Okay...Not to say that I did not enjoy YA, because let's face it...I got some top ten reads out of this genre and I didn't even read that many books! So I praise it for that. But..well I got to do it...
Young Adult literature...what does it mean? here's the catch NO BODY KNOWS? we couldn't come up with a solid definition for it? neither could the professionals. The official titling of YA books is based on publisher preferences, probalblyrooted somewhere in greed and money. Some say it has to do with dealing with young adult issues, well that is false I've read a few that don't deal with exclusively teen issues so that's outta there. Let's face it the title is a catch for marketing...some good...some bad, all in the name of Money$. So here's what I say...actually I didn't say it but If Bill Shakespeare didn't say it I was just going to give this phrase its debut..."What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet" Get it? I mean really if a book deals with "Young Adult" stuff, lets call it YA. this is my largest complaint.
Shortly before this class began I was on the train to chicago...about a five hour ride each way. So I decided to pick up a Charles Bukowski novel, "Ham on Rye." Though it was unintentional, I must say this looked, smelled, acted, sounded, and read just like a book about young adult issues. So why is it not a YA book? because of the publishers greed I would imagine...
Problem...the title YA
Solution: I say lets banish the genre and let children decide for themselves, I can guarantee that a true reader will find these books despite it all. Suzie reads this book and tells Johnny, Johnny likes it too tells frankie, frankie loves it and talks about it in a class of 24 kids...10 of which decide to read the book for themselves, you see this is how it works...if a book is good it is good and needs to be read and will be read. Good books are being left out and could be harmful to a strictly YA book diet, you need supplements like other books so check it out! What'd you say?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Let's start positive on YA!
Young Adult Literature...and its posotive contributions to the literature world. Well to start off anything that is geared towards a certain age group, especially one that is probably known to be rebellious and dislike reading is wonderful. Kids, Young Adults...whatever, we all need to read. Alot of the themes of young adult literature are excellent for these kids too.
How many freshman have dated a boy or a girl for a month and felt like they were in love? Well, lets put it this way...I know a few personally. A month, that is a long time when you are 15, that is like four weekends in a row...your mom drives you to your friends to do things that you wouldn't want your mom to know about and you try impress girls ( I am speaking from a heterosexual male perspective, please feel free to interject your preferences here because I don't want to write all that) I mean it works doesn't it? Drink a beer your cool, Smoke a cigarette your cool (Don't EVER SMOKE!) but who the hell is out there writing these stories for these kids. I know the last thing I wanted ot do at that age was go home and journal about the stuff I did. Well its great that some one is doing it.
I can remember my junior year in High school reading Catcher in the Rye...this cat's drinking adn smoking and buying prostitutes and writing all about it...that is Awesome!!! I don't remember too many kids who weren't digging the book... I mean I loved it. And it was because it was real, who doesn't feel depressed? who doesn't remember an old girlfriend and wish something else happened. Who doesn't want to drink and talk to older women? These things are real, that is what kids want to hear about and that is why YA is good...
There is more....but it basically all deals with relating to kids, I mean REALLY relating to kids and being honest with our selves. Other things that impressed me about this genre were the occasional literarily impressive novels...To name one "Looking for Alaska!" Loved it, I was shocked at how well written and somewhat plot oriented it was...these are the things you look for in any book it happens to be YA so thumbs UP to YA! YA? Y not?
How many freshman have dated a boy or a girl for a month and felt like they were in love? Well, lets put it this way...I know a few personally. A month, that is a long time when you are 15, that is like four weekends in a row...your mom drives you to your friends to do things that you wouldn't want your mom to know about and you try impress girls ( I am speaking from a heterosexual male perspective, please feel free to interject your preferences here because I don't want to write all that) I mean it works doesn't it? Drink a beer your cool, Smoke a cigarette your cool (Don't EVER SMOKE!) but who the hell is out there writing these stories for these kids. I know the last thing I wanted ot do at that age was go home and journal about the stuff I did. Well its great that some one is doing it.
I can remember my junior year in High school reading Catcher in the Rye...this cat's drinking adn smoking and buying prostitutes and writing all about it...that is Awesome!!! I don't remember too many kids who weren't digging the book... I mean I loved it. And it was because it was real, who doesn't feel depressed? who doesn't remember an old girlfriend and wish something else happened. Who doesn't want to drink and talk to older women? These things are real, that is what kids want to hear about and that is why YA is good...
There is more....but it basically all deals with relating to kids, I mean REALLY relating to kids and being honest with our selves. Other things that impressed me about this genre were the occasional literarily impressive novels...To name one "Looking for Alaska!" Loved it, I was shocked at how well written and somewhat plot oriented it was...these are the things you look for in any book it happens to be YA so thumbs UP to YA! YA? Y not?
We Were Here
Miguel, Rondell and Mong! These aren't white boys and this isn't about an excellent year or a boy that broke their hearts in high school. "We Were Here" by Matt de la Pena is a realistic, hard hitting, tear jerking and one hell of a read when you've been reading pretty soft young adult literature books. The boys are in juvi, they've all got a past, they all need a future. Three heads are better than one, a crazy head, a "dumb" head (Read it, You'll get the reference) and Miguels head set off to forget the past. Read it, find out!
Lessons...Lessons...Lessons!
This book is full of lessons and thinking back on an earlier post, it is a great oppostite pair with a "Eutopian Literature" book like "My Most Excellent Year." they are so brutally opposite that you may get dizzy if you read them back to back. However, our class came up with some cool pairing ideas. : What if some characters in this book...met some characters in that book? What if Miguel, the troubled mexican boy had been given a life like Alejandra, or T.C.? What if one of the softer guys or girls from "Paradise Island (My Most Excellent Year) had to deal with some of the tragedies that any of these guys in juvi had to?
