Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers - Poetry, Drama, Film and Response

1.  Franco, Betsy (ed.).  Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers.  Cambridge, Massachusetts:  Candlewick Press, 2008.

2.  Overview.  Poems collected by Betsy Franco from teenagers - both male and female - populate the pages of this collection.  Falling between the ages of 13 though 18, these poems cover the many moods of love, from funny to solemn, from lighthearted to deadly serious, from playful to heart broken.

3.  Critical Analysis.  This volume of poetry surprised me.  Perhaps because I'm older, when I think of "love poem" I think of descriptive words like sweet, happy, even suggestive.  But these poems express lots of raw emotion, and they don't just hint about sex.  The language is explicit in many of them; apparently they portray what teenagers are thinking about when they think "love poem."  VOYA  stated it nicely in their review: "its pages reveal tortured, timeless poetry, yearning hearts, broken spirits, and emotions on overload. Brutally honest, achingly tender, these glimpses of love through poetry are erotic, sibilant, and sexy."  My how times have changed in the last two generations.

From a poetic standpoint, the poems are varied in style.  Some rhyme, while some don't.  Some have a rhythm, while some don't.  Some have obvious meaning, while some don't.  If teachers and librarians are interested in a book of poetry that will appeal to both boys and girls, this could be the one.  However, it should be recommended with caution.  This could be one of those books that brings backlash in a conservative community, so school staff need to be prepared to answer questions about its inclusion on a library shelf or suggested reading list.  This one could bring out the censors.

A review from Booklist says it this way:  "The teen poets in this lively anthology knock greeting-card clichés even as they celebrate their romance and their passion . . . . Some of the simplest lines say the most: “I want you less than I thought I did. / And I love you more than I ever knew.” From the pain of breakup and denial to affection and desire, the feelings in these poems will ring true to gay and straight teens alike." 

Many poems show sophistication using techniques such as allusions to literature - "I am Poe's Lenore . . . Fitzgerald's Zelda . . . Homer's Muse";  or entertainment - "I enjoyed the confusion in your eyes / At my Monroe-meets-Hepburn dress";  or art - "Like a van Gogh in a museum, / It's look but don't / Touch."  Parallel structure strikes a chord in lines like "It was good / then it wasn't / He was nice / then he wasn't / I was okay / then I wasn't / We both loved / then we didn't."

Betsy Franco is a noted author who at the time Falling Hard was released, had published more than 80 books, including three previous anthologies.  I do not doubt that this volume would be a hit with teenagers while some of the adults in their lives may not be quite so enthusiastic.

Zombie Haiku - Poetry, Drama, Film and Response

1.  Mecum, Ryan.  Zombie Haiku.  Cincinnati, Ohio:  HOW Books, 2008.

2.  Overview.  The world is being taken over by zombies.  Contained within the pages of this book is the journal filled with haiku poems written by a newly converted zombie.  The zombie loses his arm to Chris, the last known human in the area, and clutched in his hand is a journal.  Chris begins writing in the journal, explaining the situation, and then finishing up with one final chilling haiku of his own.

3.  Critical Analysis.  What an interesting combination of reactions this little book holds for this middle-aged adult reader!  The poems themselves are really quite amazing.  That a whole story could be told in haiku (3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables respectively) is pretty unbelievable.  At first, I found myself counting syllables.  I suppose that is the English teacher in me.  And yes, I did find a mistake or two where the syllables weren't quite right.  But by the time I reached a fourth of the way into the book, the syllable counting was gone and I was focused on the story being told.  Apparently zombies have voracious appetites for fresh meat (as in human flesh), so most of the book tells the tale of the zombie's quest for food.  And this is where the mixed reactions come in.  This book is classified as humor, and I did find myself laughing as I simultaneously cringed.  Lines such as this

I can remember

good food that Mom used to make.

I bet Mom tastes good.



border somewhat on distasteful, until a few stanzas later I found

I loved my momma.

I eat her with my mouth closed,

how she would want it.

Then it really got almost too gross in its descriptions for me.  But I can sure imagine some of my high school boys eating this up (pun intended!).  It is definitely clever.  And no English teacher is going to try to analyze the heck out of this one.

Some additional characteristics of this book which add to the interest include gross zombie photos that appear to be taken with a polaroid and taped into the book.  Blood is splattered on many of the pages as the zombie has the book open to write his poems while feasting.  Some of the poems are written directly on the journal pages while some are typed or written on scraps of paper and taped in.  Older readers will realize they must suspend what is even possible in a zombie world when they are asked to believe that a zombie could write such brilliant haiku, let alone type some stanzas (where does the typewriter come from given that the zombie is traveling around looking for his next meal?) while taking pictures. 

The funniest part of all was getting to the end and discovering that Ryan Mecum is/was a youth pastor for a Presbyterian church in Cincinnati.  Somehow, that made perfect sense.  (I've worked with quite a few youth pastors in my time and they are definitely a crazy bunch of guys). 

If you "hunger" for more zombie haiku, take a tour of the website which includes zombie haikus sent in by other writers (check out the one sent by Billy Collins) and Mecum's own haikus mimicking what famous authors would have said had they written zombie haikus.  Fun!
http://zombiehaiku.com/

Interestingly, criticism of this book from recognizable sources that I often quote (Booklist, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly) are not to be found.  However, fans of everything zombie had plenty to say:

"Simply one of the best zombie reads of the year... If you have a taste for horror, this quirky little book is for you. But if you're a zombie fiend like myself, you should make it your single minded goal to seek out this book and digest then savor it." -- Mark. L Miller, Ain't It Cool News


"Ryan Mecum obviously knows his zombie films well, and his book tells a gory, violent story that will warm the veins of Romero fans." -- Rue Morgue Magazine

"A thoroughly unique and entertaining experience. Ryan Mecum has quite possibly found the only corner of entertainment not yet infected by the zombie plague--haiku--and made me wonder why it took this long, as the two seem to go together like zombies and brains. I highly recommend it to fans of all things zombie." -- Robert Kirkman, author of The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies

"The most inventive zombie book in years!" -- David Wellington, author of Monster Island

Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art - Poetry, Drama, Film and Response

1.  Greenberg, Jan (ed.).  Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art.  New York:  Henry N. Abrams, 2001.

2.  Overview.  Heart to Heart is a book of poems and art.  The poems were written by well-know poets, many of whom write for "young readers" and were inspired by famous works of American art, from paintings to sculpture to photographs.  Printed in pairs with the work of art on one page and the poem on the facing page, both poetry and art come alive in this volume.

3.  Critical Analysis.  Poetry is seeing a revival among young people.  Given the efforts of such poets as Robert Pinsky and Billy Collins, both U.S. Poet Laureates who began projects to bring poetry into schools, more and more young people are being exposed to quality poetry that is modern and engaging in addition to the classics that have traditionally dominated the English classroom.  This book continues the move by bringing quality art and poetry together into one place.  Called "ekphrasis" which is writing that is based on a work of art, these poems began with the art which inspired the words.  The poems cover a wide range of tones including humorous, reflective, sad, and playful.  While some poems are more challenging than others,  I would venture to say that most middle and high school students would find poems they would admit they like.  The art helps to support the meaning found in the words, so readers who believe they do not like poetry may find that the art helps them to construct meaning from the words more easily.

Older students who learned to love the verses of Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein in elementary school should be able to move to these more advanced poems with ease (assuming a misdirected English teacher doesn't use them for traditional analysis and explication, killing the joy of reading them before it has even had a chance to begin).  Perhaps because I'm an art museum junkie along with being a relatively recent convert to poetry, I label this volume as one of the best poetry books in my collection.  It will introduce students to both great artists - both visual and verbal. 

School Library Journal agrees.  "Each work of art is impeccably reproduced, the color and design are exceptional, and each poem is given room on the page to breathe. The art glows, the words reflect the images and create more light....If a picture book is defined as a marriage of word and art, then Heart to Heart is not only a wonderful poetry collection, but also a picture book of the highest quality."  The poems are grouped into four categories that are thoroughly explained in a well-written introduction by Greenberg:

• STORIES - poems that recall a memory or relate an anecdote
• VOICES - poems that assume the voice of the object or person depicted in the art
• IMPRESSIONS - poems that examine the elements of the artwork and present word pictures of what is contained there
• EXPRESSIONS - poems that explore aspects of the art and the artist

Other helpful features of this book include "Biographical Notes on Poets" and "Biographical Notes on Artists."  Each piece of art is captioned with the title of the work, the year and the medium.  Photographic credit for each art piece and poetry credits for each poem are printed at the end.

