JJones, Lloyd (2006). New York: Dial Press. ISBN: 978-0-385-34107-3
Plot
In the 1990’s during a regional conflict, the island of Bougainville in the New Guinea area is invaded by opposing forces—called by the island people the Rambos, or rebels, and the redskins, government soldiers. All the white people on the island evacuate except Mr. Watts, a New Zealand native the islanders call ‘Popeye’ because of his appearance, a who is married to a now demented island woman. Mr. Watts reopens the abandoned school house and begins to teach the island children, reading to them from Great Expectations. The story provides the children with an escape from the horrors of everyday existence during the violent civil war. Matilda, the narrator of the story, is entranced ith Pip and his Victorian world, but Matilda’s mother, who is very religious, opposes the story, which has no religious moral. She opposes Mr. Watts and hides the book. When the redskins mistake Pip for a real person, and Mr. Watts can not produce proof that Pip is a fictional character, the results are horrific. Matilda recalls the story from her adult vantage as an educated woman.
Reader’s Annotation
The power of literature to sustain humanity in hard times is examined in this story of Civil War in Bougainville, in the New Guineregion. Matilda recalls Mr. Watts, the white man who began to teach the island children from Great Expectations,and the tragic outcomes of that decision.
Critique
This book is under consideration as a curriculum addition in our freshman English classes—I grabbed it from the pile to review because the curriculum suggestion list showed it on the YALSA list so I knew I could use it! Usually our student readers lack background and context that educated adults bring to the reading experience, but I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of this conflict. I did not know Bougainville was a real island and assumed it was a fable creation; I was not even picturing the “black” inhabitants correctly. My only advantages were that I had a strong background in the Dickens novel, and that I had the habits of mind which led to recognizing and rectifying my ignorance. It was actually a perfect way to experience a challenging novel from an inexperienced student’s point of view, and I found that the human emotions of the story transcended the specific setting. I also found that the book eloquently communicated the role of Art in lifting humans out of misery and fear, and this message was clear even without knowing Great Expectations. This book enlarges the reader’s world view. The writing was beautiful—clear and plain, and the characters, especially Matilda and her mother, were vivdly brought to uncompromising life.
About the author
Lloyd Jones was born in 1955 and is from New Zealand. Wikipedia says he didn’t graduate from Victoria university because he had too many library fines.
Genre
Contemporary Fiction
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
Who is Pip?
Bougainville?
Matilda’s journey
Reading Level/Interest Age
13-adult
Challenge Issues
Rape threat; violence
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share awards and reviews excerpted on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0385341067/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Why Included?
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
Selection Tools
2008 ALEX Award Winner (Young Adult Library Services Association)
2008 Best Books for Young Adults (Young Adult Library Services Association)
Commonwealth Writer's Prize Winner
Booker Prize Finalist
Son of the Mob
Korman, Gordon. (2002). New York: Hyperion. ISBN: 0786807695.
Plot
Vince Luca is a nice New York high school kid. His dad is in what Amazon.com calls “the, uh, vending machine business”. Vince wants no part of the mobster life, but it always seems to want a part of him, as when he goes out on a date and finds an unconscious Italian guy in his trunk. Then he meets Kendra Bightly so very romantically when she accidentally infects him with headlice at a frat party, and soon they are in love. That’s nice, except Kendra’s dad is an FBI agent who’s bugging Vince’s house. A complicated plot involving a kitty cat website, a Karaoke machine, and Mafia double-crossing ensures that the course of true love ain’t gonna run smooth. There’s a surprise twist solution to an old mob murder investigation at the end.
Reader’s Annotation
Vince Luca just wants to be a regular teen, but when your dad is the biggest mobster in the New York area, that isn’t easy. Just to complicate the situation, Vince has just fallen in love with Kendra, whose dad, known to Vince’s dad as Agent “Bite Me”.
is an FBI agent who’s bugging the Luca House. Hey, remember what happened to Romeo and Juliet? They were Italian too!
Critique
This book is witty, fun, fast-paced and smart. It manages to walk a tiny line between acknowledging the violence of the Mob life and keeping the story in the realm of comedy. Vince’s first-person narration is a great mixture of real emotion and comic effect; the crime subplot, though a little confusing in places, has clever twists and turns.
About the author
Gordon Korman has written more than 50 YA books. He lives on Long Island, like the Corleones.
Genre
YA Romance (Genreflecting)
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Is Alex’s behavior realistic?
Discuss Mrs. Luca’ personality
Will Vince stay out of the vending machine business?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Middle school-high school (Genreflecting)
Challenge Issues
Very mild sexual discussion and drinking
Best to gather teen reviews
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Other positve reviews available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Son-Mob-Gordon-Korman/dp/0786807695
Why Included?
I was looking for a high interest book for my reluctant-reader boys, and though the dialogue and narrative are seem too complex for many intermediate language-learners, some have enjoyed persevering for the humor and excitement of the plot.
Selection Tools
Best Books Young Adults, YALSA
Plot
Vince Luca is a nice New York high school kid. His dad is in what Amazon.com calls “the, uh, vending machine business”. Vince wants no part of the mobster life, but it always seems to want a part of him, as when he goes out on a date and finds an unconscious Italian guy in his trunk. Then he meets Kendra Bightly so very romantically when she accidentally infects him with headlice at a frat party, and soon they are in love. That’s nice, except Kendra’s dad is an FBI agent who’s bugging Vince’s house. A complicated plot involving a kitty cat website, a Karaoke machine, and Mafia double-crossing ensures that the course of true love ain’t gonna run smooth. There’s a surprise twist solution to an old mob murder investigation at the end.
Reader’s Annotation
Vince Luca just wants to be a regular teen, but when your dad is the biggest mobster in the New York area, that isn’t easy. Just to complicate the situation, Vince has just fallen in love with Kendra, whose dad, known to Vince’s dad as Agent “Bite Me”.
is an FBI agent who’s bugging the Luca House. Hey, remember what happened to Romeo and Juliet? They were Italian too!
Critique
This book is witty, fun, fast-paced and smart. It manages to walk a tiny line between acknowledging the violence of the Mob life and keeping the story in the realm of comedy. Vince’s first-person narration is a great mixture of real emotion and comic effect; the crime subplot, though a little confusing in places, has clever twists and turns.
About the author
Gordon Korman has written more than 50 YA books. He lives on Long Island, like the Corleones.
Genre
YA Romance (Genreflecting)
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Is Alex’s behavior realistic?
Discuss Mrs. Luca’ personality
Will Vince stay out of the vending machine business?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Middle school-high school (Genreflecting)
Challenge Issues
Very mild sexual discussion and drinking
Best to gather teen reviews
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Other positve reviews available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Son-Mob-Gordon-Korman/dp/0786807695
Why Included?
I was looking for a high interest book for my reluctant-reader boys, and though the dialogue and narrative are seem too complex for many intermediate language-learners, some have enjoyed persevering for the humor and excitement of the plot.
Selection Tools
Best Books Young Adults, YALSA
Superbad
Superbad
Columbia Pictures (Producers), & Mottola, Greg (Director). (2007)[DVD]. USA: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Plot
Overweight motormouth Seth (Jonah Hill), rejected from Dartmouth, on his way to the State University, and his quieter and more academic Dartmouth-bound friend, Evan (Michael Cera) set out to buy alcohol for a party hosted and attended by the girls they each like. They must unwillingly enlist the help of their uberdork classmate Fogel, since he is the proud possessor of a new fake ID bearing the name McLovin’. As Seth and Evan wait outside for Fogel to some out with the liquor, the store is robbed, which sets the long night’s journey into day in motion. The journey back to the party with the alcohol involves a demented driver who hits Jonah Hill with his car,two insane policemen, and scary drug dealers who want to hear Michael Cera sing. When the two friends finally reach the party things grow even more complicated, as Seth is too drunk to express his feelings to the abstemious red-haired, independent Jules, and Becca is too drunk for Evan to lose his virginity. Fogel/McLovin’, in a triumph for geeks everywhere, gains the most prestige. Ultimately the film focuses on the deep friendship between the two main characters and recognizes the difficulty of maintaining such intimacy in the adult world.
About the author
Seth Rogen, who plays one of the cops, and big Judd Apatow collaborator Evan Goldberg, wrote this script when they were 13-15.
Reader’s Annotation
American audiences love those stories of long summer night odysseys at the end of high school, and this is the raunchy but hilarious updated offering. Overweight Seth and studious Evan must grudgingly associate themselves with superdork Fogel to secure alcohol for a party hosted by the girls they have crushes on.
Critique
The enthusiastic would say an archetypal, the more critical might say a plagiarized tale of a big night for teen friends at the end of their high school experience. Reminiscent of Can’t Hardly Wait, Better Off Dead, and of course, American Graffiti, the big change awaiting these boys, who are still children at the end of high school, is not sexual awakening but the looming loss of the intimacy of their friendship, a theme which seems to resonate with many young men today. The characters, though exaggerated for comic effect, were so recognizable to a high school teacher that I ended up confusing Seth with a real boy who had been in my class. The plot was a loosely assembled picaresque at best, but the movie was both hilarious and, ultimately, sweet.
Genre
Humor
Curriculum Ties
Fun to imagine, but no.
Booktalking Ideas
Confidential: let’s match the characters with kids at your school!
Talk about how the boys are so much more clearly characterized than the girls.
Does the movie give the impression that men are actually afraid of women, on the whole? Is the movie right?
Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 (YALSA List)
Challenge Issues
Numerous—sexual activity and explicit discussion; drug and alcohol use; incessant profanity
Gather student responses. Share reviews and awards listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superbad_(film)
Why Included?
Major student recommendation; reviews
Selection Tools
YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films List
Columbia Pictures (Producers), & Mottola, Greg (Director). (2007)[DVD]. USA: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Plot
Overweight motormouth Seth (Jonah Hill), rejected from Dartmouth, on his way to the State University, and his quieter and more academic Dartmouth-bound friend, Evan (Michael Cera) set out to buy alcohol for a party hosted and attended by the girls they each like. They must unwillingly enlist the help of their uberdork classmate Fogel, since he is the proud possessor of a new fake ID bearing the name McLovin’. As Seth and Evan wait outside for Fogel to some out with the liquor, the store is robbed, which sets the long night’s journey into day in motion. The journey back to the party with the alcohol involves a demented driver who hits Jonah Hill with his car,two insane policemen, and scary drug dealers who want to hear Michael Cera sing. When the two friends finally reach the party things grow even more complicated, as Seth is too drunk to express his feelings to the abstemious red-haired, independent Jules, and Becca is too drunk for Evan to lose his virginity. Fogel/McLovin’, in a triumph for geeks everywhere, gains the most prestige. Ultimately the film focuses on the deep friendship between the two main characters and recognizes the difficulty of maintaining such intimacy in the adult world.
About the author
Seth Rogen, who plays one of the cops, and big Judd Apatow collaborator Evan Goldberg, wrote this script when they were 13-15.
Reader’s Annotation
American audiences love those stories of long summer night odysseys at the end of high school, and this is the raunchy but hilarious updated offering. Overweight Seth and studious Evan must grudgingly associate themselves with superdork Fogel to secure alcohol for a party hosted by the girls they have crushes on.
Critique
The enthusiastic would say an archetypal, the more critical might say a plagiarized tale of a big night for teen friends at the end of their high school experience. Reminiscent of Can’t Hardly Wait, Better Off Dead, and of course, American Graffiti, the big change awaiting these boys, who are still children at the end of high school, is not sexual awakening but the looming loss of the intimacy of their friendship, a theme which seems to resonate with many young men today. The characters, though exaggerated for comic effect, were so recognizable to a high school teacher that I ended up confusing Seth with a real boy who had been in my class. The plot was a loosely assembled picaresque at best, but the movie was both hilarious and, ultimately, sweet.
Genre
Humor
Curriculum Ties
Fun to imagine, but no.
Booktalking Ideas
Confidential: let’s match the characters with kids at your school!
Talk about how the boys are so much more clearly characterized than the girls.
Does the movie give the impression that men are actually afraid of women, on the whole? Is the movie right?
Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 (YALSA List)
Challenge Issues
Numerous—sexual activity and explicit discussion; drug and alcohol use; incessant profanity
Gather student responses. Share reviews and awards listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superbad_(film)
Why Included?
Major student recommendation; reviews
Selection Tools
YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films List
Acceptance
Coll, Susan (2007). New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. ISBN-10: 0374237190/ ISBN-13: 978-0374237196
Plot
Like Hacking Harvard, more App Lit. AP Harry takes every possible class and activity that will help him get into Harvard, even though he already has a full scholarship to the University of Maryland. His Indian neighbor Maya, a champion swimmer from an overachieving family, is fading under the pressure, and their weird classmate Taylor is stealing people’s mail while she searches for a college which meets her primary criteria: possessing a private bathroom. The students visit colleges, take high-stakes exams, and exhaust themselves with academics and activities. Harry’s tired single biologist mom, Grace, tries to mitigate Harry’s natural-born ambition, while Taylor’s crazy ‘helicopter parent’, Nina, whose marriage is falling apart, adds to Taylor’s pressure to excel. Meanwhile the narrative settles in on Yates College in Upstate New York, which is benefiting from the admissions hysteria, and its unsavory staff of administrators and academics, among them Olivia, a disgruntled admissions officer who is having an affair with an egotistical married professor. The book follows the students till the envelopes come in the mail (which now, of course, is replaced with a mouse click), but not all the situations are resolved, and predictably, things don’t go quite as predicted.
Reader’s Annotation
Kids going through the process might be comforted by the fact that the adults come off much worse that the kids in this satire on the brutal college admissions process. Three kids from the same neighborhood—“AP Harry”(because he’s taken every AP class available at his school), Maya, a champion swimmer, and Taylor, who, under the admissions pressure has begun to steal the neighborhood mail, make their way through Senior year.
Critique
For those about to endure it ,or those who have children involved in this process, this book has an interest not necessarily created by its disjointed plot. Many of the adult characters seem to be crazy, and while that may be an accurate reflection of college guidance counselors, admissions officers, and parents, it doesn’t make the characters real enough to care about. The younger characters are drawn with more detail and dimension, though some of their behavior never really becomes understandable. The prose and dialogue are sharp, and the conventions and responses of the whole college application grind—the tour guides, the anxious visitors, the desperate parents, are very accurate reflections of familiar recent experiences.
About the author
Susan Coll is the mother of three college age children. Acceptance was her third novel.
Genre
YA
Curriculum Ties
Counselors should have an App Lit shelf!
Booktalking Ideas
Contrast the two mothers, Grace and Nina
Would Taylor be happy at Yates?
Yashequana woman and her real-life counterparts
Reading Level/Interest Age
High school-adult (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Mild sexual situations
Reviews excerpted on http://us.macmillan.com/acceptance
Why Included?
Powell’s recommendation
Plot
Like Hacking Harvard, more App Lit. AP Harry takes every possible class and activity that will help him get into Harvard, even though he already has a full scholarship to the University of Maryland. His Indian neighbor Maya, a champion swimmer from an overachieving family, is fading under the pressure, and their weird classmate Taylor is stealing people’s mail while she searches for a college which meets her primary criteria: possessing a private bathroom. The students visit colleges, take high-stakes exams, and exhaust themselves with academics and activities. Harry’s tired single biologist mom, Grace, tries to mitigate Harry’s natural-born ambition, while Taylor’s crazy ‘helicopter parent’, Nina, whose marriage is falling apart, adds to Taylor’s pressure to excel. Meanwhile the narrative settles in on Yates College in Upstate New York, which is benefiting from the admissions hysteria, and its unsavory staff of administrators and academics, among them Olivia, a disgruntled admissions officer who is having an affair with an egotistical married professor. The book follows the students till the envelopes come in the mail (which now, of course, is replaced with a mouse click), but not all the situations are resolved, and predictably, things don’t go quite as predicted.
Reader’s Annotation
Kids going through the process might be comforted by the fact that the adults come off much worse that the kids in this satire on the brutal college admissions process. Three kids from the same neighborhood—“AP Harry”(because he’s taken every AP class available at his school), Maya, a champion swimmer, and Taylor, who, under the admissions pressure has begun to steal the neighborhood mail, make their way through Senior year.
Critique
For those about to endure it ,or those who have children involved in this process, this book has an interest not necessarily created by its disjointed plot. Many of the adult characters seem to be crazy, and while that may be an accurate reflection of college guidance counselors, admissions officers, and parents, it doesn’t make the characters real enough to care about. The younger characters are drawn with more detail and dimension, though some of their behavior never really becomes understandable. The prose and dialogue are sharp, and the conventions and responses of the whole college application grind—the tour guides, the anxious visitors, the desperate parents, are very accurate reflections of familiar recent experiences.
About the author
Susan Coll is the mother of three college age children. Acceptance was her third novel.
Genre
YA
Curriculum Ties
Counselors should have an App Lit shelf!
Booktalking Ideas
Contrast the two mothers, Grace and Nina
Would Taylor be happy at Yates?
Yashequana woman and her real-life counterparts
Reading Level/Interest Age
High school-adult (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Mild sexual situations
Reviews excerpted on http://us.macmillan.com/acceptance
Why Included?
Powell’s recommendation
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Chabon, Michael (2000). New York: Random House. ISBN-10: 0312282990/ISBN-13: 978-0312282998
Plot
This extraordinary book tells the story of two Jewish cousins, Sam Klayman and Josef Kavalier. Josef flees wartime Prague hidden in the coffin with a golem, and makes his way to New York where he moves in with the Klaymans. Through Sam’s job at a novelty company, Josef, a skilled artist, and Sam, a glib storyteller, get involved with the comic book movement in its earliest years, just after Superman is introduced. They create a successful character, The Escapist, who battles fascism. Josef meets Rosa, a Greenwich vllage artist, and works to help his family escape from Prague, while Sam confronts his homosexuality and both realize their work is being exploited. They have an amazing office in the Empire State Building, which enriches the comic book milieu with deco significance. Heartrending tragedy befalls Josef, and he joins the Navy to fight fascism. The narrative carries on into the postwar years, when Josef returns from war and obscurity and must repair his life.
Reader’s Annotation
The early days of the comic book industry, anchored in the deco Empire State building, are the setting for this story of two Jewish cousins, one a Czech refugee who has left his whole family behind, the other a New York novelty salesman. The great events of the era, and some of the real people, are entangled with their lives.
Critique
Teachers made a list at school for possible new additions to the curriculum; I recently re-read this book for that consideration. Michael Chabon is an artist.
