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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