4.  Additional Resources

I created a book trailer for this book to be used during Teen Read Week.  This link should get you to the YouTube video.

Heart to Heart  Book Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzZ4_llRJQ

readwritethink - a site created by the joint efforts of the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English have a lesson plan for high school students on ekphrasis that includes Heart to Heart.

readwritethink lesson plan
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/ekphrasis-using-inspire-poetry-1093.html?tab=1#tabs

Six Days in October - History, Biography and Nonfiction

1.  Blumenthal, Karen.  Six Days in October:  The Stock Market Crash of 1929.  New York:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002.

2.  Overview.  Blumenthal takes readers through the first six days of the stock market crash of 1929.  She opens with an Introduction that covers the 1920s and goes up to Wednesday night, October 23, 1929, when rumors started to circulate of problems with the market.  Blumenthal then does an in-depth coverage of Black Thursday through Black Tuesday - October 24-29, 1929, by sequentially describing the events causing and following the crash.  A section on the immediate aftermath of October 30, 1929, is then followed by an Epilogue describing the effects from 1930 through 1933.

3.  Critical Analysis.  Many people, including myself, do not choose to read nonfiction for enjoyment.  However, this book goes on my list of one of my best reads of this year.  Some things I love about this book:

A.  I know very little about the ins and outs of the stock market, but Blumenthal's narrative made a very complicated concept mostly understandable.  (There are still some places where I'm fuzzy, but that's probably to be expected from someone who doesn't even do the home budget.)  Her tone is informative and geared toward younger readers (middle and high schoolers).  The narrative is sequential and logical. The style is energetic and helps readers feel the urgency of what was happening during the crash. 
B.  There are tons of support materials.  Reproductions of  documents, cartoons, advertisements, news clippings and photographs again help readers understand a very complicated concept.  The scope seems just right - the focus is on the six major days with the few years preceeding and following being discussed enough to provide context. 
C.  Text boxes that are separate from the narrative explain vocabulary terms/concepts in concrete ways.  Terms which have text box explanations include:  stock, stock exchange, bull and bear markets, opening gong, Dow Jones Industrial Average, bonds, brokerage house, plungers and pools, and stock split among others provide additional support for understanding terms that are used throughout the narrative. 
D.  Informational books can become dated very quickly.  However, because this informational book is about a historical event, it will not lose it's meaningfulness.  The information will not go out of date, and readers can gain better understanding of a major event in the history of the United States.  Understanding what happened in the past can help us understand the future as well.  As the stock market continues to experience major crashes, such as the ones in 1987 and 2008, understanding the original crash in 1929 can help us make sense of subsequent crashes that occur during our lifetime.

One thing that rather surprised me about the book is the way Blumenthal cites her sources.  Rather than internal citations or footnoted references, she presents a simple list of references, chapter by chapter, at the end of the book.  As Booklist noted, "Students using this for research may be frustrated by the source citations, which appear as an appended, generalized chapter-by-chapter listing of materials consulted rather than as specific notes that correspond to text passages."  It is impossible to tell what information came from where without looking up every source.  But this is the only weakness I notice in the book.

I'm old enough to have had relatives who lived during the stock market crash of 1929.  So reading about the actual facts of the events is interesting as I have heard grandparents describe what they remember as young people.  This was an event where they remembered where they were on October 24, 1929, much like 9/11 is for us today or the assassination of Kennedy for the generation preceeding mine.  The information presented in Blumenthal's book is a great addition to my knowledge as an adult.  For young people, particularly middle and high schoolers, this would be a great book to extend their learning after they see what their textbooks say on the topic.  Six Days in October is a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, an honor bestowed on the best informational literature for children each year. 

I have already recommended this book to others.  Interestingly, the others I've recommended it to are all adults.  The topic is so specific that I'm not sure I would think to recommend it to my high school students as just a general suggestion unless the topic came up.  However, with a little thought and a good book talk, the topic might be of interest to young people who love to read nonfiction.  Unfortunately, my school library does not have this book, so I will not be able to try out my theory any time soon.  But I personally feel much more informed for having read this book myself.

4.  Review Excerpts.
Publishers Weekly:  "This fast-paced, gripping (and all-too-timely) account of the market crash of October 1929 puts a human face on the crisis.  Blumenthal ably chronicles the six-day descent and exposes the personalities, backroom machinations and scandals while debunking several popular myths about the crash (e.g., that it caused mass suicide and the Great Depression). A compelling portrait of a defining moment in American history."

Booklist:  "But this still offers a riveting history, along with the basic terminology needed to grasp the events and to draw parallels between the volatile, sometimes corrupt, market of 1929 and the market today."

It's Not About the Bike - History, Biography and Nonfiction

1.  Armstrong, Lance, with Sally Jenkins.  It's Not About the Bike:  My Journey Back to Life.  New York:  G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2000.

2.  Overview.  Armstrong tells the story of finding out that he had cancer, and weaves the story of his fight to overcome the disease that threatened to kill him with a description of his rise to becoming the biking legend of the Tour de France.

3.  Critical Analysis.  This memoir/autobiography (I've seen it called both) tells the combined story of how Lance Armstrong became the world-class cyclist of legend while simultaneously battling testicular cancer which metastasized to his brain and lungs.  The focus of the book is on his life with cancer - from his diagnosis through the treatments and surgeries to his survival to become the greatest cyclist of all time.  The stories are told with amazing candidness.  It may not be a book for the squeamish as he describes medical treatments and side effects in detail.  Interwoven with the cancer treatment is the story of his rise through the ranks of the cycling world to become the world-class cyclist that would win the Tour de France seven years in a row after surviving such overwhelming odds.  His determination is admirable.  His dedication to the single mother who raised him amidst much hardship is beautiful.  Written in 2000, with only one tour win under his belt, he would go on to win six more, and the determination that he will do so is evident throughout the second half of the book where he discusses his treatments and then his experience in the first race. 

Many reviewers remark about how this book will be inspirational to coaches and athletes alike.  Amazon.com, for example, says, "Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color."  I agree that athletes and cancer victims/survivors alike will find many things to like about Armstrong's honest telling of his story. 

However, unfortunately, perhaps, reading this memoir changed my feelings about Armstrong.  I was one of the millions of people who watched the Tour de France and cheered Armstrong on during the years from 1999 to 2005 when he won those seven consecutive races.  However, his halo tarnished a bit during that time when he and his wife divorced in 2003.  She seemed so devastated by the dissolution of her marriage after five years while he did not.  Then this past spring of 2011, reports began to surface about the fact that a grand jury had been convened to investigate allegations of doping among Armstrong's team during the years of their competition in the Tour de France.  What a deeply disappointing thing to discover that this dream team may not have been competing fairly.  Then this memoir revealed to me a man who is and always has been self-centered and critical.  For example, his continuous criticism of Plano East High School as being an unaccepting, horrible place if you were anything but rich began to grate.  (I'm a long-time resident of Garland, Texas, a neighboring Dallas suburb to Plano, and both my nieces graduated from Plano East.  They're not rich, but they didn't see the school in the same light).  The fact that he becomes angry and then simply refuses to speak to the person again for years, such as his falling out with Richardson Bike Mart owner and sponsor Jim Hoyt points to his overwhelming need to be right even when he's not.  He was extremely critical of his birth father, and his step-father, and with good reason, but at some point I just wanted to tell Armstrong, "OK, but enough's enough.  Time to let it go."   Perhaps this is just the way focused athletes are.  Artists of all kinds tend to the be same way.  But not everyone falls into the trap of self-centeredness, and being an athlete or artist seems to be an excuse for bad behavior.     In spite of his work with cancer patients and setting up his foundation to fund cancer research, I found him to be someone I don't think I would really like if I knew him in person.  So all in all, the memoir was interesting, but I don't plan to read any other books by him.

Yet I can say that the chapters are well-written.  Sally Jenkins, his co-author, may be the one to take the credit for that.  She is a veteran sports reporter and author/co-author of several sports books and autobiographies.  The writing style is conversational and easy to follow which makes for a quick read.  Sixteen pages of photos in the center of the book provide interesting visual support for the text. 