The language and the story are both rich and nimble. The characters are so vividly drawn it’s as if we know them. The descriptions of the Empire State Building gave mythic status not only to the monument but to the entire deco era of the comic book’s beginnings. Though the book is rich and multi-layered, its devices—the golem, the Escapist, New York —are accessible and fascinating. Sadly, there are concerns that the gay story line will make the book too controversial to use in our classrooms, but for a library, this is a perfect crossover book for the sophisticated teen reader.
About the author
Michael Chabon grew up in one of the earliest manufactured communities, in Maryland. He was obsessed with comics, mythology, and popular culture. He nows lives with his family in Berkeley, CA. His wife is not popular with the clerks in nearby businesses.
Genre
Literary fiction
Curriculum Ties
Private schools are using it in English; public schools fear the gay content.
Booktalking Ideas
All the characters who are The Escapist
The Legend of the Golem
Early Comics
Reading Level/Interest Age
Crossover
Challenge Issues
Gay content; occasional profanity
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Share reviews listed on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0312282990/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Pulitzer Prize
Why Included?
Curriculum Selction Committee list for high school
Selection Tools
Pulitzer Prize list / National Book Critics Circle Award list , Pen/Faulkner Award
Chabon, Michael (2000). New York: Random House. ISBN-10: 0312282990/ISBN-13: 978-0312282998
Plot
This extraordinary book tells the story of two Jewish cousins, Sam Klayman and Josef Kavalier. Josef flees wartime Prague hidden in the coffin with a golem, and makes his way to New York where he moves in with the Klaymans. Through Sam’s job at a novelty company, Josef, a skilled artist, and Sam, a glib storyteller, get involved with the comic book movement in its earliest years, just after Superman is introduced. They create a successful character, The Escapist, who battles fascism. Josef meets Rosa, a Greenwich vllage artist, and works to help his family escape from Prague, while Sam confronts his homosexuality and both realize their work is being exploited. They have an amazing office in the Empire State Building, which enriches the comic book milieu with deco significance. Heartrending tragedy befalls Josef, and he joins the Navy to fight fascism. The narrative carries on into the postwar years, when Josef returns from war and obscurity and must repair his life.
Reader’s Annotation
The early days of the comic book industry, anchored in the deco Empire State building, are the setting for this story of two Jewish cousins, one a Czech refugee who has left his whole family behind, the other a New York novelty salesman. The great events of the era, and some of the real people, are entangled with their lives.
Critique
Teachers made a list at school for possible new additions to the curriculum; I recently re-read this book for that consideration. Michael Chabon is an artist.
The language and the story are both rich and nimble. The characters are so vividly drawn it’s as if we know them. The descriptions of the Empire State Building gave mythic status not only to the monument but to the entire deco era of the comic book’s beginnings. Though the book is rich and multi-layered, its devices—the golem, the Escapist, New York —are accessible and fascinating. Sadly, there are concerns that the gay story line will make the book too controversial to use in our classrooms, but for a library, this is a perfect crossover book for the sophisticated teen reader.
About the author
Michael Chabon grew up in one of the earliest manufactured communities, in Maryland. He was obsessed with comics, mythology, and popular culture. He nows lives with his family in Berkeley, CA. His wife is not popular with the clerks in nearby businesses.
Genre
Literary fiction
Curriculum Ties
Private schools are using it in English; public schools fear the gay content.
Booktalking Ideas
All the characters who are The Escapist
The Legend of the Golem
Early Comics
Reading Level/Interest Age
Crossover
Challenge Issues
Gay content; occasional profanity
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Share reviews listed on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0312282990/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Pulitzer Prize
Why Included?
Curriculum Selction Committee list for high school
Selection Tools
Pulitzer Prize list / National Book Critics Circle Award list , Pen/Faulkner Award
The Golden Compass
Pullman, Phillip (1995). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 0-679-87924-2
Plot
In a world similar to our own, 11 year-old Lyra Belaqua runs wild all over Jordan College, part of this world’s Oxford University.She is friends with a raggedy group of unsupervised children, offspring of college servants, townspeople, and of the Gyptians, traveling people whose bats are moored in the nearby canal. Lyra has a daemon—a familiar, a soulmate which usually takes the form of a small animal—everyone in this world has one. Lord Asriel, her uncle, who eventually is revealed to be her father, has an important meeting scheduled in a special chamber at the college—while hiding there with Pantalaimon, her daemon, Lyra sees the Master of Jordan dropping poison into Asriel’s drink. She tells Ariel, who has her stay in the closet and keep an eye on the proceedings. Lord Asriel’s lecture is about ‘dust’, cosmic particles full of power and significance. He then heads north on a scientific exploration. Meanwhile, Lyra worries about the Gobblers, who seem to be stealing children, especially the children of the less powerful, such as her friend Roger, a servant boy, and also the children of the Gyptians. Two things then happen—the Master of the college gives Lyra the alethiometer, similar in shape to a golden compass or pockrtwatch. It has special symbols on its faces, and is supposed to be able to answer questions for the skilled user. At the same time, the terrifying Mrs. Coulter appears in town. Sweet, beautiful, and obviously extremely dangerous, she is soon revealed to be connected to the Gobblers and on the prowl with her horrid golden monkey daemon for the alethiometer. Lyra flees north in connection with the Gyptians. She meets Iorek Byrnison, fighter stripped of his powerful armor, and former king of the bears. Lyra’s journey eventually takes her to a place where she discovers the horrible truth—through a process called ‘intercision’, the stolen children are being separated from their daemons—a fate worse than amputation, worse than death, which follows soon after. The Gyptians and Lyra must try to rescue the children and make their way to the imprisoned Lord Asriel, who holds the key to the myseries of dust and intercision.
Reader’s Annotation
Every person in this parallel world has a daemon, a familiar who is tied to the individual’s soul. When the evil Mrs. Coulter comes to Jordan College and children start to disappear, Lyra Belaqua must use the mysterious alethiometer to aid Lord Asriel against this threat to the order of the universe.
Critique:
Having read these 3 books in early September but not written about them till early December, this writing was instructive. I was extremely enthusiastic and impressed by the books upon reading. I still am, but looking at what I still retain and what has drifted away forms a ready-made critique of the elements of the book. I now find that many of the details of the convoluted plot did not stick with me, but all the major characters are vivid in my mind—the unreadable Asriel, the sublimely alarming Mrs. Coulter, and the Nordic warrior polar bear. The amazing visual of the book—the amalgamation of medieval scholarship, Victorian technology, and the powerful images of frozen northern geography—prove indelible. The strongest impression by far which lingers is of the humans and their daemons—the unspeakable pain at the thought of losing them, and the realization that everyone in our world had endured some sort of intercision.
About the author
Phillip Pullman is a graduate of Oxford College, although he always mentions that he received a poor degree. Now he has an honorary PHD from there, and lectures in Exeter College. As a young boy Pullman was fascinated by American comics.
Genre
Fantasy YA
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
Where’s my daemon?
Nicole Kidman in the film: why she IS Mrs. Coulter
Victorian Technology/ Fantasy World
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 7 and up (SLJ, Booklist)
Challenge Issues
I’d say not till Books 2 and 3.
Why Included?
My youngest son who is now away at college picked this book up on a bookstore shelf, attracted by the beautiful cover of the young girl and the polar bear in front of a wintry sky. We didn’t know anything about it. For all these years my son has been telling me to READ THESE BOOKS, but I never made time. So now I have!
Selection Tools
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 1997
Plot
In a world similar to our own, 11 year-old Lyra Belaqua runs wild all over Jordan College, part of this world’s Oxford University.She is friends with a raggedy group of unsupervised children, offspring of college servants, townspeople, and of the Gyptians, traveling people whose bats are moored in the nearby canal. Lyra has a daemon—a familiar, a soulmate which usually takes the form of a small animal—everyone in this world has one. Lord Asriel, her uncle, who eventually is revealed to be her father, has an important meeting scheduled in a special chamber at the college—while hiding there with Pantalaimon, her daemon, Lyra sees the Master of Jordan dropping poison into Asriel’s drink. She tells Ariel, who has her stay in the closet and keep an eye on the proceedings. Lord Asriel’s lecture is about ‘dust’, cosmic particles full of power and significance. He then heads north on a scientific exploration. Meanwhile, Lyra worries about the Gobblers, who seem to be stealing children, especially the children of the less powerful, such as her friend Roger, a servant boy, and also the children of the Gyptians. Two things then happen—the Master of the college gives Lyra the alethiometer, similar in shape to a golden compass or pockrtwatch. It has special symbols on its faces, and is supposed to be able to answer questions for the skilled user. At the same time, the terrifying Mrs. Coulter appears in town. Sweet, beautiful, and obviously extremely dangerous, she is soon revealed to be connected to the Gobblers and on the prowl with her horrid golden monkey daemon for the alethiometer. Lyra flees north in connection with the Gyptians. She meets Iorek Byrnison, fighter stripped of his powerful armor, and former king of the bears. Lyra’s journey eventually takes her to a place where she discovers the horrible truth—through a process called ‘intercision’, the stolen children are being separated from their daemons—a fate worse than amputation, worse than death, which follows soon after. The Gyptians and Lyra must try to rescue the children and make their way to the imprisoned Lord Asriel, who holds the key to the myseries of dust and intercision.
Reader’s Annotation
Every person in this parallel world has a daemon, a familiar who is tied to the individual’s soul. When the evil Mrs. Coulter comes to Jordan College and children start to disappear, Lyra Belaqua must use the mysterious alethiometer to aid Lord Asriel against this threat to the order of the universe.
Critique:
Having read these 3 books in early September but not written about them till early December, this writing was instructive. I was extremely enthusiastic and impressed by the books upon reading. I still am, but looking at what I still retain and what has drifted away forms a ready-made critique of the elements of the book. I now find that many of the details of the convoluted plot did not stick with me, but all the major characters are vivid in my mind—the unreadable Asriel, the sublimely alarming Mrs. Coulter, and the Nordic warrior polar bear. The amazing visual of the book—the amalgamation of medieval scholarship, Victorian technology, and the powerful images of frozen northern geography—prove indelible. The strongest impression by far which lingers is of the humans and their daemons—the unspeakable pain at the thought of losing them, and the realization that everyone in our world had endured some sort of intercision.
About the author
Phillip Pullman is a graduate of Oxford College, although he always mentions that he received a poor degree. Now he has an honorary PHD from there, and lectures in Exeter College. As a young boy Pullman was fascinated by American comics.
Genre
Fantasy YA
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
Where’s my daemon?
Nicole Kidman in the film: why she IS Mrs. Coulter
Victorian Technology/ Fantasy World
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 7 and up (SLJ, Booklist)
Challenge Issues
I’d say not till Books 2 and 3.
Why Included?
My youngest son who is now away at college picked this book up on a bookstore shelf, attracted by the beautiful cover of the young girl and the polar bear in front of a wintry sky. We didn’t know anything about it. For all these years my son has been telling me to READ THESE BOOKS, but I never made time. So now I have!
Selection Tools
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 1997
The Lovely Bones
Little Brother
Doctorow, Cory (2008). New York,:Tor. ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1985-2
Plot
Reader’s Annotation
Critique
About the author
Genre
Curriculum Ties
Booktalking Ideas
Reading Level/Interest Age
Challenge Issues
Why Included?
Selection Tools
Doctorow, Cory (2008). New York,:Tor. ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1985-2
Plot
Reader’s Annotation
Critique
About the author
Genre
Curriculum Ties
Booktalking Ideas
Reading Level/Interest Age
Challenge Issues
Why Included?
Selection Tools
The Amber Spyglass
Pullman, Phillip (1999). New York: Alfred A Knopf. ISBN-10: 0679879269/ ISBN-13: 978-0679879268
Plot
By Book III, the plot of the His Dark Materials Series has grown very complicated. Will, who was introduced in The Subtle Knife, Book II, is in search of Lyra. Mrs. Coulter has imprisoned Lyra, whether to use her or protect her is at first unclear. The forces of the Magisterium, who certainly bear some resemblance to various employees of the Vatican, are lining up against Lord Asriel’s assembled army. There is an archangel called Metatron, and there is a race of tiny people, smaller than a hand, called Gallevespians. Also from Book II is Mary, who seems to be in our own world. She is a former nun who has linked to Will through her research. She visits another parallel world populated by elephant-like creatures called Mulefa, and while there she learns more about how the Dust is blowing away through all the holes which have been cut between the different worlds. A culminating battle for control begins, and during it the Authority (God) is revealed—he is a decrepit old prisoner of the archangel Metatron, and soon dies from old age and illness. Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter, and the Archangel all perish in their Blakean struggle over the Abyss. Afterward, as Will and Lyra begin to fall in love and awaken sexually, it is learned that they cannot live permanently in each others' world, and must return to their own. It turns out also that all the human types who did not appear to have daemons actually do have them; they are just difficult to see, and some of their daemons begin to appear.
Reader’s Annotation
Book III in the His Dark Materials series unites Will and Lyra, Lyra’s old friend Iorek Byrnison, the armored polar bear, in opposing the power of the Magisterium, but what role will Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter play in this battle for souls and freedom?
Critique
As a culturally Catholic adult, I could not believe what I was reading in Book II and III, and I was very surprised that I had not heard more outcry over these books. I have since read that there have been various challenges to the books, mostly for anti-Catholicism. The presentation of the Vatican-like Magisterium is an obvious target for a religious challenge, but it’s the entire set of religious assumptions—the Gnostic, Manichean cosmology that underlies Milton—that are the most shocking. Even for an adult (maybe more so for an adult), it is unsettling to be reminded that the set of assumptions about Christianity which have so altered our world for 2000 years could easily have developed in another direction. Many younger readers are probably more interested in the details of the battle and the complexities of inter-world travel, but no one could read this book thoughtfully without considering questions about God and free-will, which is wonderful. I loved the references to Milton and wonder if I could winkle any kids into reading a bit of him through discussion of this book. I’m sure I can interest some teen readers in Blake’s illustrations and poetry, which clearly inspire much of Pullman’s imagery.
About the author
See The Golden Compass blog entry. My husband and son went to see Pullman read and speak. My husband said Pullman was very droll. He had received a letter from a child with a cute photo enclosed of a squirrel which lived in a tree outside the child’s room. The letter said “Write another book about Will and Lyra, or the squirrel dies”; he was enjoying that blackmail attempt very much.
Genre
Fantasy YA
Curriculum Ties
Certainly could be great for freshman English, except the first two books would need to be read, and the religious challenge issues could be huge.
Booktalking Ideas
God in the Book
Dust and Science
Blake’s engravings/ Pullman’s prose
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 6-up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share reviews available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0679879269/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Awards summarized at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amber_Spyglass
Why Included?
Had to read to conclusion, even though I could only count two!
Selection Tools
WINNER 2002 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 2001 - ALA Notable Children's Book
Plot
By Book III, the plot of the His Dark Materials Series has grown very complicated. Will, who was introduced in The Subtle Knife, Book II, is in search of Lyra. Mrs. Coulter has imprisoned Lyra, whether to use her or protect her is at first unclear. The forces of the Magisterium, who certainly bear some resemblance to various employees of the Vatican, are lining up against Lord Asriel’s assembled army. There is an archangel called Metatron, and there is a race of tiny people, smaller than a hand, called Gallevespians. Also from Book II is Mary, who seems to be in our own world. She is a former nun who has linked to Will through her research. She visits another parallel world populated by elephant-like creatures called Mulefa, and while there she learns more about how the Dust is blowing away through all the holes which have been cut between the different worlds. A culminating battle for control begins, and during it the Authority (God) is revealed—he is a decrepit old prisoner of the archangel Metatron, and soon dies from old age and illness. Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter, and the Archangel all perish in their Blakean struggle over the Abyss. Afterward, as Will and Lyra begin to fall in love and awaken sexually, it is learned that they cannot live permanently in each others' world, and must return to their own. It turns out also that all the human types who did not appear to have daemons actually do have them; they are just difficult to see, and some of their daemons begin to appear.
Reader’s Annotation
Book III in the His Dark Materials series unites Will and Lyra, Lyra’s old friend Iorek Byrnison, the armored polar bear, in opposing the power of the Magisterium, but what role will Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter play in this battle for souls and freedom?
Critique
As a culturally Catholic adult, I could not believe what I was reading in Book II and III, and I was very surprised that I had not heard more outcry over these books. I have since read that there have been various challenges to the books, mostly for anti-Catholicism. The presentation of the Vatican-like Magisterium is an obvious target for a religious challenge, but it’s the entire set of religious assumptions—the Gnostic, Manichean cosmology that underlies Milton—that are the most shocking. Even for an adult (maybe more so for an adult), it is unsettling to be reminded that the set of assumptions about Christianity which have so altered our world for 2000 years could easily have developed in another direction. Many younger readers are probably more interested in the details of the battle and the complexities of inter-world travel, but no one could read this book thoughtfully without considering questions about God and free-will, which is wonderful. I loved the references to Milton and wonder if I could winkle any kids into reading a bit of him through discussion of this book. I’m sure I can interest some teen readers in Blake’s illustrations and poetry, which clearly inspire much of Pullman’s imagery.
About the author
See The Golden Compass blog entry. My husband and son went to see Pullman read and speak. My husband said Pullman was very droll. He had received a letter from a child with a cute photo enclosed of a squirrel which lived in a tree outside the child’s room. The letter said “Write another book about Will and Lyra, or the squirrel dies”; he was enjoying that blackmail attempt very much.
Genre
Fantasy YA
Curriculum Ties
Certainly could be great for freshman English, except the first two books would need to be read, and the religious challenge issues could be huge.
Booktalking Ideas
God in the Book
Dust and Science
Blake’s engravings/ Pullman’s prose
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grade 6-up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share reviews available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0679879269/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Awards summarized at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amber_Spyglass
Why Included?
Had to read to conclusion, even though I could only count two!
Selection Tools
WINNER 2002 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 2001 - ALA Notable Children's Book
A Long Way Gone
Beah, Ishmael (2007). New York,: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. ISBN-10: 0374105235/ ISBN-13: 978-0374105235
Plot
This non-fiction book is the memoir of the author, who was 12 when the revolution began in Sierra Leone. Beah, his older brother, and a group of friends had walked to a larger town to perform as rappers in a talent show; while they were gone their village was attacked by vicious rebel forces. Homeless and starving, the boys, joined by others, wander through the nightmarish landscape of the bloodied countryside. Just as Ishmael locates his family, they are massacred along with most of the inhabitants of their new town. Ishmael is soon rounded up by the government forces and trained as a soldier. Full of rage against those who killed his family, fueled by the readily available drugs and armed with his own AK-47, Ishmael lives as a killer for several years. After he and some other boys are handed over to UNESCO, they begin the long process toward physical and spiritual rehabilitation. Ishmael makes progress and is chosen to visit the UN in New York as an ambassador for the children of Sierra Leone. He finds family when he is united with an uncle, but as war breaks out again he flees the country. Early chapters and the afterward describe how he finally arrives in New York.
