I recently read the novel Thirteen Reasons Why. The novel has two protagonists, a young woman who has committed suicide and the young man who is listening to her suicide note. The story is told from both points of view, as we listen along to the tapes along with the male protagonist and as we follow his experiences while listening to the revelations on the tapes. I thought the novel was heart breaking and powerful, but also dangerous. The female protagonist addresses 13 people in her suicide note, explaining how each of them contributed on her path to suicide. The things that happened to this girl are very realistic events that happen to countless young people. The novel has the power to draw attention to painful actions that are often dismissed as "not a big deal" and to make young people think about the possible consequences of their actions. HOWEVER, the danger of this novel is that it also sets up an unhealthy paradigm that could have horrible consequences. The very premise of the book is that the behaviors of other students, sometimes cruel and sometimes negligible, led to this girl's suicide. It sets the stage for students to blame themselves if someone commits suicide. This would wreak havoc on the psyches of so many, and it would be incorrect. While what we do can have an incredible impact on those around us, suicide is the choice of the person who commits it, not of anyone else. If a teacher wanted to use this in a high school classroom (juniors/seniors), I would recommend that he or she discuss it with the students in great depth and make sure they understand the truths and the lies in the novel.

I did buy this book last weekend and will get to it on my vacation in 2 weeks. Thanks, Carolyn, for posting this. It is a wonderful forum to keep current on YA Lit.

I just had that one in my hand (13 reasons) and put it back. I will get it soon as it sounds interesting. thanks!
I was in 1/2 price books and bought " A Mind at a Time". So far interesting facts on brain development in kids.
Anyone else a Ranger's fan? Book 6 comes out next Tuesday.

13 Reasons Why was the most checkout out book in my classroom libray last year, and I have over 800 books.

That is really a good sell for a book, Brandon. I just finished Home of the Brave this weekend. It is an excellent choice for a read aloud and for ELL/ESL students and also very good for us to model Atticus Finch and walk in their shoes.

Thanks for the title. I'll have to add that one to my library as well. Especially since about 40% of my students are ESL.

Many in my YA class have really liked HOTB...in fact have loved it.

What grade(s) do you teach?

6th, 7th and 8th grade and grad school. I teach the YA lit course at the grad level along with YA Lit: Genre Studies, AD Development and Middle School Curriculum... I am totally immersed in adolescence.

How did you get 8oo books in your library? That is awesome.

We have a really cool program in Arkansas called Literacy Lab that allows any teacher to go through 2 years of literacy training at one of the state colleges (totally free and paid for by our districts). Plus, we get $600 to spend on books thru Scholastic. But I also have a princiapl who over the course of three years has allotted me close to $750 to spend on books. The rest come from student donations or just lucky finds at used book stores. Btw, I teach 7th grade science.

Great conversation, Pam and Brandon! And kudos to Brandon for having such a great library of YA lit in your science room! This summer, as a part of my graduate English methods class, I assigned The Book Thief plus two of the students' choosing. For my two, I've read Marchetta's Jellicoe Road (this year's Printz winner), and I'm in the middle of A. M. Jenkins's Repossessed. Jellicoe Road blew me away with its two-generation story of friendship and family. Repossessed is about a demon from Hell (that's his job, not a description) who takes over an adolescent boy's body to experience life as a human. So far, it's funny (kind of a Nutty Professor meets Paradise Lost mash-up), but it has potential to be touching as well. Pam, if you haven't read these, you should add them to your vacation line up!

Book recs are always welcome!!!Thanks, Alan. I love new titles to share.

I read Repossessed this past school year and it was popular with several students (I teach in a small school - grades 9-12). Another favorite with young males especially was Laurie Halse Anderson's YA novel, Twisted.

If you're not in the poetry people group but teach poetry be sure to join and check out Patsy Smith's Ninja poetry video post.

Hey Ad Lit folks, if you're not in the American Lit group you might consider joining as there was a point- counterpoint post today on Catcher In the Rye you might find enjoyable!

I don't know if y'all are the the Making Shakespeare Pop group but you might want to check out the Wordle Allison Branch created for Julius Caesar (at the bottom of the discussion)! The strategy is certainly something you could crib for the characters in the novels/stories you are teaching.

Great article on non-fiction graphic novels including one about Katrina titled, "Journalists, Artists Tell Stories with Nonfiction Graphic Novels" can be found in the Graphic Novels group here.

any recs for way to teach the "Giver Trioogy"?

