in forming a relationship between a parent and child in this aspect. Another aspect that I truly found engaging about this book was the correlation between fiction and non-fiction. Elkeles does an excellent job of bringing in information on Jewish heritage as well as the conflict in Israel between the Israelis and Palestinians. Because of the content and the main character, I would recommend this novel to teenagers in high school because it is a fun and engaging book, that not only provides a dramatic plot, but an informative one as well.

Digital Booktalk: The Astonishing Adventures

2007-11-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks

2007-11-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

On a stone-cold night in 1981 a carload of teenagers went joyriding out on
frozen Mistik Lake. The car careened around a few ice fishing shacks... then
skidded and shimmied farther out on the lake, suddenly broke through the ice,
and sank to the bottom.
Seventeen year old Odella's mother, Sally, was the lone survivor of that accident and it influenced their lives forever. Odella grows up watching her alcoholic mother drink her way through her depression and guilt regarding that night. Finally Sally leaves her husband and three kids to fend for themselves while she runs off with her boyfriend to Iceland. Odella takes refuge at the family's summer home in Mistik Lake, where she meets Jimmy, a boy who can finally bring a smile to her face and help her forget all of her family's problems.
The imagery created by Martha Brooks in Mistik Lake was breathtaking and a definite surprise from the other young adult novels I've read so far in this unit. She creates Mistik Lake in your mind making it seem quaint and somehow unique from other summer destination towns. She also writes from three different points of view Odella, Jimmy, and Odella's Aunt Gloria. All these viewpoints come together as a cohesive story while switching around in time from Gloria's youth, to the time of the accident, to the present with Odella and Jimmy's burgeoning romance.
I would say that this book is for high school kids and older. Sexuality is a running theme in Mistik Lake as Odella experiments in order to cope with her problems, and her Aunt Gloria also seems confused with her own sexuality even as a senior citizen. The more the story goes on the more that is revealed regarding Odella's mother's past. Brooks does a great job of shocking you with the revelations that keep coming in the end, but after a while it becomes a bit too much.

Digital Booktalk: The Periodic Table . . .

2007-11-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

Twisted By: Laurie Halse Anderson

2007-11-26T20:15:00.000-08:00

Have you ever made a choice that you knew you would regret, but still made it anyways?

In the opening scenes of Twisted the main character, Tyler Miller is completing his hours of community service, the repercussion of a choice he made his junior year of high school. Even though Tyler is not the most popular student at his high school, as he moves into his senior year, he is faced with one of the most difficult choices he feels he has had to make in his life. Does he pursue Bethany Milbury the most popular girl in school, who just so happens to be the daughter of his dad’s boss and the twin sister of his archenemy, Chip Milbury? His decision to pursue then “date” her then sends Tyler’s life into an emotional roller coaster of highs and lows that involve many other choices and outcomes, such as violating his probation, cutting off all ties with his best friend, and perhaps even going to jail for an internet scandal.

While Tyler is dealing with all of his issues at high school, he also has to face his issues at home. Tyler’s younger sister has just started high school and he feels the need to be the typical big brother and protect her from the outside world. Even though the two have disagreeing view points on what high school life should be like, they do agree that there are many unresolved issues between their parents. Tyler’s parents expose them to arguing and mental abuse throughout the course of the novel. The father is so controlling that he not only psychological abuses his wife, but Tyler as well. In the end, the arguing and constant confrontations between his father and him lead Tyler to thoughts of running away and suicide. Tyler then has a final choice to make, face his problems or end them for good.

For readers who are fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s previous work such as SPEAK and Catalyst, they will enjoy this plot twisting and page turning novel. I enjoyed the flow and structure of this novel. The short chapters made me want to keep reading, and I believe it will engage reluctant readers as well. The chapters always left me wanting to know more about what would happen next to Tyler. Due to the content of the novel, involving suicide and underage drinking, I would recommend this book to students in high school. I do not believe middle school students are mature enough to handle the material that is discussed in this novel. Overall, I felt that Anderson engaged and provided insight into how teens struggle to balance their life, while facing pressure from their friends, family, and themselves.

What YAL says about current trends by Dwilette Brooks

2007-11-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

Young adult literature trends change just as the music they listen to, the TV shows they watch, and the clothes & shoes they wear. However, the difference between material and written trends is the intent to educate in some way. Young adult literature is what’s interesting to teens. www.theliterarylink.com, includes various suggestions and resources to help educators and partents become more informed about what teen are reading today.