Reader’s Annotation
A calmly observant style serves to underline the unbelievable horror of the events depicted in this first person memoir by Ishmael Beah, who spent years as a rage and drug fuelled child soldier during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
Critique
There is some discussion online about the reliability of this memoir. It is easy to see how the events and places recollected could have fused and blurred in the memories of a child, but the general impression of the narrative is one of simple truthfulness—the quiet, straightforward narrative voice almost seems to imply that dramatic emphasis is neither necessary nor tolerable when such events are considered. Though such a book is read for purposes other than entertainment, there are pleasures in the narrative, especially the images of family events and the African stories preserved in Ishmael’s memories.
About the author
Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. After the events described in the book he became part of the family of an American woman he had met during his first US visit. He finished high school at the United Nations International School and graduated from Oberlin College in 2004. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and participates in many groups advocating for children affected by war.
Genre
non-fiction memoir
Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Booktalking Ideas
Why is behavior such as Ishmael describes sometimes called ‘inhuman’?
Used the quote: “I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance”
How would we have answered the story of the monkey?
Reading Level/Interest Age
14-adult
Challenge Issues
Horrific violence, rape, drug use
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list SLJ and other reviews available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374105235 and awards summarized on Wikipedia, including place on Time Magazine’s Best Non-Fiction 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_Beah
Why Included?
Wanted to include some non-fiction; this was the title most frequently recommended by my students.
Selection Tools
Student recommendation, SLJ.
Plot
This non-fiction book is the memoir of the author, who was 12 when the revolution began in Sierra Leone. Beah, his older brother, and a group of friends had walked to a larger town to perform as rappers in a talent show; while they were gone their village was attacked by vicious rebel forces. Homeless and starving, the boys, joined by others, wander through the nightmarish landscape of the bloodied countryside. Just as Ishmael locates his family, they are massacred along with most of the inhabitants of their new town. Ishmael is soon rounded up by the government forces and trained as a soldier. Full of rage against those who killed his family, fueled by the readily available drugs and armed with his own AK-47, Ishmael lives as a killer for several years. After he and some other boys are handed over to UNESCO, they begin the long process toward physical and spiritual rehabilitation. Ishmael makes progress and is chosen to visit the UN in New York as an ambassador for the children of Sierra Leone. He finds family when he is united with an uncle, but as war breaks out again he flees the country. Early chapters and the afterward describe how he finally arrives in New York.
Reader’s Annotation
A calmly observant style serves to underline the unbelievable horror of the events depicted in this first person memoir by Ishmael Beah, who spent years as a rage and drug fuelled child soldier during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
Critique
There is some discussion online about the reliability of this memoir. It is easy to see how the events and places recollected could have fused and blurred in the memories of a child, but the general impression of the narrative is one of simple truthfulness—the quiet, straightforward narrative voice almost seems to imply that dramatic emphasis is neither necessary nor tolerable when such events are considered. Though such a book is read for purposes other than entertainment, there are pleasures in the narrative, especially the images of family events and the African stories preserved in Ishmael’s memories.
About the author
Ishmael Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980. After the events described in the book he became part of the family of an American woman he had met during his first US visit. He finished high school at the United Nations International School and graduated from Oberlin College in 2004. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and participates in many groups advocating for children affected by war.
Genre
non-fiction memoir
Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Booktalking Ideas
Why is behavior such as Ishmael describes sometimes called ‘inhuman’?
Used the quote: “I believe children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance”
How would we have answered the story of the monkey?
Reading Level/Interest Age
14-adult
Challenge Issues
Horrific violence, rape, drug use
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list SLJ and other reviews available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Gone-Memoirs-Soldier/dp/0374105235 and awards summarized on Wikipedia, including place on Time Magazine’s Best Non-Fiction 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael_Beah
Why Included?
Wanted to include some non-fiction; this was the title most frequently recommended by my students.
Selection Tools
Student recommendation, SLJ.
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Brashares, Ann (2003). New York: Dell—Laurel Leaf. /ISBN-10: 0385729340/ ISBN-13: 978-0385729345
Plot
The four friends from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants return, sharing the magical pants that fit each of their different shapes as they go through a summer of transformative experiences. Tibby goes to a summer film school at a nearby college, where her video-game playing friend, the weirdo Brian, follows her, interfering with her attempts to impress her hip new New York friends. Lena pines for Kostos, her love from the last book, even though she broke up with him herself. Carmen had yet another fit of rage at parental betrayal, this time when her mother falls in love, and Bridget visits a long-estranged grandmother incognito, healing herself in the process from the horror of her mother’s mental illness and death, and the effects of her rash behavior the summer before. Not everything has a happy ending, but the pants and the friendships survive.
Reader’s Annotation
Life as a modern teen is full of challenges, but once again the four friends from the first Travelling Pants book—Carmen, Lena, Tibby, and Bea-- share love, support, and a pair of almost magical jeans as they face the challenges of life and growing up
Critique
One might point out that the girls’ affectionate notes become a little cloying, or mention that their distinctive traits begin to be repetitiously described; one might carp about the antique disposal of the inconvenient Kostos, but really, one, who is a big devotee of the Seinfeld “No hugging; no learning” rule, might just admit that she cried four times and read the whole thing without stopping. The fundamental goodness of the four girls, who are always very hard on themselves about their shortcomings, is believable and comforting. The story of Bee’s visit to her grandmother was the best of the four storylines; Bridget’s personal transformation as she cleans out an attic stuffed with her mother’s past was well done and very satisfying to read.
About the author
There is information about Ann Brashares on the Travelling Pants entry, but also, she and her husband Jacob, who is a well-known painter in the classic style, met when she was an 18 year old freshman at Barnard, and he was a 21 year old junior at Columbia. . His father was one of her philosophy professors and when they first met, Jacob sketched her portrait. This is very romantic and leaves us wanting very much to know what pants she was wearing at the time.
Genre
Teen Chick Lit
Curriculum Ties
Just for fun
Booktalking Ideas
Is the friendship between these girls getting to be good to be true?
Which girl would you be most likely to be friends with?
What do you predict for Lena and Paul?
Reading Level/Interest Age
8th grade and up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Sexuality, passionate but not graphic; mild infrequent profanity
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list SLJ and other reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/Second-Summer-Sisterhood-Traveling-Pants/dp/0385729340;
YALSA teen lists at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/2003teenstop.cfm
Why Included?
Read for genre assgn.
Selection Tools
Sequel to acclaimed first book
Plot
The four friends from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants return, sharing the magical pants that fit each of their different shapes as they go through a summer of transformative experiences. Tibby goes to a summer film school at a nearby college, where her video-game playing friend, the weirdo Brian, follows her, interfering with her attempts to impress her hip new New York friends. Lena pines for Kostos, her love from the last book, even though she broke up with him herself. Carmen had yet another fit of rage at parental betrayal, this time when her mother falls in love, and Bridget visits a long-estranged grandmother incognito, healing herself in the process from the horror of her mother’s mental illness and death, and the effects of her rash behavior the summer before. Not everything has a happy ending, but the pants and the friendships survive.
Reader’s Annotation
Life as a modern teen is full of challenges, but once again the four friends from the first Travelling Pants book—Carmen, Lena, Tibby, and Bea-- share love, support, and a pair of almost magical jeans as they face the challenges of life and growing up
Critique
One might point out that the girls’ affectionate notes become a little cloying, or mention that their distinctive traits begin to be repetitiously described; one might carp about the antique disposal of the inconvenient Kostos, but really, one, who is a big devotee of the Seinfeld “No hugging; no learning” rule, might just admit that she cried four times and read the whole thing without stopping. The fundamental goodness of the four girls, who are always very hard on themselves about their shortcomings, is believable and comforting. The story of Bee’s visit to her grandmother was the best of the four storylines; Bridget’s personal transformation as she cleans out an attic stuffed with her mother’s past was well done and very satisfying to read.
About the author
There is information about Ann Brashares on the Travelling Pants entry, but also, she and her husband Jacob, who is a well-known painter in the classic style, met when she was an 18 year old freshman at Barnard, and he was a 21 year old junior at Columbia. . His father was one of her philosophy professors and when they first met, Jacob sketched her portrait. This is very romantic and leaves us wanting very much to know what pants she was wearing at the time.
Genre
Teen Chick Lit
Curriculum Ties
Just for fun
Booktalking Ideas
Is the friendship between these girls getting to be good to be true?
Which girl would you be most likely to be friends with?
What do you predict for Lena and Paul?
Reading Level/Interest Age
8th grade and up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Sexuality, passionate but not graphic; mild infrequent profanity
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list SLJ and other reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/Second-Summer-Sisterhood-Traveling-Pants/dp/0385729340;
YALSA teen lists at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/2003teenstop.cfm
Why Included?
Read for genre assgn.
Selection Tools
Sequel to acclaimed first book
Monster
Myers, Walter Dean (1999). New York: Scholastic. ISBN-10: 0064407314/ ISBN-13: 978-0064407311
Plot
New York teen Steve Harmon is in prison on trial for murder, as he may have served as a lookout during a robbery in which the store owner was shot. Steve tells the story of his imprisonment and trial in a combination of journal entries and screenplay—in high school he is involved in a film program. We see the trial from Steve’s point of view as each attorney presents the case, and also scraps of the immediate past. As audience or jury we sift through the images and words provided trying to determine the truth about Steve’s behavior and character—is he the honest young film maker described by his teacher, or is he what the prosecutor calls him—a monster? As in real life, a legal verdict may not be enough to resolve this question.
Reader’s Annotation
Teen Steve Harmon does not want to be what the prosecutor called him: a Monster. On trial for murder he records his trial and imprisonment in journal and screenplay, and readers become both audience and jury.
Critique
Ambiguous, mysterious, and compelling, this work is far more morally and emotionally complex than many books for this age level. Looking at reviews posted on blogs, Amazon, or Wikipedia, some say “Steve participated as a lookout”; some say "Steve is innocent and must fight to prove it”; both groups assume their reading is correct. It is amazing that Myers manages to communicate the neighborhood and prison world of ugly violence and domination while actually using few if any graphic images or obscenities. One thing I would note: this book was piloted in our freshman curriculum for struggling readers, but the format of the book is very challenging for such students. The Scholastic Read 180 version comes with an audio tape, which is helpful.
About the author
Walter Dean Myers is a revered African American YA writer. He was raised by foster parents in Harlem, struggled in school, but always loved to read and write. He says he writes 10 pages a day, and when he’s got that, he’s done.
Genre
Contemporary YA
Curriculum Ties
English use
Booktalking Ideas
You be the jury: highlights from each lawyer’s closing
Prison at night
In what ways could Steve be a Monster?
Reading Level/Interest Age
13 and up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Implied prison rape scenes; violence, though not graphic
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share awards and reviews excerpted at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0064407314
Why Included?
Part of the Scholastic Read 180 Reading program I am teaching this year—was curious about the difficulty students have with this book.
Selection Tools
Scholastic Read 180 Program
National book Award Finalist
Michael Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
Plot
New York teen Steve Harmon is in prison on trial for murder, as he may have served as a lookout during a robbery in which the store owner was shot. Steve tells the story of his imprisonment and trial in a combination of journal entries and screenplay—in high school he is involved in a film program. We see the trial from Steve’s point of view as each attorney presents the case, and also scraps of the immediate past. As audience or jury we sift through the images and words provided trying to determine the truth about Steve’s behavior and character—is he the honest young film maker described by his teacher, or is he what the prosecutor calls him—a monster? As in real life, a legal verdict may not be enough to resolve this question.
Reader’s Annotation
Teen Steve Harmon does not want to be what the prosecutor called him: a Monster. On trial for murder he records his trial and imprisonment in journal and screenplay, and readers become both audience and jury.
Critique
Ambiguous, mysterious, and compelling, this work is far more morally and emotionally complex than many books for this age level. Looking at reviews posted on blogs, Amazon, or Wikipedia, some say “Steve participated as a lookout”; some say "Steve is innocent and must fight to prove it”; both groups assume their reading is correct. It is amazing that Myers manages to communicate the neighborhood and prison world of ugly violence and domination while actually using few if any graphic images or obscenities. One thing I would note: this book was piloted in our freshman curriculum for struggling readers, but the format of the book is very challenging for such students. The Scholastic Read 180 version comes with an audio tape, which is helpful.
About the author
Walter Dean Myers is a revered African American YA writer. He was raised by foster parents in Harlem, struggled in school, but always loved to read and write. He says he writes 10 pages a day, and when he’s got that, he’s done.
Genre
Contemporary YA
Curriculum Ties
English use
Booktalking Ideas
You be the jury: highlights from each lawyer’s closing
Prison at night
In what ways could Steve be a Monster?
Reading Level/Interest Age
13 and up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Implied prison rape scenes; violence, though not graphic
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share awards and reviews excerpted at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Walter-Dean-Myers/dp/0064407314
Why Included?
Part of the Scholastic Read 180 Reading program I am teaching this year—was curious about the difficulty students have with this book.
Selection Tools
Scholastic Read 180 Program
National book Award Finalist
Michael Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
Boy Meets Boy
Levithan, David (2003). NEW YORK: Random House/Alfred A. Knopf. ISBNTrd. 0-375-82400-6, ISBNlib. 0-375-92400-0,
Plot
In this “gaytopia” (Booklist), everyone is accepting—the quarterback of the football team is also the homecoming queen, and PFLAG has more members than the PTA. Still there are lots of problems—Paul’s friend Tony, from the less accepting neighboring town, struggles to come out to his Christian parents; Joni, Paul’s best friend since kindergarten, has a jerky new boy friend, and misunderstandings keep messing things up between Paul and the cute new boy, Noah. Can they get everything straightened out before the Dowager Dance?
Reader’s Annotation
High school ‘gayboy’ Paul and his friends live in what Booklist called ‘Gaytopia’, where the crossdressing quarterback is also the homecoming queen. Even in Gaytopia, love is hard, as Paul’s encounters with his ex, Kyle, complicate his relationship with the attractive new kid Noah.
Critique
The style of this book was initially very confusing. Too much Weetzie Bat? Too many John Waters movies? A little bit gay Pleasantville too? So peculiar, and yet too familiar. In the end it seemed partly a healing medicine for gay men who have far less pleasant high school memories, but more importantly, for kids who all too often see themselves in stories as either tortured victims or quirky best friends, it’s a chance to be the beautiful couple at the center of the dance floor. Sweetness and love are the qualities of this book; in the end you have to be kind of mean not to like it.
About the author
David Levithan has been an editor at Scholastic for many years. He is coauthor of the book Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. , which was recently made into a feature film.
Genre
YA LGBT Romance
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Nice girls; bad boys--why?
Compare Paul’s town to yours.
Look at the role of friends in the Coming-out process.
Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 YALSA
Challenge Issues
Cheerfully positive depictions of homosexuality and crossdressing
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Provide reviews available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0375824006/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&
Why Included?
Looking for LGBT YA books
Selection Tools
YALSA Best Books For Teens 2004
Plot
In this “gaytopia” (Booklist), everyone is accepting—the quarterback of the football team is also the homecoming queen, and PFLAG has more members than the PTA. Still there are lots of problems—Paul’s friend Tony, from the less accepting neighboring town, struggles to come out to his Christian parents; Joni, Paul’s best friend since kindergarten, has a jerky new boy friend, and misunderstandings keep messing things up between Paul and the cute new boy, Noah. Can they get everything straightened out before the Dowager Dance?
Reader’s Annotation
High school ‘gayboy’ Paul and his friends live in what Booklist called ‘Gaytopia’, where the crossdressing quarterback is also the homecoming queen. Even in Gaytopia, love is hard, as Paul’s encounters with his ex, Kyle, complicate his relationship with the attractive new kid Noah.
Critique
The style of this book was initially very confusing. Too much Weetzie Bat? Too many John Waters movies? A little bit gay Pleasantville too? So peculiar, and yet too familiar. In the end it seemed partly a healing medicine for gay men who have far less pleasant high school memories, but more importantly, for kids who all too often see themselves in stories as either tortured victims or quirky best friends, it’s a chance to be the beautiful couple at the center of the dance floor. Sweetness and love are the qualities of this book; in the end you have to be kind of mean not to like it.
About the author
David Levithan has been an editor at Scholastic for many years. He is coauthor of the book Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. , which was recently made into a feature film.
Genre
YA LGBT Romance
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Nice girls; bad boys--why?
Compare Paul’s town to yours.
Look at the role of friends in the Coming-out process.
Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 YALSA
Challenge Issues
Cheerfully positive depictions of homosexuality and crossdressing
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Provide reviews available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0375824006/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&
Why Included?
Looking for LGBT YA books
Selection Tools
YALSA Best Books For Teens 2004
Maximum Ride: School's Out--Forever
Patterson, James (2006). New York: Little, Brown, and Co. ISBN-10: 0316155594/ISBN-13: 978-0316155595
Plot
Max and her 5 friends Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel escaped in Book I from the lab where they were created by Jeb. They are human-avian genetic mutants who can fly. Now the wolf-mutants from the lab, the Erasers, can also fly, and the Erasers are on the tails of Max and the flock. They fly to D.C., where the hospitalization of Fang after an Eraser attack leads to their introduction to Anne, an FBI agent, who takes them to her house to protect them. For a while, the flock enrolls in school, begins the search for long-lost parents, and enjoys the pleasures of a normal life, but Jeb, the Erasers, and Jeb's mysterious boss pursue them relentlessly.
Reader’s Annotation
Who hasn’t wished they could fly? Max and her human-avian friends can, but they barely have time to enjoy it, since nefarious scientists and their “Eraser” henchmen pursue them from the lab from which the recombinant mutants escaped.
Critique
Pretty silly book. Patterson dedicates this installment to “everybody out there who spreads the joy of reading’, so his heart’s in the right place—he’s using the tropes of cartoons, video games, and action film to try to grab the restless attention of reluctant readers, especially perhaps boys, though the hilariously named “Maximum Ride” is a girl. By the numbers the books are hugely popular, so it may be working. If so much will be forgiven, but the cocky dialogue and sacrifice of story for action does not make for high quality writing.