Another great pair: If you can get through it...The Astonoshing Life of Octavian Nothing, just fast forward a little bit...Do you feel that minorities in our world today are part of some controlled government experiement...because to me it doesn't seem like anything but easy to decide that everyone should be treated fairly...equally...! Oh my Goodness Im A SOCIALIST! (deal with it...better yet look it up!)
What is de la Pena trying to say? These are broad questions but this book is excellent and especially as a pairing book! Check it out tell me what you think and try some of these lessons or incorporate your own.
Overall: Excellent book, very realistic and a good lesson, especially again around times of discussing minority status in america...it would go great in an education class...even at the college level! What is it that minorities deal with that alot of us just...don't.
Lessons...Lessons...Lessons!
This book is full of lessons and thinking back on an earlier post, it is a great oppostite pair with a "Eutopian Literature" book like "My Most Excellent Year." they are so brutally opposite that you may get dizzy if you read them back to back. However, our class came up with some cool pairing ideas. : What if some characters in this book...met some characters in that book? What if Miguel, the troubled mexican boy had been given a life like Alejandra, or T.C.? What if one of the softer guys or girls from "Paradise Island (My Most Excellent Year) had to deal with some of the tragedies that any of these guys in juvi had to?
Another great pair: If you can get through it...The Astonoshing Life of Octavian Nothing, just fast forward a little bit...Do you feel that minorities in our world today are part of some controlled government experiement...because to me it doesn't seem like anything but easy to decide that everyone should be treated fairly...equally...! Oh my Goodness Im A SOCIALIST! (deal with it...better yet look it up!)
What is de la Pena trying to say? These are broad questions but this book is excellent and especially as a pairing book! Check it out tell me what you think and try some of these lessons or incorporate your own.
Overall: Excellent book, very realistic and a good lesson, especially again around times of discussing minority status in america...it would go great in an education class...even at the college level! What is it that minorities deal with that alot of us just...don't.
My Most (Unrealistic, Yet delightful) Excellent Year!
Steve, Kluger...My Most Excellent Year. is a fiction. Let's just get that out there right now. The main characters: T.C., Auggie and Alejandro. (did you notice none of those are normal names?) There all basically average young teenagers trying to get along and cope with reality as they see it. Some of the issues in this story( which are hardly issues, especially in this world; but a book needs issues) are that Auggie is gay, T.C. is finding himself and likes Alejandra, and Alejandra is the perfectionist type who will figure it all out. Can you imagine the dilemma...oh yeah...T.C. and Auggie are practically brothers...and who better to talk to the girl of your dreams than your brother...especially when he's gay! Okay...that is all that I am saying...
Lessons...Lessons...Lessons- well, what lessons could this book teach us...its not realistic, its not a book of epic literary merit porportions. Well paired with the right lesson, ideas, or even other book it could potentially do well. In my Young Adult Literature course we read this book and followed it up with a harsh taste of reality in another excellent and much more realistic book in "We Were Here," by Matt de la Pena. The books are structured differently, there implicit messages are different and all together vastly different books. So for the lesson...let's try this...the book deals with homosexuality as its main theme...as far as I was concerned. It was accepted very easily and dealt with by parents and friends as if it was another day in the life...Well teachers...it is simply uncontroversial...THAT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE!!! and guess what??? Not to get political here, but a few little hints and giggles in this book seem to suggest that the world that would accept such a thing is a world full of "Bleedin' Heart Liberals" That's right, I said it. Let's face it they mention the great democrats of the past in good fashion early on in the book and Alejandra is somewhat of a political activist herself.
The lesson that could go along with this could be something to do with civil rights and the look at before and after. Are things equal yet? How could a time have ever existed when we had slaves, when we saw people of a different race as truly a different race other that the human race? Well it did and it has to be learned so not to be repeated. Show this book and contrast the lives of Blacks and other minorities in the world today and before with the lives of openly homosexual men and women of today's world. Are they all that different? How are they targeted? what message is this book sending? and where can when can we see ourselves being this open and understanding? Ever? Think about it...it is hard not to cross any lines of appropriateness but at the same time it seems to be an important lesson to look at.
"My Most Excellent Year!" check it out for teachers, it'll do, but I would reccomend being a skilled, not necessarily experienced, teacher with an open and creative mind to get it Right!
Good Luck!!!
Lessons...Lessons...Lessons- well, what lessons could this book teach us...its not realistic, its not a book of epic literary merit porportions. Well paired with the right lesson, ideas, or even other book it could potentially do well. In my Young Adult Literature course we read this book and followed it up with a harsh taste of reality in another excellent and much more realistic book in "We Were Here," by Matt de la Pena. The books are structured differently, there implicit messages are different and all together vastly different books. So for the lesson...let's try this...the book deals with homosexuality as its main theme...as far as I was concerned. It was accepted very easily and dealt with by parents and friends as if it was another day in the life...Well teachers...it is simply uncontroversial...THAT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE!!! and guess what??? Not to get political here, but a few little hints and giggles in this book seem to suggest that the world that would accept such a thing is a world full of "Bleedin' Heart Liberals" That's right, I said it. Let's face it they mention the great democrats of the past in good fashion early on in the book and Alejandra is somewhat of a political activist herself.
The lesson that could go along with this could be something to do with civil rights and the look at before and after. Are things equal yet? How could a time have ever existed when we had slaves, when we saw people of a different race as truly a different race other that the human race? Well it did and it has to be learned so not to be repeated. Show this book and contrast the lives of Blacks and other minorities in the world today and before with the lives of openly homosexual men and women of today's world. Are they all that different? How are they targeted? what message is this book sending? and where can when can we see ourselves being this open and understanding? Ever? Think about it...it is hard not to cross any lines of appropriateness but at the same time it seems to be an important lesson to look at.
"My Most Excellent Year!" check it out for teachers, it'll do, but I would reccomend being a skilled, not necessarily experienced, teacher with an open and creative mind to get it Right!
Good Luck!!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Super Power Olympics Anyone?? (no not China vs. U.S.)
