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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.)

Pride and Prejudice

Austen, Jane(1976). London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 19 254702 x.



Plot
In the early 19th Century the five Bennet daughters and their parents, the detached Mr. Bennet and the shallow, gossiping Mrs. B., live near the village of Meryton in the English countryside. Unfortunately, their modest estate, Longbourne, is entailed on a male heir, so marriage is the only path to a comfortable life for these young ladies, a prospect of concern to eldest daughter, kindhearted and beautiful Jane, and also to her sister, the witty and independent Elizabeth . Mr. Bingley, a wealthy young man, arrives to rent neighboring Netherfield Hall, bringing his two snobbish sisters, his brother-in-law, and his close friend, the fabulously wealthy Mr. Darcy. The Bennets are soon involved in all the social events which accompany the arrival of a marriageable young man into the countryside—balls, card parties, and dinners. A mutual attraction soon develops between Bingham and Jane, but Elizabeth overhears herself disparaged by Mr. Darcy at a ball, and this plus his haughty disdain for the proceedings makes a strong negative impression on Elizabeth. Troops are billeted in Meryton, which is a source of joy to the younger Bennet girls. Elizabet begins a friendship with one of the soldiers, the charming and confiding WIckham, who tells Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy has cheated him out of his inheritance, which seals Elizabeth’s dislike of Darcy. Pompous Mr. Collins, the heir of Longbourne, arrives intent on marrying one of the Bennet girls, and when Elizabeth rejects him, to her mother’s dismay, he promptly marries Elizabeth’s best friend, Charlotte Lucas. Bingham and Jane seem on the brink of engagement, but Bingley and his party suddenly leave the area, with no plan of returning. On a visit to Charlotte and Mr, Collins, Elizabeth learns that Darcy had a hand in the departure, and when, to her astonishment Darcy proposes to her , Elizabeth indignantly rejects him. On a later trip when Elizabeth and Darcy meet again on the grounds of his palatial estate, Darcy is newly affable,and Elizabeth begins to revise her opinion of him. Unfortunately, news comes that Elizabeth’s sister Lydia has run off with Mr. Wickham. When thye are duly located and made to marry, Elizabeth discovers Mr. Darcy’s role in the resolution, and this removes the last of her prejudice against him. Mr. BIngley receives the requisite encouragement from Bingley; he and Jane are engaged, followed shortly after by Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, to the astonishment of all.



Reader’s Annotation
Elizabeth and Jane Bennet,19th Century gentlewomen with no dowries, are the eldest of 5 daughters. The pleasant Mr. Bingley and handsome, haughty, rich Mr. Darcy have recently arrived in the neighborhood, but social path to happy marriage, true love, and a decent annual income is difficult to navigate.

Critique
Pride and Prejudice is surely one of the most popular books in the world and a great personal favorite, so it was a pleasure to reread it as an ancestral ‘Chick Lit’ work, and as a book for young adults. In spite of 19th Century diction, Pride and Prejudice is an accessible masterpiece, its comic characters not only examples of masterful ironic observation and social criticism, but recognizable human types who can still inspire both amusement and loathing in the reader. The relationship between the playful Elizabeth and the stern Mr. Darcy continues to capture the imagination of new generations of readers (well, girls, mostly…), especially the many who have read B. Jones or seen either the BBC production with Colin Firth or the Kiera Knightley movie. Somehow, no matter how many times it has been read, the narrative drive of the romantic plot will catch me every time, and the pages will be turned faster and faster, for fear the story won’t work out this time. Stephanie Meyer has admitted that her obsession with Mr. Darcy led to her creation of Edward Cullen; Pride and Prejudice is a gateway book for Young Adults into the world of classic 19th Century fiction,

About the author
See Emma entry. Jane Austen wrote 6 major novels and an unfinished book, Sanditon. Lots of her juvenilia survives, in which her voice is clearly recognizable. He sister Cassandra destroyed many of her letters; the ones that survive have a lot in them about cooking and preserving food—she was a very busy Great Writer. She died at 41 of what doctors now think was Addison’s disease, a now curable problem with the adrenal glands.

Genre
Crossover; classic; romance

Curriculum Ties
English

Booktalking Ideas
Mr Darcy/Mr.Bingley/Wickham: which one sounds better for you?
5 sisters: which one are you?
Regency England: the clothes

Reading Level/Interest Age
10th-adult

Challenge Issues
none

Why Included?
Reread with Bridget Jones for genre project

Selection Tools
101 Books for Great Books Recommended for the College-Bound Reader: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/23628.html

Twilight

Twilight
Meyer, Stephanie (2005). New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 978-0-316-16017-9

Plot
When reserved 17-year old Bella’s mom wants to travel with her new ballplayer husband, Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in rainy far north Forks. On her first day at her new school she sees Edward Cullen, very pale, very handsome, but when they are paired as lab partners Edward becomes agitated and disappears for two days. He returns in time to save Bella from an out-of-control car, and soon after from a marauding band of rapists on the mean streets of Port Angeles, Washington. But how did Edward traverse the parking lot in fractions of a second? How did he know where to find Bella during the attack? After hearing her Indian friend Jacob’s legend of “The Pale Ones”, Bella figures it out: Edward and his whole ‘family’, including beloved town doctor Carlisle Cullen, are the bloodsucking undead. Lucky for Bella they are “vegetarians’, only drinking the blood of animals, because by now she and Edward are hopelessly in love. Not so lucky for Bella is the interest she has inspired in another nearby group of vampires—will she survive long enough to figure out if human-vampire love can succeed?


Reader’s Annotation
First love is always complicated, but especially when your boyfriend has superhuman strength, sparkles in the sun, and is Creature of the Night. Romance progresses with difficulty as Bella is in constant peril from evil vampires, predatory humans, and the anguished self-restraint of her noble vampire love, Edward Cullen.