About the author
James Patterson is a very popular writer of adult thrillers, especially the Alex Cross series, books recently heard advertised on talk radio, but the Maximum Ride books are written for young readers.
Genre
YA Mystery (Amazon)
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Discuss the ways in which the flock seeks parent figures in the absence of their own.
What DNA could be combined with ours?
Focus on the personality of one of the flock members and his/her contribution to the group.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-10 (SLJ, Booklist)
Challenge Issues
None
Why Included?
Looking for boy books/action for reluctant readers
Selection Tools
Oh boy. YALSA list of fun titles for reluctant readers for program in association with World Wrestling!
Plot
Max and her 5 friends Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel escaped in Book I from the lab where they were created by Jeb. They are human-avian genetic mutants who can fly. Now the wolf-mutants from the lab, the Erasers, can also fly, and the Erasers are on the tails of Max and the flock. They fly to D.C., where the hospitalization of Fang after an Eraser attack leads to their introduction to Anne, an FBI agent, who takes them to her house to protect them. For a while, the flock enrolls in school, begins the search for long-lost parents, and enjoys the pleasures of a normal life, but Jeb, the Erasers, and Jeb's mysterious boss pursue them relentlessly.
Reader’s Annotation
Who hasn’t wished they could fly? Max and her human-avian friends can, but they barely have time to enjoy it, since nefarious scientists and their “Eraser” henchmen pursue them from the lab from which the recombinant mutants escaped.
Critique
Pretty silly book. Patterson dedicates this installment to “everybody out there who spreads the joy of reading’, so his heart’s in the right place—he’s using the tropes of cartoons, video games, and action film to try to grab the restless attention of reluctant readers, especially perhaps boys, though the hilariously named “Maximum Ride” is a girl. By the numbers the books are hugely popular, so it may be working. If so much will be forgiven, but the cocky dialogue and sacrifice of story for action does not make for high quality writing.
About the author
James Patterson is a very popular writer of adult thrillers, especially the Alex Cross series, books recently heard advertised on talk radio, but the Maximum Ride books are written for young readers.
Genre
YA Mystery (Amazon)
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Discuss the ways in which the flock seeks parent figures in the absence of their own.
What DNA could be combined with ours?
Focus on the personality of one of the flock members and his/her contribution to the group.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-10 (SLJ, Booklist)
Challenge Issues
None
Why Included?
Looking for boy books/action for reluctant readers
Selection Tools
Oh boy. YALSA list of fun titles for reluctant readers for program in association with World Wrestling!
Bridget Jones's Diary
Fielding, Helen.(1998). ISBN-10: 014028009X/ ISBN-13: 978-0140280098. New York: Viking.
Plot
Bridget Jones, a single woman in her early 30’s living in London and working for a publisher, keeps a diary, where she records her struggles to subdue her appetites in the form of lists:numbers of cigarettes smoke, drinks drunk, or calories consumed. She becomes involved with her charming snake of a boss, Daniel, and at the same time can’t help taking an interest in the seemingly haughty Mark Darcy, though their initial meetings went very badly. Bridget records what it’s like to be a ‘singleton’ in a seemingly married world and worries about dying alone to be eaten by wild dogs. Fortunately she has a good group of similarly unattached friends who would probably notice her absence. After it turns out that Daniel cheated on her, Bridget moves on to a new career, and maybe to a different perspective on Mark Darcy.
Reader’s Annotation
In this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, British PR girl Bridget Jones records her weight, her smoking, and her misunderstandings with barrister Mark Darcy in her diary as she searches for true love.
Critique
This book is v. funny--everything is better when told in ‘diary-ese’. Based on Pride and Prejudice, this book is clever, entertaining, and ultimately actually romantic.
About the author
Helen Fielding started writing the B. Jones diary entries as a newspaper column. She was at one time a relief worker in Africa, and wrote a book about it
Genre
Ur-Chick Lit
Curriculum Ties
nope
Booktalking Ideas
The better date--Mark Darcy or Daniel?
Do Bridget’s visits to her parents explain her low self-esteem?
Weird British slang and practices
Reading Level/Interest Age
[Crossover]
Challenge Issues
Sexuality; smoking; drinking
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Cite reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/014028009X/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
1998 British Book of the Year award)
Why Included?
Chick Lit Genre Presentation
Selection Tools
Ur-Chick Lit
Plot
Bridget Jones, a single woman in her early 30’s living in London and working for a publisher, keeps a diary, where she records her struggles to subdue her appetites in the form of lists:numbers of cigarettes smoke, drinks drunk, or calories consumed. She becomes involved with her charming snake of a boss, Daniel, and at the same time can’t help taking an interest in the seemingly haughty Mark Darcy, though their initial meetings went very badly. Bridget records what it’s like to be a ‘singleton’ in a seemingly married world and worries about dying alone to be eaten by wild dogs. Fortunately she has a good group of similarly unattached friends who would probably notice her absence. After it turns out that Daniel cheated on her, Bridget moves on to a new career, and maybe to a different perspective on Mark Darcy.
Reader’s Annotation
In this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, British PR girl Bridget Jones records her weight, her smoking, and her misunderstandings with barrister Mark Darcy in her diary as she searches for true love.
Critique
This book is v. funny--everything is better when told in ‘diary-ese’. Based on Pride and Prejudice, this book is clever, entertaining, and ultimately actually romantic.
About the author
Helen Fielding started writing the B. Jones diary entries as a newspaper column. She was at one time a relief worker in Africa, and wrote a book about it
Genre
Ur-Chick Lit
Curriculum Ties
nope
Booktalking Ideas
The better date--Mark Darcy or Daniel?
Do Bridget’s visits to her parents explain her low self-esteem?
Weird British slang and practices
Reading Level/Interest Age
[Crossover]
Challenge Issues
Sexuality; smoking; drinking
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Cite reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/014028009X/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
1998 British Book of the Year award)
Why Included?
Chick Lit Genre Presentation
Selection Tools
Ur-Chick Lit
Juno
Mandate Pictures (Producers) & Reitman, Ivan (Director) (2009). USA: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Plot
Minnesota teen Juno sets up some spontaneous sex with her cute, diffident boyfriend Paulie, and she ends up pregnant. On her way to the abortion clinic she has an encounter with a ‘Pro-life’ classmate, who tells her that her baby currently has fingernails. This thought causes Juno to rethink the abortion, and she decides to give the baby to a childless couple. She and her friend look at “Baby wanted’ ads and she visits Mark and Vanessa. On first visit, Vanessa seems to be a chilly neat freak, while Mark is the cool guy who likes the same movies and music as Juno. Juno happens to see Vanessa at the mall playing with a child, and she appears much warmer in that role. Juno spends some time alone with Mark, and it’s soon evident that he is immature, selfish, and a little creepy. Meanwhile, Paulie is taking another girl to the prom and this bothers Juno more than she thought it would. Mark and Vanessa’s marriage appears to be on shaky ground; Paulie has a big track meet; the baby is due to arrive any minute—Juno has many decisions to make.
Reader’s Annotation
Teen Juno is pregnant and keeping the baby to give it away. She’ll need all her considerable acumen to make the right decisions about the baby’s new parents and her own feelings for Paulie, the baby’s dad.
Critique
From the first scene with the bizarre Rainne Wilson pharmacy clerk, I was disoriented but delighted by the self-aware, surreally idiosyncratic dialogue. No real people talk like Juno, but we wish they did. I enjoyed the character of Juno, especially the fact that she was so articulate, and I loved seeing for once the portrayal of a blue collar family who were intelligent, flexible, and loving. Michael Cera and Ellen Page, really the entire cast, were wonderful. The live-animation credits were a pleasure, and the soundtrack is a must-itune. What I did not enjoy: I hardly ever believed that Juno was real—she seemed like a 30 year old’s dream of a teen—a girl with the right taste in music who can take care of herself, thus being free to take care of others, such as her childlike boyfriend and the immature prospective adoptive father. The depiction of Juno’s pregnancy, both emotional and physical, was also a fantasy, with lots of the anxiety and exhaustion airbrushed away.
About the author
Diablo Cody is the self-chosen name of Brooke Busey, which, strangely, also sounds like a made-up name. She is always described as “the former stripper”. She is a blogger and wrote a book about her year of stripping.
Genre
Contemporary comedy
Curriculum Ties
None
Booktalking Ideas
Vanessa—control freak or good mom?
Mark: when it’s creepy not to grow up
Juno and Leah’s slang
Reading Level/Interest Age
PG-13
12-18 YALSA
Challenge Issues
Teen sex; positive images teen pregnancy; abortion controversy.
Be knowledgeable about the film and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses;
2009 YALSA Fabulous Films & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
Why Included?
See awards and reviews summarized at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(film)
Selection Tools
2009 YALSA Fabulous Films & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
Plot
Minnesota teen Juno sets up some spontaneous sex with her cute, diffident boyfriend Paulie, and she ends up pregnant. On her way to the abortion clinic she has an encounter with a ‘Pro-life’ classmate, who tells her that her baby currently has fingernails. This thought causes Juno to rethink the abortion, and she decides to give the baby to a childless couple. She and her friend look at “Baby wanted’ ads and she visits Mark and Vanessa. On first visit, Vanessa seems to be a chilly neat freak, while Mark is the cool guy who likes the same movies and music as Juno. Juno happens to see Vanessa at the mall playing with a child, and she appears much warmer in that role. Juno spends some time alone with Mark, and it’s soon evident that he is immature, selfish, and a little creepy. Meanwhile, Paulie is taking another girl to the prom and this bothers Juno more than she thought it would. Mark and Vanessa’s marriage appears to be on shaky ground; Paulie has a big track meet; the baby is due to arrive any minute—Juno has many decisions to make.
Reader’s Annotation
Teen Juno is pregnant and keeping the baby to give it away. She’ll need all her considerable acumen to make the right decisions about the baby’s new parents and her own feelings for Paulie, the baby’s dad.
Critique
From the first scene with the bizarre Rainne Wilson pharmacy clerk, I was disoriented but delighted by the self-aware, surreally idiosyncratic dialogue. No real people talk like Juno, but we wish they did. I enjoyed the character of Juno, especially the fact that she was so articulate, and I loved seeing for once the portrayal of a blue collar family who were intelligent, flexible, and loving. Michael Cera and Ellen Page, really the entire cast, were wonderful. The live-animation credits were a pleasure, and the soundtrack is a must-itune. What I did not enjoy: I hardly ever believed that Juno was real—she seemed like a 30 year old’s dream of a teen—a girl with the right taste in music who can take care of herself, thus being free to take care of others, such as her childlike boyfriend and the immature prospective adoptive father. The depiction of Juno’s pregnancy, both emotional and physical, was also a fantasy, with lots of the anxiety and exhaustion airbrushed away.
About the author
Diablo Cody is the self-chosen name of Brooke Busey, which, strangely, also sounds like a made-up name. She is always described as “the former stripper”. She is a blogger and wrote a book about her year of stripping.
Genre
Contemporary comedy
Curriculum Ties
None
Booktalking Ideas
Vanessa—control freak or good mom?
Mark: when it’s creepy not to grow up
Juno and Leah’s slang
Reading Level/Interest Age
PG-13
12-18 YALSA
Challenge Issues
Teen sex; positive images teen pregnancy; abortion controversy.
Be knowledgeable about the film and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses;
2009 YALSA Fabulous Films & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
Why Included?
See awards and reviews summarized at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(film)
Selection Tools
2009 YALSA Fabulous Films & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults
10 Things I Hate About You
Touchstone Pictures (Producers), & Junger, Gil (Director) (1999). USA: Buena Vista Pictures.
Plot
In this version of The Taming of the Shrew set in a Seattle high school, paranoid single dad won’t let his sweet, popular younger daughter Bianca date until her fierce, feminist older sister Kat starts dating. This, he figures, will keep Bianca home forever. Kat has just been accepted to Sarah Lawrence,and her father refuses to let her go away to school so far from home. Joey, a jerky popular boy, pays a rough, mysterious student, Patrick, to date Kat so Joey can get to Bianca. Also in the mix are nice new kid Cameron, who fell in love with Bianca at first sight, and his social mentor, uber-geek Michael. Just as in the original, there are lots of misunderstandings and cross-purposes, but as Kat and Patrick spend time together, they begin to see that they are in fact well-matched, just as the childish Bianca and the goodheartedly immature Cameron are better off together. As is obligatory in teen movies, things culminate at the prom, where Kat finds out that Patrick was paid to date her, which may ruin everything
Reader’s Annotation
Bianca is the cutest girl in school; her sister Kat is the meanest—but until Kat is dating, Bianca has to stay home. Popular narcissist Joey starts the plot in motion by paying Patrick, a student with a mysterious past, who is said to have eaten a live duck, to go out with Kat.
Critique
If teens like YA because they see themselves there, there should be TA—for teachers to enjoy portrayals of themselves. My favorite thing in this movie (besides the insane gothic turreted high school and the beautiful Seattle settings) is the irascible young black teacher, especially when he kicks Kat out of his room every time he doesn’t feel like listening to her, and his interactions with the white rastas in his class. It’s a cute movie—the attraction between Patrick and Kat, especially after he stops smoking and starts washing his hair, is very believable. The supporting cast is great, especially the father , the young teacher, and most of all Allison Janney as the bodice-ripper-writing guidance counselor, Ms. Perky. Not as good as John Hughes though.
Genre
YA Romantic comedy
Curriculum Ties
Use with Taming of the Shrew if challenge issues surmountable
Booktalking Ideas
The overprotective doctor dad and his pregnancy suit.
Shakespeare remakes
Compare the two sisters and people’s responses to them.
Reading Level/Interest Age
PG 13
Challenge Issues
Sexual humor; drug and alcohol use w. teens; bad language
Why Included?
YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults
Selection Tools
YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults
Plot
In this version of The Taming of the Shrew set in a Seattle high school, paranoid single dad won’t let his sweet, popular younger daughter Bianca date until her fierce, feminist older sister Kat starts dating. This, he figures, will keep Bianca home forever. Kat has just been accepted to Sarah Lawrence,and her father refuses to let her go away to school so far from home. Joey, a jerky popular boy, pays a rough, mysterious student, Patrick, to date Kat so Joey can get to Bianca. Also in the mix are nice new kid Cameron, who fell in love with Bianca at first sight, and his social mentor, uber-geek Michael. Just as in the original, there are lots of misunderstandings and cross-purposes, but as Kat and Patrick spend time together, they begin to see that they are in fact well-matched, just as the childish Bianca and the goodheartedly immature Cameron are better off together. As is obligatory in teen movies, things culminate at the prom, where Kat finds out that Patrick was paid to date her, which may ruin everything
Reader’s Annotation
Bianca is the cutest girl in school; her sister Kat is the meanest—but until Kat is dating, Bianca has to stay home. Popular narcissist Joey starts the plot in motion by paying Patrick, a student with a mysterious past, who is said to have eaten a live duck, to go out with Kat.
Critique
If teens like YA because they see themselves there, there should be TA—for teachers to enjoy portrayals of themselves. My favorite thing in this movie (besides the insane gothic turreted high school and the beautiful Seattle settings) is the irascible young black teacher, especially when he kicks Kat out of his room every time he doesn’t feel like listening to her, and his interactions with the white rastas in his class. It’s a cute movie—the attraction between Patrick and Kat, especially after he stops smoking and starts washing his hair, is very believable. The supporting cast is great, especially the father , the young teacher, and most of all Allison Janney as the bodice-ripper-writing guidance counselor, Ms. Perky. Not as good as John Hughes though.
Genre
YA Romantic comedy
Curriculum Ties
Use with Taming of the Shrew if challenge issues surmountable
Booktalking Ideas
The overprotective doctor dad and his pregnancy suit.
Shakespeare remakes
Compare the two sisters and people’s responses to them.
Reading Level/Interest Age
PG 13
Challenge Issues
Sexual humor; drug and alcohol use w. teens; bad language
Why Included?
YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults
Selection Tools
YALSA 2009 Fabulous Films for Young Adults
This Boy's Life
Wolff, Tobias (1989). New York: Grove Press, ISBN-10: 0821-3668-8/ ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-3668-8
Plot
In 1950's America, Tobias Wolff travels around with his damaged and unrealistic mother looking for a get-rich-quick path into the good life. She meets Dwight; they marry and settle in the Washington town of Concrete, a beautiful but harsh area north of Seattle. There Dwight reveals himself to be a demented step-dad, abusive and controlling. Tobias, who prefers to be called Jack ,after Jack London, gets into trouble, makes the wrong friends, and works to survive life with his step-dad. Fortunately, Wolff shares with us a portrait of himself as a young man with an indestructibly inflated ego—even though his every scheme fails miserably and his school career is a disaster, Jack retains the image of himself as a talented, special boy. Jack looks for help from his Princeton senior brother, and from his absent East-coast father, married to a wealthy woman, but nothing permanent is forthcoming. Finally, Jack lies and forges his way into Hill, a prestigious East coast prep school, but does he have the skills to stay there, and if not, where can he go?
Reader’s Annotation
Tobias Wolff’s memoir of his years in the harsh Pacific Northwest under the thumb of his cruel stepfather Dwight--the story of his survival and eventual escape is told in powerful prose with humor and honesty.
Critique
This is a powerful book—it is three-dimensional in every way. Each person is presented in the round. Jack is no paragon--Wolff may even be a little hard on himself. The irresponsible mother especially is portrayed with sympathy and understanding, but even Dwight is not a caricatured villain—his behavior has context, and he has redeeming moments. The landscape of the town of Concrete and 1950’s America is so textured that we feel we have been there, experiencing the rough ground against a cold face, a mouthful of blood, the scratchy upholstery of a hot seat in a big car. Kids seem to love to read books about children who are victims, such as A Child Called It—This Boy’s Life takes such a book to the level of literature, while preserving that narrative form’s appeal. Even as he shows us all his faults, we sympathize always with Jack and long for his escape.
About the author
Tobias Wolff has a fantastical biography. His father was a legendary con artist who was portrayed in a book by Wolff’s brother, UC Professor Geoffrey Wolff, The Duke of Deception. Tobias Wolff really did concoct a falsified application and win admission to Hill, and really was expelled for lack of academic skills. He finished his education after serving in the military, and is now a professor at Stanford.
Genre
autobiography
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
The Wolff family: Professional Liars!