Thomas - maybe place that question up in the discussion forum - it is easier for folks to respond there! Sorry I just caught this. Ryan

Lit folks might enjoy these two posts about the poet, multimedia artist and “observationalist” Rives.

VIDEO: Poet Rives - A Story of Mixed Emoticons

STUDENTS WRITING POETS: Rives Blog - Jessee

They are both in the Poets & Writers Group - check it out or join the group if you teach poetry or writing!!!

Hope you're ready for a mellow thanksgiving!

Ryan:)

I am starting a new novel unit with my 7th Graders in a few weeks. I was wondering if anyone had resources for the novel _Oddballs_ by William Sleator.

Steve

Probably everyone has already ready Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Catching Fire - they are incredible! Also The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer (book 1 and 2 in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness) are so exciting and so beautifully written!!

I love reading books aimed toward adolescents (except Twilight). I look forward to learning about the many adolescent books and maybe some tips on how to go about teaching some of the books to a class of middle school students.

check out the new graphic novel blogroll & comics creation software links above the discussion forum in the Comics group - we're building a pretty impressive set of resources written by MC POPPERS!

So funny, Melissa! I just ordered The Hunger Games and The Knife of Never Letting Go to do as lit circles. :)

Erin your students are really going to enjoy those books!

Hey Everyone, if you're not in the Graphic Novels & Comics group you're missing Stergious' weekly blogs on new and cool GNs. Check out this week's post:

Not quite Twilight - Life Sucks: New post at Graphic Novel Resources!

My middle school girls have been LOVING the "What If?" series. It's a throwback to what we remember as "Choose your own adventure" novels, but with a friendship/relationship element that really hits where girls are at at this age. It's gotten a few of my non-readers to really pick up a book!

o link with a study of Asia, our students enjoy When My Name was Keoko and Iqbal. Our essential questions varied, but ones that seemed to get the students writing quite a bit upon completion were: How do people cope when times get tough? and How can literature serve as an instrument for change?

In my 7/8 class we are reading Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins too. The students are loving this book! I have never had my students so interested in a novel before...they are asking for me to read to them and they are disappointed if they are absent from class and miss a chapter. I would highly recommend this book. THe class is looking forward to hearing the sequel, Catching Fire, which we will be reading when we finish the first book!

Amy: I'm in the middle of HG right now. Don't tell me how it ends! Wait--there's a sequel? Whew! Glad to know the middle schoolers like it. Are you finding ways to connect it to the current craze for Reality TV? Do they get the implied satire/social criticism, or are they just enjoying the really good story-telling?

I just finished the Girl in the Green Sweater; interesting Holocaust survivor story about a family who lives in the sewers of Lvov, Poland for 13 months until they are liberated. The people who aide in their hiding are sewer workers. The human will to survive under the most horrible of circumstances is remarkable.

Grand!! Win a classroom set of a new middle school novel about poor Hamlet Kennedy, the daughter of Shakespeare scholars who dress, eat, and speak 16th Century. Librarians and regular old readers can enter too. Simply link thru, print a Yorick skull, pose, and photograph! Huzzah!

The Hamlet Look-Alike Contest
http://www.erindionne.com/contest/

We are completing a grad course in Genre Studies and texts that I would recommend are Heather Lattimer's Genre Studies and K. Campbell's
Less is More for references, ideas and lists. They are wonderful resources.

Two great groups you might be interested if you serve an urban population or have lots of kids who enjoy Street Lit:
http://phatfiction.wikispaces.com/ - A great Street Lit wiki
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3190483 - A LinkedIn group for those interested in Street Lit

I am a student teacher and developing a unit on S.E. Hinton's That Was Then and This is Now. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi Mari - do consider posting your question with a little more info (grade, theme you want to tackle, etc.) up above us in the discussion forum. That way we can broadcast it as a crowdsource ? and people can have an organized place to respond. The comment wall tends to bury great resources / posts!

For anyone who has never read Red Kayak with a class. . . I did it as a read aloud with 7th graders this year, and in all my years of teaching, I can honestly say I have never had students have a stronger reaction to a book.  They loved it.  They fought at the end of every chapter for me to keep reading.  It is also a perfect story for teaching literary elements-- it has almost all of them including all 4 kinds of conflict.  If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to share the activities I did with it.  Many students told me their final project was the best they've ever done.  They were so sad when it all ended and learned so much!

Please share your activities.  I have always wanted to read that book with my classes.  You can email me @ jgreene@psd202.org

 

Thanks! 

Justin