Critique
It's almost beside the point to mention that much of the writing in Twilight is dreadful. Many adults have reported screaming out loud in pain as yet another character 'murmurs inaudibly', or Bella must once more be rescued, crushed to Edward's "vast chest". Nevertheless, while we scream in pain we keep turning those pages faster and faster, at least for one volume. Some narratives are so compelling that the reader is willing to forego nuance of character or believable dialogue just to see the situation resolved in satisfying fashion; in this archetypal love story, Stephanie Meyer has definitely created such a plot. We are always interested in star-crossed love; vampires have always possessed a swooning sexual glamour. Ann Rice, who should certainly know, said on NPR last week that she thought Twilight was about "the desire of very young girls for the mystery and power and protectiveness of an older man. And I think the vampire is simply a stand-in for that".

About the Author
Stephanie Meyer was born in 1973. She went to BYU and is a Mormon; she has 3 sons with Biblical names. She saiys the idea for the Twilight series came to her in a dream.

Genre
Romance/fantasy

Curriculum Ties
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas
Is Edward too much like a stalker?
Contrast Jacob and Edward.
Do you think you would want to be friends with Bella?


Reading Level/Interest Age
9th Grade and up (SLJ)

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(novel)#Awards_and_honors; gather student responses

Why Included?
#1 book most frequently recommended to adults by teen girls
Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2005


Selection Tools
Student recommendation; pressure of popular culture

Cuba 15

Osa, Nancy (2003). [Kindle 2.0.3 version] Retrieved from Amazon.com. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN: 0385730217

Plot
Violet’s Abuela is visiting from Miami, and she has a surorise for Violet—Abuela is plaaning a quincenero for Violet. A big, traditional Latin coming of age party—for a girl who hasn’t worn a dress in years, and doesn’t have any ‘womanhoods’ to speak of yet! During the freshman year of planning the party Violet gets involved with the Speech and Debate team, and through her friends becomes more politically active, which causes some conflict with her dad, who, as a refugee, has a very strong point of view about Castro's Cuba. There are lots of fun details about the theme, clothes, and arrangements for the party also.

Reader’s Annotation
The quince itself is almost beside the point as Violet Paz, while planning her not-so-traditional traditional coming-of-age party with her large, diverse group of family and friends, has a year of growing into herself.

Critique
I was looking for Chica Lit for my romantic language learner reluctant readers, but this book was more than I was expecting. First, I am always looking for Speech and Debate related lit or films, and this book was very authentic and detailed on the Midwest-style Interp competitions. Next, the book had a very unusual and high-quality sub-plot, in which Violet begins to awaken politically, and considers a different position on the Cuba question than that held by her strong-willed Cuban exile father. Also, the milieu of this culturally blended family, with the Polish working-class mom and the Cuban, domino playing family of the dad, is recreated with wonderful details of image, smell, and sound. The characters are rounded people full of contradictions , and Violet is a good observer.

About the author
Nancy Osa went to Reed College and credits the school with teaching her to write and break rules. She still lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Genre
Multi-cultural Fiction (Genreflecting)

Curriculum Ties
Excerpts—Speech and Debate!
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas
a similar Humorous Speech about our families?
How does politics connect to personal growth—for Violet?for people we know?
How does Violet’s relationship with her friends help her to grow?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 6-10 (SLJ/Booklist)
Middle through high school (Genreflecting)

Challenge Issues
none

Why Included?
Genre presentation; looking for more diverse Chick Lit for students and presentation

Selection Tools
ALA Notable Book; Sonoma County Library Top Teen Reads

The Dim Sum of All Things

The Dum Sum of All Thimgs

Keltner, Kim Wong (2004) [Kindle 2.0.3 version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com.

Reader’s Annotation
Twenty-something ABC (American-born-Chinese) Lindsey Owyang lives with her aged grandma, works for Vegan Warrior Magazine, and plans her bus seating to avoid the pickup moves from “Hoarders of All Things Asian”. The humorous social observations and engaging San Francisco Chinatown details are better than the vaguely rendered office romance and search for cultural roots.

Plot
Lindsey Owyeng is an overqualified receptionist at Vegan Warrior Magazine. She lives with her grandmother, Pau Pau, in an apartment building owned by the family. The chapters are episodic vignettes of outings, parties, or trips involving Lindsey and her large Chinese family. They visit her dead grandfather’s grave and have a picnic on it; Chinese New Year arrives and Lindsey collects her envelopes of cash; she and her grandmother visit the family village in China, where Lindsey finds a life-time ‘s worth of photos of herself taped to a Chinese wall. The thin thread of a developing romance between Lindsey and Michael, at work, runs through the story. Michael, it turns out, is ¼ Chinese, but is that enough to prevent him from being one of the banes of Lindsey’s dating life, white guys looking for Chinese girls because they are “Hoarders of All Things Asian”?

Critique
In the end the slightly odd nature of this book may be explained by the realization that it’s been packaged by a marketing person, or it may just be that the writer had too many goals. The breezy chapter headings, often puns of the caliber of the title, don’t match the chapters containing Amy Tan-like reminiscences from Grandma about fleeing China during World War II. They go better with the Chinese Bridget Jonesy overviews of dating types and catastrophes. For a Chick Lit novel, the romance feels tangential to the plot, like an obligatory element added later,and the character of Michael is undeveloped—he has no personality, and there is just no believable connection. To a reader who grew up in San Francisco, the parts about being a granddaughter in Chinatown, where everybody knows your business and worries about your marital prospects, are the most successful. Keltner can be funny and observant—she should write a memoir.

About the author
Keltner says she honed her skills for dialogue by listening to old Chinese ladies gossip over mah-jong games. She lives in San Francisco out in the Sunset with, she says , “All the other Chinese people”.

