Fantasy - A Review of AMONG THE HIDDEN

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 2002. AMONG THE HIDDEN. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689817002

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Luke has been hiding for his whole life. He’s never met another person outside his father, mother, and two brothers because no one knows he exists, not even his grandparents. Luke is a “shadow child.” He is the third child in a society that only allows families to have two children each. The penalties for having more than two children are severe, so Luke has learned to stay hidden. One day he notices a face in a window in the house across from his - a girl’s face in a house where two other boys already live. Suddenly Luke realizes he isn’t the only child in the world who is hiding. As he peers day after day through the vent in his attic bedroom, hoping to see the face again, he begins to hatch a plan for making contact with the person who is home alone all day just as he is. When he finally makes that contact and meets Jen, a whole new world opens up to Luke. Jen has access to the internet and TV, and she has made contact with what she believes are about 800 other shadow children. Jen has a plan to hold a rally in front of the president’s house. Surely with 800 third and fourth children, the government will have to acknowledge them and change its laws. Now Luke must decide if he will join her and the other shadow children, and he’s not sure he has the courage to do it. The results of the rally send events spiraling in an unexpected direction, and the future for Luke and other shadow children is suddenly in jeopardy.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Luke is a fairly ordinary boy who lives in extraordinary circumstances. This novel describes Luke in a way that makes it impossible not to ponder what it would be like to have to hide from everyone - forever. The plot gradually reveals what life is like from Luke’s perspective, and as the hopelessness of his fate sinks in with Luke, it likewise makes an impact on the reader. The setting feels like America sometime in the not-so-distant future; a world-wide famine has created a panic about the food supply which has caused many changes in the laws, including restrictions on family size. The Population Police is an ever-present force, and the government has created two classes - the working class barely able to keep their heads above water financially (by design of the government, unbeknownst to them), and the wealthy class known as the Barons. Readers will be struck by the unfairness of the situation, by the manipulation of the government, and by the negative consequences for both classes. Readers will find themselves hoping, maybe against hope, that Jen will succeed, and when the rally is over, sadness and rage will mingle in a “how could they do that?” which will linger in the mind for quite a while.

The science fiction “big brother” aspect of this novel may appeal to readers who do not like created worlds and creatures of high fantasy, but would rather ponder what life might be like under different circumstances where technology facilitates an evil sociological entity. Don’t expect a happy ending. Among the Hidden has an intense feeling that lasts all the way to the end and leaves the reader hanging somewhat. But the story is not over at the end of this book. This novel is one of seven in the series written by Haddix. The characters are intertwined through the stories. Readers who like characters in one novel will be happy to discover that they reappear in others. Double agents, secrets, daring risks and courageous children keep this story and the series engaging and exciting. Could our world really change like the one in this story? How far are we willing to go to stand up for what is right? How brave are we? This novel creates many questions that are interesting, if a little frightening, to ponder.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Kirkus: “In a chilling and intelligent novel, Haddix (Leaving Fishers, 1997, etc.) envisions a near future where a totalitarian US limits families to only two children. . . . these pages will give readers a new appreciation for their own world after a visit to Luke's.”
*The ALAN Review: “Although the denouement is swift and tidy, the fully realized setting, honest characters, and fast paced plot combine for a suspenseful tale of two youngsters fighting for their very existence.”
*VOYA: “This is an easily understood, younger reader's 1984 or Brave New World, presenting a chilling vision of a possibly not-too-distant future.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Research a totalitarian government. What are countries like where a totalitarian government has existed? How far away are we from having to worry about being in a totalitarian society? Could it happen? What might cause it to happen?
*Create a shadow children network newspaper. (Teachers who have access to Moodle, Publisher, or other appropriate software might want to actually do this online). Students can imagine they are shadow children in contact with other shadow children online and write articles that would demonstrate what it would be like to live in this type of society.
*Students could create a diary written by Luke or Jen, but what might be even more interesting would be to write the diary from the perspective of Matthew or Mark, Luke’s older brothers. What might their life be like because of living with a hidden third child?

Review of THE FIRST PART LAST - Contemporary Realistic Fiction

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Johnson, Angela. 2003. THE FIRST PART LAST. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689849222

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Bobby loves New York City - the noise, the action, the people. He’s a teenager who is into what middle-class teenage boys are typically into - parties, hanging out with friends, having a girlfriend. However, on his 16th birthday, Bobby finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant, and his world changes. Bobby and Nia decide to give their baby up for adoption so they can go back to a normal life. But until the baby is born, Bobby is committed to going with Nia to her doctor appointments, bringing her pizza early in the morning, and rubbing her feet or her back when she’s feeling the stress of her changing body. But things don’t go as planned, and Bobby has to make a decision. Can he do the right thing, even when it’s the hardest thing he’s ever had to do?