Kristen Cashore...Graceling oh boy! Let's take a deep breath on this one. Fantasy, mystery, romance? Action I mean lets be honest with our selves...this book has it all. But who likes anchovies on their pizza? I mean really? Did you get the reference cause...I kind of didn't. Let's put it this way...some of us like things simple, realistic and relatable...very few of us like Fantasies, it is a minority though that is still a large real number of people so it is good that they are written but...not for me. Pepperoni and cheese please?
Katsa, main character young girl who has a special talent...she is called a graceling because she is of the species that has special talents...her uncle a power tripping freak who exploits her talents. Can she get her life straight and please her uncle and find love and forgive herself for...? You would have to find out.
This book would be a dream for teachers to get a hold of for their students. It has so many different aspects that can be looked at from literary merit to imaginative thoughts and actions and pretty much everything a "fantasy" should have.
I got to thinking about this book and what lessons could be taught with it and how students reception to such a book would be. Actually I found out that I like the idea of fantasy alot more than I actually like fantasy. I have always felt, and as a future English teacher I hope to express how important the imagination is for humanity. Really, arguably everything is up to the imagination...some peoples imaginations just became more acceptable than others see. If you teach this book with the mentality of exploring the human mind and its capabilities of thought you will be amazed with this novel.
And really, among fantasies it is slightly realistic. The girl feels oppressed, (what teenage girl doesn't?) and she is being "put upon" by her family. Really this could be relatable to life of teenagers at a vastly different perspective..
Overall...check it out...have fun with it...use your imagination!
Katsa, main character young girl who has a special talent...she is called a graceling because she is of the species that has special talents...her uncle a power tripping freak who exploits her talents. Can she get her life straight and please her uncle and find love and forgive herself for...? You would have to find out.
This book would be a dream for teachers to get a hold of for their students. It has so many different aspects that can be looked at from literary merit to imaginative thoughts and actions and pretty much everything a "fantasy" should have.
I got to thinking about this book and what lessons could be taught with it and how students reception to such a book would be. Actually I found out that I like the idea of fantasy alot more than I actually like fantasy. I have always felt, and as a future English teacher I hope to express how important the imagination is for humanity. Really, arguably everything is up to the imagination...some peoples imaginations just became more acceptable than others see. If you teach this book with the mentality of exploring the human mind and its capabilities of thought you will be amazed with this novel.
And really, among fantasies it is slightly realistic. The girl feels oppressed, (what teenage girl doesn't?) and she is being "put upon" by her family. Really this could be relatable to life of teenagers at a vastly different perspective..
Overall...check it out...have fun with it...use your imagination!
OMG..like I just like totally read about a teenage girl and...liked it? maybe
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart. Hmmm... well I will never forget one thing in life that this book brought up. The custodian at my house school told me when I was in the eigth grade and I quote this loosely.. it was sometime ago but I got the jist... "Boy, don't you never count none of these girls out...come high school you'll be begging for 'em." Well should have listened to that advice... but anyway that is besides the point.
F. L. Banks...may I for short? thanks! Pretty typical, middle schooler dorky, skinny and akward, by high school she shot up and " gained 20 lbs. in all of the right places." You can imagine what happens next...the boys notice her, a cute senior and her life goes haywire trying to deal and maintain a self identity. Well geez that's harder than it sounds.
F.L. Banks in the classroom...I would say that this book would be a good college level read in a class about adolescent behaviors, femininity or something of that nature because it doesn't have that much pertinence, ironically to a highschooler while they are in high school or even middle school for that matter. (Just look at me, I didn't think a second on what my custodian friend told me.) It is too difficult to be in the moment and be told how to deal with it.
Our class had some interesting discussions on how teachers could, or should handle a situation like this. I do not think it is a teachers business to step into students personal lives unless they appropriately invite them. This may be a questionable statement but I would say that Frankie is very typical as a teenage girl and is not acting in any extraordinarily bad manners that would ruin her future...people do these things every day.
I would say also that this book is too feminist perspectived, the men in this book look too dumb, and too heartless, for the most part. This book is realistic on the female perspective but it is impossible for a female author to write as a male and get it right all the time, not to blame the author because she certainly did a good job of trying.
Overall...A good book for parents to read perhaps to relate to their children but not a very effective teaching tool. Lacks literary merit
F. L. Banks...may I for short? thanks! Pretty typical, middle schooler dorky, skinny and akward, by high school she shot up and " gained 20 lbs. in all of the right places." You can imagine what happens next...the boys notice her, a cute senior and her life goes haywire trying to deal and maintain a self identity. Well geez that's harder than it sounds.
F.L. Banks in the classroom...I would say that this book would be a good college level read in a class about adolescent behaviors, femininity or something of that nature because it doesn't have that much pertinence, ironically to a highschooler while they are in high school or even middle school for that matter. (Just look at me, I didn't think a second on what my custodian friend told me.) It is too difficult to be in the moment and be told how to deal with it.
Our class had some interesting discussions on how teachers could, or should handle a situation like this. I do not think it is a teachers business to step into students personal lives unless they appropriately invite them. This may be a questionable statement but I would say that Frankie is very typical as a teenage girl and is not acting in any extraordinarily bad manners that would ruin her future...people do these things every day.
I would say also that this book is too feminist perspectived, the men in this book look too dumb, and too heartless, for the most part. This book is realistic on the female perspective but it is impossible for a female author to write as a male and get it right all the time, not to blame the author because she certainly did a good job of trying.
Overall...A good book for parents to read perhaps to relate to their children but not a very effective teaching tool. Lacks literary merit
Catching Fire, Blowing up, what has Katniss done now?
Catching Fire...the sequel to an intense beginning in the Hunger Games and far more enjoyable and organized with the same amount of anxiety. Don't you just love reading?