Would I recommend this book to my high school students?  Definitely.  Just because I find that I probably don't like the man doesn't mean I don't admire the athlete and respect his tenacity in fighting for his life in more ways than one.  I believe many high schoolers would be inspired to stick it out when the going gets really tough, and many, many of the high schoolers I work with have a very rough go of it, albeit in different ways than Armstrong experienced.  And while the jury is literally still out about the doping allegations, I hope they aren't true; although, I wonder if we'll ever know for sure or could ever really be without a nagging doubt about it. 

4.  Review Excerpts.
Amazon.com:  "People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity."

Publishers Weekly:  "The book features a disarming and spotless prose style, one far above par for sports memoirs. Bicycle-racing fans will enjoy the troves of inside information and the accounts of competitions, but Armstrong has set his sights on a wider meaning and readership: 'When I was sick I saw more beauty and triumph and truth in a single day than I ever did in a bike race.'"

School Library Journal:  "This fabulous tribute to the strength of the human spirit is an inspiration to everyone."

Booklist:  "Readers will respond to the inspirational recovery story, and they will appreciate the behind-the-scenes cycling information."

King of the Mild Frontier - History, Biography, and Nonfiction

1.  Crutcher, Chris.  King of the Mild Frontier:  An Ill-Advised Autobiography.  New York:  Greenwillow Books, 2003.

2.  Overview.  In this autobiography of young adult author Chris Crutcher, Crutcher takes us through many of his memories growing up as the middle of three children.  Told in the same humorous style as his novels, this autobiography is engaging as he takes us through episodes involving his family, particularly his older brother John who convinced him to do "neat" things such as be the decoy for a life-size shooting gallery while the brother aims at him with a BB gun, or pee down the heat register grate that is in the middle of the living room floor one cold winter day when the furnace beneath it is hot.  Chris recounts the story of the year John convinced him that "esus" was the older, secret brother of Jesus after the J fell off a plaque that read "Jesus Saves"  along with many others that will have readers chuckling throughout the book.

3.  Critical Analysis.  Autobiographies are interesting - on one hand, we may have the idea that maybe we'll get the "real truth" for a change since the person who is telling the story is the person to whom the events actually happened.  However, the person telling the story may want certain people or events to look "better" than they actually did, or they may leave some things they consider to be unflattering out altogether.  But in the case of this particular autobiography, the author makes no claim to be telling "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."  In fact, on the copyright page, Crutcher makes the following claim, "Memory is selective and by nature faulty.  That statement is probably doubly true for my memory.  Add to that my penchant for exaggeration and the fact that I have changed some of the names for obvious reasons, and you have a memoir that may not stand up to close historical scrutiny.  So be it."  And that disclaimer is the first clue that the text the reader is about to enter is one filled with absolutely wonderful storytelling, with the great part being that most of it is at least mostly true. 

Crutcher tells his stories in great storytelling fashion.  In fact, Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL published a review that stated, "Move over Garrison Keillor, David Sedaris ... An honest to goodness gut buster!!!"  Humor, always one of Crutcher's strong suits, is plentiful in this collection of reminiscences.  The people are portrayed as characters and the plot and setting are described in ways that draw the reader into the stories.  I would guess there would be few people who are from multi-sibling families who would not read Crutchers descriptions of the events of his childhood and not think of similar stories regarding their own brothers and sisters, while laughing along with the Crutcher boys' antics.  While some of his sentences are convoluted and difficult to follow (I stopped several times to reread sentences that didn't make sense on the first time through them), the writing overall is easy to follow.

So how much of the stories can be believe are true?  Who knows.  Perhaps we would need to talk to his older brother John to try to start figuring that out - and then it would be a task of guessing where in the middle the "truth" really lays, I'm sure!  But as readers, we don't really have to care how true the stories really are.  The beauty of this autobiography is in the knowledge that one of the best storytellers of Young Adult fiction is going to regale us with stories from his own past, and that we are going to gain some insight into where the ideas for several of his novels and short stories have come from.

Crutcher is my current favorite young adult author.  I reviewed his novel Ironman in the October 22, 2011 blog, and I have also read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Athletic Shorts.  Because his characters tend to show up in more than one story (they can be the main character in one novel or short story, and a supporting actor in another), it is great fun to find out where he got his ideas for some of them.  What it doesn't answer very well - as he addresses in the Epilogue - is how he went from wimpy kid to athlete, and why he uses sports as the backdrop for the settings of all his stories (but not so much so that those who aren't big sports fans would be put off).  Nevertheless, reading about his childhood is a perfect way to spend a dreary, wintry day while curled up under the comforter in a favorite chair. 

On the inside flap of the front cover, the last line says, ". . .you will close this book, close your eyes and hold it to your chest, and say, 'I, too, can be an author.'  Hell, anyone can."  Which is not the feeling I was left with.  As an English teacher and former student writer, I was left with the thought, "I have nothing to write about. Heck, nothing interesting like that ever happened to me!"  And that is a testament to the storytelling expertise of one of YA's best authors.  He can make even the events of a boy's every day life into interesting fodder for a book I didn't want to put down. 

However, near the end, Crutcher shifts gears and provides insight as to how his work as a therapist with abused and neglected children as well as abusive parents has influenced his writing, including why he has been willing to write in a manner that has placed him in USA Today's top-ten banned authors (along with Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain).  He also describes what a hero is based on that work.  "I think heroes aren't defined so much by what they do 'right' as by how they respond to what they do 'wrong.'"

Crutcher finishes up on the last page:  "In my youth I could never have imagined seeing my name on a book unless I had carved it there with a sharp instrument," but lucky for us, his name is now on many.


4.  Review Excerpts.
Booklist Starred Review:  "This honest, insightful, revealing autobiography is a joy to read. Crutcher's fans will relish this intimate glimpse of the author, and the book may win some new readers for his fiction."

Publishers Weekly Starred Review:  "Readers will clasp this hard-to-put-down book to their hearts even as they laugh sympathetically."

School Library Journal:  "Tough and tender reminiscences focus primarily on family, social, and school conflicts, but lessons derived from his career as a teacher, therapist, and writer are also described. Hyperbole lightens the mood as the author portrays himself as a young crybaby, academic misfit, and athletic klutz, utterly without self-aggrandizement. Abrupt transitions, some convoluted sentences, and nonlinear progression may challenge some readers, but the narrative holds undeniable appeal for the author's fans and demonstrates the power of writing to help both reader and writer heal emotional/psychic wounds."

Twilight - Fantasy and Science Fiction

1.  Meyer, Stephanie.  Twilight.  New York:  Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

2.  Plot Summary.  Bella Swan has moved in with her father who lives in Forks, Washington.  As she tries to settle in and get used to moving from sunny Arizona to rainy, overcast Forks, she notices the Cullen family at school - an odd group of siblings who seem to stick to themselves.  Bella has a class with Edward, the handsome youngest son of Dr. Carlisle and Esme Cullen, and he has taken special notice of her.  As she gets to know Edward, Bella's obsession with him grows until she can't stay away from him.  She has also begun to figure out how Edward and his brothers and sisters are different; although, she can hardly believe it's true.  Edward does everything he possibly can to repel Bella, knowing it's what he needs to do to keep her safe, but he's obsessed, too, but for a very different reason.  Edward and his family are vampires, and Edward is drawn toward the scent of Bella's blood in a way he has never experienced before.  Even though Edward and his family are "vegetarians" and only drink animal blood, it's not safe for her to be with him, but neither of them can resist the attraction that pulls them together.

3.  Critical Analysis.  I long ago read The Vampire Diaries series and enjoyed it well enough; however, I felt that they had provided enough vampire reading for a lifetime.  Then one friend, and then another, and then another, asked if I'd read Twilight.  After I'd said no repeatedly, just to be told how much I would love it, I decided it was time to give it a try.  Those friends were right, I loved the book, and proceeded to read all four volumes in the course of a few days over a long holiday weekend. 

As the idea of vampires would suggest, Twilight is a fantasy with fantastical beings mingling among the humans without their knowledge.  Vampires and werewolves live undetected with the humans, and other than the fact that they're a little different from everyone else, no one seems to really take note of just how different.  So as with any fantasy tale, the reader must suspend belief in what makes sense to appreciate the story.  But that's not difficult in this series.