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Bobby is a typical teen, which means there is so much more to him than one might see on the surface. Yes, he hangs out with friends, goes to parties, skips school on his birthday with his buddies to eat pizza and go to a movie. However, Angela Johnson is able to reveal the sensitive, insecure thoughts of an otherwise regular guy in a story that looks at the boy’s side of teenage pregnancy and its repercussions. Bobby isn’t a tough street kid, he’s just a normal high-schooler whose parents are divorced. Young adults - both male and female - will find Johnson’s portrayal of a young expectant father refreshing. What do boys think about when they find out that the “one time” turned into something much bigger? Do all boys just skip out and say, “Sorry, your problem”? Not this one. The setting of New York City serves to emphasize the difficulties of being responsible, and the commitment of this young man who is willing to step up to the plate to do what he believes is the right thing. Many young adult readers will be able to relate to Bobby - like them, there is so much more to this teenager than the often visible couldn’t-care-less attitude that rides on the surface of many teens as a defense against the struggles of their world. Johnson tells the story through chapters titled simply “now” and “then, revealing the details a little at a time in flashbacks that gradually explain the present situation until the reader crashes into the ending which is unexpected and heartrending.

I wish I had a copy of this book to hand to everyone who finds out I’m a high school teacher and says, “Wow, how can you stand to work with teenagers? They’re so disrespectful and misbehaved.” No, they’re just kids who are trying to figure out life, often in circumstances that many of us can only imagine. Bobby says, “. . . if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They’d be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end.” There are many more Bobbys in the world than many adults realize. If only they would take the time to get to know a few of them. This young man would be a good place to start.

The book received the 2004 Michael L. Printz Award and was selected as one of the YALSA 2004 Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT
*Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy: “The novel's effective alternating now/then organizational pattern reinforces the theme that the present and past are inextricably connected on the basis of choices that we make for ourselves, particularly bad choices made by youngsters who knowingly engage in risky behavior.”
*KLIATT Review: “Johnson has a way of getting to her readers’ emotions with few words, creating characters we really care about. Her young people are thoughtful, conscientious, and loving--certainly with failings, but trying to do better.”
* Kutztown University Book Review: “This is a well written and touching book that will appeal to young adult readers for its true-to-life characters."

5. CONNECTIONS
*Students who enjoy this book may want to read Angela Johnson’s previous novel Heaven. There is a connection to this previous novel at the end of The First Part Last. Conversely, this novel would also be a good follow up for students who have already read Heaven, which received the Coretta Scott King Award.
*Students can seek out other books - fiction and nonfiction - about teenage fathers. While books from the young father’s perspective are fewer, they do exist and students may want to compare experiences.
*To emphasize the theme of the novel - life is hard when you’re a kid trying to raise a kid - students who read this book can keep a journal for a week of their activities. Then reviewing the journal, think about what would have to change if they were full time parents with an infant. Rewrite the journal as a story, expanding the entries to include feelings, emotions, and thoughts.

Comtemporary Realistic Fiction - A Review of HOOT

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hiaasen, Carl. 2002. HOOT. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0375821813