From Concrete (company town) to Hill (elite prep school)
Does whatever doesn’t kill you really make you stronger? (Jack’s childhood/eventual success)
Reading Level/Interest Age
Crossover
Challenge Issues
Profanity; sexual situations
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction; New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Reviews excerpted at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0802136680/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Why Included?
Considering as freshman English curriculum next year; for Independent Reading, I was looking for something a step up for students from A Child Called It.
Selection Tools
Outstanding Books For The College Bound: Biography (ALA/YALSA)
Plot
In 1950's America, Tobias Wolff travels around with his damaged and unrealistic mother looking for a get-rich-quick path into the good life. She meets Dwight; they marry and settle in the Washington town of Concrete, a beautiful but harsh area north of Seattle. There Dwight reveals himself to be a demented step-dad, abusive and controlling. Tobias, who prefers to be called Jack ,after Jack London, gets into trouble, makes the wrong friends, and works to survive life with his step-dad. Fortunately, Wolff shares with us a portrait of himself as a young man with an indestructibly inflated ego—even though his every scheme fails miserably and his school career is a disaster, Jack retains the image of himself as a talented, special boy. Jack looks for help from his Princeton senior brother, and from his absent East-coast father, married to a wealthy woman, but nothing permanent is forthcoming. Finally, Jack lies and forges his way into Hill, a prestigious East coast prep school, but does he have the skills to stay there, and if not, where can he go?
Reader’s Annotation
Tobias Wolff’s memoir of his years in the harsh Pacific Northwest under the thumb of his cruel stepfather Dwight--the story of his survival and eventual escape is told in powerful prose with humor and honesty.
Critique
This is a powerful book—it is three-dimensional in every way. Each person is presented in the round. Jack is no paragon--Wolff may even be a little hard on himself. The irresponsible mother especially is portrayed with sympathy and understanding, but even Dwight is not a caricatured villain—his behavior has context, and he has redeeming moments. The landscape of the town of Concrete and 1950’s America is so textured that we feel we have been there, experiencing the rough ground against a cold face, a mouthful of blood, the scratchy upholstery of a hot seat in a big car. Kids seem to love to read books about children who are victims, such as A Child Called It—This Boy’s Life takes such a book to the level of literature, while preserving that narrative form’s appeal. Even as he shows us all his faults, we sympathize always with Jack and long for his escape.
About the author
Tobias Wolff has a fantastical biography. His father was a legendary con artist who was portrayed in a book by Wolff’s brother, UC Professor Geoffrey Wolff, The Duke of Deception. Tobias Wolff really did concoct a falsified application and win admission to Hill, and really was expelled for lack of academic skills. He finished his education after serving in the military, and is now a professor at Stanford.
Genre
autobiography
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
The Wolff family: Professional Liars!
From Concrete (company town) to Hill (elite prep school)
Does whatever doesn’t kill you really make you stronger? (Jack’s childhood/eventual success)
Reading Level/Interest Age
Crossover
Challenge Issues
Profanity; sexual situations
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction; New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Reviews excerpted at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0802136680/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Why Included?
Considering as freshman English curriculum next year; for Independent Reading, I was looking for something a step up for students from A Child Called It.
Selection Tools
Outstanding Books For The College Bound: Biography (ALA/YALSA)
Hacking Harvard
Wasserman, Robin. (2007). New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN-10: 1416936335/ ISBN-13: 978-1416936336
Plot
Three brilliant friends: Schwarz, Playboy-obsessed boy math genius already in Harvard at age 16, Eric Roth, tech genius and voice of morality, and Max Kim, Korean get-rich-quick schemer from a family of obsessed Harvard grads, take a challenge on for a 25 thousand dollar bet. They will hack, which is here used in the old MIT sense, as ‘trick through brilliant ingenuity’, their way into Harvard admissions to earn an acceptance for the biggest loser they can find at their school. This happens to be Clay Porter, the bullying terror of Eric’s childhood, an uneducated, uncultured, trailer-park teen. On the other side of the bet are The Bums, two very unpleasant geniuses from Boston Latin who made their money in day trading, and Alexandra Talese, Miss Perfect, would be valedictorian, and Harvard hopeful. To get Clay into Harvard they have to alter his transcripts, help him cheat on the SAT’s; coach and prompt him through his interview, and turn him into an apparent artist and intellectual. The outcome is always in doubt; an afterword gives some satisfying ‘where are they now’ details.
Reader’s Annotation
Don’t search here for the thrills of outsmarting the power structure through brainpower and technological skill—this book uses hacking in its older sense—a clever trick. A group of Cambridge high school brains accepts a bet that they can get an unlikely candidate into Harvard; many interesting observations of the nature of the college process ensue.
Critique
There was a recent article on “App Lit”—the genre based on the anxiety and exhaustion involved in the modern college application process. This book belongs in that genre, and reading about how a group of socially inept but, of course, brilliant teens use trickery and ingenuity to hack the admissions process of the most prestigious institution in the land should prove a comforting diversion for many teens. The social commentary is superficial, the characters blend together, and the plot doesn’t really make sense, but Robin Wasserman’s knowledge of geek life adds Star Trek/Star Wars type fun to the proceedings, the dialogue among the friends has the right smart-ass tone, and the Cambridge hometown setting is unusual and fun
About the author
Having written a book with this title, only a Harvard graduate would be so coy about where she went to college as Wasserman is in her college-focused back-of the book bio. She is also the author of the popular ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ series.
Genre
YA (Amazon)
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Think of some better methods for hacking the college admissions process.
How can the admissions process be improved?
Were the boys right to make the decision they did about Clay’s admission?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-11 (Booklist)
Challenge Issues
Mild swearing, smoking, drinking, marijuana, questionable morals
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; gather student reactions; list Booklist and other reviews available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1416936335/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1416936335/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&
Why Included?
Used for Little Brother bibliography—I was looking for technological and clever plot, but the story was pretty low-tech.
Selection Tools
Favorable mention YALSA blog
Plot
Three brilliant friends: Schwarz, Playboy-obsessed boy math genius already in Harvard at age 16, Eric Roth, tech genius and voice of morality, and Max Kim, Korean get-rich-quick schemer from a family of obsessed Harvard grads, take a challenge on for a 25 thousand dollar bet. They will hack, which is here used in the old MIT sense, as ‘trick through brilliant ingenuity’, their way into Harvard admissions to earn an acceptance for the biggest loser they can find at their school. This happens to be Clay Porter, the bullying terror of Eric’s childhood, an uneducated, uncultured, trailer-park teen. On the other side of the bet are The Bums, two very unpleasant geniuses from Boston Latin who made their money in day trading, and Alexandra Talese, Miss Perfect, would be valedictorian, and Harvard hopeful. To get Clay into Harvard they have to alter his transcripts, help him cheat on the SAT’s; coach and prompt him through his interview, and turn him into an apparent artist and intellectual. The outcome is always in doubt; an afterword gives some satisfying ‘where are they now’ details.
Reader’s Annotation
Don’t search here for the thrills of outsmarting the power structure through brainpower and technological skill—this book uses hacking in its older sense—a clever trick. A group of Cambridge high school brains accepts a bet that they can get an unlikely candidate into Harvard; many interesting observations of the nature of the college process ensue.
Critique
There was a recent article on “App Lit”—the genre based on the anxiety and exhaustion involved in the modern college application process. This book belongs in that genre, and reading about how a group of socially inept but, of course, brilliant teens use trickery and ingenuity to hack the admissions process of the most prestigious institution in the land should prove a comforting diversion for many teens. The social commentary is superficial, the characters blend together, and the plot doesn’t really make sense, but Robin Wasserman’s knowledge of geek life adds Star Trek/Star Wars type fun to the proceedings, the dialogue among the friends has the right smart-ass tone, and the Cambridge hometown setting is unusual and fun
About the author
Having written a book with this title, only a Harvard graduate would be so coy about where she went to college as Wasserman is in her college-focused back-of the book bio. She is also the author of the popular ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ series.
Genre
YA (Amazon)
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Think of some better methods for hacking the college admissions process.
How can the admissions process be improved?
Were the boys right to make the decision they did about Clay’s admission?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-11 (Booklist)
Challenge Issues
Mild swearing, smoking, drinking, marijuana, questionable morals
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; gather student reactions; list Booklist and other reviews available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1416936335/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/1416936335/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&
Why Included?
Used for Little Brother bibliography—I was looking for technological and clever plot, but the story was pretty low-tech.
Selection Tools
Favorable mention YALSA blog
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Haddon, Mark (2003). ISBN-10: 0385512104/ ISBN-13: 978-0385512107
Plot
Teen Christopher has Asperger syndrome, a mild for of Autism. ‘Mild’ is in relation to the forms which leave a victim unable to speak, communicate, or participate in normal life, but the effects of Christopher’s Aspergers are not mild. He is full of fears and limitations. Four yellow cars in a row, brown food, being touched, these things can cause him to withdraw for an entire day. Christopher has difficulty processing too much information at one time, and does not understand human emotion at all. He has a gift for math and goes to an excellent school where he has a gifted and supportive teacher Siobhan. As the story begins, Christopher believes his mother is dead. One morning he finds his neighbor’s poodle outside, stabbed with a garden fork. Inspired by The Hound of the Baskervilles, which he loves, Christopher begins to investigate the murder of the dog. He soon discovers more than he imagined, as it is revealed that not only is his mother still alive, but his father is responsible for the death of the dog. To find his mother and protect himself , Christopher must marshall his courage and considerable mental resources to make his way to the city and investigate.
Reader’s Annotation
The death of a dog begins an investigation by Christopher, a 15 year old autistic boy, which leads to startling revelations, and demands all of Christopher’s courage and intelligence as he perseveres both despite and because of his condition.
Critique
This was an excellent book, a work of empathetic imagination which will call forth a similar effort from young readers. For the most part, Haddon stays within the limitations he has set himself—Christopherdoes and sees what a boy of his age and impairment realistically might. We see this world through his eyes, so his fears and reactions begin to make sense to us; the internal logic of his universe is revealed, and we see how his unemotional approach to the rest of the world has some advantages for him, even as we feel his isolation. Also, Christopher’s factual approach is helpful when he shares complex mathematical information—thanks I think to the little drawing, I briefly understood the Let’s Make a Deal puzzle, which would be a first. It needs to be mentioned that Curious Incident is not a ‘pitiful disease’ book—it’s funny and sharp, and Christopher has big plans for the future.
About the author
This book is a crossover opposite—Haddon is a well-known YA writer; this was his first book to gain attention also in the adult world. He worked with Asperger kids as a young man.
Genre
Fiction
Curriculum Ties
I read the book for consideration as new English freshman curriculum; I think it would be excellent for 9-10 grade—many schools are using it.
Booktalking Ideas
The world of autism
Magical numbers
The Big Lie--your mother is dead
Reading Level/Interest Age
High school and up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
None.
I have read complaints that the portrayal of autism perpetuates the ‘Rain Man’ syndrome—perception that all autistics are gifted and capable of great improvement.
See reviews available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0385512104/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Why Included?
Considering for Freshman English next year
Selection Tools
YALSA Best Books for Young People 2004
Plot
Teen Christopher has Asperger syndrome, a mild for of Autism. ‘Mild’ is in relation to the forms which leave a victim unable to speak, communicate, or participate in normal life, but the effects of Christopher’s Aspergers are not mild. He is full of fears and limitations. Four yellow cars in a row, brown food, being touched, these things can cause him to withdraw for an entire day. Christopher has difficulty processing too much information at one time, and does not understand human emotion at all. He has a gift for math and goes to an excellent school where he has a gifted and supportive teacher Siobhan. As the story begins, Christopher believes his mother is dead. One morning he finds his neighbor’s poodle outside, stabbed with a garden fork. Inspired by The Hound of the Baskervilles, which he loves, Christopher begins to investigate the murder of the dog. He soon discovers more than he imagined, as it is revealed that not only is his mother still alive, but his father is responsible for the death of the dog. To find his mother and protect himself , Christopher must marshall his courage and considerable mental resources to make his way to the city and investigate.
Reader’s Annotation
The death of a dog begins an investigation by Christopher, a 15 year old autistic boy, which leads to startling revelations, and demands all of Christopher’s courage and intelligence as he perseveres both despite and because of his condition.
Critique
This was an excellent book, a work of empathetic imagination which will call forth a similar effort from young readers. For the most part, Haddon stays within the limitations he has set himself—Christopherdoes and sees what a boy of his age and impairment realistically might. We see this world through his eyes, so his fears and reactions begin to make sense to us; the internal logic of his universe is revealed, and we see how his unemotional approach to the rest of the world has some advantages for him, even as we feel his isolation. Also, Christopher’s factual approach is helpful when he shares complex mathematical information—thanks I think to the little drawing, I briefly understood the Let’s Make a Deal puzzle, which would be a first. It needs to be mentioned that Curious Incident is not a ‘pitiful disease’ book—it’s funny and sharp, and Christopher has big plans for the future.
About the author
This book is a crossover opposite—Haddon is a well-known YA writer; this was his first book to gain attention also in the adult world. He worked with Asperger kids as a young man.
Genre
Fiction
Curriculum Ties
I read the book for consideration as new English freshman curriculum; I think it would be excellent for 9-10 grade—many schools are using it.
Booktalking Ideas
The world of autism
Magical numbers
The Big Lie--your mother is dead
Reading Level/Interest Age
High school and up (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
None.
I have read complaints that the portrayal of autism perpetuates the ‘Rain Man’ syndrome—perception that all autistics are gifted and capable of great improvement.
See reviews available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0385512104/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Why Included?
Considering for Freshman English next year
Selection Tools
YALSA Best Books for Young People 2004
Luna
Peters, Julie Anne (2005). New York: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN-10: 0316733695/ ISBN-13: 978-0316733694
Plot
Regan O’ Neill has a brilliant computer whiz brother who dresses conservatively and excels in school. She also has an insecure fashion victim sister, Luna. Her life is complicated by the fact that these siblings are the same person. Regan meets a guy she likes; she’s trying to figure out who she wants to be and what she’s good at, and at the same time, she has to deal with Luna’s nightly emergences from her chrysalis, with increasingly risky outings to the mall with a Luna in girly attire, and with Liam’s old friend Aly, who wants to be Liam’s girlfriend. The O’ Neill parents are oblivious, as the dad tries to push Liam into high school sports, or preoccupied, as the mother spends her life on her cell phone working on her part--planning business. Things come to a head when Regan, tempted by a date with Chris, leaves Liam to cover her babysitting job and the parents return to find him wearing the mother’s clothes.
Reader’s Annotation
16 year old Regan doesn’t get enough sleep, because at night her brother Liam transforms into his true self—a girl named Luna. Regan’s involvement with her needy brother as he grows toward his permanent transformation makes her own teen growth a challenge.
Critique
Again, a YA book which so clearly has purpose beyond the literary that it seems mean-spirited to critique it aesthetically. The device of using the sister to tell the story is an excellent choice—we see Luna from the first through loving eyes, but at the same time receive a clear-eyed teen view of an extremely needy and difficult sibling. Regan’s ambivalence about her brother’s final metamorphosis was much appreciated as it is probably shared by many readers—on the one hand excited to see Liam realize his true self-image, but on another level finding the actual process of intense medication and major surgeries deeply disturbing. Peter’s use of metaphor, especially in her settings: the basement, the costume room, the Chem lab, enriched the story for the adult reader, but her characters, especially the cartoonish parents, are not all as well-realized as is Regan.
About the author
Peters was born in 1952,making her the first YA author I have read who was older than I am. She was briefly a teacher, a computer expert for many years, and lives with her partner Sherri Leggett in Colorado.
Genre
YA
Curriculum Ties
Could be very good for a Family Life/Living Skills type class.
Booktalking Ideas
Predict for Regan and Chris?
What happens to transgender kids who aren’t earning big money like Liam is?
Imagine hiding your most basic self (?!)
Reading Level/Interest Age
9-12 (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Accepting depiction of transgender teen
Share many awards listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_(novel)
And SLS, Booklist reviews at http://www.amazon.com/Luna-Julie-Anne-Peters/dp/0316733695
Why Included?
Class Assignment
Selection Tools
Class Assignment
Plot
Regan O’ Neill has a brilliant computer whiz brother who dresses conservatively and excels in school. She also has an insecure fashion victim sister, Luna. Her life is complicated by the fact that these siblings are the same person. Regan meets a guy she likes; she’s trying to figure out who she wants to be and what she’s good at, and at the same time, she has to deal with Luna’s nightly emergences from her chrysalis, with increasingly risky outings to the mall with a Luna in girly attire, and with Liam’s old friend Aly, who wants to be Liam’s girlfriend. The O’ Neill parents are oblivious, as the dad tries to push Liam into high school sports, or preoccupied, as the mother spends her life on her cell phone working on her part--planning business. Things come to a head when Regan, tempted by a date with Chris, leaves Liam to cover her babysitting job and the parents return to find him wearing the mother’s clothes.
Reader’s Annotation
16 year old Regan doesn’t get enough sleep, because at night her brother Liam transforms into his true self—a girl named Luna. Regan’s involvement with her needy brother as he grows toward his permanent transformation makes her own teen growth a challenge.
Critique
Again, a YA book which so clearly has purpose beyond the literary that it seems mean-spirited to critique it aesthetically. The device of using the sister to tell the story is an excellent choice—we see Luna from the first through loving eyes, but at the same time receive a clear-eyed teen view of an extremely needy and difficult sibling. Regan’s ambivalence about her brother’s final metamorphosis was much appreciated as it is probably shared by many readers—on the one hand excited to see Liam realize his true self-image, but on another level finding the actual process of intense medication and major surgeries deeply disturbing. Peter’s use of metaphor, especially in her settings: the basement, the costume room, the Chem lab, enriched the story for the adult reader, but her characters, especially the cartoonish parents, are not all as well-realized as is Regan.
About the author
Peters was born in 1952,making her the first YA author I have read who was older than I am. She was briefly a teacher, a computer expert for many years, and lives with her partner Sherri Leggett in Colorado.
Genre
YA
Curriculum Ties
Could be very good for a Family Life/Living Skills type class.
Booktalking Ideas
Predict for Regan and Chris?
What happens to transgender kids who aren’t earning big money like Liam is?
Imagine hiding your most basic self (?!)
Reading Level/Interest Age
9-12 (SLJ)
Challenge Issues
Accepting depiction of transgender teen
Share many awards listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_(novel)
And SLS, Booklist reviews at http://www.amazon.com/Luna-Julie-Anne-Peters/dp/0316733695
Why Included?