So for a reader who will consistently say that fantasy is not my cup of tea, what made this novel noteworthy? 

1.  For a story that involves the supernatural, the characters are completely believable and engaging.  Edward is the mysterious stranger; Bella the naive girl-next-door.  Meyer does a nice job of making their pull toward each other very believable.  The plot is easy to follow, unlike much of "high fantasy" that is filled with weird, unpronouncable people and places with strange characteristics that sometimes make fantasy hard for me to follow (I just don't want to work that hard when I read for pleasure).  She deftly sets up the meeting between Bella and Edward, and does a smooth job of laying out the clues Bella uses to figure out the mystery of Edward.  (And just when the reader thinks that the vampire characters are far-out enough, she plops in the werewolves in the form of Jacob's clan, Bella's Native American neighbors in Book Two New Moon).

I enjoyed the twist on vampires that Meyers incorporates into her stories.  They don't live in coffins during the day; they don't dissolve in sunlight; they aren't all blood-sucking demons.  Come to find out - much to my enjoyment - vampires sparkle in the sunlight which makes it obvious that they are seriously different, so they must avoid it.  To kill a vampire, one does not need silver bullets, crosses, stakes, or garlic - one simply needs to pull it apart and burn the pieces before they have a chance to pull themselves back together.  She incorporates similarly different characteristics for her werewolves.  These differences make this series not just another vampire story, which I found refreshing and fun.

Edward fills the role of a fantasy hero nicely.  He and his family operate within a framework of morality with compassion for their human neighbors and a need to "make up for" their nature.  Although they do not drink blood from humans, they still feel responsible to their human friends to go beyond what is truly necessary to look after them. 

2.  The plot is exciting.  As in classic fantasy, Twilight centers around a quest - Bella's quest to have the relationship that seems to be starcrossed at every turn.  The plot involved flux - the characters are involved in a world that is turned upside down by the deeds of a group of bad vampires that the Cullens must fight in order to protect their community and Bella in particular.  But even with the implausible events, the action is ongoing and creates tension and apprehension. 

3.  The setting "makes sense" - it's not on some unheard-of planet with unexpected properties.  It's Forks, Washington, a real live place where generally the reader can expect the expected.  The setting is described in detail enough to make sense why the Cullens would choose to live there - it's the city in the U.S. with the least number of days of sunshine.  And since it turns out that vampires do not die in sunlight, they simply can't reveal themselves in it, living in a perpetually cloudy, rainy city is perfect.  They can participate in the daily life of the community this way which makes the story much more enjoyable than if the only action could be at night.

Young adults love the story.  Of course, as would be expected, it's a story that will appeal to girls. Many young reviewers shared their feelings about the debut novel on Stephanie Meyer's website (http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_reviews.html). "Stephenie Meyer's first novel Twilight is a gripping journey through the united worlds of fantasy and high school. As soon as I started reading Twilight, I couldn't stop. The plot is the thing that led me to the book in the start. Boy meets girl, girl likes boy, boy turns out to be a vampire. The characters are so vivid, so intense, that you feel like if you look up from the pages Isabella or Edward or Alice is going to be staring at you. This suspenseful novel leaves me with one question... Is there going to be a second?"  Kelly, 15  Now that the four books are out, I'm sure Kelly would join me in saying that once you start, chances are you will not want to put the books down until you have finished the series.  Book 3 Eclipse was my favorite of the four, with the final installment being a disappointment, but that's a different blog!  It doesn't deter me for joining my friends to ask, "Have you read Twilight yet?  You should!"

4.  Review Excerpts.


Amazon.com:  "Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. . . .The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction."

Publisher's Weekly starred review: "The main draw here is Bella's infatuation with outsider Edward, the sense of danger inherent in their love, and Edward's inner struggle—a perfect metaphor for the sexual tension that accompanies adolescence. These will be familiar to nearly every teen, and will keep readers madly flipping the pages of Meyer's tantalizing debut."


Entertainment Weekly:  "The world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice." 

Feed - Fantasy and Science Fiction

1.  Anderson, M. T.  Feed.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press, 2002.

2.  Plot Summary.  Titus and his friends head to the moon for spring break to find something to do so they don't have to stay home where they will be expected to complete chores and be bored.  While there, Titus meets Violet, a girl who at first seems like the rest of them.  However, as Titus gets to know Violet back at home, it becomes evident that she is actually quite different.  Each of the young adults has a "feed" implanted in his or her brain which sends them a constant barrage of advertising and information, and Violet is trying to fight the feed and teach Titus the importance of thinking for himself.  Unfortunately, Violet's feed is degenerating and her father doesn't have the money for repairs, and it becomes obvious that Violet will not survive if it is not fixed.  Violet races to teach Titus what she believes is important about life while he attempts to cope with losing someone he has begun to love. 

3.  Critical Analysis.  Feed is a dystopic, futuristic story which presents a grim, all-too-possible scenario of the future.  Part of the "cyberpunk" type of science fiction, it deals with the power of communication, particularly power used to manipulate people."  (See reference at end of this section).  Many people are implanted with a "feed" that reads and stores information about each of them and creates personalized advertising and news for each of them in return.  Additionally, keeping in touch with friends and family can be done instantaneously and without effort.  Having the feed eliminates the need to read; however, it also takes over basic body functions such as breathing and muscle movement.  Imagine a world where it is possible to have an internet feed sent directly to the brain 24/7, and that might sound pretty nice.  No need to sit at a computer or pull out a smart phone.  However, in this satire, Violet tries to show Titus, this may not be the best thing.  She is fighting the feed and encouraging him to do the same thing.  Unfortunately, she has little time as she realizes that her feed is not working well and is continuing to get worse.

This futuristic fantasy definitely has the creepiness factor that has been seen in other futuristic novels such as 1984 or Farenheit 451.  Big brother is not only watching, but he is constantly feeding information to the public to influence beliefs, purchasing, and behavior.  Perhaps what makes these kinds of novels feel so weird is how we see bits and pieces of them in action now:  e-mail using data mining technology to "read" our e-mails and create personalized advertising strips along the edges; parents keeping up with their children through GPS devices in their teens' phones or even through direct implants in their younger children for tracking them in the event of a kidnapping; the justice system keeping track of house arrest prisoners with devices that are impossible to remove without setting them off.  People have 24/7 access to others through smart phones, iPads, and other devices that are almost instantaneous in their communication capabilities.  So having an implant in the brain where it all happens automatically doesn't seem that far fetched. 

However, not everyone is able to afford the same level of quality.  Violet's system was cheaper because it is what her dad could afford, and when it goes awry, he doesn't have the ability to have the necessary repairs done.  They petition the company for help; however, their request is rejected.  Starts sounding a bit like health insurance, or the legal system - if you have the money, you can be taken care of, but if you don't, then too bad.  The constant noise that happens in the minds of those who have the Feed is another issue for some of them, while not a big deal to others.  In a world where some of us need quiet time but find it difficult to turn off the noise, the idea of such a constant barrage of information is scary indeed.  Just try to find a restaurant that doesn't have a TV blaring in every corner and that thought is definitely disturbing.  Newsday's review summarizes these thoughts well: “As with the best futuristic fiction, it’s scary how little needs to be exaggerated.”

M. T. Anderson' Blog (http://mt-anderson.com/blog/his-books/books-for-teens-and-adults/feed-2/) gives some interesting back-story to the novel which was written in 2001 before some of the technology of today was even in existence.  However, Anderson remarks, "It is out of the memory of my anger as a teen at the bullying maneuvers of “youth marketing” that I wrote the book – but also out of the knowledge that even now, I’m part of this system of desire. I still can’t get out of my head the images of who I’m supposed to be."  That love/hate relationship with hyper-marketing created the story that became the novel Feed.

Nilsen, Aleen Pace, and Kenneth L. Donelson. Literature for Today's Young Adults.  (8th ed.)  New York:  Pearson, 2009.