Well, Katniss and Pita just won the Hunger Games ( I hope you read the first one ) and all is good and great, there back home drama free and everyone loves them, its as if nothing ever happened...well not quite. ...Everything, and I mean everything is a mess... Gale and Katniss can hardly speak (you know those akward silences between you and your date that let you know that this is going no where?) well much worse. She finds out that Pita really does love her. Meanwhile the presidents pissed off cause they started a riot...how do we solve this...back to the Hunger games with new twists and turns you will just have to check it out yourself.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Hunger Games and even more so Catching Fire. As far as the literary merit is concerned...ahhh still not much but was that ever really the point? However, it seems to be a more chaotic time than even the hunger games but still somehow the author keeps it very well organized and makes some great references back to the hunger games as a way to kind of catch the reader up on what they may have forgotten. (For all those of you out there who read it in one night and had to wait months for the sequel.)
Classroom Classroom Classroom??? Well, to be honest, I am kind of stumped here. I would say that this book is not something that I would reccomend as a lesson plan in a classroom setting but it could do no harm in teaching it. Okay, well here is what I was thinking. In a history class when studying bad dictators ( and I am not talking bad dictators like Fidel Castro so we can put our american "democratic agenda" into lessons) like Hitler or Mousolinni this book could be used as a narrowly connected point for fun and a little more enjoyment than a typical history lesson.
However, this would take some high quality thought processing going on by both teachers and students, the ability to relate the two topics would have to be loosely graded. Kids shouldn't be expected to force a comparison so perhaps for an honors class or something like that.
Overall...fun book very exciting can't wait for number 3 three but... not ultra teacher friendly!
Tha..tha...that's all folks.!
Well, Katniss and Pita just won the Hunger Games ( I hope you read the first one ) and all is good and great, there back home drama free and everyone loves them, its as if nothing ever happened...well not quite. ...Everything, and I mean everything is a mess... Gale and Katniss can hardly speak (you know those akward silences between you and your date that let you know that this is going no where?) well much worse. She finds out that Pita really does love her. Meanwhile the presidents pissed off cause they started a riot...how do we solve this...back to the Hunger games with new twists and turns you will just have to check it out yourself.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Hunger Games and even more so Catching Fire. As far as the literary merit is concerned...ahhh still not much but was that ever really the point? However, it seems to be a more chaotic time than even the hunger games but still somehow the author keeps it very well organized and makes some great references back to the hunger games as a way to kind of catch the reader up on what they may have forgotten. (For all those of you out there who read it in one night and had to wait months for the sequel.)
Classroom Classroom Classroom??? Well, to be honest, I am kind of stumped here. I would say that this book is not something that I would reccomend as a lesson plan in a classroom setting but it could do no harm in teaching it. Okay, well here is what I was thinking. In a history class when studying bad dictators ( and I am not talking bad dictators like Fidel Castro so we can put our american "democratic agenda" into lessons) like Hitler or Mousolinni this book could be used as a narrowly connected point for fun and a little more enjoyment than a typical history lesson.
However, this would take some high quality thought processing going on by both teachers and students, the ability to relate the two topics would have to be loosely graded. Kids shouldn't be expected to force a comparison so perhaps for an honors class or something like that.
Overall...fun book very exciting can't wait for number 3 three but... not ultra teacher friendly!
Tha..tha...that's all folks.!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Where the hell is Alaksa?...that is a good question!
"Looking for Alaska" by John Green is an excellent book but questionably so for educators. I do not believe in censorship one bit so that would not be the issue that motivates me to say that it may not be appropriate for students.
Summary:
The main character, questionable is Miles or Pudge. He is a nerd, much like John Green claims to be. He went to highschool at a public school and didn't really fit in so he has been dying to go to this private school called Culver Creek. There he meets the Colonel, ironic, because he is so small and Alaska who is the other "main character." He also meets their mutual friend Takumi and his later "girlfriend" lara. they are all buddies and slightly mischevious. They like to pull pranks and annoy the Eagle who is the prinicipal of the school even though he likes them all, especially Alaska. They get into their fair share of minor troubles and try to pull pranks. At the beginning, the "weekend warriors" strip him and throw him into the lake and he could have drowned because they tied him up. The colonel Alaska and him decide they have to get them back so they plan and plot and scheme. Pudge has an instant crush on Alaska but she has a much older boyfriend. Pudge goes out with Alaska's friend lara and they have maybe one date and he throws up on her and part of what is considered innapropriate is when Green details some sexual activities between Pudge and Lara. This clearly means nothing because soon after when Pudge and Alaska and the Colonel are drinking, eventhough Pudge isn't drunk he and Alaska kiss. She then drives off to put flowers on her mothers grave and dies on the way. This is considered the before.
"After." Pudge and Takumi and Colonel find out and they are naturally distraught and are dying to find out the nature by which her death occured, suicide or otherwise. He and Colonel do not want to tell anyone that they could have stopped her but didn't and they feel guilty. They ignore takumi and he is upset. At the end of the novel Pudge finds out that really Takumi was the last to see her alive and he too could have stopped her.
I think this book is wonderful and it was probably my favorite so far, but I do not see any real value in teaching it to a class of high schoolers or otherwise. Maybe on a far off idea if and ONLY IF you go to a PRIVATE SCHOOL you can discuss the aspect of religion and how that was dealt with in the book because there is quite a bit of talk about religion, and harmony and death in this book. However, this is NOT appropriate in a public school. I think though that this could be atleast on a summer or otherwise reccomended reading list for children in high school because it such an awesome book and I believe of all the books that we have read in my YA literature class that this has the most sufficient Literary Merit. I think this because Green really incorporates huge and deep themes into very subtle cues throughout the book.
Overall, fantastic book , quick read and possible lesson plan for: understanding death, the human condition or even teenage mentalities.