Genre
Chick lit/ethnic

Curriculum Ties
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas
Mixed race dating
What’s with Hello Kitty—can you help me understand this?
What does Lindsey learn about herself through traveling to China with Pau Pau?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Crossover

Challenge Issues
none

Why Included?
Read for genre project—looking for diverse chick lit

Selection Tools
Assigned by group

Weetzie Bat

Block, Francesca Lia (1989). [Kindle 2.0.3 version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com. ISBN 978-0-06-165131-1


Plot
When the book begins Weetzie is a high school student living with her mother in a surreal Los Angeles that is part Nathanael West, part Candyland board game, part Elvis movie. Weetzie and Dirk, her handsome gay friend, are Pretty in Pink punks of the 80’s LA scene. Weetzie and Dirk are close to Dirk’s grandma, who gives them a magic lamp. Weetzie wishes for a “duck” for Dirk, a “Secret Agent Lover Man for herself, and a little house for them all to live in. All these things soon come true, but as always, it’s caveat wisher: the way they get the house is through the immediate death of Dirk’s nice old grandma. The other wishes also come true, but there are more problems in the cotton-candy world—Secret Agent Lover Man is not ready to bring Weetzie’s longed-for baby into this evil world; AIDS has arrived and brings darkness into the world of Dirk and his Duck, and Weetzie’s father is slipping away from her into drugs and death. When Secret Agent Man learns of a plot between Dirk, Duck, and Wetzie to make a baby against his wishes, he leaves the happy little Hollywood bungalow, and though he later returns, he is followed by a lanka—a witchy lady. The world of Shangri-LA has peril under its surface, but Weetzie and her little family protect each other with their expansive, unjudgemental, leopard-skin and sequin-sunglassed love.

Reader’s Annotation
The peroxide flat-topped Weetsie and her best friend, gay Dirk, form the nucleus of a growing family of unusual characters. Though darkness in the forms of AIDS and abandonment sometimes darkens the cotton-candy clouds, the sweetly punky characters remain united by an accepting love. Some genie magic is thrown in.

Critique
Weetzie Bat is a glam-punk poem of LA magical realism as much as it is any sort of YA narrative. Once the expectations are adjusted, Weetzie is very successful on its own terms. The kitschy LA aesthetic of the book is effective and enjoyable, its quirky vernacular is creative and fresh, and its overarching ethos of acceptance and kindness would seem to be just what the world needs. Apparently not, however, noting the ongoing tradition of challenges.

About the author
Block was born in 1962 and left her beloved LA only to attend UC Berkeley. She has many creatively named animals and two children. In 2005 she received a lifetime achievement award from the ALA.

Genre
Mythic Reality (Genreflecting)
Curriculum Ties
Excerpts in a Family Life/Living Skills class
Excerpts for LA descriptive comparisons--English

Booktalking Ideas
Why doesn’t Secret Agent Lover Man have a name?
Cast the Weetzie Bat movie in your mind.
What does the magic add to the story?

Reading Level/Interest Age
10th grade and up (SLJ)
Middle School/High School (Genreflecting)

Challenge Issues
Acceptance/tolerance for homosexuality/promiscuity/drug use

Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list SLJ and other reviews found at
http://www.amazon.com/Weetzie-Bat-Francesca-Lia-Block/dp/0060736259 and numerous awards listed on http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060736255/Weetzie_Bat/index.aspx

Why Included?
Famous YA book; always on the Best of YA lists; always meant to read

Selection Tools
Genreflecting,YALSA, ALA

Dead Until Dark

Harris, Charlaine (2001). New York: Ace Books. # ISBN-10: 0441008534/ # ISBN-13: 978-0441008537The violence in the novel

Plot
In the world of Dead Until Dark, vampires have come out of the closet. Now that the Japanese have marketed ‘True Blood’, a synthetic blood substitute, they don’t have to hunt people any more and have no reason to hide. Ironically, the blood of vampires has now become a marketable commodity as it confers amazing strength, stamina and healing power on its human consumer. Sookie Stackhouse is excited when her first real vampire comes into the bar where she works. She likes him right away, and not just because he’s vampire cute. Sookie can read minds—she’s barraged by mental messages from others, whether she wants them or not, but the vampire’s mental frequency is peacefully blank for Sookie. Sookie has lived with her grandma on their family property in the countryside outside Shreveport since losing both her parents. She has a fairly worthless brother. Soon after Bill the vampire comes to town there is a succession of murders. At first Bill is a suspect, due to some inconvenient puncture wounds; then Sookie’s brother is the focus, as he was involved with a few of the victims. Sadly, the grandma is the next victim, and Sookie has to work with Bill to investigate a Shreveport club full of shady vampires and their creepy human ‘fangbanger’ girlfriends, all the while sensing that the threat may lay closer to home. Meanwhile, Sookie’s boss, Sam, who may be more than he appears to be, keeps a close eye on Sookie.

Reader’s Annotation
Vampires are out of the closet in modern Louisiana, and into psychic Sookie Stackhouse’s life. When her grandmother is brutally murdered, Sookie joins talents with her new vampire date to solve the mystery.

Critique
Well, if there are shapeshifters and vampires, the peculiar communities of rural Louisiana are where I’d expect to find them. The southern atmosphere, from the juke joint parking lot to the steamy weather, is a contributing strength of the story, and some of the comic touches were deft—especially good was the moment the vampire is roped in to talk to the grandma’s Civil War group—so much for glamour and mystery (Although his actual talk was kind of affecting, as he had known some of the ancestors of audience members). The violence in the book was somewhat repellent. Sookie is beat almost to death about three times, then brought back from swooning near-death with the precious bodily fluids of her vampire, twisting sex and violence a little too tightly together for light entertainment. Similarly, the death of the grandmother doesn’t fit comfortably in the genre conventions of this type of novel—too real; too much grief; too much pain—maybe Harris should break out and do a serious novel.

About the author
Charlaine Harris is a warden of her church, she grew up in and lives in the South, and she writes steamy, violent vampire books. So it goes. Now there is a TV show of the Sookie Stackhouse stories called True Blood.

Genre
Mystery/fantasy

Curriculum Ties
None

Booktalking Ideas
If we could invite a vampire to give a speech…
Vampire comparisons: The Cullens; Bill Compton; Lestat; Dracula…
Mind reading—gift or curse

Reading Level/Interest Age
Crossover

Challenge Issues
Sex and violence!
Gather teen responses; Candace Walton’s “Crossing Over” quotes Time Magazine on the Sookie Stackhouse books as teen
crossover favorites.