Class Assignment
Selection Tools
Class Assignment
Role Models
Universal Pictures (Producers), & Wain, David (Director). (2008)
Plot
When Danny (Paul Rudd), a passive-aggressive unhappy energy drink salesman loses it in the company’s “Minotaur Truck” and drives up onto the front lawn of a school, he and the Minotaur Mascot/salesman, Wheeler (Seann William Scott), a cheerfully irresponsible and crude man-boy, must do their community service at a mentoring organization called Sturdy Wings, led by former crack head prostitute Gayle Sweeny. The men get paired up with two boys. Wheeler gets Ronnie, a street-style little black kid with a foul mouth and lots of anti-social behavior, and Danny is matched with Augie Farks (Christopher Mintz-Plasse—the famous McLovin’ from Superbad), a LARPer and the biggest dork in the world. Sweeny doesn’t trust the two men, which may be justified, and Ronnie and Wheeler bond over their shared interest in large breasts and Ronnie’s growing interest in Wheeler’s favorite band, Kiss. Danny, meanwhile, has a confrontation with the short-fused and all powerful ‘King’ of Augie’s LAIRE medieval battle group and Augie has been banned from the group. After Wheeler abandons Ronnie at a party in favor of sex with a girl he meets there, Sweeny gets them both kicked out of the program, the boys search for other mentors, and the situation between Danny and his lawyer girlfriend deterioriates. Everything comes to a head when Danny helps Christopher form a new LARP team with a surprising theme to battle the snippy little king and his minions.
Reader’s Annotation
Danny is depressed by his job as a salesman for Minotaur energy drink—Wheeler loves it. When they both get scout-ordered to work off a transgression through a mentoring program, their involvement with their new young charges involves live action role playing games and obsessive KISS fandom.
Critique
Not being a habitual renter of films with guys on the DVD cover drinking out of a paper bags, wearing an elf-warrior suit, and appearing to urinate on a wall, my expectations were not high, but Rolling Stone is right: “Sometimes a shamelessly stoopid, proudly profane R-rated comedy is all you want out of life”. Jane Lynch alone, as the ex-everything bad control freak founder of the mentor organization, is worth every minute that might be devoted to this film, but the LARPers are the raison d’etre of the whole production. It does have to be said that the character of Ronnie, the foul-mouthed, back-talking little black kid, is a tired movie stereotype, and Paul Rudd’s character, with its combination of upscale ambition and loser habits, doesn’t really make much sense.
About the author
Paul Rudd apparently rewrote the screenplay. He is an underrated comic actor.
Genre
Comedy
Curriculum Ties
As with Superbad, it’s very entertaining to contemplate this, but I’ll have to go with no.
Booktalking Ideas
LARPing!
Talk about the absent dad factor in the story.
Characterize the film's portrayals of girlfriends
Reading Level/Interest Age
R-rated =over 17
Actual student interest= 8th grade through high school
Challenge Issues
“Rated R for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity”(Motion Picture Assoc of America).
Marijuana use
Uncomfortable juxtaposition of young child with partying behavior that might not be offensive in a fully adult context
Gather student responses
See accurate positive Guardian review at http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/09/role-models-review
Why Included?
Never got to try an RPG as I’d hoped, so took this recommendation from that group of kids.
Selection Tools
Student recommendation
Plot
When Danny (Paul Rudd), a passive-aggressive unhappy energy drink salesman loses it in the company’s “Minotaur Truck” and drives up onto the front lawn of a school, he and the Minotaur Mascot/salesman, Wheeler (Seann William Scott), a cheerfully irresponsible and crude man-boy, must do their community service at a mentoring organization called Sturdy Wings, led by former crack head prostitute Gayle Sweeny. The men get paired up with two boys. Wheeler gets Ronnie, a street-style little black kid with a foul mouth and lots of anti-social behavior, and Danny is matched with Augie Farks (Christopher Mintz-Plasse—the famous McLovin’ from Superbad), a LARPer and the biggest dork in the world. Sweeny doesn’t trust the two men, which may be justified, and Ronnie and Wheeler bond over their shared interest in large breasts and Ronnie’s growing interest in Wheeler’s favorite band, Kiss. Danny, meanwhile, has a confrontation with the short-fused and all powerful ‘King’ of Augie’s LAIRE medieval battle group and Augie has been banned from the group. After Wheeler abandons Ronnie at a party in favor of sex with a girl he meets there, Sweeny gets them both kicked out of the program, the boys search for other mentors, and the situation between Danny and his lawyer girlfriend deterioriates. Everything comes to a head when Danny helps Christopher form a new LARP team with a surprising theme to battle the snippy little king and his minions.
Reader’s Annotation
Danny is depressed by his job as a salesman for Minotaur energy drink—Wheeler loves it. When they both get scout-ordered to work off a transgression through a mentoring program, their involvement with their new young charges involves live action role playing games and obsessive KISS fandom.
Critique
Not being a habitual renter of films with guys on the DVD cover drinking out of a paper bags, wearing an elf-warrior suit, and appearing to urinate on a wall, my expectations were not high, but Rolling Stone is right: “Sometimes a shamelessly stoopid, proudly profane R-rated comedy is all you want out of life”. Jane Lynch alone, as the ex-everything bad control freak founder of the mentor organization, is worth every minute that might be devoted to this film, but the LARPers are the raison d’etre of the whole production. It does have to be said that the character of Ronnie, the foul-mouthed, back-talking little black kid, is a tired movie stereotype, and Paul Rudd’s character, with its combination of upscale ambition and loser habits, doesn’t really make much sense.
About the author
Paul Rudd apparently rewrote the screenplay. He is an underrated comic actor.
Genre
Comedy
Curriculum Ties
As with Superbad, it’s very entertaining to contemplate this, but I’ll have to go with no.
Booktalking Ideas
LARPing!
Talk about the absent dad factor in the story.
Characterize the film's portrayals of girlfriends
Reading Level/Interest Age
R-rated =over 17
Actual student interest= 8th grade through high school
Challenge Issues
“Rated R for crude and sexual content, strong language and nudity”(Motion Picture Assoc of America).
Marijuana use
Uncomfortable juxtaposition of young child with partying behavior that might not be offensive in a fully adult context
Gather student responses
See accurate positive Guardian review at http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/09/role-models-review
Why Included?
Never got to try an RPG as I’d hoped, so took this recommendation from that group of kids.
Selection Tools
Student recommendation
Funny in Farsi
Dumas, Firoozeh (2003). New York,:Random House. ISBN-10: 1400060400/ ISBN-13: 978-1400060405
Plot
Firoozeh Dumas writes a comic memoir of her family’s move from Iran to Whittier, California in the 1970’s. When her father’s visit as a petroleum engineer ends, they move back to the US for good. Though the Iranian Revolution and the hostage situation changes the attitudes of some Americans toward Iranians and has an adverse effect on her father’s income, the tone of the book is positive and patriotic. The chapters are separate comic vignettes centered around events or foibles of her family, including the French family she marries into after meeting husband Francois at Berkeley. Her parents’ poor English and her fathers’ many relatives are favorite targets for humor
Reader’s Annotation
In a memoir that reads like something from an earlier generation of immigrant humor, Firoozeh Dumas reminisces about her family’s experiences as Iranian transplants in the 1970’s America of The Brady Bunch.
Critique
The school where I teach is not diverse; it’s divided--between Anglos and Latinos. We are considering doing a school-wide Big Read—I wanted a book which would develop empathy for the immigrant experience in a way that would transcend the ethnic identities involved in our school. After reading about Funny in Farsi and meeting Ms. Dumas at a CATE conference, I even hoped this goal could be accomplished with humor and joy. I was very sad, therefore, when I could not warm to this book. It felt very old-fashioned to me, like one of those 1950’s pieces of Jewish humor where the laughs come from the thick accents of the characters. All the family members, even though her love for them was conveyed, were reduced to comic stick figures, and her jokes—the punny chapter titles, for example, are just lame. The best parts were the descriptions of Iranian cooking.
About the author
Firoozeh Dumas went to Cal, is married to a Frenchman, and has several children. She has written another comic memoir about being Iranian, and attends many conferences where she can present her books. I’m going to take this down right after the assignment, in case she googles her own name, because she seemed very nice.
Genre
Humorous memoirs
Curriculum Ties
Recreational. Maybe could use excerpts as part of English or Social Studies Units.
Booktalking Ideas
has life in America changed for new immigrants since the years depicted in this book?
How does Firoozeh’s large, close family compare to families we are familiar with?
Describe her family’s experience with American food.
Reading Level/Interest Age
7th-adult
Challenge Issues
None
Why Included?
Searching for a Big Read book; CATE presentation
Selection Tools
SLJ review available at http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Farsi-Growing-Iranian-America/dp/1400060400
Plot
Firoozeh Dumas writes a comic memoir of her family’s move from Iran to Whittier, California in the 1970’s. When her father’s visit as a petroleum engineer ends, they move back to the US for good. Though the Iranian Revolution and the hostage situation changes the attitudes of some Americans toward Iranians and has an adverse effect on her father’s income, the tone of the book is positive and patriotic. The chapters are separate comic vignettes centered around events or foibles of her family, including the French family she marries into after meeting husband Francois at Berkeley. Her parents’ poor English and her fathers’ many relatives are favorite targets for humor
Reader’s Annotation
In a memoir that reads like something from an earlier generation of immigrant humor, Firoozeh Dumas reminisces about her family’s experiences as Iranian transplants in the 1970’s America of The Brady Bunch.
Critique
The school where I teach is not diverse; it’s divided--between Anglos and Latinos. We are considering doing a school-wide Big Read—I wanted a book which would develop empathy for the immigrant experience in a way that would transcend the ethnic identities involved in our school. After reading about Funny in Farsi and meeting Ms. Dumas at a CATE conference, I even hoped this goal could be accomplished with humor and joy. I was very sad, therefore, when I could not warm to this book. It felt very old-fashioned to me, like one of those 1950’s pieces of Jewish humor where the laughs come from the thick accents of the characters. All the family members, even though her love for them was conveyed, were reduced to comic stick figures, and her jokes—the punny chapter titles, for example, are just lame. The best parts were the descriptions of Iranian cooking.
About the author
Firoozeh Dumas went to Cal, is married to a Frenchman, and has several children. She has written another comic memoir about being Iranian, and attends many conferences where she can present her books. I’m going to take this down right after the assignment, in case she googles her own name, because she seemed very nice.
Genre
Humorous memoirs
Curriculum Ties
Recreational. Maybe could use excerpts as part of English or Social Studies Units.
Booktalking Ideas
has life in America changed for new immigrants since the years depicted in this book?
How does Firoozeh’s large, close family compare to families we are familiar with?
Describe her family’s experience with American food.
Reading Level/Interest Age
7th-adult
Challenge Issues
None
Why Included?
Searching for a Big Read book; CATE presentation
Selection Tools
SLJ review available at http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Farsi-Growing-Iranian-America/dp/1400060400
The Unfortunate Ubiquity of My Blog Title!
I'm so mad because I recently discovered how common my blog title is! I remind myself of the psycho green lady on Star Trek who claims she wrote a poem:"Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day"; her insane ex star ship captain boyfriend screams at her that this poem was written by "An Earthling called Shakespeare!", and she responds, "WHICH DOES NOT ALTER THE FACT THAT I WROTE IT AGAIN YESTERDAY!"
Of course she's in an intergalactic mental hospital...
Of course she's in an intergalactic mental hospital...
Bras and Broomsticks
Mlynowski, Sarah (2005). New York,:Tor. ISBN-10: 0385731841/ ISBN-13: 978-0385731843
Plot
High School freshman Rachel has a tough life--her dad is remarrying a control-freak perfectionist, her younger sister has more cleavage than she does, and now it turns out, her sister and her mother are also witches. Her sister has been given a spell book to study, and using many delicious sounding combinations of grocery items, some basic magic potions are within Miri's power.As any big sister would, Rachel is soon putting the pressure on Miri to improve big sister's high school social life, for starters by casting a dancing spell so the klutzy Rachel can be chosen for the big fashion show and attract the attention of the boys she likes, Mick and Raf. As Rachel grows more popular she ignores faithful friend Tammy. Soon, Rachel and Miri are also plotting to turn the power of the spell book against their father's relationship with the Stepmother-to be. The fashion show and wedding both loom, and as everything comes to a climax, lessons about values and loyalty must be learned.
Reader’s Annotation
Rachel is a freshman with a stepmom-to-be; she's flat-chested; she can't dance, her former best friend has dumped her for a more popular set of friends, and now her sister has inherited witchy powers, but she has not! How far can Rachel convince Miri to go?
Critique
This book is on the low end of the 15-18 year old range--really more appropriate for middle school, but will be good for high interest-low reading level. With its fantastical element the plot is light, but the story has some serious intentions. Although the re-envisioning of the stepmom-to-be as loving and supportive was hard to accept, the important lessons Rachel learns about about popularity vs. friendship grow naturally from the plot. There was a vain hope that Puritanism would not require the dancing spell to end just when it did, but it was dashed for the moral good. It's hard for people who grew up with Bewitched to reject witch comedies.
About the author
Sarah Mlynowski is Canadian, born in 1977. Her mother is a well-known Romance writer, Elissa Ambrose. Mlynowski now lives in New York City with all the other YA writers.
Genre
Teen Chick Lit/ Fantasy
Curriculum Ties
recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Rachel's early version of her stepmother-to-be--why are they always wicked?
would I more jealous of Miri than Rachel is?
What we would do if we got the spellbook power?
Reading Level/Interest Age
6th-9th grades
Challenge Issues
none
Why Included?
Used for Genre assignment; recommendation on chicklitbooks.com
Selection Tools
SLJ and Booklist Reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/Broomsticks-Magic-Manhattan-Sarah-Mlynowski/dp/0385731817
Plot
High School freshman Rachel has a tough life--her dad is remarrying a control-freak perfectionist, her younger sister has more cleavage than she does, and now it turns out, her sister and her mother are also witches. Her sister has been given a spell book to study, and using many delicious sounding combinations of grocery items, some basic magic potions are within Miri's power.As any big sister would, Rachel is soon putting the pressure on Miri to improve big sister's high school social life, for starters by casting a dancing spell so the klutzy Rachel can be chosen for the big fashion show and attract the attention of the boys she likes, Mick and Raf. As Rachel grows more popular she ignores faithful friend Tammy. Soon, Rachel and Miri are also plotting to turn the power of the spell book against their father's relationship with the Stepmother-to be. The fashion show and wedding both loom, and as everything comes to a climax, lessons about values and loyalty must be learned.
Reader’s Annotation
Rachel is a freshman with a stepmom-to-be; she's flat-chested; she can't dance, her former best friend has dumped her for a more popular set of friends, and now her sister has inherited witchy powers, but she has not! How far can Rachel convince Miri to go?
Critique
This book is on the low end of the 15-18 year old range--really more appropriate for middle school, but will be good for high interest-low reading level. With its fantastical element the plot is light, but the story has some serious intentions. Although the re-envisioning of the stepmom-to-be as loving and supportive was hard to accept, the important lessons Rachel learns about about popularity vs. friendship grow naturally from the plot. There was a vain hope that Puritanism would not require the dancing spell to end just when it did, but it was dashed for the moral good. It's hard for people who grew up with Bewitched to reject witch comedies.
About the author
Sarah Mlynowski is Canadian, born in 1977. Her mother is a well-known Romance writer, Elissa Ambrose. Mlynowski now lives in New York City with all the other YA writers.
Genre
Teen Chick Lit/ Fantasy
Curriculum Ties
recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Rachel's early version of her stepmother-to-be--why are they always wicked?
would I more jealous of Miri than Rachel is?
What we would do if we got the spellbook power?
Reading Level/Interest Age
6th-9th grades
Challenge Issues
none
Why Included?
Used for Genre assignment; recommendation on chicklitbooks.com
Selection Tools
SLJ and Booklist Reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/Broomsticks-Magic-Manhattan-Sarah-Mlynowski/dp/0385731817
Fruits Basket Volume 11
Fruits Basket Volume 11
"You just want to analyze me with your holier-than thou logic!"
Takaya, Natsuki. (2002). Los Angeles:TOKYOPOP. ISBN-1-59532-406-2
Plot
Tohru Honda is a poor orphan girl. Somehow she is permanently visiting the rich Sohma family, in this volume at their summer beach house. Tohru is the only one who knows that the Sohma family lives under a curse: when someone hugs them, the Sohma's turn into various Chinese zodiac animals. In this volume Tohru is romantically involved with Yuki Sohma (the rat), and Kyo Sohma (the cat). Akito, who really looks like Michael Jackson, is the evil power in the family, and at the end of this volume he seems to have much greater power than anyone knew before.
Reader’s Annotation
Fruits Basketis called "the world's most popular manga. In Volume 11, the relationships between poor orphan Tohru Honda and three of the male members of the Sohma family develops, though the fact that they all transform into Chinese zodiac characters when she squeezes them slows things down.
Critique
Being fair, this is Volume 11. Being accurate, the incomprehensibility of this graphic novel is not due to the advanced volume number.Many students are passionate fans of manga; several of them recommended Fruits Basket as a favorite. I hate Fruits Basket. As a self-respecting Library Science student I must clarify--I don't want to ban it; I don't want to stop the many people who are devoted fans from reading and enjoying it. I just hate it. Benefit of the doubt can blame the dialogue on poor translation--it was choppy, bizarrely disjointed, and disorienting. In the 200 pages there were maybe 10 pages worth of actual story, and what there was still did not make sense after three readings. The pictures are hideous. None of the main characters appear Japanese or even human. Actually, not just Akito but everybody looks like Michael Jackson, with tiny pinched noses and hair over their eyes. Speaking of the eyes--the worst--square eyes with little venetian blinds inside them; blank round eyes with a tiny dot in the middle, like a shark.
I am glad since to have read Death Notes, so that, even though manga is not my preferred medium, I now know that some examples are enjoyable.
About the author
Natsuki Takaya has been writing manga since the early 90's. She has won important Japanese manga awards.
Genre
Graphic Novel
Curriculum Ties
I hope not.
Booktalking Ideas
The drawings in this book--good or bad?
Why would one of the Sohma boys be a better match for Tohru than another?
Discuss the experience of reading backwards.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Teen/Age 13+ (publisher)
Challenge Issues
Mild swearing; religious
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; ; gather teen comments; Top 10 Shojo Manga Must-Reads
Why Included?
Frequently recommended when teens were asked for manga suggestions
Selection Tools
Student suggestion; public library offfering.