Summary:
The main character, questionable is Miles or Pudge. He is a nerd, much like John Green claims to be. He went to highschool at a public school and didn't really fit in so he has been dying to go to this private school called Culver Creek. There he meets the Colonel, ironic, because he is so small and Alaska who is the other "main character." He also meets their mutual friend Takumi and his later "girlfriend" lara. they are all buddies and slightly mischevious. They like to pull pranks and annoy the Eagle who is the prinicipal of the school even though he likes them all, especially Alaska. They get into their fair share of minor troubles and try to pull pranks. At the beginning, the "weekend warriors" strip him and throw him into the lake and he could have drowned because they tied him up. The colonel Alaska and him decide they have to get them back so they plan and plot and scheme. Pudge has an instant crush on Alaska but she has a much older boyfriend. Pudge goes out with Alaska's friend lara and they have maybe one date and he throws up on her and part of what is considered innapropriate is when Green details some sexual activities between Pudge and Lara. This clearly means nothing because soon after when Pudge and Alaska and the Colonel are drinking, eventhough Pudge isn't drunk he and Alaska kiss. She then drives off to put flowers on her mothers grave and dies on the way. This is considered the before.
"After." Pudge and Takumi and Colonel find out and they are naturally distraught and are dying to find out the nature by which her death occured, suicide or otherwise. He and Colonel do not want to tell anyone that they could have stopped her but didn't and they feel guilty. They ignore takumi and he is upset. At the end of the novel Pudge finds out that really Takumi was the last to see her alive and he too could have stopped her.
I think this book is wonderful and it was probably my favorite so far, but I do not see any real value in teaching it to a class of high schoolers or otherwise. Maybe on a far off idea if and ONLY IF you go to a PRIVATE SCHOOL you can discuss the aspect of religion and how that was dealt with in the book because there is quite a bit of talk about religion, and harmony and death in this book. However, this is NOT appropriate in a public school. I think though that this could be atleast on a summer or otherwise reccomended reading list for children in high school because it such an awesome book and I believe of all the books that we have read in my YA literature class that this has the most sufficient Literary Merit. I think this because Green really incorporates huge and deep themes into very subtle cues throughout the book.
Overall, fantastic book , quick read and possible lesson plan for: understanding death, the human condition or even teenage mentalities.
Astonoshing Effort Required "Octavian Nothing"
!@#$%^&&*() SPOLIER ALERT)(*&^%$#@! (Not really a spoiler but Kind of )
"The Astonoshing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party," by M.T. Anderson first of all has a very long title. I really love titles and I was drawn in simply by the title. The book takes place in the 18th century in Boston and follows the life of Octavian Nothing, the only son of an African Princess who is very young. Octavian lives in a home with scientists that are measuring his every move and comparing it to that of equally educated "European Princes." The men are not really mean to Octavian just simply indifferent, he is an experiment. Cassiopea, Octavian's mother still feels like a princess. She makes a member of royalty mad and thus takes state funding away from the experiment and then Mr. Sharpe, a slave trader type of guy, comes in and takes over the experiment. He is really a business man and desires only to prove that Africans are of an inferior race and he wants to enslave Octavian even though he is quite clearly a brilliant child. Since it is somewhat historical, the slave revolt of the approaching revolutionary war has potential to reach the house. They move all the slaves into a "diseased" house to weaken them and Cassiopea dies. Octavian is angered at his mothers death and their continued experiments on her so he runs away and joins the army. This is no longer Octavians Narration but the colonels. Octavian finally gets back and they continue to hold him like a prisoner until he escapes again at the end of the book.
This book is clearly a difficult read and has what some may consider a great deal of literary merit. However, I would say that it is possible that this book was never written in the tone of 18th century, and Anderson proclaimed Gothic tone. I say this only because it seems akward that a 21st century author attempt to write in such a tone because the difference in the "old English" and today is almost un transferrable to our modern tongue today. It is difficult to understand, and almost gives a sense of falsity from the narrator. Octavian was hard to understand or agree with at times becuase first of all he was from this time and secondly he was very smart and well articulated. I heard someone in our class suggest that it is written in a futuristic tone and I think that is a fabulous idea for several reasons.::
As far as teaching methods this book could be projected to the future and comparatively analyzed. Look at minority status today and then, although the obvious positive changes have been made I do not feel as if it is, in an experimental manner, all that much different. I do not know for which class this would be good for however, the children could do an experiment of probability. Take two babies and project their lives in a game in a sort of "experiment" like they did on Octavian. Take a poor minority and a rich white kid and play out the chances and probabilities of where each of their lives would lead. This could be a class for "cultural diversity" or just an effort to understand societal influence.
Other than that I would say that just breaking the book up for the students maybe 40 or 50 pages at a time and really spending alot of time discussing it would do the students some good. This could be a great read along book for sometime during the revolutionary war in a history class to get a narrative and fictional tone of what it may have been like under extreme and potentially real circumstances for African Americans.
"The Astonoshing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party," by M.T. Anderson first of all has a very long title. I really love titles and I was drawn in simply by the title. The book takes place in the 18th century in Boston and follows the life of Octavian Nothing, the only son of an African Princess who is very young. Octavian lives in a home with scientists that are measuring his every move and comparing it to that of equally educated "European Princes." The men are not really mean to Octavian just simply indifferent, he is an experiment. Cassiopea, Octavian's mother still feels like a princess. She makes a member of royalty mad and thus takes state funding away from the experiment and then Mr. Sharpe, a slave trader type of guy, comes in and takes over the experiment. He is really a business man and desires only to prove that Africans are of an inferior race and he wants to enslave Octavian even though he is quite clearly a brilliant child. Since it is somewhat historical, the slave revolt of the approaching revolutionary war has potential to reach the house. They move all the slaves into a "diseased" house to weaken them and Cassiopea dies. Octavian is angered at his mothers death and their continued experiments on her so he runs away and joins the army. This is no longer Octavians Narration but the colonels. Octavian finally gets back and they continue to hold him like a prisoner until he escapes again at the end of the book.
