11/8 Best Books for Young Adults 2011 Discussion

[Pam Goble]

PART 3 - PARTICIPATION CRITERIA FOR THE NING.

1. Since all of you are reading different books, the idea is to share the many reads students can experience from reading YA literature. For each list you, will get
reviews on approximately 20 or more books.

2. What must be included in your posts are:

            a. A short summary

            b. A connection to YA Lit criteria

            c. A link to a resource for further information about the book/novel( these may include author information, reviews, insight or information about issues the text references.

            d. Your opinion/recommendations of the book/novel relating back to criteria. A key
question to consider is whether the book is
classroom appropriate, and, if so, what reading level/grade/studentswouldbenefit from reading the text. If it is not suited for the classroom, if students are reading the book, what is the appeal?           

3. Lastly, you must respond to at least 2 other posts in detail.

 Have fun this week; I did... reading your work.

 

Enjoy.
Pam

[Christina Abruzzini]

**Just on a side note, I am also really into zombies!!! I have always loved all of the Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead/Resident Evil/etc films. Zombieland was also a great movie that put a comedic spin on the whole zombie genre. Most recently, my boyfriend and I are LOVING the new series, "The Walking Dead" on AMC--it is awesome! I recommend it for any of you that are zombie enthusiasts! (It can get a bit gory, but it is really good!)

[Heather Olson]

A collaborative project between David Levithan & John Green (yes, of "Looking for Alaska"), "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" is the story of two young men named Will Grayson who meet under extraordinary circumstances. Will Grayson of Evanston, IL is best friends with Tiny. Tiny is anything but what his nickname suggests, the star football player for his school, a drama king and gay. Will feels as though he tolerates Tiny and Tiny feels as though he is under appreciated. Will Grayson of Naperville, IL is a depressed loner of sorts who finds his happiness in his on-line boyfriend. As Evanston Will is in Chicago with his friends and Naperville Will is in Chicago to meet his boyfriend in person for the first time, their paths cross. As their lives collide, the Will Graysons' lives turn in new and surprising directions. The novel is hilarious and insightful, overflowing with heart and humor!

The story is told entirely in alternating chapters from both Wills' perspectives. Through their eyes, we see Tiny, Jane and other characters in the story. The parents play a larger-than-usual role in YA lit terms, but still each Will is able to take credit for their own accomplishments, as they make difficult and serious decisions on their own with only a little support from their parents. The novel was extremely fast-paced in plot and reading time. There is a perfect balance between the telling of details and the action and the humor passes time quickly in the novel. This book naturally lends itself to the variety of genres and subjects criteria. The amount of literature available for gay adolescents is lacking and this novel is a good choice for them. In that way, it also lends itself to meet the criteria for different lifestyle groups, although the ethnicity and cultures of the characters is not directly related in the novel. While at times it seems some of the characters will not be successful in their individual endeavors, there is an amount of optimism that exists and, in the end, the novel wraps up nicely with important accomplishments being made. The young adult characters each have different emotions throughout the book that are relevant to real young adults as they struggle with being in high school, facing college, coming from different economic households, and struggles with or about sexuality.

I would recommend future and present educators be aware of the literature that IS available for their GLBTQ students, as I believe we will be asked for reading suggestions by our students. In that case, I would refer back to the following websites:
http://www.alexsanchez.com/gay_teen_books.htm is a list of various literature and http://www.glbtq.com/literature/young_adult_lit.html is a resource on the history of and currently available literature for gay teens.

I personally loved this novel completely. I laughed out loud non-stop while reading it, cried several times and I cannot stop thinking about it and have recommended it to several others already (as I recommend it to all of you, as well!). The ways in which it meets the YA Lit criteria is great, especially considering that instead of specifically dealing with different ethnic/cultural groups, it is engaging as a novel with varying lifestyles. However, while I would recommend it to students as independent reads, I am not sure I could justify using it in the classroom. Although it is a great coming-of-age novel in a lot of ways, the over-use of vulgar language and references to young adult male masturbation may create an argument for using it in the classroom. I would recommend it to my students in late 10th-12th grades. While it may not be an appropriate classroom read, I think students, gay and not, could benefit from reading it as a coming-of-age novel and a wonderful piece of literature with amazing characters and the benefit of local setting familiarity.

[Nicole Priester]

Heather, as always you pick really interesting books. Since the book goes back and fourth between the two Will's narratives, do you think this book would be good to use in the classroom, because of the difficulty of the different protagonist narratives. I just imagine this being a good book to use to show students they need to pay close attention to details. Students would not be given any clues on test or quizzes as to which will is being talked about.