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Roy is new at his school - again. Because of his father’s job with the Department of Justice, Roy’s family has moved many times. Newly transplanted from Montana to Florida, Roy once again becomes the target of a big bully. However, as Roy’s face is being smashed into the school bus window, he sees something interesting - a barefoot boy running like the wind through the neighborhood near one of the bus stops. Roy’s curiosity leads him to find and follow the boy. What is the boy up to? Why isn’t he in school? How is he able to run like that? Roy finds the boy and the adventure that ensues in pursuit of answers to his questions plops Roy into events he never could have anticipated.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
“Roy had resigned himself to the fact that there was no change of seasons in South Florida, only mild variations of summer.” The hot, humid weather of south Florida, often sunny but just as likely to break into a thunderstorm at any moment, is an ideal backdrop for this funny tale of a boy who finds himself in the middle of an unlikely situation. With events that are wacky, funny, and sometimes tense, Roy tries to unravel a mystery is happening in his corner of the community of Coconut Cove. Something is definitely “fishy,” and Roy is determined to figure out what it is. The plot is quick and funny with a hint of suspense - enough to keep the reader flying forward to find out what is happening. And once the situation is discovered, to find out how it will turn out. Roy is a smart, witty twelve-year-old who attends Trace Middle School. He’s an immensely likeable, if not exactly realistic, middle-schooler who has discovered different ways to cope when faced once again with being the new kid. Young adult readers will find his ability to outsmart the bully quite satisfying. They will enjoy his happy, sincere demeanor, and will most likely appreciate his relationship with his parents, which is solid and positive. Roy tries to help “Mullet Fingers,” the barefoot boy who doesn’t enjoy the same advantages of a loving, supportive home. While the end of the story leaves Mullet Fingers with an unknown, uncertain future, the reader is left with the hope that he will be able to make his way in the world. Adult readers will appreciate the fact that not all the adults are portrayed as completely incompetent bumblers who are unable to do anything right. While the tale is definitely offbeat, most readers will like the outcome for both the adult and kid characters alike. Carl Hiaasen, writer for the Miami Herald and author of best-selling novels for adults, has definitely hit a homerun with this first novel for young adults which was a Newbery Honor book and the recipient of a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults award.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*The Horn Book: “Hoot is quintessential Hiaasen - a mystery/adventure set in South Florida, peopled with original and wacky characters.”
* Booklist: “It seems unlikely that the master of noir-tinged, surrealistic black humor would write a novel for young readers. And, yet, there has always been something delightfully juvenile about Hiaasen’s imagination; beneath the bent cynicism lurks a distinctly 12-year-old cackle."
* The Miami Herald: “A tale torn from the pages of Hiaasen’s past and South Florida’s present, a rollicking, righteous story about two middle-school eco-warriors."

5. CONNECTIONS
*Research burrowing owls - What do they look like? Where are their roosts? What are their habits? What are land developers’ responsibilities toward them?
*Find out more about Environmental Impact Studies. Companies must conduct one before commencing with construction. What are the responsibilities of companies who are planning new developments? What are the results if they falsify or hide the results of their EIS?
*Plan a protest - what would be some effective ways to protest if something were planned for your community that you believed was wrong? Strategize the process that students could use to realistically protest.

*Hoot was made into a major motion picture directed by Wil Shriner and starring Luke Wilson. It was release in 2006. Students might enjoy knowing they can rent the movie to watch after reading the book.

Historical Fiction - A Review of MATILDA BONE

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cushman, Karen. 2000. MATILDA BONE. New York: Clarion. ISBN 0395881560

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Matilda has lived for 14 years in a fine manor house where the hardest thing she had to do was find her way to the privy in the dark. However, through unfortunate circumstances, Matilda finds herself thrust into the job of apprentice to Peg the Bonesetter who lives in Blood and Bone Alley. Suddenly, she must assist with all sorts of jobs that are beneath her pious upbringing. The last words of Father Leufredus ring in her ears constantly: “Remember all I have taught you, about right and wrong, sin and Hell, and the evils of joy and pleasure. Do always as you think I would have you do, remember your Latin, and pray ceaselessly.” Now, every time she turns around, she is asked to do something lowly which requires neither her spirituality nor her education. While Matilda yearns to seek higher things, she begins to learn about life for those who must live in the every day world.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Matilda is a judgmental, self-centered character throughout the story and does not mature as many readers might expect at the outset of the novel. While we get a glimpse of the fact that she is recognizing that perhaps what she was taught by Father Leufredus does not take the realities of life into consideration, that realization does not come until the very end of the story. Although she is given opportunity after opportunity to realize her short-sighted attitudes, she only inches toward the discovery that prayers and Latin are not the be-all and end-all of life. However, how many people do we know who are just like she is? The frustration that many readers may feel every time Matilda thinks Master Theobald superior to Doctor Margery may easily translate to the feelings they have had about friends or family members who just do not seem to “get it.”