This book is clearly a difficult read and has what some may consider a great deal of literary merit. However, I would say that it is possible that this book was never written in the tone of 18th century, and Anderson proclaimed Gothic tone. I say this only because it seems akward that a 21st century author attempt to write in such a tone because the difference in the "old English" and today is almost un transferrable to our modern tongue today. It is difficult to understand, and almost gives a sense of falsity from the narrator. Octavian was hard to understand or agree with at times becuase first of all he was from this time and secondly he was very smart and well articulated. I heard someone in our class suggest that it is written in a futuristic tone and I think that is a fabulous idea for several reasons.::
As far as teaching methods this book could be projected to the future and comparatively analyzed. Look at minority status today and then, although the obvious positive changes have been made I do not feel as if it is, in an experimental manner, all that much different. I do not know for which class this would be good for however, the children could do an experiment of probability. Take two babies and project their lives in a game in a sort of "experiment" like they did on Octavian. Take a poor minority and a rich white kid and play out the chances and probabilities of where each of their lives would lead. This could be a class for "cultural diversity" or just an effort to understand societal influence.
Other than that I would say that just breaking the book up for the students maybe 40 or 50 pages at a time and really spending alot of time discussing it would do the students some good. This could be a great read along book for sometime during the revolutionary war in a history class to get a narrative and fictional tone of what it may have been like under extreme and potentially real circumstances for African Americans.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Hunger Games
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, not to sound like a movie critic but... there was love, betrayal, violence and romance all wrapped in 374 pages. The book is part one of an anticipated three part series, two of which are already out. The Hunger Games describes a futuristic look at north America after it has become the fictional nation of Panem divided into 12 districts and run by the "capitol." Each district has a different skill or objective that they maintain, for example district 11 is the agricultural district. The districts get poorer as they go from 1-12. The main characters are Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Prim Everdeen and Gale from district 12. The capitol makes the 12 districts give 2 people every year to fight in the Hunger Games to the death. There can only be one winner. Prim, Katniss' younger sister is chosen from district 12 along with Peeta. Katniss volunteers for Prim because she is only 12 years old. Peeta and Katniss decide to play the angle that they are in love in order to get sponsors for the games and a good rating with the crowd. There is only one problem...Peeta really is in love with Katniss. This creates a love story and naturally the crowd falls for it until the end when they are asked by the capitol to kill eachother. They both act like they are going to eat the poisinous berries that they discovered but the capitol intervenes and lets them both live. Once again Gale was not joking around he was planning on killing himself. Throughout the story there are alliances made and revenge plots and everything a good story should have.
Okay...now looking at the "literary merit" of this story...debatable. I have always felt that a plot driven story ie: the hunger games, does not necessarily need to rank high in literary merit because for most readers they are into the fast paced and adrenaline feel that the story provides. However, for this story considering that it is three parts and the first two are just slightly under 400 pages there is certainly room for a writer to display their talents. Now...does she do it? I would say yes. While this story is very typical love/action story I will give it the benefit of the doubt that it is going to have a better twist as the series goes on. I say this only because I have faith in Collins writing ability because of a few aspects of the story. She really created the characters well and provided a sublety about their character that is hard to fake. It is hard to tell until he actually says it if Peeta is really in love with Katniss or is just playing it for the show. As a matter as a fact since it is in first person, Katniss brings this into question herself by singing the Whitney Houston song "Does he really love Me?" Well...not quite. Another sublety that I was impressed with was when Rue, the little girl from district 12 that reminds readers of Prim said to Katniss about Peeta, "I didn't think he was faking it," or something to that effect. I realy like when authors utilize somewhat minor characters for major themes, although that can be seen as a desperate attempt to interject a thought that the writer simply could not imply by simply writing and letting the story be.
In my Literature class we were discussing some themes about this book and people suggested a potential "Marxist lens" for the story. I believe that some books ie: Anthem really try to put a political spin on things and make it so obvious that the author loses credit as collateral to an agenda. I really do not think that this author had any politics in mind other than providing a thought for an extreme future world. However, this in itself could be a comment on literary merit. With a 1000 pages (considering that this series will be around that) can an author re-create a more realisitc look at what our world would be in the future? Not to say that this author is not talented however, it seems easy to avoid literature because readers will be blinded with the extreme notion of this future world. Once again who is to say which is better, if a reader smiles, cries, or gets involved in a book the author has done their job, I am not ashamed to say I did atleast a little of each of these things.
Okay...now looking at the "literary merit" of this story...debatable. I have always felt that a plot driven story ie: the hunger games, does not necessarily need to rank high in literary merit because for most readers they are into the fast paced and adrenaline feel that the story provides. However, for this story considering that it is three parts and the first two are just slightly under 400 pages there is certainly room for a writer to display their talents. Now...does she do it? I would say yes. While this story is very typical love/action story I will give it the benefit of the doubt that it is going to have a better twist as the series goes on. I say this only because I have faith in Collins writing ability because of a few aspects of the story. She really created the characters well and provided a sublety about their character that is hard to fake. It is hard to tell until he actually says it if Peeta is really in love with Katniss or is just playing it for the show. As a matter as a fact since it is in first person, Katniss brings this into question herself by singing the Whitney Houston song "Does he really love Me?" Well...not quite. Another sublety that I was impressed with was when Rue, the little girl from district 12 that reminds readers of Prim said to Katniss about Peeta, "I didn't think he was faking it," or something to that effect. I realy like when authors utilize somewhat minor characters for major themes, although that can be seen as a desperate attempt to interject a thought that the writer simply could not imply by simply writing and letting the story be.