[Heather Olson]

That is a good point, Nikkie! While I definitely think the sensory details and character depth presented in this novel would be excellent for classroom use, I think it may be difficult to receive a school district's approval due to the novel's language (excessive use of the "f word" and direct references to male masturbation). I think this is most unfortunate because the book is, otherwise, amazing and I think students would really enjoy it, especially the humor, with the added benefits of a lifestyle being presented that is often overlooked in classroom literature.

[Laura Bychowski]

Thank you for the links to LGBT focused books! It's a shame about the vulgar language and explicit references to masturbation (only in that they would be argued as reasons to keep it out of the classroom). Often stories focused on gay characters really only discuss the legitimacy of homosexuality and don't focus enough on the characters as complex, yet average, individuals. How do you feel the gay characters were portrayed in the novel? Were they stereotypical or fully developed?

[Heather Olson]

I would say it was a mix of both. Tiny is somewhat stereotyped in that he's loud, outwardly happy, is a drama student and has written a musical all about himself that he is starring in/singing in, etc. However, he's also a star football player, which is awesome. I love that their Gay/Straight Alliance includes gay and straight characters, though. I have heard students say they wouldn't join the GSA because they don't want to be pegged as being gay. The Naperville Will Grayson is just discovering his sexuality and is not stereotyped at all. I think his coming out is amazingly done, actually.

One thing I hate in books is when someone makes it a point to say it's OK to be gay. For example, in another post I recommended the "House of Night" series by P.C. and Kristen Cast. Two characters in the series are gay and the main character says in each book something to the extent of "He's totally gay but there's nothing wrong with that!" and I'm like okay, WHY do you need to say that, then?! I like it when authors put their characters out there as they are, without explanations or excuses. This book does a great job of that, for sure. They are average young adult males and females, some of them are gay, some of them aren't...and they're just living the high school dream (or nightmare, as it were, in some of their cases).

I would also highly recommend "Boy Meets Boy" by David Levithan. I had to read it twice in my undergrad and enjoyed it. I believe the key description word for that book is "whimsical!" :) Additionally, Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin is a good read. I took two adolescent literature courses and a gay & lesbian literature course at Western Michigan University between 2004-2007.

[Alexander Wm. Evers]

I selected this novel as well. I am a John Green enthusiast, though not truly a "fan", and found this text to be a veritable-counterpart to "Looking for Alaska", but a bit more salacious. You noted the abundance of masturbation references and, while I was also put-off by this, I cant help but think that 25min of a YA television program (or even 5 min of "Two and a Half Men") has a comparable number of masturbation references. The subject of masturbation has become commonplace, or is at least no longer taboo, among adolescents.

I think that the use of texts that promote and/or provide insight into LGBTQ perspective are essential to contemporary education. However, not all parents and students and staff may agree, and they have a right to disagree. Regardless, I have made a point of taking courses in Women's literature, Multi Ethnic literature, and LGBTQ lit. I took these courses for the purpose of exposing myself to this literature, in order to, in turn, share these with my peers and future students. In light of recent events, I think we can all agree that the results of students intolerance of homosexuality can often be tragic. Thanks for reading and sharing this text.

[Pam Goble]

I have simple YA novel called The Misfits which I would not be able to use as a class read for the same reason.

[Pam Goble]

I love the 2 viewpoint type YA lit; it seems so much more objectively...subjective!
Flipped is a good example of that type of writing.

[Pam Goble]

I have to pull out the card of a professor I met this weekend whose specialty is GLBTQ lit. She had promised to e-mail me her research and list of YA titles.

[Meghann Lothson]

Hey, everyone. Sorry this is coming so late, but it's been a rough week. Our internet was freaking out, I had a sore throat, which turned into strep, and now I'm on antibiotics, so everything's good!

This was a wonderful book entitled "Once" by Morris Gleitzman. I know there's a trend of me reading historical books, especially WWII/ Jewish Holocaust books, but I promise this is the last one. "Once" is good, though. Though fictional, it is based on actual stories that Gleitzman collected about the holocaust.
It is about a Jewish boy named Felix raised in a Catholic orphanage in Nazi-occupied Poland. His parents own a bookstore, and sent him to the orphanage to protect him. While at the orphanage, Felix grows concerned for his parents--first, he finds a carrot in his soup and, because it's his favorite vegetable, he thinks it's a sign that his parents are ready to take him home. Second, he sees Nazi soldiers burning Jewish books in the orphanage, and thinks this will happen to his parents' bookstore. So he leaves...and finds out what is really happening to the Jews in Poland.
Upon arriving home, he finds that everyone's gone, including his parents. He is told that the Jews have "gone to the city," so he decides to journey there. He finds a friend on his way, a little girl named Zelda, whom he rescues from her burning house. Her parents are lying dead outside, both shot. Felix resolves that the two of them need to go to the city together.
They arrive and find numerous Jewish families living there, but the Nazi soldiers are at work separating and exterminating them. Adults are being shot, and children are being taken away. There is a man, Barney, who is finding children and hiding them away, saving them from the soldiers. Felix and Zelda go with him. Eventually Zelda becomes sick, and Felix and Barney begin searching for medicine for her in the empty homes. However, by the time Felix arrives back at their hiding place, the Nazis have already found the children. All of them are taken away to be put on trains to the death camps.
Although Felix, Zelda, and another child named Chaya escape the trains, Chaya is shot in the escape. Barney and the rest of the children are left on the train, but Felix and Chaya are able to get away. The book ends there, without a real close.