Why Included?
Student recommendations

Selection Tools
YA author Annette Curtis Klause recommended on YALSA 2008 teen read week page at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2008/resources/index.cfm

Fearless Fourteen

Evanovitch, Janet (2008). [Kindle 2.0.3 version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Plot
This is the 14th Stephanie Plum mystery, and some things haven’t changed. Stephanie is still a semi-incompetent bail bounty hunter working for her cousin Vinnie, with Lula the plus-size ex ho as her assistant, and is still hanging around her old New Jersey neighborhood, the Burg. She still vacillates between gorgeous Italian cop Joe Morelli, her childhood ‘doctor-playing’ partner, and the mysterious Cuban Ranger, big time bounty hunter, and her hamster, Rex, is still alive in his tomato can, making him perhaps the oldest hamster in history. In this installment of the never-advancing saga, Stephanie picks up Morelli’s cousin on a small charge, and ends up having to stay with the cousin's son , Mario, a role-playing game freak, at Morelli’s house. Mario is also known as ‘Zook’, and will grafitti any available surface, including Morelli’s dog. Somehow local stoner Mooner, Stephanie’s old classmate and a big fan of Zook’s’s RPG work, also ends up at Morelli’s.
Nine million dollars from an old bank robbery is missing. Loretta’s angry brother in involved, and somebody keeps breaking in to Morelli’s basement—apparently word on the street is that the money is down there. Meanwhile, Loretta’s angry brother confronts Stephanie with the news that Mario may be more than Joe’s cousin, but Stephanie has bigger worries—she is hired by Ranger to do body guard work on Brenda, a famous fading singer, but does not protect Brenda from an insane monkey who jumps into her hair. Although someone’s pinky toes do arrive in a box, the resolution at the end is happy if complex.

Reader’s Annotation
Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter, only she’s not very good at it. Fortunately she has a lot of help from cop almost-fiance Joe Morelli, and almost-more-than-friends security expert Ranger. In this episode, former robbers have hidden nine million dollars in the Burg, Stephanie’s own neighborhood, and everybody wants it—even Stephanie’s grandmother is digging in Morelli’s yard!

Critique
I was never a fan of humorous mysteries till my students kept passing Stephanie Plum books on to me. Now I make an exception for her alone and read every one. As mentioned, the plot situation is static, clearly a conscious choice by Evanovitch—she keeps the sexual tension and the romantic suspense high by leaving Stephanie undecided. The books are frequently laugh—out-loud hilarious. Especially funny is always the comedy concerning old New Jersey residents—every old person in Stephanie’s apartment building has a big gun and will come out with that thing flailing and blazing whenever they think something is up. Her grandma goes to all the funerals in the Burg to compare refreshments and ceremonies. Not only do these books have fast-paced, if improbable plots, entertiaining dialogue, and great Jersey settings, they have a romantic triangle situation that is really...fun.

About the author
Janet Evanovich actually does come from a close-knit Jersey immigrant community. She published 12 successful romance novels before moving into the action/adventure genre. After the first 3, all the Stephanie Plum titles have been chosen by fans (which may be why they are kind of dumb).

Genre
Mystery/romance

Curriculum Ties
Just for fun

Booktalking Ideas
Advice on choosing between Morelli and Ranger
Stephanie’s Wild Jersey World
Being a Bounty Hunter

Reading Level/Interest Age
[Crossover]

Challenge Issues
Mild sexual allusions

Share this Mass. Library Ppt on Adult fiction for Young Adults, with its mention of Evanovich
Why Included?
A student bought it for me!

Selection Tools
14th in a popular series

Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse (1999). New York: Scholastic. ISBN-10: 014131088X
ISBN-13: 978-0141310886

Plot
No one at her high school is talking to freshman Melinda, ever since she called the cops to break up a teen drinking party the summer before, and Melinda’s not talking either, hardly ever. That’s because, we find out later, of what happened at the party between Melinda and Andy Evans, a predatory senior. As the year goes on Melinda becomes more isolated and depressed. She fixes herself a little refuge in an old janitor’s closet, decorating the space with her art and a poster of Maya Angelou, and spends time alone in there. The book is divided into the grading periods of freshman year; Melinda and her teachers both rate her lower and lower as the year goes on. Only the art teacher keeps making connection and pushing at Melinda. With spring Melinda begins to make a fragile connection with her science lab partner, David. Then Rachel, Melinda’s former best friend, starts going out with Andy, and Melinda forces herself to speak. Even though this does no good at first, the suspicion does move Rachel to back off from Andy, and provokes Andy’s behavior out into the open, where Melinda can assert herself against him and his behavior is witnessed by others.

Reader’s Annotation
Since she called the cops during a teen drinking party last summer, nobody’s speaking to Melissa during her freshman year, and she herself can barely speak at all. The reason Melinda made that call, and the reason why she now spend her school days hiding in a janitor’s closet, clearly has to do with Andy Evans, a senior referred to by Melinda as IT.

Critique
This was an excellent book. Melinda is acute and observant, and even when so depressed, her observations of high school are very keen and humorous. Her mental state is reflected in the recurring images—trees, mirrors, skin, and all the examinations of speech, voice, and silence. Her pain and isolation are realistic and piteous, and the ending of the book was cathartic.

About the author
Laurie Halse Anderson was born in 1961 in upstate New York, near where Speak is set. She has written many very successful YA books, but she started out her writing career as a journalist. She says Speak is not based on her life or her daughter’s, thank God.

Genre
YA/Mental, Emotional, Behavioral problems (Genreflecting)

Curriculum Ties
English

Booktalking Ideas
Why wouldn't someone tell?
What was the connection between Art class and Melinda’s healing?
What could her parents have done differently to help her?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Middle school through high School (Genreflecting)

Challenge Issues
Rape
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Provide SLJ, Booklist, Library Journal reviews available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/014131088X/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

National Book Award finalist

Why Included?
Scholastic Read 180 Program, YALSA Lists


Selection Tools
YALSA Lists

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood

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

Rocket Science

HBO Films (Producer), and Blitz, Jeffrey (Director), (2007). USA: Picturehouse Entertainment.