4.  Review Excerpts.
“This satire offers a thought-provoking and scathing indictment that may prod readers to examine the more sinister possibilities of corporate- and media-dominated culture.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Satire at its finest.” – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Brilliant … Relentlessly funny . . .” – Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review

“M.T. Anderson has created the perfect device for an ingenious satire of corporate America and our present-day value system…Like those in a funhouse mirror, the reflections the novel shows us may be ugly and distorted, but they are undeniably ourselves.” – The Horn Book, starred review

“Merciless and very clever.” — The New Yorker

“This dystopic vision is dark but quite believable. Sad and strong and scary.” – Chicago Tribune

Missing Angel Juan - Fantasy and Science Fiction

1.  Block, Francesca Lia.  Missing Angel Juan.  New York:  Harper Trophy, 1993.

2.  Plot Summary.  Witch Baby and Angel Juan have been together since they were kids.  Now, suddenly, Angel Juan tells Witch Baby that he feels the need to go to New York to pursue his music by himself.  Devastated, Witch Baby, eventually goes to New York to try to find Angel Juan to either be with him there or to bring him back home.  With nothing to go on but one postcard which she received from him, Witch Baby sets off to find Angel Juan, which is like finding a needle in a haystack.  Assisted by the ghost of her "almost grandfather" and a host of unusual characters and fantastical objects (a magic camera, for example), Witch Baby scours the streets of New York looking for the love of her life and the meaning of her existence.

3.  Critical Analysis.  Missing Angel Juan is part of the "Weetzie Bat" series, which has received much critical acclaim, including awards such as "ALA Best Book for Young Adults,"  "School Library Journal Best Book," and "ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers."  Reviews often focus on Block's writing.  The New York Times says, "The writing continues to dazzle" and Sassy states "As always, Francesca Lia Block's writing is a dream - minimalist yet poetic."  When it comes to Block's prose, I would agree:  "Morning.  Strawberry sky dusted with white winter powder-sugar sun.  And nobody to munch on it with."  (p. 37)  In reading reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, which are written by readers of all ages, I discovered this work to be many readers' favorite Witch Baby book.  When comparing it to other Weetzie Bat books, readers felt this one developed the character of Witch Baby better than other stories that involve her.  For example, from Goodreads, Cera commented, "My favourite of the Weetzie Bat books; it's Witch Baby's coming of age, and does a pitch-perfect job of being a fairy tale in which the fantasy elements dramatise psychological development."  I found the character of Witch Baby to be unusual.  She is wearing rollerskates all around New York City as she searches for Angel Juan, but the unusual part of that for me is that fact that she doesn't seem to have any shoes with her at all.  She is either wearing the skates or she's wearing nothing but socks and her feet are freezing, and her tangled mass of hair and purple eyes paint a pictures of a teen who is vastly different from the "average" young adult in a way that makes her both interesting and odd.

This story flows in and out of reality.  Witch Baby is staying in the abandoned apartment of her "almost grandfather," and his ghost continues to reside inside.  He leads her around the city, in and out of real and fantastical places inhabited by real people and ghosts.  The movement in and out of reality and fantasy is seamless.  As such, it makes the creepy ending when Witch Baby discovers Angel Juan in the basement filled with the mannequin children difficult to understand.  What exactly is going on?  It reminds me of the horror movie "House of Wax" with Vincent Price where the sculptures are actually made out of real people, but it's difficult to tell if the mannequin children are all filled with the real children or not.  I think so, but in some cases their are several mannequins that are based on the same child, and Angel Juan is one of the children that has been reproduced numerous times.  However, the night after escaping from the macabre place, Witch Baby asks Angel Juan who the man was.  "'He was our fear,' says Angel Juan.  'My fear of love and yours of being alone.  But we don't need him anymore.'"  I'm confused.

The structure of the story is done in an interesting way.  Scattered through the book are letters Witch Baby has written to Angel Juan.  Again, there is some confusion on my part as to when she wrote the letters - they include information about what is happening at the moment, so it is unclear whether she wrote the letters after the story is finished, before it started and it just fits here, or whether we readers must seriously suspend our understanding of the convention of letter-writing and know that this is just a way for Block to convey information in an interesting and unusual way.  However, I found one of Witch Baby's letters about what is meant by the phrase "soul mates" to be particularly interesting.  The concept of soul mates is the topic and it's a topic under constant discussion in TV, movies, other stories, and conversation - whether or not we believe in soul mates, how do we know if we've found our soul mate, etc.  I found Witch Baby's thoughts on soul mates to be interesting:  "your souls get married without even meaning to - even if you can't be together for some reason in real life, your souls just go ahead and make the wedding plans."  Perhaps an intriguing explanation for why so many people seem unhappy in their marriages - their souls are actually married elsewhere when the physical marriage didn't work out for some reason. 

If asked if I like the Weetzie Bat books, I would have to say no.  The stories are on the weird side to me.  Generally in fantasy where the reader must suspend their beliefs, the plots still seem cohesive, and even with odd, unpronounceable names of people and places, the characters are mostly believable and the conflicts and resolutions are understandable.  I find this not to be the case with the Weetzie Bat books.  While I haven't read them all, this is my third one, and I cannot say I liked any of them.  Perhaps it is simply my age.  This will be my last attempt to read books from the Weetzie Bat series barring any school reading that requires me to break that pledge to myself.  However, if the positive comments from critics and reader alike are any indication, I'm definitely in the minority.

4.  Review Excerpts.
School Library Journal:  "Missing Angel Juan is an engagingly eccentric mix of fantasy and reality, enhanced-this time-by mystery and suspense. It is also magical, moving, mischievous, and-literally-marvelous. It establishes, once again, that Block is a brilliant visionary who imagines worlds where paradise is a possibility; where every sight and sound is a blessing; and where love, in its infinite varieties, is both humankind's natural estate and heart-magic strong enough to redeem any loss."


Booklist:  "This third story in the Weetzie Bat saga exhibits Block's ability to combine romantic language, poetic slang, and character eccentricity into a viable plot (complete with tree spirits, a "truth" camera, and sexual passion); and it packs an emotional wallop that makes it a strong choice for young adults."

Kirkus Reviews:  "In her fourth book, Block's lyrical interplay of leitmotifs and artful allusions (statues, mannequins, drag queens; photos, mirrors, ghosts; pimps, wholesale butchers, vegetarians; and, of course, angels) continues to be uniquely fascinating and provocative."

Notes from the Dog - Adventure, Sports and Mystery

1.  Paulsen, Gary.  Notes from the Dog.  New York:  Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.

2.  Plot Summary.  Fourteen-year-old Finn is looking forward to the summer when he won't have to talk to anyone.  He has set a goal of talking to no more than a dozen people for the entire summer break, with a life goal of getting a job where he doesn't have to talk to anyone.  He just doesn't feel comfortable with people.  And then Johanna, a college student, moves in next door to housesit for the summer.  She hires Finn to plant a garden, and suddenly he is talking to people left and right, much to his consternation.  However, Johanna has breast cancer, and as she trains to participate in a triathlon geared to raise money for breast cancer research, Finn begins to realize how important people really are to living a fulfilled life.

3.  Critical Review.  Gary Paulsen is king of the adventure story for Young Adults.  When I think of Paulsen, I think of stories that are set in the wilderness with one of the major conflicts being man vs. nature.   Notes from the Dog is one of his novels that does not fit in this category, though there is a dog.  Finn lives in the suburbs, and his dog is a border collie who starts bringing Finn notes such as, "You're not as ugly as you think."  Finn figures out quickly the notes are from Johanna and is surprised to realize later, after he receives the fifth and last one, that they have had a positive effect on his self-confidence. 

I found the handling of the cancer part of the story to be sensitively done; however, I also thought it was handled somewhat unrealistically with Johanna being almost too upbeat all the time.  Yet she does have issues with nausea (she throws up all over Finn and his buddy Matthew after one of her chemo treatments), and she's obviously ill as Finn notices how thin and pale she is along with the fact that they discover her red hair is actually a wig.  A review in VOYA agrees when the reviewer says, "in this book, the dialogue and story line seem a little too pleasant and the lives of the teens lack any real angst or conflict outside the horrors of Johanna's chemo side effects."   The same reviewer makes a note of the fact that this book is written for boys and states, "Given the brevity of the book and its inclination to be a book for boys, it could be recommended to reluctant readers."  Brief it is.  At 132 pages, this is an easy read that might appeal to middle school readers - both boys and girls.   The characters are in junior high, and have the feeling of being younger than high school, and the conflict is definitely light.  Finn's journey from self-proclaimed loner to integrated member of a budding community lacks the emotional conflict that most 14-year-olds endure when they are experiencing an upheaval of their world.