In my Literature class we were discussing some themes about this book and people suggested a potential "Marxist lens" for the story. I believe that some books ie: Anthem really try to put a political spin on things and make it so obvious that the author loses credit as collateral to an agenda. I really do not think that this author had any politics in mind other than providing a thought for an extreme future world. However, this in itself could be a comment on literary merit. With a 1000 pages (considering that this series will be around that) can an author re-create a more realisitc look at what our world would be in the future? Not to say that this author is not talented however, it seems easy to avoid literature because readers will be blinded with the extreme notion of this future world. Once again who is to say which is better, if a reader smiles, cries, or gets involved in a book the author has done their job, I am not ashamed to say I did atleast a little of each of these things.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tenderness
I recently read the novel Tenderness by Robert Cormier. This book set a very dark and dreary tone and maintained it well throughout the book. This was quite the contrast from the John Green book that we read for my Young Adult Literature class because that was written rather cheery and sarcastically joyful. The main character in this book is really two people: Eric Poole an 18 year old kid who is just now getting out of a juvenile detention center that he has been in for the last three or so years for killing his mother and his step father. The second main character is Lori, she is a fifteen year old girl who has a weird habit of becoming easily fixated with people and Eric is her most recent victim of fixation. The book centers around these two and their similarly desolate and opressed lives and how they come together and arguably fall in love with one another.
The plot for this book is very impressive and it is a very plot driven book which I typically do not like. However, Cormier has a way of making the plot interesting by switching the focus of characters back and forth between who is talking at the time. Lori is a chronically notorious run away and one day when she ran away she saw Eric and a girl walking down some train tracks. She assumes the girl is Eric's girlfriend, however, at the time she did not know who Eric was because he was not in the public eye for being a murderer. She later sees Eric alone (she later comes to find out that he killed her in the woods) and he is very nice to her. He almost assumes a fatherly role towards her when a gang of bikers approach and begin to harass her. Three years later when Eric is released from the "facility" she sees him on the television and is fixated on him again. Eric is staying with his aunt at the time and decides to go for a drive only to find out that Lori snuck into his van. He is worried and decides that he needs to kill her because they talk and he finds out that she was a witness to him pre-murder years ago for a crime for which he was not yet convicted and probably never would be as long as she kept quiet. Eric and her have a nice evening together going shopping, eating dinner and just talking. Later in the hotel room he tries to snuff her with a pillow. He decides against it and she confesses her love to him. The next day Eric is going to meet a girl that he met in jail and finds out via. Lori that it is a scam set up by the tenacious detective. Lori and Eric go canoeing together later and Lori hits her head and drowns. Naturally the detective assumes that he murdered her and he goes back to jail where he finally gets in touch with his human emotion by crying.
I think this book is not so great of a learning tool for young adults but that does not take away from the fact that it is still a great and very entertaining book. The themes I felt were too obvioius but weakly displayed. Clearly due to the title both Eric and Lori were seeking tenderness which they finally found together. I feel like desperation and solitude were some key themes in this book. Overall this book was a great plot centered book, not great literature by any means but I am very glad I read it and would like to read more of Robert Cormier's works.
The plot for this book is very impressive and it is a very plot driven book which I typically do not like. However, Cormier has a way of making the plot interesting by switching the focus of characters back and forth between who is talking at the time. Lori is a chronically notorious run away and one day when she ran away she saw Eric and a girl walking down some train tracks. She assumes the girl is Eric's girlfriend, however, at the time she did not know who Eric was because he was not in the public eye for being a murderer. She later sees Eric alone (she later comes to find out that he killed her in the woods) and he is very nice to her. He almost assumes a fatherly role towards her when a gang of bikers approach and begin to harass her. Three years later when Eric is released from the "facility" she sees him on the television and is fixated on him again. Eric is staying with his aunt at the time and decides to go for a drive only to find out that Lori snuck into his van. He is worried and decides that he needs to kill her because they talk and he finds out that she was a witness to him pre-murder years ago for a crime for which he was not yet convicted and probably never would be as long as she kept quiet. Eric and her have a nice evening together going shopping, eating dinner and just talking. Later in the hotel room he tries to snuff her with a pillow. He decides against it and she confesses her love to him. The next day Eric is going to meet a girl that he met in jail and finds out via. Lori that it is a scam set up by the tenacious detective. Lori and Eric go canoeing together later and Lori hits her head and drowns. Naturally the detective assumes that he murdered her and he goes back to jail where he finally gets in touch with his human emotion by crying.
I think this book is not so great of a learning tool for young adults but that does not take away from the fact that it is still a great and very entertaining book. The themes I felt were too obvioius but weakly displayed. Clearly due to the title both Eric and Lori were seeking tenderness which they finally found together. I feel like desperation and solitude were some key themes in this book. Overall this book was a great plot centered book, not great literature by any means but I am very glad I read it and would like to read more of Robert Cormier's works.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
YA(Y) for Class!
The young adult literature class focuses, or seems to thus far, soley on writings by young adults and for young adults. The first thing that I thought when signing up for this class was that we were going to read and review books similar to "Catcher in the Rye," and I was not entirely wrong because so far that book has come up in discussions and articles and blogs everywhere I look, it seems to truly epitomize young adult literature.
I like that the field of young adult literature itself is controversial and mostly because no one really knows what exactly young adult literature is. The articles that we have read in class so far have been very useful and I have referred back to most of them several times during the course of the class and especially during discussions. The central them of most of these articles seems to by the underlying question of what exactly is adult literature? Most of the books that have been presented as options to our class, and all of the books that I have read in class seem to have central themes around young adults and there attempt to find their inner voice.
I was however, dissapointed in some of the criteria that excludes certain books from that category. A student brought up during class one day that she wouldn't mind reading a young adult literature book written from the perspective of an adult looking back. I think that is a great point because it is a very common thing that kids need guidance and love and a realization that someone has been through and survived their struggles or similar ones. Also it would seem important that this adult have no self-interest in any particular child because self interest seems to breed false motives and a general distrust that is often initiated by adults onto children. Afterall we all have to be children before we can be adults.
I like that the field of young adult literature itself is controversial and mostly because no one really knows what exactly young adult literature is. The articles that we have read in class so far have been very useful and I have referred back to most of them several times during the course of the class and especially during discussions. The central them of most of these articles seems to by the underlying question of what exactly is adult literature? Most of the books that have been presented as options to our class, and all of the books that I have read in class seem to have central themes around young adults and there attempt to find their inner voice.