"You just want to analyze me with your holier-than thou logic!"
Takaya, Natsuki. (2002). Los Angeles:TOKYOPOP. ISBN-1-59532-406-2
Plot
Tohru Honda is a poor orphan girl. Somehow she is permanently visiting the rich Sohma family, in this volume at their summer beach house. Tohru is the only one who knows that the Sohma family lives under a curse: when someone hugs them, the Sohma's turn into various Chinese zodiac animals. In this volume Tohru is romantically involved with Yuki Sohma (the rat), and Kyo Sohma (the cat). Akito, who really looks like Michael Jackson, is the evil power in the family, and at the end of this volume he seems to have much greater power than anyone knew before.
Reader’s Annotation
Fruits Basketis called "the world's most popular manga. In Volume 11, the relationships between poor orphan Tohru Honda and three of the male members of the Sohma family develops, though the fact that they all transform into Chinese zodiac characters when she squeezes them slows things down.
Critique
Being fair, this is Volume 11. Being accurate, the incomprehensibility of this graphic novel is not due to the advanced volume number.Many students are passionate fans of manga; several of them recommended Fruits Basket as a favorite. I hate Fruits Basket. As a self-respecting Library Science student I must clarify--I don't want to ban it; I don't want to stop the many people who are devoted fans from reading and enjoying it. I just hate it. Benefit of the doubt can blame the dialogue on poor translation--it was choppy, bizarrely disjointed, and disorienting. In the 200 pages there were maybe 10 pages worth of actual story, and what there was still did not make sense after three readings. The pictures are hideous. None of the main characters appear Japanese or even human. Actually, not just Akito but everybody looks like Michael Jackson, with tiny pinched noses and hair over their eyes. Speaking of the eyes--the worst--square eyes with little venetian blinds inside them; blank round eyes with a tiny dot in the middle, like a shark.
I am glad since to have read Death Notes, so that, even though manga is not my preferred medium, I now know that some examples are enjoyable.
About the author
Natsuki Takaya has been writing manga since the early 90's. She has won important Japanese manga awards.
Genre
Graphic Novel
Curriculum Ties
I hope not.
Booktalking Ideas
The drawings in this book--good or bad?
Why would one of the Sohma boys be a better match for Tohru than another?
Discuss the experience of reading backwards.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Teen/Age 13+ (publisher)
Challenge Issues
Mild swearing; religious
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; ; gather teen comments; Top 10 Shojo Manga Must-Reads
Why Included?
Frequently recommended when teens were asked for manga suggestions
Selection Tools
Student suggestion; public library offfering.
New Moon
Meyer, Stephanie (2006). New York, Little, Brown, and Co. ISBN-10: 0316160199
ISBN-13: 978-0316160193
Plot
The sequel starts with Bella’s birthday celebration at the Cullen’s house. During the party she cuts her arm, the vampire family can barely restrain their appetite for a slice of the birthday guest, and Edward realizes Bella will never be safe with him and his family. He and the Cullens disappear from Forks and Bella goes into months of depression, shown in the novel by blank papges in the narrative. Gradually her growing friendship with the warm-blooded and cheerful Jacob, who loves her desperately, and a new interest in risky behavior such as motorcycle racing, begin to bring her back to life. Jacob turns out to be, as had clearly been hinted, a shapeshifter/werewolf , but he’s still just a friend to Bella. There is some Romeo and Juliet-style miscommunication; Edward believes Bella is dead, so he goes off to Italy to provoke some old Italian vampires, because that’s one of the few ways he can die. Bella and Alice, the psychic younger vampire sister, have to fly off to Italy (No, in a plane) to rescue him. The book ends with the family voting down Bella’s desire to become a vampire—for now and she and Edward are reunited, but what about for eternity?
Reader’s Annotation
In this sequel to teen lit phenomenon Twilight, the course of human/vampire love does not run smooth. Edward and Bella are separated for most of the book, leaving Bella to battle her crushing depression through friendship with Jacob, a warm-blooded Indian boy who is more than he appears to be.
Critique
The Twilight books can’t be reviewed simply as literature. These books clearly fill a deep need in the psyche of many teen girls. These readers are the experts on what they want from Edward and Bella, and what is heard from them is that this book is torture—too much waiting; too much separation; too little Edward. The occasional fan of the more earthy Jacob will appear, but on the whole he does not give the girls what they want. Thinking back to Ann Rice’s comment about Twilight, that the vampire represents the desire of young girls for the protection of an older man, clearly, Jake is just a boy—Bella often feels protective of him herself. As a novel, without that compelling romantic narrative to pull a reader through its almost 600 pages, it’s torture.
About the author
Stephanie Meyer is now on Forbes list of the 100 most powerful celebrities. Her income is over 50 million dollars a year; her husband has retired to take care of the children.
Genre
Romance/fantasy
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Advantages/disadvantages of becoming a vampire: would you if you could?
Compare the book and the movie.
What makes Edward so attractive to teen girls?
Reading Level/Interest Age
9th grade and up
Challenge Issues
Supernatural/religious
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list
reviews linked to http://www.amazon.com/New-Moon-Twilight-Saga-Book/dp/0316160199; gather student responses
Why Included?
Sequel to incredibly popular Twilight
Selection Tools
Inescapable student recommendation
ISBN-13: 978-0316160193
Plot
The sequel starts with Bella’s birthday celebration at the Cullen’s house. During the party she cuts her arm, the vampire family can barely restrain their appetite for a slice of the birthday guest, and Edward realizes Bella will never be safe with him and his family. He and the Cullens disappear from Forks and Bella goes into months of depression, shown in the novel by blank papges in the narrative. Gradually her growing friendship with the warm-blooded and cheerful Jacob, who loves her desperately, and a new interest in risky behavior such as motorcycle racing, begin to bring her back to life. Jacob turns out to be, as had clearly been hinted, a shapeshifter/werewolf , but he’s still just a friend to Bella. There is some Romeo and Juliet-style miscommunication; Edward believes Bella is dead, so he goes off to Italy to provoke some old Italian vampires, because that’s one of the few ways he can die. Bella and Alice, the psychic younger vampire sister, have to fly off to Italy (No, in a plane) to rescue him. The book ends with the family voting down Bella’s desire to become a vampire—for now and she and Edward are reunited, but what about for eternity?
Reader’s Annotation
In this sequel to teen lit phenomenon Twilight, the course of human/vampire love does not run smooth. Edward and Bella are separated for most of the book, leaving Bella to battle her crushing depression through friendship with Jacob, a warm-blooded Indian boy who is more than he appears to be.
Critique
The Twilight books can’t be reviewed simply as literature. These books clearly fill a deep need in the psyche of many teen girls. These readers are the experts on what they want from Edward and Bella, and what is heard from them is that this book is torture—too much waiting; too much separation; too little Edward. The occasional fan of the more earthy Jacob will appear, but on the whole he does not give the girls what they want. Thinking back to Ann Rice’s comment about Twilight, that the vampire represents the desire of young girls for the protection of an older man, clearly, Jake is just a boy—Bella often feels protective of him herself. As a novel, without that compelling romantic narrative to pull a reader through its almost 600 pages, it’s torture.
About the author
Stephanie Meyer is now on Forbes list of the 100 most powerful celebrities. Her income is over 50 million dollars a year; her husband has retired to take care of the children.
Genre
Romance/fantasy
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Advantages/disadvantages of becoming a vampire: would you if you could?
Compare the book and the movie.
What makes Edward so attractive to teen girls?
Reading Level/Interest Age
9th grade and up
Challenge Issues
Supernatural/religious
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list
reviews linked to http://www.amazon.com/New-Moon-Twilight-Saga-Book/dp/0316160199; gather student responses
Why Included?
Sequel to incredibly popular Twilight
Selection Tools
Inescapable student recommendation
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
Townsend, Sue (1982). New York: Avon Books. ISBN: 0-380-73044-8
Plot
Adrian is still writing in his diary and is as self-absorbed and spot-obsessed as ever. His mother has a baby, Rosie, he has a falling out and later a reconciliation with Pandora, Bert Baxter falls in love, and the BBC still pays insufficient attention to Adrian’s poetry. Adrian continues to record in his tangential way the destruction of the British working class by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative party; passing years have only emphasized the validity of his concerns.
Reader’s Annotation
The second Mole diary begins when Adrian is 14 ¾. He is now studying for his ‘O Level’ Exams and gains a little sister, but otherwise his concerns and associates are seamlessly continued from the year before.
Critique
At 14 ¾ we are still inside the wonder years with Adrian. As long as he is a helpless teen living with his ghastly parents, there can not be too many diary entries from the egregious Mole. It is only after the first two, when we start to worry that his self-absorption and cluelessness indicate pathological conditions that the humor sometimes fades
About the author
In the years since the Adrian Mole series made her rich and famous, Sue Townsend has lost her eyesight due to diabetes. She has compared this to the behavior of the greek gods, who gave, but also take away. A new Adrian Mole entry was to be published last month.
Genre
Humor
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Parallels between the plight of Adrian’s family in Thatcher’s Britain and working people in the USA today?
Brit slang
Is Adrian like anyone you know?
Reading Level/Interest Age
8th grade and up
Challenge Issues
Thing measuring, “Big and Bouncy”-reading, sexual humor.
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; provide copies of SLJ, New York Times, and critical analyses; gather student responses
Why Included?
Used for author study; always wanted to read
Selection Tools
Sequel to popular original
Plot
Adrian is still writing in his diary and is as self-absorbed and spot-obsessed as ever. His mother has a baby, Rosie, he has a falling out and later a reconciliation with Pandora, Bert Baxter falls in love, and the BBC still pays insufficient attention to Adrian’s poetry. Adrian continues to record in his tangential way the destruction of the British working class by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative party; passing years have only emphasized the validity of his concerns.
Reader’s Annotation
The second Mole diary begins when Adrian is 14 ¾. He is now studying for his ‘O Level’ Exams and gains a little sister, but otherwise his concerns and associates are seamlessly continued from the year before.
Critique
At 14 ¾ we are still inside the wonder years with Adrian. As long as he is a helpless teen living with his ghastly parents, there can not be too many diary entries from the egregious Mole. It is only after the first two, when we start to worry that his self-absorption and cluelessness indicate pathological conditions that the humor sometimes fades
About the author
In the years since the Adrian Mole series made her rich and famous, Sue Townsend has lost her eyesight due to diabetes. She has compared this to the behavior of the greek gods, who gave, but also take away. A new Adrian Mole entry was to be published last month.
Genre
Humor
Curriculum Ties
Recreational
Booktalking Ideas
Parallels between the plight of Adrian’s family in Thatcher’s Britain and working people in the USA today?
Brit slang
Is Adrian like anyone you know?
Reading Level/Interest Age
8th grade and up
Challenge Issues
Thing measuring, “Big and Bouncy”-reading, sexual humor.
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; provide copies of SLJ, New York Times, and critical analyses; gather student responses
Why Included?
Used for author study; always wanted to read
Selection Tools
Sequel to popular original
The Bar Code Tattoo
Weyn, Suzanne. (2004). New York: Scholastic. ISBN-10: 0439395623/ ISBN-13: 978-0439395625
Plot
17 year old Kayla has started to notice a lot of changes since people began lining up to get the bar code tattoos. After receiving his, her FBI researcher father soon committed suicide. The once-prosperous family of her best friend Amber is reduced to unemployment and living off relatives in Nevada. Kayla becomes involved with a group of anti-bar code activists, including the good-natured Mfumbe, the hostile Nedra, and the attractive Zekeal. It soon becomes apparent that the bar code contains far more than ID and financial information; in fact, an individual’s entire genetic history is in there, and soon the insurance companies are re-sorting society to encourage ‘survival of the least likely to collect benefits’. As the threats mount, Kayla flees north with members of her group, but not everyone is what they appear to be. A side tale of Kayla’s developing extra-sensory powers complicates the situation at the climax.
Reader’s Annotation
No more identity theft--everybody’s getting the handy new tattoos that contain all personal and financial information. Unfortunately, 17 year-old Kayla’s father, an FBI researcher, committed suicide soon after receiving his, and her family is not the only one with problems, as it soon appears the bar codes contain more information than was first suspected.
Critique
The writing in the book is clunky, but the situation is compelling. The characters remain one-dimensional and unbelievable, especially the bad teens and the suddenly checked-out mother. The part of the plot which concerned psychic powers seemed unconnected and its Indian spirituality was pretty silly. Still, it is a good idea for a story and the pages kept turning quickly. Weyn’s created slang doesn’t come off well in comparison to the more organically developed teen speech patterns in Feed.
Genre
Science Fiction
Curriculum Ties
no
Booktalking Ideas
What connections can be made between the bar code tattoos and Facebook or MySpace?
If you have the right brand of phone and you stand near certain products in big box stores, the product brand will sense and call your phone with an ad. Should we be more worried than we are about our technology?
Predict the future of Kayla and Mfune?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-11
Challenge Issues
none
Why Included?
Used for Little Brother bibliography
Selection Tools
Sonoma County Library—“Great Reads for High Schoolers”—pamphlet
Plot
17 year old Kayla has started to notice a lot of changes since people began lining up to get the bar code tattoos. After receiving his, her FBI researcher father soon committed suicide. The once-prosperous family of her best friend Amber is reduced to unemployment and living off relatives in Nevada. Kayla becomes involved with a group of anti-bar code activists, including the good-natured Mfumbe, the hostile Nedra, and the attractive Zekeal. It soon becomes apparent that the bar code contains far more than ID and financial information; in fact, an individual’s entire genetic history is in there, and soon the insurance companies are re-sorting society to encourage ‘survival of the least likely to collect benefits’. As the threats mount, Kayla flees north with members of her group, but not everyone is what they appear to be. A side tale of Kayla’s developing extra-sensory powers complicates the situation at the climax.
Reader’s Annotation
No more identity theft--everybody’s getting the handy new tattoos that contain all personal and financial information. Unfortunately, 17 year-old Kayla’s father, an FBI researcher, committed suicide soon after receiving his, and her family is not the only one with problems, as it soon appears the bar codes contain more information than was first suspected.
Critique
The writing in the book is clunky, but the situation is compelling. The characters remain one-dimensional and unbelievable, especially the bad teens and the suddenly checked-out mother. The part of the plot which concerned psychic powers seemed unconnected and its Indian spirituality was pretty silly. Still, it is a good idea for a story and the pages kept turning quickly. Weyn’s created slang doesn’t come off well in comparison to the more organically developed teen speech patterns in Feed.
Genre
Science Fiction
Curriculum Ties
no
Booktalking Ideas
What connections can be made between the bar code tattoos and Facebook or MySpace?
If you have the right brand of phone and you stand near certain products in big box stores, the product brand will sense and call your phone with an ad. Should we be more worried than we are about our technology?
Predict the future of Kayla and Mfune?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-11
Challenge Issues
none
Why Included?
Used for Little Brother bibliography
Selection Tools
Sonoma County Library—“Great Reads for High Schoolers”—pamphlet
Death Note 1
Story:Tsugumi Ohba
Art: Takeshi Obata
(2008). New York,:Tor. ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1985-2
Plot
Japanese high school student Light Yugami is brilliant but bored, until he finds the notebook of a shinigami—a death god, and discovers that anyone whose name he writes in the book will die. Perhaps because he is the son of an important police inspector, Light begins to use the Death Note to bring justice to the many criminals who prey upon the weak, and plans to make himself into a death god for a new world. The rules of the Death Note are complex, the police draw closer in their search for the vigilante killer, and Ryuk, the shinigami, works constantly to wrest control of the Death Note back for himself, especially so he can cause the death of Light as he had originally planned.
Reader’s Annotation
You’ll never feel the same way about picking up lost papers again, once you read about the complexities of the Death Note belonging to Ryuk, a Shinigami death god. Anyone whose name is written in the book will die, and brilliant student Light Yagami uses the book for vigilante justice against a growing plague of manga criminals—but can he save himself?
Critique
After the nightmare of Fruits Basket, it was a relief to discover that manga can make sense, even read backwards. This bullet train plot is intelligent, yet full of action and gore. The characters are well constructed--complicated and multi-dimensional, especially Light, the good son, clever boy, and ruthless killer. The interactions between Ryuki the shinigama and Light are the best thing in the book. Ryuki, who speaks with less gravitas and receives less respect than your average Western Grim Reaper, engages in constant repartee with Light, which helps create the books disturbing, sophisticated mixture of humor and fear. Again coming as a relief after the repellent Fruits Basket, the art in Death Notes is excellent and deserves much of the credit for the book’s affect—modern problems and ancient powers combining in unsettling fashion. The drawings contribute to the impression of narrative drive, and the people are a well drawn mixture of personalities. The western appearance of the hero is still mysterious, but at least he doesn’t have square eyes. The shinigama is a graphic masterpiece--cocky, agile, and terrifying—a nightmare waiting to happen for some younger readers.
About the author
The author would like to tell us that he was born in Tokyo, collects teacups, and develops manga plots night and day while holding knee on chair (Death Note Volume 1: Boredom). He has won many Japanese manga and anime awards.
Genre
Graphic Novel
Curriculum Ties
Recreational, Art
Booktalking Ideas
Japanese secondary education--its role in the story?
Is Light’s use of the Death Note right or wrong?
Find out if the shinigama is based on Japanese mythology.
Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 (YALSA)
Challenge Issues
fantasy violence (publisher); tone or attitude toward death (According to anime expert Jonathan Clements, this book was banned in China after school children started decorating reproductions of the Death Note and writing in the names of children and other teachers [Wikipedia])
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; gather student responses; Share American Library Association's 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten list—lists Death Notes 1-3: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsforteens/annotations/07ggnt.cfm
Why Included?
Repeated student recommendation; interest in learning about manga; YALSA list
Selection Tools
Student input; YALSA list
Art: Takeshi Obata
(2008). New York,:Tor. ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1985-2
Plot
Japanese high school student Light Yugami is brilliant but bored, until he finds the notebook of a shinigami—a death god, and discovers that anyone whose name he writes in the book will die. Perhaps because he is the son of an important police inspector, Light begins to use the Death Note to bring justice to the many criminals who prey upon the weak, and plans to make himself into a death god for a new world. The rules of the Death Note are complex, the police draw closer in their search for the vigilante killer, and Ryuk, the shinigami, works constantly to wrest control of the Death Note back for himself, especially so he can cause the death of Light as he had originally planned.