Nevertheless, this book is Paulsen, and I have yet to read a Paulsen novel that disappoints.  Matt Campbell, Grade 8, describes reading Gary Paulsen novels in this way, "While reading Gary Paulsen's books I get the feeling that he shares my feelings about animals. I enjoy reading his books so much because of how he describes everything, and makes you feel like you are the main character."  
(http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/professional-development/childlit/paulsen1.html)  I find this to be true of all of the Paulsen novels I have read.  The characters are well-developed, and it is easy to find myself lost in the plots, often unwilling to put the book down until I have finished it.  However, for readers who love Paulsen for novels such as Hatchet and the Brian books, The Foxman, or Dogsong, this novel may feel just a little too "tame."  But for experienced Paulsen readers who understand at the outset that this story will be a different type of adventure, Notes from the Dog will provide a stepping stone to enjoying the eclectic mix of excellent stories Gary Paulsen creates. 

4.  Review Excerpts

Publishers Weekly:   "The plot is straightforward, but Paulsen's thoughtful characters are compelling and their interactions realistic. This emotional, coming-of-age journey about taking responsibility for one's own happiness and making personal connections will not disappoint."

Children's Literature:  "Gary Paulsen has written another treasure, but the challenge this time is not weather or wildlife but befriending a young woman with cancer."

School Library Journal:  "Paulsen's fans may miss his trademarks: the notorious exploits of boys, the page-turning wilderness adventures, or the sled dogs that often take center stage. Yet this candid and tender tale, told with his signature humor, is a salute to the bravest of the brave."

Ironman - Adventure, Sports and Mystery

1. Crutcher, Chris. Ironman. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1995.

2. Plot Summary. Bo Brewster doesn’t get along with his father – at all. He doesn’t get along with his English teacher, and ex-football coach, Mr. Redmond, either. All his anger lands him in Mr. Nak’s Anger Management class as a condition of returning to school after a suspension. At first, Bo is afraid of attending the early-morning group. He’s not like the kids in that group - they’re seriously disturbed, truly criminal, definitely weird. However, given that his choices are very limited, Bo consents and joins the group which turns out to be a life-changing experience. As Bo trains for the Yukon Jack triathlon and goes to Anger Management, he learns more about life than he ever expected.

3. Critical Analysis. Chris Crutcher is known as a Young Adult author who writes “sports adventures.” While sports is always an element of the setting and plot, sports really simply provides a backdrop for delivering powerful stories of young adults who are facing fairly serious obstacles. Crutcher’s prose is a fabulous combination of serious intensity and entertaining humor. One minute he’s delivering a line to live life by (“if I ever want to see how something works, look at it broken”) and the next he has readers chuckling with his descriptions of the characters actions. And the characters are a strong suit of this novel. The eccentric kids in “Nak’s Pack” – the Anger Management group – are definitely the weird, scary group Bo thought they would be, but Crutcher develops each one so that he or she is a dynamic character, changing as the group progresses, and they all find out they are not so different from each other after all. Even very minor characters, such as Lonnie Gerback, one of Bo’s competitors in the triathlon who surprisingly switches bikes with Bo for the race to help Bo gain an edge he’ll need for the race, is a nicely drawn character who moves the plot along. As a teacher, I’d love to have Mr. Nak’s insight into life and the knack of saying just the right thing at the right time, which while somewhat unrealistic, might make any reader wish he had that teacher in high school.

The primary theme of how father/son relationships affects both the fathers and the sons is played with a fairly heavy hand. Not only is there the conflict between Bo and his father, but dysfunctional relationships with fathers is the underlying issue with most of Nak’s Pack. While some may think that the character of Bo’s father is unrealistic, he definitely reminds me of a father I know, though thankfully not my own! I’m sure many teenagers have parents like Bo’s father, as well as some of the other fathers described in a sad light. The good relationship that exists between Lonnie and his father, which has a positive impact on Bo’s participation in the triathlon, exists in the distant background, providing just a hint of a reason to be optimistic that not all fathers are jerks (or worse).

Teenage readers will surely find themselves experiencing some of the same feelings as the kids in Nak’s Pack, even if their lives are relatively good. I can’t imagine anyone reading the book without being on the edge of his seat waiting to see how the triathlon works out. I believe readers will love the humor, the strength and perseverance of the young adult characters who are fighting against many things that are not fair. Bo leaves readers feeling hope that even though life doesn’t go the way they want it too, they can still turn out all right and have a positive impact on the world around them.

4. Review Excerpts.

Publisher’s Weekly: “the narrative crackles along in the author's inimitable style”

School Library Journal: “Powerful, perceptive, and wickedly funny.”

Booklist: “With its highly charged intensity channeled into riveting prose, an array of eccentric and strong characterizations, and dramatic plot climax (messagey conclusion notwithstanding), Ironman is a combination of the psychological and the sports novel at their best.”

Teenreads.com: “Chris Crutcher is a master when it comes to capturing the essence of intelligent teen angst. His prose is crisp, funny and fast moving. His characters have genuine depth and undeniable heart. . . . It is bright, thoughtful young adult fiction at its best.”

The Terrorist - Adventure, Sports and Mystery

1. Cooney, Caroline B. The Terrorist. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997.

2. Plot Summary. Sixteen-year-old Laura Williams and her family have moved to London for one year while her father closes the Eurpoean offices of the floundering company he works for. She and her eleven-year-old brother Billy attend the London International Academy with students from all over the world. One day, on their way to school, Billy is handed a package, and too late, realizes that it is a bomb. In order to protect the people in the crowded tube entrance, he curls himself around the box just before it explodes, killing him. Laura, not ever one to pay attention to world events, is suddenly thrust into a reality that involves terrorism as she fights to discover who killed her brother, and why.

3. Critical Analysis. Caroline Cooney has long been one of my favorite authors for young adults. Her novels include sympathetic characters caught up in over-the-top adventure that most people will never experience. In this story, there is a combination of adventure and mystery as Laura spends the novel trying to figure out who killed her brother and finds that she suspects everyone and trusts no one. As the story unfolds, Laura's character is developed through her interactions with her classmates, students from around the world. She seems to be the only teenager who doesn't know, and doesn't care, how the relationships between various countries affects the relationships among the students at the school, and she realizes quickly that her ignorance hinders her ability to think through who may be responsible. As might be predicted, her naivete also leads her into trouble. Interestingly, the characterization of Laura seems to be developed more weakly than I expect from Cooney's protagonists. The reader actually learns more about Billy through his family's reactions and responses to various stimuli as the proceed through a fog of trauma after his death, and I found myself enjoying the development of Billy much more than the development of Laura.

As a mystery, the plot itself includes plenty of characters who are possible suspects; however, none of them is developed very fully, and when Laura becomes involved with the actual terrorist, she seems to be the only one who doesn't realize it. The storyline is thin as Laura decides to hone in on her classmates and goes from person to person, annoying and frustrating most of them.  When the terrorist is finally known, the terrorist's motivation is unclear, and so is her connection to the people whom Laura had met living with her.

While this story has verisimilitude - enough reality to convince the reader that the story is plausible - it is simply not as engaging as the stories I've come to love from Cooney. The plot and amateur detective work of Laura is not intricate enough to create the suspense that is so captivating in some of Cooney's other novels. While her classmates get annoyed with Laura, I as the reader am annoyed as well. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of annoyance that Cooney may have intended.  Her family's grief over Billy's death as they insist on remaining in London despite the pleading from family, business associates, and the London police to return to the States will bring an occasional tear but not the tension and anxiety Cooney fans love. 

What started as excitement over the fact that I was "required" to read a Caroline Cooney novel for homework fizzled into a bit of disappointment at it not being one of her best novels. Absent are the fast-moving plot and quick-thinking teenagers of novels such as Flight #116 is Down and Flash Fire. Absent are the characters that are dynamic and sympathetic such as Janie in The Face on the Milk Carton series. Absent are the twists and turns that keep the reader wanting to turn the pages until the conflicts are resolved. The best chapter is Chapter One when we meet Billy and discover that he has been the target of a terrorist that results in his death at the end of the chapter.  The best parts of the remaining chapters are when characters reminisce about what Billy was like, or when they think about how he was likely to act or feel in the current situation. 