Matilda is a character who gets lost in this story that focuses on the interesting details of medieval medicine and life among those who must live day by day. Although the author states in her “Author’s Note” that she is concerned about the story sounding too much like a text book, the story itself is still subordinate to the setting. However, many younger readers (middle schoolers, in particular), will enjoy the descriptions of bone setting, bleeding, and remedies such as pounded earthworms, ants’ eggs, and bull urine. They may be surprised to find that barbers were as likely to cut off legs as hair. However, readers who are more interested in character and conflict may not find enough to keep them engaged with the story. For those who thoroughly enjoy the setting, the bibliography of books dealing with medieval medicine used by the author may spur readers on to further nonfiction reading.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Kirkus: “This has much to commend it: a robust setting, the author's deft way with imagery (Peg's decent face is "beslobbered with freckles") and an impressive command of medieval medical detail.”
*The ALAN Review: “This book, with its delightfully gory descriptions of "prescriptions," leeches, medical treatments and beliefs, would make a wonderful choice to read aloud to a class.”
*Horn Book: “Cushman reveals her concern that her research on the medicine of the day not overwhelm her story; the truth is, this information is just as interesting as Matilda's tale.”
*VOYA: “No one has a better grasp of the flavor of the Middle Ages than Cushman. . . . Students studying the Middle Ages will find this novel a delightful way to learn about fourteenth-century English town life, and those who enjoy historical fiction will treasure the independent spirit of young Matilda Bone.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Social Studies’ teachers could use this well-researched book to help students get a better picture of the Middle Ages. English Language Arts teachers would find this book an interesting read-aloud.
*Students interested in the topic of medieval times may find reading about medicine a great research topic, especially if they can get a copy of Eyewitness Books Medicine from Dorling Kindersley (which is now out of print). This book was referenced by Cushman in her bibliography, and the full-color pictures that dot each page will help readers picture what medicine throughout history has been like.
*Students may want to read other books set in the Middle Ages - including Cushman’s Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife’s Apprentice. Or teachers could use these three books all set in the same time period to compare characters and details of the setting through literature circles.

Historical Fiction at Its Best - A Review of THE LAND

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Taylor, Mildred D. 2001. THE LAND. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439434173

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Paul-Edward Logan was born in post-Civil War Georgia - his mother a freed part black-part Indian slave, his father her former master. Paul has grown up being treated as his father’s child. He and his sister Cassie sit at the family table with their three white brothers, George and Hammond who are older than Paul, and Robert who is the same age. Because of his unique situation of having a father who cared for him, and the fact that he could pass as white, Paul has not learned about the realities of being “a man of color” in a white world. His brother Robert is his best friend as well as his brother. However, changes start to happen when Edward Logan, their father, sends the boys separate ways for their education. Then Robert betrays his brother during one of their vacations home when he and two white buddies get in a fight with Paul, and Robert sides with his friends. Paul has also established an uneasy truce with Mitchell, the son of a sharecropper on his father’s land. Their relationship has slowly evolved into one of respect and friendship. Unfortunately, Mitchell has a temper, and after attacking a white man who cheated Paul out of pay, he and Paul find themselves on the run. Unable to return home, Paul begins a journey of trying to establish a life for himself in a difficult world where he doesn’t fit in with whites or blacks. Paul had always loved his father’s land - land which he had assumed might one day be his. So now Paul is trying to find his life and the land where he will establish his own family.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I have never met a family like the Logans - a family full of passion and strength living at a time when there was so much heartache. Perhaps because the Logans are based on Mildred Taylor’s family and their stories and experiences, she is able to portray them in a way that allows the reader to feel what it was like to be black at a time in history that is difficult for many of us to face. I fell in love with Cassie and her brothers in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and while I had read many stories describing prejudice and discrimination, none touched me like that story - and Taylor’s subsequent novels - did. I realized that I had had no concept of what it felt like to be black in a country where emancipation did not mean acceptance, opportunities were hard-fought, and “life is not fair” was such an unbelievable understatement.

The Land takes us back to Cassie’s grandfather, Paul-Edward. A prequel to all the other stories, it does not disappoint. The descriptions of the people and times are vivid and authentic. Paul-Edward’s struggle to purchase the piece of property he fell in love with is based on Taylor’s own struggle to obtain a piece of land she found in the Rocky Mountains and paid dearly to purchase - not only financially, but emotionally as well. (Taylor sold among other things, at great emotional sacrifice, the typewriter on which she wrote Roll of Thunder in order to make payments on time). Thus the anxiety, tension, hard work and fear are palpable. We find out how John Wallace, whom we grew to hate in The Friendship, and Tom Bee were first introduced to the Logan family. And we meet the young Caroline, Cassie’s Big Ma. Taylor weaves the importance of family into this novel in a way that reveals the pain of family betrayal. I have left each novel thinking about how much I would have loved being friends with the Logans, and how impossible that would have been, and it is heartbreaking. In her “A Note to the Reader” Taylor states, “it has been my wish to have readers walk in the shoes of the Logan family, who are based on my family, and to feel what they felt.” She goes on to say that she hopes this understanding will help readers further understand what millions of families endured as well as the Civil Rights movement.

Taylor provides a description, a chart and a family tree to help the reader keep the Logan family saga sequenced, given that the novels were not written in chronological order. A biography of Mildred Taylor is also included, giving the reader insight as to where the stories originated. “Further Readings” are included along with “Questions for Discussion” and “Connections to U. S. History.”