Plot
The unfortunately named Hal Hefner who has a debilitating stutter, is recruited for the debate team by Ginny, an aggressive champion whose former partner had a breakdown at the State Championships the year before. This is the insane world of traditional policy debate, where not only bins full of evidence and reams of analysis are necessary, but lightening-fast delivery virtually unintelligible to the uninitiated is also required. Ginny’s motives are unclear, perhaps even to her, but she works with Hal on his stutter, as does a school therapist, and she drills him in research and argumentation skills. At the same time, Hal’s parents’ marriage disintegrates, causing his already unstable older brother to increase his weird kleptomania . Soon, Mom has a new boyfriend, a Korean judge, who has a son also gradually drawn in to debate. Gradually, Hal improves, but he is still far from ready for major competition, and at a certain point, Ginny dumps him, transferring to a neighboring private school. Hal finds his sense of self-assertion and goes into the city to find and partner up with Ginny’s legendary drop-out genius former partner. Do they practice long hours? Does the pressure mount as the competition date draws nearer? Will there be an inevitable showdown with the female betrayer? Well, not exactly—it’s an indy movie; things don’t go quite as we might expect.




Reader’s Annotation
Is a spot on a championship debate squad the best cure for the debilitating stutter that plagues Hal Hefner? That’s the contention of Ginny, whose last partner did a mental walkabout during the state championships the year before. But what does she see in Hal, and can he live up to her expectations?

Critique
The film has good intentions—to use competitive debate and parental relationships as a way of looking at the difficulties of ‘finding a voice’ and understanding the complexities of love. These things, Hal says, shouldn’t be Rocket Science. Anyone who has been involved with high school debate can attest that Blitz gets some things perfectly right—the drab hallways; the cheap suits; Ginny’s insanely competitive personality--but the film is pretty much a mess. A narrative voice-over is often an admission on the part of the film-maker that things aren’t making sense, and that certainly holds true here. There just isn’t room in one film for a berserk kleptomaniac brother, a philosophizing debate drop out, an Edward Hopper-inspired interlude with depressed dad in a run-down Jersey shore resort, and the hero, in a John Cusack moment, throwing a cello through the window of his former debate partner love object’s house. After re-watching the end, I still can’t decide whether Ginny and Ben’s behavior is ambiguous or just incoherent, but I lean toward the latter.

About the author
The film is very autobiographical, as Blitz, who also directed Spellbound, the documentary on spelling bees, does suffer from a serious stutter, and did attempt to improve it through high school debate participation.



Genre
YA film

Curriculum Ties
Excerpts-speech and debate

Booktalking Ideas
Use Youtube of real champion policy debaters—is this public speaking?
The ambitious high school student type
Getting used to Mom’s new boyfriend

Reading Level/Interest Age

Challenge Issues
Sexual language and content.
Rated R, but the director has complained that the main objectionable content is the ancient Indian art used to illustrate an edition of the Kama Sutra featured in the film.
Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Science_(film)#Awards_and_nominations

Why Included?
Looking for Debate movies

Selection Tools
Sundance Film Award Nominations

The It Girl

Von Ziegesar, C.(2005). [Kindle 2/0/3 version]. ISBN-10: 0316011851/
ISBN-13: 978-0316011853Retrieved from Amazon.com.
Plot
Jenny has been kicked out of her old Manhattan school, Constance Billiard, which is featured in The Gossip Girl series. For some reason, she decides the best way to make a fresh start at her new boarding school, Waverly Academy, will be to intimate to a boy she meets on the school-bound train that she had been involved in naked modeling, so she starts out faced with the rumors that she had been a stripper. Jenny is a bit schizophrenic though—where Old Jenny might have been at some pains to correct the rumors, New Jenny prefers the salacious interest to obscurity. She also prefers her new roommates, popular Callie and Brett, to other, more virtuous ‘Waverly Owls’—the ‘old school’ nick-name for people at her new prep school. Jenny gets caught at night in the girls’ dorm with Callie’s boyfriend, Easy, and although their encounter is accidental, Jenny agrees to take the blame, because neither Easy or Callie has any free chances left before expulsion. Jenny gets involved with field hockey, at which she turns out to be a natural, and continues with an interest in Art. Everybody drinks; all the cool kids smoke. Will privilege and subterfuge triumph? What do you think?

Reader’s Annotation
Fresh-faced Jenny arrives at Waverly and is soon embroiled in the gossip, romance, and field hockey of this hard-drinking, chain-smoking, e-taking, exclusive prep school. Will the other Waverly Owls accept her even though her skirt is only a Marc Jacobs knock-off? Possibly, since her breasts are very large.


Critique
I really hate these books. That the writing is competent only reveals that the people creating these know just how evil the books are. It’s not the small-time glorification of smoking and drinking or other teen rebelliousness that is so repulsive—it’s the pervasive materialism and shallow vanity which are unquestioned values for all the main characters. I will admit to reading Judith Kranz in the past with enormous guilty pleasure—no one could love vicarious couture and exotic travel more than I, but those books always held on to the old romantic notion that these things are ultimately worthless without True Love. In The It Girl ,love isn't even in the running with status and wealth, and a true character flaw is when your Marc Jacobs skirt turns out to be a knockoff.
Plus, the plot is lame and the writing has no wit, except for the contrast between the starchy maxims of the old Waverly Owls handbook and the licentious behavior of the current students, which is a pretty fun device.

About the author
Cecily von Ziegesar is apparently actually this lady’s name. She went to Nightingale-Bamford, a Manhattan girl’s prep school like the one in Gossip Girl, and has said that ideas for her stories came from her classmates and their parents. Wikipedia says the It books have a ghostwriter.

Genre
Chick Lit--privilege

Curriculum Ties
None

Booktalking Ideas
The dangers of teacher/student romance
Which boy is the best?
Which character would make the best friend?