I was however, dissapointed in some of the criteria that excludes certain books from that category. A student brought up during class one day that she wouldn't mind reading a young adult literature book written from the perspective of an adult looking back. I think that is a great point because it is a very common thing that kids need guidance and love and a realization that someone has been through and survived their struggles or similar ones. Also it would seem important that this adult have no self-interest in any particular child because self interest seems to breed false motives and a general distrust that is often initiated by adults onto children. Afterall we all have to be children before we can be adults.
Curious Incident of the Dog in the night time.
When I first read this book I was skeptical of it because I thought it lacked any kind of depth. My main complaints were about its simplistic style of writing and childish story line. I am more into literature myself than into actualy stories in books, (as it can be noted my favorite books involve little plot) and I felt that this book in particular had too much of a story line with not enough delivery of literature to back up the plot.
In my young adult literature class we discussed in small groups, all the books that we read for the previous week. When I discussed this book with my friends in the class and told them about my feelings on the book they all seemed to have similar reactions. They mostly said that since the book was written in the perspective of a boy with mild autism (possibly aspergers syndrome) it would be hard for a younger child reading the book to grasp that concept, where as adults or, college students for that matter could better humor the boy about his style of writing and his different perspective on life.
After we discussed this in our small groups I really changed my perspective on the book in a positive way. I realized that although this book was seemingly childish, that in reality that made for beautiful literature as if from the direct perspective of the narrator. This is a very talented way of writing that I would not have appreciated as much if I didn't hear an alternative perspective from my group members.
This book is about a boy who has some form of a learning disability (although it is never directly stated he seems to have qualities of autism such as: a desire for repitition, logic based on very particular things like seeing five cars yellow equals a bad day or vise versa) that finds his neighbors dog murdered. He goes on a long adventure across a city in England to find the killer. He later discovers it was his father and that his mother whom which he thought was dead was really only moved away becuase of an affair that she had with the neigbor. The book was action packed and very interesting from this boys perspective.
In my young adult literature class we discussed in small groups, all the books that we read for the previous week. When I discussed this book with my friends in the class and told them about my feelings on the book they all seemed to have similar reactions. They mostly said that since the book was written in the perspective of a boy with mild autism (possibly aspergers syndrome) it would be hard for a younger child reading the book to grasp that concept, where as adults or, college students for that matter could better humor the boy about his style of writing and his different perspective on life.
After we discussed this in our small groups I really changed my perspective on the book in a positive way. I realized that although this book was seemingly childish, that in reality that made for beautiful literature as if from the direct perspective of the narrator. This is a very talented way of writing that I would not have appreciated as much if I didn't hear an alternative perspective from my group members.
This book is about a boy who has some form of a learning disability (although it is never directly stated he seems to have qualities of autism such as: a desire for repitition, logic based on very particular things like seeing five cars yellow equals a bad day or vise versa) that finds his neighbors dog murdered. He goes on a long adventure across a city in England to find the killer. He later discovers it was his father and that his mother whom which he thought was dead was really only moved away becuase of an affair that she had with the neigbor. The book was action packed and very interesting from this boys perspective.
Go ask Alice...who is Alice??
Go ask alice by....anonymous, right?? First of all I would like to say that if this book was really written by anonymous than...wow! First of all I would like to adress the controversies surrounding this book. (The ones that I have heard about) First of all I heard that the book was now really written by anonymous but that it was indeed written by a woman named Beatrice Sparks. However, I was never able to confirm this anywhere and most of the other blogs and readings on this book have suggested that it is still unknown so perhaps "anonymous" is a cheap way out of things.
Secondly I have heard atleast two different potential origins for the title of the book, "Go Ask Alice." I have heard that it was a random reference to a very minor character in the book named Alice who was a junkie on the street that the main character interacted very briefly with. Recently too I heard that the title was taken from a song from the 60's called "White Rabbit," by Jefferson Airplane. I can't find any evidence that this was true. And also, what initially popped into my head was the children's story about "Alice in Wonderland," also said to be somewhat of a psychedelic experience.
Another controversy surrounding this book is rooted in the field of education and the usefullness that this book provides. Quite simply this is opinion. My mother who read this book when she was younger felt that it served no purpose either way, negatively or positively. However I felt that this book scared me to death on certain parts and was somewhat of a horror story and I can only imagine that it would be a deterrent to drugs for most kids. There are alot of kids however, who may think that this is a cool lifestyle and be attracted to the idea of getting involved in that lifestyle. For me I would say that the book is not an important or necessary read but I also do not believe in banning ANY book for ANY reason, so I think it should be made available to all but not pushed. It is not extremely well written or deeply meaningful so I don't thing it is useful to English teachers for any one thing.
Secondly I have heard atleast two different potential origins for the title of the book, "Go Ask Alice." I have heard that it was a random reference to a very minor character in the book named Alice who was a junkie on the street that the main character interacted very briefly with. Recently too I heard that the title was taken from a song from the 60's called "White Rabbit," by Jefferson Airplane. I can't find any evidence that this was true. And also, what initially popped into my head was the children's story about "Alice in Wonderland," also said to be somewhat of a psychedelic experience.
Another controversy surrounding this book is rooted in the field of education and the usefullness that this book provides. Quite simply this is opinion. My mother who read this book when she was younger felt that it served no purpose either way, negatively or positively. However I felt that this book scared me to death on certain parts and was somewhat of a horror story and I can only imagine that it would be a deterrent to drugs for most kids. There are alot of kids however, who may think that this is a cool lifestyle and be attracted to the idea of getting involved in that lifestyle. For me I would say that the book is not an important or necessary read but I also do not believe in banning ANY book for ANY reason, so I think it should be made available to all but not pushed. It is not extremely well written or deeply meaningful so I don't thing it is useful to English teachers for any one thing.
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