The book ends in a definite cliffhanger, because there is a sequel, "Then," that picks up immediately where "Once" left off. I would love to read this one. There is also a third book, "Now," told by Zelda's point of view.

What makes "Once" so haunting is that the book is told from Felix's point of view, and the only understanding you have as the reader is what he knows. He is also totally innocent, and what he observes outside the orphanage--shootings, kidnappings, death--is often perceived as accident. He can't comprehend that these things are actually happening, and doesn't even understand that Hitler is the mind behind it. When he was staying in the orphanage he was taught that Hitler was a hero, an admirable character. The tone of the book changes from innocent to eerily dark as Felix comes to see what is happening.
Also, I like how the book is written--it's a collection of sequential stories, rather than one continuous novel. Each of them begins with the word "once." "Once I saw...Once I met..." It's very creative.

The book definitely follows YA criteria. It's a quick read, and it's good for all ages, I think. Yes, it's told by a boy of about ten, but it's about horrifying events told in a creative way. Much of it is a bit unclear because Felix's storytelling leaves much to the imagination. It's sort of like "Forrest Gump;" it's an overwhelming and terrible story told through the eyes of a childlike character. It makes the reader wonder what more was happening that Felix did not mention or see. The story follows his growing up through the holocaust, so it's almost as if the reader is mourning Felix's childhood as much as those who are dying. Even though young readers can't personally identify with the holocaust, many can certainly understand growing up through painful events that their peers don't always understand. It allows students to feel safe in acknowledging the pain they've gone through themselves, and the questioning that happens in a young mind when things go horribly wrong. Many of us know how it feels to have problems that are so much bigger than we can face, and can't comprehend how it can possibly be resolved. Every student has a different way of expressing themselves about these problems, and this book is an example of one boy and how he processes his issues.

This is an excellent chapter by chapter outline for teachers who want to use the book in class.

http://www.penguin.co.nz/webfiles/PenguinGroupNZ/files/OnceTeachNot...

Here is a review for both "Once" and "Then."

http://kimbofo.typepad.com/readingmatters/2009/08/once-then-by-morr...

[Zia Jusufi]

Wicked Girls-A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill...406 PAGES...but a very easy read.

The reason I chose this book is because I have always been very infatuated with the Salem Witch Trials after reading The Crucible in highschool, but I never got a chance to do more research about the topic. I will start with the ending of the novel, which lists all the accusers along with the accused witches who were killed. At the end of her story, Hemphill creates a mini biograph of the people who were hanged, and the girls that accused them...I thought this was amazing because after reading her fictionalized story, I felt like actually personally knew these girls.

This novel is a very quick read, and what I mean by that is one can easily read 200 pages in one sitting. The format itself is a lot like Make Lemonade when it comes to the short paragraphs and sentences, but it is a lot more meaningful to read than Make Lemonade, which if you guys have not noticed already, I didnt like. The book itself is divided by two to three page sections. Each section has a different girl's prespective on what happend in the story while the story is unfolding. Its's horrible to say, but I actually found myself sympathizing with these girls, because I felt like I was in their head during the whole experiance. In The Crucible, Abigail is the culprit who seems to be in control of the group, but in this story, Ann Putnam was the leader of this group, along with Mercy, her servant.

Why is this a YAL?
This book is so complex, yet simple at the same time because these girls feel like any normal teenage girl would feel. They want to be recognized and belong to a specific social group. Peer pressure is a big part of this book because this is the only motivator some of the girls had, in accusing the witches. One of the girls is raped, one is tired of being a servant, and wants to rise to the top, while the other girls just want to be in this specific circle of friends. I constantly saw some of the girls feeling guilty for their actions, yet, they felt they were in to deep to back out.

This book is a wonderful book because it has history, creativity, and Puritan societal interactions which is not so different from interactions between teens today; because your either in the clique or your not....... There was and still is little room for freewill, especially in a highschool social circle.