Reading Level/Interest Age
9-12 (Booklist)

Challenge Issues
Sexual situations; smoking; drinking; profanity

Best to gather teen response

Lukewarm SLJ and Booklist reviews at
shttp://www.amazon.com/Girl-1-Cecily-von-Ziegesar/dp/0316011851

Why Included?
Genre project

Selection Tools
Popularity with Students (girls)

Youth in Revolt

LPayne, C.D. (1993). New York: Broadway Books. ISBN-10: 0385481969/ ISBN-13: 978-0385481960
Plot
Nick Twisp is 14 and has an active sexual imagination and a diary. After his mom’s truck-driver boyfriend Jerry has a run-in with some angry sailors over a lemon car he sold them, Nick goes with Jerry and his mom on a ‘vacation’from the East Bay where they live, up to a cheesy Christian-run trailer park in Lake County. There he meets his great love, Sheridan Saunders, usually called Sheeni—“One of two intellectuals living in Ukiah, Ca.” What follows is a complicated string of crimes and misunderstandings that leave Nick forced to hide from the law masquerading as Carlotta Ulansky, an old dead lady. Nick inherits a fortune, gets cheated out of it, finally receives his dream for Christmas, and succeeds in the end in a creative and unexpected way.

Reader’s Annotation
Nick Twisp is a smart 14 year old who thinks about sex all the time, especially after he meets his dream-girl, a brainy and curvaceous Ukiah intellectual nicknamed Sheeni. Following his libido leads Nick to the wrong side of the law—can he find safety in cross-dressing?

Critique
This book is a disappointment; it didn’t live up to the recommendations. Everybody is pretty much a cartoon—at first each seems to be a hip, underground cartoon, but on longer acquaintance the characters are more like the daily comics—repeated depictions of the same set of traits and behaviors. Of course, this is true of many great comedic figures, but the trouble is, Nick doesn’t wear well. At first the mashup of lofty diction and baser nature is funny, but it never varies. The plot is a sequence of escapades which soon blur together. The cross-dressing section of the book was the liveliest—the outfits seemed to bring out the best in Nick. The Bay Area settings, especially of the weird out-of-the-way areas like Ukiah and Santa Cruz are one of the more enjoyable aspects of the book for an area native. Also, I want a wart watch.

About the author
Sources say C.D. Payne was christened C. Douglas Payne. What kind of name is ‘C.’? He graduated from Harvard in 1971, and lives in Sonoma County, the origin of this blog!

Genre
Contemporary/Diary

Curriculum Ties
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas

Designs for Wartwatches
I Hate Sheeni
Where in the World is Nick Twisp? (Bay Area locations)

Reading Level/Interest Age
It's YA, but adults don't like it.
Challenge Issues
Profanity, sex

Use student responses

Why Included?
Upcoming movie sure to bring it back into my classroom

Selection Tools
Student popularity




Challenge Issues

Why Included?

Selection Tools

The Complete Persepolis

Satrapi, Marjane (2003). New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0-375-71483-2

Plot
This is a comic book telling the story of Marjane Satrapi’s life. She was born in Iran in 1969, just before the fall of the Shah and the rise to power of the Ayatollah. The early section shows Marjane’s life with her liberal parents and her loving extended family. The pictures show the changes in culture as the little girls acquire veils, the children are separated on the playground, and Western music or posters must be smuggled in. Her parents send Marjane to high school in Vienna, where she feels like an outsider and is very homesick. She gradually makes friends, but at the end of her 4 year stay in Vienna ends up living on the street in poor health. Marjane is happy to return to Iran, but things have grown even more restrictive. She eventually returns to college, marries and divorces, and ultimately must decide whether life for a modern woman is still possible in Iran.

Reader’s Annotation
In sharp black and white comic book format Satrapi gives her memoir—life as a child in the Ayatollah’s Iran, years as a lonely teen away at school in Vienna, culminating in her eventual return to Iran and efforts to come to terms with what she finds there.

Critique
Although the pictures are often funny and sometimes amplify the irony or horror of the text, often I found myself wanting the expanded observations that a written memoir could offer. Satrapi is very brave about putting her real personality into the narrative—she is loving and observant, but also spoiled, harsh, and cranky. One of the great achievements of the book, which could make it so great for a high school read, is to show how regular, recognizable people are caught up in the extreme events of Islamic revolution.

About the author
Marjane Satrapi was a small child in Iran during the years of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s riseto power. Her parents sent her to high school in Vienna so she could escape the oppression of Ian. She now lives in Paris. She is an illustrator and wrote and directed the movie of Persepolis.

Genre
Graphic memoir

Curriculum Ties
Excerpts for Social Studies

Booktalking Ideas
Life with a headscarf
Drawings sometimes the best way to communicate concisely—enlarge examples
Boarding school far from home

Reading Level/Interest Age
12-18 (YALSA) and up
Challenge Issues
This always happens to me. At first I say there are none, because these things aren’t the focus of the story. Then when I consider a school-wide read and go back and read for that, all these issues pop out at me: drug use, profanity, smoking, lots of sexual material.

Use description of ALA list found at http://www.librarything.com/bookaward/ALA+Outstanding+Books+for+the+College+Bound


Why Included?
Still looking for books for a school read that raise awareness of other cultures and the experience of being a cultural outsider. Many awards listed at https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/vbitters/www/Authors.html

Selection Tools
ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale--And Here My Troubles Began

Spiegelman, Art (1992). New York: Pantheon. ISBN-10: 0679729771
ISBN-13: 978-0679729778
Plot
Maus II, subtitled with vicious irony, “And Here My Troubles Began”, follows Vladek and Anja, Speigelman’s parents, when they are sent to Dachau after losing all that they owned and their precious son. At the same time, Spiegelman records the process of eliciting from the aged Vladek his testimony about events during the war, and depicts his difficult relationship with Vladek over the years and at the end of Vlatek’s life. This book is the sequel to the great Maus I—My Father Bleeds History. In this volume in addition to the ink drawn Jewish mice, Nazi cats, and pig Poles, there are some frog Frenchmen in the camp, and the rescuing Americans are dogs. Vladek continues to use his observant opportunism to increase their chances of survival, but after the war these same traits intensify, making him impossible to live with. Anja survives the war and she and Vladek are reunited, but she remains mentally fragile and later commits suicide. Of Vladek’s entire family, only his younger brother was left after the war—not even one picture.

Reader’s Annotation
The Holocaust in small pen and ink comic book frames—mouse Jews, Nazi cats, and pig Poles. In this sequel Art Spiegelman’s aging and difficult father Vladek continues telling his son about his years in the Auschwitz and after, when he and his wife Anja leave Poland, first for Sweden and later for America.