Reader’s Annotation
You’ll never feel the same way about picking up lost papers again, once you read about the complexities of the Death Note belonging to Ryuk, a Shinigami death god. Anyone whose name is written in the book will die, and brilliant student Light Yagami uses the book for vigilante justice against a growing plague of manga criminals—but can he save himself?
Critique
After the nightmare of Fruits Basket, it was a relief to discover that manga can make sense, even read backwards. This bullet train plot is intelligent, yet full of action and gore. The characters are well constructed--complicated and multi-dimensional, especially Light, the good son, clever boy, and ruthless killer. The interactions between Ryuki the shinigama and Light are the best thing in the book. Ryuki, who speaks with less gravitas and receives less respect than your average Western Grim Reaper, engages in constant repartee with Light, which helps create the books disturbing, sophisticated mixture of humor and fear. Again coming as a relief after the repellent Fruits Basket, the art in Death Notes is excellent and deserves much of the credit for the book’s affect—modern problems and ancient powers combining in unsettling fashion. The drawings contribute to the impression of narrative drive, and the people are a well drawn mixture of personalities. The western appearance of the hero is still mysterious, but at least he doesn’t have square eyes. The shinigama is a graphic masterpiece--cocky, agile, and terrifying—a nightmare waiting to happen for some younger readers.
About the author
The author would like to tell us that he was born in Tokyo, collects teacups, and develops manga plots night and day while holding knee on chair (Death Note Volume 1: Boredom). He has won many Japanese manga and anime awards.
Genre
Graphic Novel
Curriculum Ties
Recreational, Art
Booktalking Ideas
Japanese secondary education--its role in the story?
Is Light’s use of the Death Note right or wrong?
Find out if the shinigama is based on Japanese mythology.
Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 (YALSA)
Challenge Issues
fantasy violence (publisher); tone or attitude toward death (According to anime expert Jonathan Clements, this book was banned in China after school children started decorating reproductions of the Death Note and writing in the names of children and other teachers [Wikipedia])
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; gather student responses; Share American Library Association's 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten list—lists Death Notes 1-3: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsforteens/annotations/07ggnt.cfm
Why Included?
Repeated student recommendation; interest in learning about manga; YALSA list
Selection Tools
Student input; YALSA list
Feed
Feed
Anderson, M.T. (2002). Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN-10: 0763622591/ ISBN-13: 978-0763622596
Plot
In a future America entertainment and shopping technology are permanently wired into humans at birth, big corporations rule the world, and consumers are consuming the planet--everyone lives inside a pod with a fake sky and fake sun. Teenage Marcus goes on a Spring Break trip to the Moon, where he and his friends are temporarily disconnected from their feeds after an odd technological attack. He meets the unusual Violet, who is clearly a freak because she was home-schooled-- a truism still generally accepted in the American high school, who can write with a pen and remembers the time before she had her feed. Now, however, something has gone seriously wrong with Violet's feed, which is meg bad, as is the increasing environmental catastrophe and the looming war.
Reader’s Annotation
It’s iworld—instantaneous delivery of marketing and mass entertainment delivered directly to your brain via your electronic feed, implanted at birth—every American teen should read this book. Titus, on a Spring Break trip to the Moon, has his feed disrupted at a party, meets a strange girl, and ends up looking more closely than he wants to at the corporate controlled world of the feed.
Critique
Wow! Every kid with ipod buds in his ears downloading tunes while watching YouTube needs to read this book. The horrible vision of a world where the cacophony of marketing and cheap pop culture is permanently wired right into the human body at birth is viscerally recreated—it almost feels like a little voice in your head. Marcus displays both the limitations of the future culture and some of the recognizable sensitivity of a pre-feed teen—his guilt over his reluctance to become fully involved in the fatal technological malfunction of his new girlfriend rings true. The slang of the future is very well-done in Feed. Instead of sounding oddly manufactured like the colloqualisms in The Bar Code Tattoo, these expressions clearly evolve from older forms—as the son calls everyone ‘unit’, the dad still calls everyone ‘dude’, and the speech patterns in general illustrate the terrifying devolution of human communication. “It was meg big loud...all of the prices were coming into my brain, and it was bam bam bam”. The diction of the President manages to be both unsettling and oddly familiar:”…these corporate “watch”organizations, which are not the majority of the American people, I repeat not, and aren’t its will--It is our duty…to stand behind our fellow Americans and not cast...things at them. Stones, for example. The first stone”.
About the author
Michael Tobin Anderson, born in1968, went to Harvard, worked at Candlewick Press before his first book was published, and was an instructor at Vermont College. Besides writing several award-winning YA books, he has written picture books for young children
Genre
Science Fiction/dystopia
Curriculum Ties
great to pair in English with Brave New World!
Booktalking Ideas
Focus on the environmental background of the book.
In Titus' world, would it be right to get a feed for your children?
Ipod/facebook/texting=feed?.
Reading Level/Interest Age
grades 9-12
Challenge Issues
Profanity throughout.
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list
awards summarized at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Tobin_Anderson
Feed was a 2002 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, a 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book, and a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award
Why Included?
Used for Little Brother bibliography; YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2003
Selection Tools
Genreflecting; YALSA list
Anderson, M.T. (2002). Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN-10: 0763622591/ ISBN-13: 978-0763622596
Plot
In a future America entertainment and shopping technology are permanently wired into humans at birth, big corporations rule the world, and consumers are consuming the planet--everyone lives inside a pod with a fake sky and fake sun. Teenage Marcus goes on a Spring Break trip to the Moon, where he and his friends are temporarily disconnected from their feeds after an odd technological attack. He meets the unusual Violet, who is clearly a freak because she was home-schooled-- a truism still generally accepted in the American high school, who can write with a pen and remembers the time before she had her feed. Now, however, something has gone seriously wrong with Violet's feed, which is meg bad, as is the increasing environmental catastrophe and the looming war.
Reader’s Annotation
It’s iworld—instantaneous delivery of marketing and mass entertainment delivered directly to your brain via your electronic feed, implanted at birth—every American teen should read this book. Titus, on a Spring Break trip to the Moon, has his feed disrupted at a party, meets a strange girl, and ends up looking more closely than he wants to at the corporate controlled world of the feed.
Critique
Wow! Every kid with ipod buds in his ears downloading tunes while watching YouTube needs to read this book. The horrible vision of a world where the cacophony of marketing and cheap pop culture is permanently wired right into the human body at birth is viscerally recreated—it almost feels like a little voice in your head. Marcus displays both the limitations of the future culture and some of the recognizable sensitivity of a pre-feed teen—his guilt over his reluctance to become fully involved in the fatal technological malfunction of his new girlfriend rings true. The slang of the future is very well-done in Feed. Instead of sounding oddly manufactured like the colloqualisms in The Bar Code Tattoo, these expressions clearly evolve from older forms—as the son calls everyone ‘unit’, the dad still calls everyone ‘dude’, and the speech patterns in general illustrate the terrifying devolution of human communication. “It was meg big loud...all of the prices were coming into my brain, and it was bam bam bam”. The diction of the President manages to be both unsettling and oddly familiar:”…these corporate “watch”organizations, which are not the majority of the American people, I repeat not, and aren’t its will--It is our duty…to stand behind our fellow Americans and not cast...things at them. Stones, for example. The first stone”.
About the author
Michael Tobin Anderson, born in1968, went to Harvard, worked at Candlewick Press before his first book was published, and was an instructor at Vermont College. Besides writing several award-winning YA books, he has written picture books for young children
Genre
Science Fiction/dystopia
Curriculum Ties
great to pair in English with Brave New World!
Booktalking Ideas
Focus on the environmental background of the book.
In Titus' world, would it be right to get a feed for your children?
Ipod/facebook/texting=feed?.
Reading Level/Interest Age
grades 9-12
Challenge Issues
Profanity throughout.
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list
awards summarized at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Tobin_Anderson
Feed was a 2002 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, a 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book, and a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award
Why Included?
Used for Little Brother bibliography; YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2003
Selection Tools
Genreflecting; YALSA list
Clueless
Universal Pictures (Producers), & Wain, David (Director). (2008)
Schroeder, Adam, & Berg, Barry (Producers), and Heckerling, Amy, Director (1995).
Plot
Jane Austen’s Emma reset in Beverly Hills. Teenage Cher, the treasured only daughter of a wealthy irascible litigator, stcks her fashionable nose into other people’s business. Confident of her judgment in both fashion and love, Cher fist sets up a match between her dorky debate teacher and a frazzled but kindly social studies teacher. She befriends the desperately in need of a makeover Tai, and after her success with the teachers, tries to match Tai with her friend Elton, son of a famous record producer. She also takes an interest for herself in the infrequent visitor, Christian, who loves musicals and dresses really well. All through her machinations her ex-step brother Josh keeps an eye on her, criticizes her behavior freely, and gives her the benefit of all his college-age wisdom. As her plans begin to unravel, just like the real Emma Cher has to learn the hard way that she was clueless all along
Reader’s Annotation
Like the original Emma, Beverly Hills teen Cher is handsome, clever, and rich, and thinks she knows not only what she wants, but what’s best for everybody else—too bad she’s totally clueless
Critique
I loved this movie when it was new and recently reviewed it for use in the classroom—strangely enough not for use with Emma, but trolling for humorous debate scenes—Clueless has a great one. The movie holds up very well, It is so well-written—Amy Heckerling has a gift for being eloquent and expressing character through the playful use of signature varieties of slang . The teen dialog is still a very recognizable exaggeration of the speech patterns of my students, and the modern versions of the Emma plot and characters are ingenious.
Genre
YA Comedy
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
A perfect match?
The outfits and designers—use pictures
Show Cher’s campus tour; compare to local school cultures
The Slang of Clueless
Reading Level/Interest Age
PG-13—13 and up
Challenge Issues
Very mild sexual content—gay friend; teen sexuality
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share
New Yorker review excerpted on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Clueless-Alicia-Silverstone/dp/B00001MXXE
popular press reviews/lists summarixed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clueless_(film)#Reception
Why Included?
Considering excerpts for high school classroom use
Selection Tools
Popular press and magazine reviews
Schroeder, Adam, & Berg, Barry (Producers), and Heckerling, Amy, Director (1995).
Plot
Jane Austen’s Emma reset in Beverly Hills. Teenage Cher, the treasured only daughter of a wealthy irascible litigator, stcks her fashionable nose into other people’s business. Confident of her judgment in both fashion and love, Cher fist sets up a match between her dorky debate teacher and a frazzled but kindly social studies teacher. She befriends the desperately in need of a makeover Tai, and after her success with the teachers, tries to match Tai with her friend Elton, son of a famous record producer. She also takes an interest for herself in the infrequent visitor, Christian, who loves musicals and dresses really well. All through her machinations her ex-step brother Josh keeps an eye on her, criticizes her behavior freely, and gives her the benefit of all his college-age wisdom. As her plans begin to unravel, just like the real Emma Cher has to learn the hard way that she was clueless all along
Reader’s Annotation
Like the original Emma, Beverly Hills teen Cher is handsome, clever, and rich, and thinks she knows not only what she wants, but what’s best for everybody else—too bad she’s totally clueless
Critique
I loved this movie when it was new and recently reviewed it for use in the classroom—strangely enough not for use with Emma, but trolling for humorous debate scenes—Clueless has a great one. The movie holds up very well, It is so well-written—Amy Heckerling has a gift for being eloquent and expressing character through the playful use of signature varieties of slang . The teen dialog is still a very recognizable exaggeration of the speech patterns of my students, and the modern versions of the Emma plot and characters are ingenious.
Genre
YA Comedy
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
A perfect match?
The outfits and designers—use pictures
Show Cher’s campus tour; compare to local school cultures
The Slang of Clueless
Reading Level/Interest Age
PG-13—13 and up
Challenge Issues
Very mild sexual content—gay friend; teen sexuality
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
Gather student responses; Share
New Yorker review excerpted on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Clueless-Alicia-Silverstone/dp/B00001MXXE
popular press reviews/lists summarixed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clueless_(film)#Reception
Why Included?
Considering excerpts for high school classroom use
Selection Tools
Popular press and magazine reviews
Emma
Austen, Jane (1978). London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 19 254704 6.
Plot
20 year-old Emma is the younger daughter of worrywart hypochondriac. Famously “handsome, clever, and rich”, Emma has yet to learn the limits of her powers or the consequences of meddling in other people’s lives. Her long-time governess has just married a local gentleman, thanks to Emma’s matchmaking, and there is no one left in the house to temper Emma’s strong will except older (but not old!) single neighbor Mr. Knightley. Emma has a new friend from a nearby boarding school, Harriet Smith, and after manuevering Harriet’s rejection of a worthy young farmer, Emma sets out to make another match, between Harriet, of mysterious parentage, and Mr. Elton, a self-regarding young clergyman. Emma thinks she knows best, but she proves repeatedly that she oblivious, as Mr. Elton clearly interprets all Emma’s matchmaking efforts as evidence that she is interested in him for herself, and he is angered by her rejection. The garrulous Miss Bates is a constant irritant to Emma, and when her niece, Jane Fairfax, returns to Highbury, perhaps under some mysterious cloud, Emma must endure Mr. Knightley’s comments on Jane’s talents and virtues. Fortunately, at the same time Frank Churchill, son of her former governess’s husband, also returns to town, and Emma enjoys the idea that everyone expects a match between them. Mr Elton returns from a stay in Bath with an obnoxious, social climbing new wife, and Emma starts up her matchmaking again, mocks Jane Fairfax in her chats with Frank, and is unkind to Miss Bates. In the culmination of the story Emma must learn how deluded she is about the feelings and intentions of those around her, and especially how little she has known of her own heart.
Reader’s Annotation
20 year-old Emma Woodhouse is the queen bee of her early 19th Century town, but she is so oblivious to the feelings and situations of others that she almost loses what she values the most.
Critique
Emma is a masterpiece of English literature for its wit and sharp irony, its use of point of view both to create narrative suspense and to reveal character, and its detailed portrayal of a variety of participants in a small 19th Century town. Rereading it for use as a YA crossover, I found it also however, a fairly accessible classic for readers just making the jump from contemporary YA lit to classic, especially when read in conjunction with the Gwyneth Paltrow film, which was not bad, even though Emma is not a blonde! Not all the teen girls I have wheedled into reading this book were happy with the Emma/Knightley romance, because he’s hella old, but they do usually enjoy the novel. As Clueless proves, Highbury is in many ways like a high school, and kids seem to recognize the patterns: Emma as Homecoming queen with all the latest possessions, Frank Churchill as the cool new kid; the shifting pairings among the young characters, the friction between social realities and human emotion.
About the author
Jane Austen lived 1775-1817. She usually wrote on a small piecrust table in the parlor—when anyone came to visit she would cover up her work. For a century or more she has been considered one of the greatest of British novelists, but in the last 20 years, through her association with the Chick Lit genre, she has become a part of popular fiction and the source of numerous and widely varied spinoffs, including last year’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Genre
Crossover
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
Going to the Ball—what to wear; how to act
Mr. Knightley’s critical nature
Governesses, and why you wouldn’t want to be one!
Reading Level/Interest Age
10th to adult
Challenge Issues
None.
Why Included?
Success with tricking students into reading it;
To go with Clueless
Selection Tools
Reading Lists for the College-Bound (3rd edition, by Doug Estell, Michele
L. Satchwell and Patricia S. Wright. (2000.)
Plot
20 year-old Emma is the younger daughter of worrywart hypochondriac. Famously “handsome, clever, and rich”, Emma has yet to learn the limits of her powers or the consequences of meddling in other people’s lives. Her long-time governess has just married a local gentleman, thanks to Emma’s matchmaking, and there is no one left in the house to temper Emma’s strong will except older (but not old!) single neighbor Mr. Knightley. Emma has a new friend from a nearby boarding school, Harriet Smith, and after manuevering Harriet’s rejection of a worthy young farmer, Emma sets out to make another match, between Harriet, of mysterious parentage, and Mr. Elton, a self-regarding young clergyman. Emma thinks she knows best, but she proves repeatedly that she oblivious, as Mr. Elton clearly interprets all Emma’s matchmaking efforts as evidence that she is interested in him for herself, and he is angered by her rejection. The garrulous Miss Bates is a constant irritant to Emma, and when her niece, Jane Fairfax, returns to Highbury, perhaps under some mysterious cloud, Emma must endure Mr. Knightley’s comments on Jane’s talents and virtues. Fortunately, at the same time Frank Churchill, son of her former governess’s husband, also returns to town, and Emma enjoys the idea that everyone expects a match between them. Mr Elton returns from a stay in Bath with an obnoxious, social climbing new wife, and Emma starts up her matchmaking again, mocks Jane Fairfax in her chats with Frank, and is unkind to Miss Bates. In the culmination of the story Emma must learn how deluded she is about the feelings and intentions of those around her, and especially how little she has known of her own heart.
Reader’s Annotation
20 year-old Emma Woodhouse is the queen bee of her early 19th Century town, but she is so oblivious to the feelings and situations of others that she almost loses what she values the most.
Critique
Emma is a masterpiece of English literature for its wit and sharp irony, its use of point of view both to create narrative suspense and to reveal character, and its detailed portrayal of a variety of participants in a small 19th Century town. Rereading it for use as a YA crossover, I found it also however, a fairly accessible classic for readers just making the jump from contemporary YA lit to classic, especially when read in conjunction with the Gwyneth Paltrow film, which was not bad, even though Emma is not a blonde! Not all the teen girls I have wheedled into reading this book were happy with the Emma/Knightley romance, because he’s hella old, but they do usually enjoy the novel. As Clueless proves, Highbury is in many ways like a high school, and kids seem to recognize the patterns: Emma as Homecoming queen with all the latest possessions, Frank Churchill as the cool new kid; the shifting pairings among the young characters, the friction between social realities and human emotion.
About the author
Jane Austen lived 1775-1817. She usually wrote on a small piecrust table in the parlor—when anyone came to visit she would cover up her work. For a century or more she has been considered one of the greatest of British novelists, but in the last 20 years, through her association with the Chick Lit genre, she has become a part of popular fiction and the source of numerous and widely varied spinoffs, including last year’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Genre
Crossover
Curriculum Ties
English
Booktalking Ideas
Going to the Ball—what to wear; how to act
Mr. Knightley’s critical nature
Governesses, and why you wouldn’t want to be one!
Reading Level/Interest Age
10th to adult
Challenge Issues
None.
Why Included?
Success with tricking students into reading it;
To go with Clueless
Selection Tools
Reading Lists for the College-Bound (3rd edition, by Doug Estell, Michele
L. Satchwell and Patricia S. Wright. (2000.)
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