The cover art was done by Tim O'Brien, husband of Elizabeth Parisi, Executive Art Director at Scholastic. It is a beautifully painted package wrapped in brown paper, intricately tied with twine, and complete with the cheap cellophane tape that Billy mentions in Chapter One. The cover art wraps completely around the front and back covers and the spine in one unbroken picture. O'Brien is also the creator of the cover art for The Hunger Games series from Scholastic. A gifted artist, O'Brien's work is worth checking out at his website  http://www.obrienillustration.com/ and his blog  http://www.drawger.com/tonka/?

4.  Review Excerpts. 

teenreads.com:  "Underneath the action, suspense, and the seemingly ordinary life of an American teenager in an English school is the sorrow and the confusion that only the violent death of a son and a brother can cause in a family's life."

School Library Journal:  "Indeed, readers come to know the short-lived Billy better than many of the other characters, including the vaguely draw villain, whose motivation is never really clear. Cynicism rather than honor is the victor at the tale's conclusion; it ends not with a bang, but a whimper."

Kirkus Reviews:  "The novel isn't perfect: Laura's transformation from a self-involved ``ugly'' American abroad to vengeful paranoiac is fairly convincing, although readers may have trouble getting past their initial dislike of her and her self-satisfied oblivion. While most of the characters are as real as their grief--making human choices, and suffering the consequences--others simply fade out of the story, and the culprit is based more on a stereotype than on logic. If the novel requires a few big leaps of faith, readers will be glad they stayed with it, and will be caught up in exciting, compulsive reading."

Speak - Realism, Romance and Censorship

1.  Anderson, Laurie Halse.  Speak.  New York:  Scholastic, 1999.

2.  Plot Summary.  "I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude.  And I don't have anyone to sit with.  I am Outcast."  So begins the story of Melinda.  A few weeks before school is to start, she attends a party where many high school kids are celebrating the last glorious days of summer.  However, Melinda calls the police to come break up the party.  Everyone knows she did it, but no one knows why.  And she's not telling - anyone.  So when school finally begins, Melinda is a marginalized member of a class who knows she ruined everyone's fun.   As the year progresses, Melinda finally begins to find ways to express her frustrations and fears through art, and when the students in her class find out what really happened at that party, Melinda's year of being unable to speak is finally over.

3.  Critical Analysis.  Anderson hooks readers immediately with the first few paragraphs in her novel.  Melinda is an outcast, and it becomes quickly evident that something is going on besides the angst that goes along with the first day of high school.  Something has happened that has caused her friends to reject her, and Melinda isn't talking to anyone about what it was.  In fact, Melinda is not talking much at all.  For her entire freshman year, Melinda rarely says a word to anyone.  The only place where she feels comfortable is in art class, where her teacher Mr. Freeman - something of a rebel and constantly in some kind of trouble with administration - has given a year-long project to students to create art out of a word drawn randomly from a pile of words.  Melinda has drawn the word "tree" and is spending the  year sketching, painting, sculpting and creating trees.  Interestingly, her trees always look half dead, but Mr. Freeman continues to encourage her to go where her heart is leading her.  He understands that something is on Melinda's mind that she is unable to share.  He quietly, gently offers to listen if she ever wants to talk, but in the meantime, the tree obviously has meaning for Melinda and he encourages her to continue to work with it.  Mr. Freeman is the one sympathetic adult in this novel.

Melinda is exhibiting the symptoms that many young adults show when they have a traumatic experience.  Melinda has been raped at a party by an older student.  For reasons she doesn't explain, Melinda doesn't tell anyone until her friend Rachel begins dating the rapist.  Then Melinda begins to feel compelled to warn her friend.  However, that goes wrong, too, for a while.  But Melinda perseveres, and in the end, she is obviously going to be a survivor of her ordeal.  At the end of the novel, after everything has come out, she is surprised by the fact that she not only is no longer an outcast but something of a hero. 

Some reviews criticize the unlikely coincidence that the girls' lacrosse team happens by when Melinda is struggling with Andy after he's trapped Melinda in a janitor's closet with him.  However, anyone who has hung around in a high school for very long knows that many students stay at school for hours after classes are over - athletic practices, club meetings, social organizations all keep kids and teachers at school long after the last bell rings.  This doesn't seem to be such a stretch for me as a high school teacher.  However, the nice part is that Melinda has already turned the situation before the girls arrive when she manages to threaten Andy with a piece of broken mirror which she's pushed into his throat.  She gets the help she needs AFTER she has begun to provide the help for herself, after she's been able to scream "NO" to him and to herself, after she has been able to start to regain her voice, literally and figuratively.

In response to the 10-year anniversary of Speak in 2009, Anderson wrote a poem titled "Listen" which uses the words and phrases from thousands of letters she and Melinda received over the years.  Anderson reads the poem on her website.  If you have read Speak, you MUST go listen to her poem.  What a powerful, moving piece. 

The website is http://madwomanintheforest.com/youngadult-speak/

A copy of the poem, for those of us who are also visual and like to combine the sound of the poem with the look of the poem can be found on her blog at  http://speakupaboutspeak.blogspot.com/  Scroll down to the Thursday, February 26, 2009 entry to find a copy of the poem which can be printed. 

4.  Review Excerpts
Publisher's Weekly:  "In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager."

School Library Journal:  "This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story."


The Horn Book, starred review:  "An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last."


Kirkus Reviews, pointer review:  "The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn...its raw and unvarnished look...will be hard for readers to forget."

Hope was Here - Realism, Romance, and Censorship

1.  Bauer, Joan.  Hope was Here.  New York:  G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2000.

2.  Plot Summary.  Hope and her aunt Addie travel around the country following the work they can find.  Addie is short order cook extroidinaire and Hope is "the best waitress under 30 I've ever seen," according to one of the other waitresses at the Welcome Stairways Diner in Mulhoney, Wisconsin, where Hope and Addie have just moved after having to close their diner in New York City.  Hope couldn't even finish out her sophomore year, and having to move yet again - out to the middle of nowhere no less - is almost more than Hope can endure this time.  However, she and Addie quickly find themselves embroiled in a political duel between incumbant Mayor Millstone and G. T. Stroop, the owner of the Welcome Stairways who decides to join the race, challenging what he believes has been a corrupt city government.  In unexpected twists and turns, the election and the story have emotional endings. 

3.  Critical Analysis.  Hope was Here was named a 2001 Newbery Honor Book, and for good cause.  This novel has strong young adult characters, and the themes are clear - life is hard and young people can make a difference.  Hope may not be an entirely realistic character.  She seems to take her hardships easier than most teenagers would.  However, she does explain that she is heartbroken to be leaving her friends and her home in New York City.  Mulhoney, Wisconsin does not have any of the things she has grown to love in New York - no museums, no concerts, and no sushi.  She discovers, though, that believing in a cause can unite people of all ages, and fighting for that cause makes life meaningful. 

Hope has not struck out on her own yet; nevertheless, her journey with her aunt is a quest to discover who she is.  Hope has an eccentric mother who is in and out - mostly out - of her life.  She has left a string of friendships behind with each move.  She legally changed her name from Tulip to Hope after 12 years of enduring the embarrassment of her birth name, and with that change, she has consciously been trying to live up to her new name.  Hope finds the father she's been looking for all her life in an unlikely person, and she begins learning to relate to her first boyfriend.  Lots of changes in a 16-year-old's life, and Hope handles them mostly with grace and success.  After all the forced new beginnings, readers are left with a feeling of relief that, in spite of some further tragedy in Hope's life, she and her aunt have finally found the security of a place which they will never need to leave again. 

Bauer does a terrific job of building suspense in the story surrounding the town's mayoral election, and the endings to the plot points do not all resolve in a "happily ever after" kind of way, but the story is satisfying and young adults, especially girls, will find a good role model in Hope and proof that there are adults who are supportive, loving and special.  

I have particular interest in the titles of stories and novels, and Hope was Here is one of my favorites.  The play on the word "hope" as both Hope's name and what she experiences makes this title especially nice.  High schoolers who must fight with their lives not turning out exactly as they wish they would should enjoy reading about Hope's life.