The ideas of YAL have changed over the years, and yes there are some texts that have stood the test of time, but even they have to be revised in such a way to appeal to the YA audience. Rediscovered texts really don’t have a chance at fitting into the YA perception of a good book, because what was “hot” then is not today. Therefore, authors and publishers have to constantly review and stay on top of the real issues that teens are facing today, and put it in writing.
Educators and administrators have to prove and with great merit, why certain literature should be read by their students. Keep in mind however, that those same text books that parents are protesting are the very same ones their children are interested in reading. I can remember reading books like Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/taylor.htm, To Kill a Mockingbird www.harperacademic.com, and The Scarlet Letter www.thescarletletter.com to name a few, that are now on the challenged list of books at the American Library Association www.ala.org. Also the ALA offers a multitude of resources for teens and parents, as well as, incentives to get teens to read and to keep them interested. I turned out o.k. what are parents so afraid of?

Educators should, however, make sure that students take from YAL themes or useful information that can be used in real life. A lot of authors of YAL do a good job of exposing certain stereotypes that are alive in our world today, and these issues are what sell today. Whenever students want to read more, it says that they are indeed enjoying what they are reading and are learning to appreciate the love for literature, and not necessarily conforming to the characterizations of the books. A good book no matter well it's written will never, be viewed the same way twice. Meaning after all, is the meeting of the words of the author and the mind of the reader. There are certain factors that contribute to understanding and genre choices, such as personalities, memories, moods, socioeconomic status, and even physical conditions. The one thing educators and parents should be concerned with is, if students are reluctant to read, period. http://www.hip-books.com/index.php

YAL today is written to allow for students to make the necessary connections to self, to other texts, and to the world http://forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/stratText.html. Trendy choices are what make the world revolve. If ideas about what readers like never change, then learning stops, authors and publishers go out of business, and educators run out of interesting and creative ways to discuss and help their students with the issues of the world.
The most popular genres I believe today are more of the urban fiction, realistic fiction, and historical fiction. Students I tend to feel a deeper connection with stories that are relevant to what they know. Even though some novels are more graphic than others in more ways than one, it’s important to understand that students are drawn into the “hot” topics. And YAL authors give them what they want, just as the prime-time sitcoms, the rap artists, and the clothes designers. We have to understand that no matter negative some of the more popular genre choices are today, it’s real, and it’s also important that students understand and are able to make those connections. The biggest challenge, however, is to come up with more non-fictional resources, scenarios, ideas and choices the same students can read and then see the brighter side of a bleak situation.

In Baby Brother, the authors do an excellent job of separating yet blending the good and bad that can come from a negative lifestyle. Also Walter Dean Myers www.walterdeanmyer.net
does a great job of setting the scene to really draw the reader in. In instances like the two young victims in life changing situations, it’s very important that students understand that every decision they make has to be make very carefully. Sometimes it takes words from complete strangers, authors, like Noire, Aya Nakhara, and Walter Dean Myers to convince young adults to make wise decisions.

Today YAL is saying write about the real issues, because that’s what sells. And young adults are screaming for more literature that addresses the more prevalent issues in terms they can relate to. No matter how parents fight the fact that their children are reading the very same books they fought to keep off the school library shelves. Teen choice is a losing battle; therefore, give them what they want in an informative, real and educational, yet fun and interesting way.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl by Barry Lyga

2007-11-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

In 6th grade Fanboy started keeping a list of people who “pissed him off “. He had only one friend, and wasn’t popular. Fanboy aspires to become a graphic novelist, and is somewhat of a loner. He befriends Gothgirl, who seems to be on her own agenda of disillusions. After some toiling, Fanboy with Gothgirl’s help cooks up enough courage to show his work in progress to an author of comics, but the idea turns drastic. After meeting the author, Fanboy is so excited that he’s meeting him in person that he overreacts to the visit, which freaks the author out. The author freaks out because he thinks Fanboy is one of the weirdest people he’s ever met, and to have been accompanied by Gothgirl didn’t help his credibility.

The understated themes in this book are depression, fear, and trust. There are also feelings of neglect, since his parents divorce, his new step-fascist is the night and day of his mother’s life. No matter how much he wanted to get revenge on those who were on his list, for whatever reason, he decided that the be revenge would be living well and proving those wrong, who thought that he would be nothing.

Lyga has an interesting way of drawing readers into the setting of the story. He brings to the surface, issues and stereotype that a lot of teens are faced with, which cause readers to show a since of compassion for his characters. This story is one that can be told from many middle schools across the country, and touches every culture; it’s literature like this that holds the subtle messages of will power, dignity and courage.