All in all, this novel succeeds in continuing the story of the Logans, providing another layer of the complex story that spans the 1870s through the 1950s. The characters and setting hopefully help those of us living in another time to increase our understanding of a world where injustice reigned, hopefully providing the motivation to help continue the fight for civil rights for all who live in our country. In our multicultural society, Mildred Taylor should be required reading for all students, for unfortunately, the wrongs of prejudice and discrimination described between the covers of her books have not all been righted and we are responsible to continue the struggle.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Booklist starred review: “Drawing directly on her family history, especially what [Taylor] knows about her great-grandfather, she goes back to the time of Reconstruction to tell a searing story of cruelty, racism, and betrayal. She also tells a thrilling coming-of-age story about friendship, hope, and family strength.”
*Children’s Literature: “Written with great care, accuracy and emotion, The Land is a wonderful novel, telling a family story that will move and enrich its readers. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of what life in the South was like for African-Americans struggling to make their way in a society grounded upon prejudice.”
*Horn Book: “Taylor masterfully uses harsh historical realities to frame a powerful coming-of-age story that stands on its own merits.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Use the discussion questions and host a reading club in the library, perhaps during Black History Month.
*Use Related Novels in the Further Reading suggestions and compare the experiences of the Logans to those written about by other authors. Classroom teachers can conduct Literature Circles using related novels to cover this point in history. This would be particularly effective for Social Studies teachers if they can find the time to conduct this meaningful reading in their tight curriculums. *Students may want to interview their family members to discover their family’s history. What a powerful thing it is to know where your family has come from and how it has shaped who you are. Have students write their own novels or short stories based on their own family stories.

Jip: His Story - Historical Fiction, a Review

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Paterson, Katherine. 1996. JIP: HIS STORY. New York: Lodestar. ISBN 0525675434

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Jip fell off the back of a wagon on West Hill Road when he was a toddler, and no one came back looking for him. When he was picked up by a passerby, he ends up at the town poor farm, which becomes his home; the animals, his friends. One day Put arrives at the farm, a lunatic whose rages from his wooden cage terrify everyone. However, as Jip cares for Put, a friendship grows during Put’s long stretches of lucidity. Then Lucy arrives at the farm with her family following the death of her father, and she and Jip begin attending the one-room school house. Jip’s relationships with Put, Lucy, Teacher, and her sweetheart Luke Stevens change Jip’s life. However, a suspicious stranger shows up at the farm asking questions about Jip, and as Jip begins to discover the truth about his past, he finds he must escape if he is to avoid the horrible consequences.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Set in 1855-1856 Vermont, the novel begins immediately with a mystery - who would lose a child and not come back for him? Jip’s story is compelling, and as the truth of his past begins to unfold, the story becomes urgent and breathless. The setting is an integral part of story - first by providing a backdrop of rural America which allows Jip a fairly stable, if sometimes hard, life. Near the end as the plot races toward its climax, the reader finds a thread of pre-Civil War America and the Underground Railroad woven in as well. The plot and setting are realistic, with the plot being the driving force and the setting being the vehicle that carries the story forward.

Jip is not a totally realistic character. He’s definitely older than his 11 years. Charged with taking care of much of the farm, as well as Put when he arrives, Jip handles more than many adults today would be able to cope with. But Jip’s sensitive, caring nature makes him a sympathetic character, one the reader quickly cares and worries about. The universal theme of man’s inhumanity to man sadly encompasses this child who has had to become an adult too quickly. And it is with gratefulness that the reader is able to experience the introduction of Teacher and Luke into young Jip’s life - people who see him as the child he is with all the potential which that entails. Their willingness to put their lives and reputations on the line for him brings tears to the eye. This Scott O’Dell Award Winner does not end “happily ever after,” and the reader will be left with lots of questions about what happens next, but the reader will nevertheless be happy he took the trip through this part of Jip’s story.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Booklist starred review: “It's not often that the revelations of the plot are so astonishing--and yet so inevitable--that they make you shout and think and shiver and cry. . . . Paterson's simple sentences lay bare the dark historical truth and the transforming light of love.”
*Kirkus starred review: “As usual for Paterson, all the characterizations are penetrating--even the villains are interesting.”
*Horn Book: “The narrative flows effortlessly, and a riveting pace is maintained throughout.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*This book may be particularly interesting to boys since the protagonist is male. This book could be a real winner for boys who have trouble finding chapter books that they enjoy reading for pleasure.
*This novel would be excellent for analyzing literary elements such as plot, setting, characters, and theme.
*Jip: His Story would make a good read-aloud. Teachers could easily use a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity where students make predictions, beginning with the Prologue, then confirm, adjust, and add to their predictions as the reading proceeds.