Critique
Maus II is a seamless continuation of the narrative, style, and quality of the first book—see review under Maus I posting. Both books were originally part of an ongoing serial in Raw magazine.

About the author
In addition to the facts given in the Maus I posting, Art Spiegelman is, amazingly, the creator of the Garbage Pail Kids.

Genre
Graphic Novel

Curriculum Ties
History, English

Booktalking Ideas
Can a person who endures experiences such as Anja and Vladek survive avoid passing their damage on to their children?
What pictures would you save if they would be all you would have of your past?
How can someone who survived genocide still be prejudiced against other races?


Reading Level/Interest Age
High school-adult (SLJ)

Challenge Issues
Horrific events;Format?

Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; Refer to reviews available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Maus-II-Survivors-Troubles-Began/dp/0679729771

Pulizer Prize

Why Included?
Sequel to astonishing Maus I

Selection Tools
Recommendations from own children; reviews/

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale--My Father Bleeds History

Spiegelman, Art (1986). New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN-10: 0394747232/ ISBN-13: 978-0394747231

Plot
In this graphic novel, Art Spiegelman presents, in black and white drawings and simple text boxes, a story within a story—his own relationship with his aging father ,Vladek, as ‘Artie’ interviews him about his experiences in the camps during World War II, and then the story of Vladek’s survival itself. In the drawings, the Jews are mice, the Nazis are cats, and the Poles are pigs. It starts when Vladek is a young man before the war living in Czechoslovakia, working as a textile salesman and considered handsome by all the girls. He meets Artie’s mother, Anja, who also survived the war, they begin a life, have a beautiful little boy, Richieu, and then the Nazis arrive in Poland. In this book Vladek is sent to Germany as forced labor, but makes it home. The family is sent to a smaller village Srodula, when their property is taken. Later they are imprisoned with other Jews in the Sosnowiec ghetto, but they have sent Richieu to live withfriends in a location they think is safer. At the end of the book, Anja and Vladek are on their way to Auschwitz, and Richieu suffers a tragic fate. This story is told in episodes, interspersed with the story of the comtemporary Vladek, his unreasonable attacks on his second wife, his emotional demands on his frsgile son, and his pathological need to save food,money, and potentially useful items.

Reader’s Annotation
The Jews are mice and the Nazis are cats in this graphic novel of the Holocaust. Art Spiegelman records his discussions with his father at the end of Vladek Spiegelman’s life, and also depicts the horrific events which lead to the imprisonment of he and his wife in Auschwitz.

Critique
It is a tragedy that, just as the victims of inhuman violence become inured to its horrific sights, we as readers become so familiar with the elements of Holocaust survivor narratives that we no longer receive their full impact. Art Spiegelman’s little drawings somehow present the story as a new thing; it’s like hearing of it for the first time. The dialogue is so evocative and realistic, and the pen-and-ink drawings are so effective—emphasizing the narrowing escape routes, and the inexorable progression of the Nazis’ plan—that many readers may find this comic book to be the most successful work created on the persecution of the Jews in World War II.

Genre
Graphic Novel

Curriculum Ties
History, English

Booktalking Ideas
What qualities in Vlatek both contribute to his survival and make him a difficult old man?
Effects on Art of his parents Survivor status ?
What is the effect on the story of making the people into animals?

Reading Level/Interest Age
8th grade -adult

Challenge Issues
Horrific events;Format?

SLJ Review available at http://www.amazon.com/Maus-Survivors-Father-Bleeds-History/dp/0394747232
Pulitzer Prize; Gather comment from religious and community leaders

Why Included?
Reputation; recommendations from my own children—always wanted to read

Selection Tools
YALSA –Outstanding Books for the College Bound

The Princess Diaries: Volume I

Cabot, Meg. (2002). {Kindle 2.0.3 version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com.

Plot
Mia Thermopolis has enough to worry about as a regular freshman girl. She tall and flat-chested, has a crush on popular Josh, who doesn’t know she exists. She’s flunking Algebra, which is exacerbated by the fact that her best friend Lily is a genius, and worse, by the fact that her mom, an absent-minded artist, is dating her Algebra teacher. Mia deals with these challenges by recording them all in her diary. Then suddenly, things get worse, when her European ‘businessman’ father, who can’t have any more children due to his now-cured cancer, reveals that he is the Prince of Genovia, and Mia is now heir to the throne. Mia, more given to overalls and boots than tiaras, is not thrilled, especially when her dad announces she must move to Genovia to begin preparing for her role. This problem is solved by a worse one—Mia’s formidable Grandmere arrives at the Plaza to give Mia ‘princess lessons’. The demands of her secret role begin to cause problems for Mia; she quarrels with Lily when Mia can’t help to film an episode of Lily’s public access TV show, and now that a chauffeur/bodyguard Lars is driving her to school, Mia has to eat lunch with the other school body-guarded weirdo, Tina Hakim Baba, whose father is a wealthy Arab. Also involved in the story is Lily’s also-a-genius brother Michael, who seems surprisingly willing to tutor Mia in math. When her secret is disclosed Mia has to learn who truly values her for herself.


Reader’s Annotation
Nice Manhattan high school freshman Mia Thermopolis has to deal with problems: she is flat-chested; her mom is dating her Algebra teacher; she is the princess of a small European country. Cabot’s lighthearted and charming novel is the first in a long series.

Critique
Way more substantial than the frothy movie, but still lots of pink cover and tiara fun. Cigarette smoking, sidecar-drinking Grandmere is no Julie Andrews, and there is some real emotion evoked as Mia learns what a true friend is, and just how far she can depend on her father and his family. Mia is not a prodigy of diary-writing, but she has funny observations—the body guards comparing favorite weapons was a highlight, and it’s always enjoyable to read New York stories, where there is a doorman, friends’ parents are psychotherapists, and people have to go to the Plaza for tea with their grandmothers. The story also makes way more sense when set in Manhattan, where accessible public transportation makes geographic freedom for teens more of a norm.