4.  Review Excerpts. 
Kirkus:  "As always from Bauer, this novel is full of humor, starring a strong and idealistic protagonist, packed with funny lines, and peopled with interesting and quirky characters."

School Library Journal:  "When it comes to creating strong, independent, and funny teenaged female characters, Bauer is in a class by herself." 

Booklist:  "It's Bauer's humor that supplies, in Addie's cooking vernacular, the yeast that makes the story rise above the rest, reinforcing the substantive issues of honesty, humanity, and the importance of political activism. Serve this up to teens--with a dash of hope."

Amazon.com:  "Here's a book that's as warm and melty as a grilled Swiss on seven-grain bread, and just as wholesome and substantial. . . .Joan Bauer, who won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Rules of the Road, has served up a delicious novel in Hope was Here, full of delectable characters, tasty wit, and deep-dish truth."

Boy Toy - Realism, Romance and Censorship

1.  Lyga, Barry.  Boy Toy.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin, 2007.

2.  Plot Summary.  Josh is a senior in high school.  He's about to graduate, but a secret from his past has come back to haunt him.  Unfortunately, it seems that pretty much everyone knows the secret, and he hasn't been able to escape from it for the last five years.  But a lot is going on in his life.  He's one of the star baseball players on his high school team, and he's being scouted for college.  His coach is giving him a hard time.  His best friend Rachel has been out of his life since the incident in seventh grade and now wants back in.  But Eve is back, bringing the past with her, and Josh can't seem to get past it - because Josh doesn't know the truth. 

3.  Critical Analysis.  Fitting squarely into the Modern Problem Novel genre, the main character Josh appears to the rest of the characters in the book to be coping; however, he has not effectively dealt with the issue that is constantly at the front of his consciousness: the fact that he had sex in seventh grade with his history teacher, Evelyn Sherman.  As with many problem novels, the adults in this novel are removed from the main character.  They are neither sympathetic nor supportive.  Even though Josh's therapist is sincere and Josh appreciates his help, Josh has not been able to count on any of the adults in his life to help him through the mental and emotional turmoil he is going through. 

Boy Toy is a difficult book to read as an adult, and as a teacher who works with adolescents.  The center section of the novel is a flashback to seventh grade when Mrs. Sherman begins a deliberate process to seduce Josh.  He's abused over a period of several months before an incident between Josh and his best friend Rachel brings the issue to light.  The scenes are graphically described throughout the section, and it's hard to "watch" a boy be systematically abused by someone he likes and trusts in a way that makes it impossible for him to understand that it wasn't his fault, even now as a senior.  His parents are angry with him for refusing to testify against Mrs. Sherman, which has alienated them from him.  His friends do not really understand him.  Only his friend Zik seems to instinctively understand what Josh needs, which is mostly not to talk about it.  It is only through his own actions that Josh finally makes a breakthrough and realizes that the blame he has placed on himself for five years is unfounded.  At that point, the reader feels that there is hope for Josh to be emotionally OK. 

Young Adult literature guru Teri Lesesne, author of Heinemann's Reading Ladders, cautioned classroom teachers about having this title on the shelf in a presentation I attended.  Based on her comments, as a teacher, I have chosen to not keep a copy of Boy Toy on my classroom library shelf, not as an act of censorship, but rather because I feel that this particular novel is better recommended on a person by person basis.  The subject matter is extremely sensitive.  Anyone reading the book who is not mature enough to handle the subject matter may react in a way that shows little sensitivity toward fellow students who may have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a trusted adult, and I would never want someone who is dealing with such a painful experience to hear fellow students sniggering over the descriptions of the relationship between Josh and Mrs. Sherman. 

[Ironically, after reading this novel over the summer in preparation for this blog, a teacher at my high school was arrested for having sex with one of her students.  I recommended Boy Toy to an adult who made comments about how the teacher should not have to go to jail because the boy probably "had the time of his life" and will have this to "drool over for the rest of his life."  The situation is slightly different - 13 versus 16 years of age.  However, damage is done, and there will be much for the student to deal with.]

The encounter with Mrs. Sherman near the end of the story is powerful.  The reader is left with the hope that Josh is going to be all right because for the first time since he was 13, Josh actually begins to believe that he will be all right.  But what a long, painful process it was to get there.

4.  Review Excerpts. 

On his website, Barry Lyga has published a review of Boy Toy  by Caitlin, and high school senior.  In her review, she states, "People can be absorbed by a good book so that they can't stop talking about it, but few have ever been haunted by a book. Boy Toy was my literary poltergeist for the past few days" and "this book forces you to think about a dozen different issues . . . . When you finally think you have an opinion about the scandal, you're forced to rethink it because Josh changes his mind many times over throughout the course of the story.  (http://barrylyga.com/new/boy-toy-caitlin.html)

New York Times:  "This is an upsetting, intense, intricately drawn portrait of the fallout from a 12-year-old boy’s involvement with his seventh-grade teacher. . . . an unsettling read, but that’s exactly what it ought to be."

The House of the Scorpion - Classics and Awards

1.  Farmer, Nancy.  The House of the Scorpion.  New York:  Atheneum Books, 2002.

2.  Plot Summary.  Matteo Alacran has grown up on land belonging to El Patron, the ruler of Opium - a strip of land between the United States and what was once Mexico.  His "mother" has been Celia, and until he was almost six, she was the only person he ever saw.  She warned him that no one else must EVER see him.  But one day, three other children, including a little girl named Maria,  wander close to the little cottage where Celia and Matt live, and while Celia is at work, Matt makes friends with the children.  On one of their visits, Matt crashes through a window, and once he is carried to the main house in order to fix his cuts, he realizes that something isn't quite right.  At first everything is fine, but suddenly everything changes, and he is locked up and treated like an animal.  One day, Matt asks El Patron's body guard when Matt's birthday is, and the body guard's response is "you were harvested."  Matt was created in a test tube and grown inside a cow, and most people see him as a beast rather than a human.  However, El Patron treats Matt as the special person that he is - the person who holds El Patron's life within his own body.  And once Matt realizes why he has been created and what his purpose is, he begins a race to save his own life. 

3.  Critical Analysis.  Farmer has created a story full of suspense as Matt goes on a quest to find out the truth about his existence and figure out how to stop the trajectory his life has been created to follow.  The House of the Scorpion takes readers into a science fiction world of the future where humans create clones to be used for organ harvesting later.  At first, Matt cannot believe that El Patron will use him this way, but it becomes evident that this is exactly what El Patron intends to do.  With the help of Celia, and one of El Patron's body guards, Matt concocts a scheme to escape from Opium, a feat that is supposedly impossible to accomplish, but he does it.  And at first, it seems that Matt has gone from the frying pan and into the fire when he ends up crossing the border only to be placed into child labor with other orphans.

The emotions displayed by Matt lead the reader through a range of feelings from confusion about Matt's origins, to horror as his fate is realized, into fear as he tries to escape that fate, and finally relief as Matt's perseverance, intelligence, and determination lead him and three other boys to safety.   In the end the real savior of the situation turns out to be a very unlikely, and perhaps unrealistic, source in Maria's long-lost mother; Maria who was the only friend who always treated him like a human during the years Matt lived in El Patron's house.  As a seeker on a quest to find the truth about his existence, Matt's journey is compelling, if sometimes unlikely.  Young adults should admire his tenacity when the journey become extremely difficult, his courage when he is faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and his concern for others when he is unable to leave his young friends behind.  And while the ending seriously stretches the logic of what is possible even in a futuristic world, young adult readers will be glad to find that Matt is successful in his journey to find a new life.

The House of the Scorpion won The National Book Award, and was named as both a Newbery Honor Book and a Printz Honor Book.  Students who like science fiction should appreciate Farmer's story-telling.

4.  Review Excerpts. 

*"Farmer's novel may be futuristic, but it hits close to home, raising questions of what it means to be human, what is the value of life, and what are the responsibilities of a society. Readers will be hooked from the first page."--Publishers' Weekly, starred review


*"...Farmer has a talent for creating exciting tales in beautifully realized, unusual worlds. With undertones of vampires, Frankenstein, dragons' hoards, and killing fields, Matt's story turns out to be an inspiring tale of friendship, survival, hope, and transcendence. A must-read for SF fans."--Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

[A] solid modern classic."--U.S. News & World Report.

*"[A] remarkable coming of age story...."--Booklist, starred review.