About the author
Cabot’s actual first name is Meggin. She comes from Indiana and moved to New York to be an illustrator, but she ended up managing a dorm at NYU instead. Now there are over 15 million copies of her books in print and she lives in Key West Florida

Genre
Teen Chick-Lit/Contemporary (Genreflecting)

Curriculum Ties
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas
Would you be more excited to be a princess than Mia is? What would you do?
New York Navigation
Prince Charles, MIa's dad? Why aren't princes charming anymore?

Reading Level/Interest Age
Middle through high school (Genreflecting)

Challenge Issues
None

Why Included?
Genre project; sparkly tiara

Selection Tools
Best Books Young Adults--YALSA

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Brashares, Ann (2001). New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-172933-2

Plot
Four girls, friends since before birth, face their first summer-long separation assisted by an almost magical pair of jeans, which seem to look good on each of the differently shaped friends. The girls make rules for wearing the jeans and plans to share them through the mail. Beautiful Lena and her sister spend the summer in Greece with their grandparents; thoughtful, loyal Carmen visits her father in South Carolina, cranky, reluctant big sister Tibby has to work at the local ‘Wallman’s’, and risktaking Bridget, the sporty one, goes to soccer camp in Baja California. Each girl has a turn with the pants as she faces the challenges of her new environment. Bridget must navigate the difficult road to sexual maturity and self-awareness; Lena learns about romance in an unfamiliar culture, Tibby develops a difficult relationship with a very ill young girl, and Carmen, the main narrator, must deal with her father's remarriage, and his thoughtless treatment of her in the process. The summer holds many challenges, but the loving friendship between the four girls sustains them through all.

Reader’s Annotation
This genuinely sweet novel features four high school friends remain connected during a far-flung summer apart through their shared custody of a magically adaptable pair of jeans.

Critique
This is a very charming book. The divided plot set-up, with the four disparate girls and locales raises critical concern that two-dimensional stereotypes will populate a generic coming-of-age tale, but each girl is presented realistically, much aided by the epistolary, first person narratives. The difficult situations—first sex; the death of a friend--are handled without either exaggeration or flippancy. The Greek setting is very nicely described and contributes to the slightly fantastical nature of the pants story. It’s interesting that the exploration of Carmen’s unexpressed anger at her absent father is repeated in several of the ‘Chick Lit’ books read for this blog. The best feature of the book, and the thing which draws so many girls to the series is the warmth and love, not unrealistic but rarely depicted, which endures among the girls.

About the author
Born in 1967, Ann Brasheres grew up in the Virginia/Maryland area where the Travelling Pants books are set. She went to Sidwell Friends, where the Obama girls go, and then Barnard College. She now lives in New York with her husband and several children.

Genre
Chick Lit/Epistolary Novel (Genreflecting)



Curriculum Ties
Recreational

Booktalking Ideas
Why does it take so long for Carmen to get mad at her dad?
What’s the connection between Bridget’s recklessness and the death of her mother?
Describe the relationship between Tibby and Bailey.


Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 7-12

Challenge Issues
None

Why Included?
Best Books for Young Adults—ALA. Very popular and recommended by my sophomore class readers

Selection Tools
Student Recommendations; ALA List

Little Brother

Doctorow, Cory (2008). New York,:Tor. ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1985-2

Plot
A very few digital evolutions ahead of now, when schools are policed by ‘gait recognition’ software, a group of San Francisco teens ditches class to play a roving GPS game. As they begin the game, the Bay Bridge is bombed by terrorists. One of the group, Darryl, is wounded in the ensuing mayhem. While seeking help for Darryl, the acute and technologically adept Marcus is rounded up by the Department of Homeland Security, imprisoned, and subjected to humiliation and psychological torture. In the fear-filled weeks after the bombing and his release, Marcus sees the range and power of the DHS begin to grow, and he gathers the technological and social resources available to him to fight a technological guerilla campaign for the principals of the US Constitution.

Reader’s Annotation
After the San Francisco Bay Bridge is bombed by terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security exploits the fear of residents to justify growing intrusions into the privacy and civil rights of Americans. Sharp teen techno-whiz Marcus, himself an early victim of DHS imprisonment, uses his gamer background to create a guerilla techno resistance, but there are digital spies everywhere—even within his own movement.

Critique
Little Brother is a stirring book—the emotions evoked by Marcus’ imprisonment, his first love, his relationship with his parents are compelling; the idealistic passion of the author in defense of Constitutional freedoms is inspiring. The complex plot usually moves at high speed, full of intriguing technological strategies and lurching from precarious situation to desperate escape. For a large group of techie reluctant boy readers, this book can be a game-changing recommendation, especially when combined with the information that the book can be downloaded for free in numerous formats. On the downside—even when it’s on the side of causes we support—propaganda is propaganda. The book presents a very simplified view of a complex problem—only the imperfectly drawn character of the father acknowledges any difficulty in balancing security and freedom, and when occasionally the entire plot comes to a standstill for Marcus to share some cut-and-paste information from the electronic Frontier Foundation, the sense that Marcus is a puppet and the strings are showing undermines the whole book’s emphasis on free thought. Still, the book is highly recommended for its exciting but thoughtful story, and especially for its wonderful emphasis on the potential positive power of teen intellect and creativity in preserving American freedoms.

About the author
Cory Doctorow, born in 1971, is a Canadian author, blogger, copyright activist, and Independent Studies Scholar in Virtual Residence at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.


Genre
Techno-science fiction/political dystopia

Curriculum Ties
Would make a great assignment for a Civics/Social Studies class, especially if combined with a non-fiction source and a reasoned defense of security.

Booktalking Ideas
How does Facebook interact with this books ideas about privacy?
How far should the government go to keep us safe?
Discuss the dad’s behavior


Reading Level/Interest Age
9th and up

Challenge Issues
Sex scenes, not graphic but intense; more controversial for its strong views on the Patriot Act and national security measures.

Be knowledgeable about the book and prepared to discuss it calmly. Provide complaint form per board policy; list Hugo finalist, John W Campbell and other awards; SLJ and Booklist reviews available at http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765319853; gather teen responses.

Why Included?
Required for class; great YA read, especially for tech boys and political or potentially political kids of any persuasion

Selection Tools
Instructor Assignment--thanks!