11/29 Teens Top Ten Best Books Discussion for Read 339/439

[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/students would benefit 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.

Again have fun...after the
class is done you can still keep those reviews coming on the NING and
talk to each other about what your are reading for the year.
on people of the week!!!

[Heather Olson]

In Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, the plot picks up right where The Hunger Games left off. Katniss Everdeen's victory in The Hunger Games with fellow District 12 player Peeta Mellark has thwarted the Gamemakers and defied the Capitol and their rules of the game. Given that they've just won safety and financial security for their families, they should be pleased. However, Katniss had returned home to find herself in the center of attention. Unrest is growing in the Districts and there are rumors of a rebellion with Katniss and Peeta as the figureheads of the rebellion against the Capitol. The Capitol is angry and wants revenge against Katniss for her unintended trickery. President Snow surprises Katniss with a visit in her home and threatens her to end this rebellion talk. Broken up into three parts, Catching Fire first shows Katniss & Peeta's victory tour through the districts, the preparations for the next Hunger Games and another twisted Capitol Game that they both must play. It explores Panem's power structure, the rumors of a hidden district and the spreading rebellion that is starting. It is unique, torturous and imaginative, answers questions the reader is left with after The Hunger Games and creates more to be answered in Mockingjay. The reader is challenged to think as the characters continue to face indignities presented by the Capitol in the fight for their lives and freedom.

As in The Hunger Games and Mockingjay, Catching Fire is also written entirely from the viewpoint of Katniss. Her mother and other adult mentors are present but she is free to take credit for and make her own decisions and accomplishments. This novel, as the others in the trilogy, is very fast-paced and action-packed in both plot and reading ease. Again we see a variety of subjects in this sci-fi and political fiction novel that makes both subjects approachable to the reader. Given the different districts and the citizens of Panem, there are a number of different cultural groups though no specific ethnicity is directly mentioned. You feel Katniss' indecision, confusion and optimism as she fights the Capitol and makes many positive steps in her fight for her family's health and freedom. The novel deals with many emotions that are important to young adults as Katniss and Peeta work with others to rectify the injustices against them and the others in Panem. Young adults and other readers will face the feelings the characters face through the action, horror, despair, romance, hope and humanity of the novel.

For more information on Suzanne Collins and her books Catching Fire and the other two titles in The Hunger Games trilogy, you can visit her website at http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com. Additionally, EnglishCompanion's Ning site has some great teaching tools for this novel at http://englishcompanion.ning.com/forum/topics/the-hunger-games.

As with Mockingjay, I loved this book/series intensely. I think this series has a great place in the classroom as sci-fi literature that includes various aspects of politics, as well. The themes present within this coming-of-age series would make for great teaching material and the figurative language throughout is amazing. Again, I would say 7th grade and up as I know that is the level at which this novel is being taught in the schools. I would personally love to use this novel in 8th or 9th grade most, I believe. If I was unable to teach Catching Fire, I would certainly have it on my classroom shelves, along with Mockingjay and hope to someday teach a unit on The Hunger Games, as well. Again, I must recommend this book/series to my fellow classmates/future teachers and encourage you to check out the Ning site above for accompanying text suggestions and teaching ideas, as well.

[Pam Goble]

i have Catching Fire next to my bed and... Mockingjay....they are my Christmas reads. i too, loved the Hunger Games. i don't like that kind of book with the violence, but I could not put the book down. Too good and Katniss is so memorable.

[Laura Bychowski]

Everyone keeps telling me I have to read the Hunger Games XD As this is the second in a series, how do you feel the entire story works in this format (as opposed to fitting the plot points into one novel or ending with the Hunger Games)?
Also, are the discussions of political structure, in your opinion, substantial enough to warrant using the novel in a unit of a poly sci class?

[Heather Olson]

The series as a whole is great and once you read the first, I think you'll want to read the 2nd & 3rd. I would not teach books 2 or 3 without teaching book one first as I feel she is not an author who does a lot of background coverage on the previous novel in the next (which I like - if you haven't read the first, you shouldn't be reading the second and so on!). I could see the justification in using the first novel in the classroom and making students aware there is a 2nd and 3rd in case they're interested but also I think I wrote in my review for Mockingjay perhaps teaching/discussing "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay" in an after-school book club or something of that nature, rather than taking up an incredible amount of class time to teach the trilogy. I'm not sure about using it in a poli-sci class, though. I don't think the political structure is enough, necessarily, as I felt it focused more on the government's control and vendetta against Katniss and Peeta due to their potential interruption to that control. I do feel it is a great companion piece to "The Giver," if you've ever read that. Some similar themes! If you stay active on here, let me know if you read it and what you thought about it! :)

[Laura Bychowski]

I've read The Giver! It was one of my favorites growing up. What I found most captivating about it was learning about the structure of the society and how it affected the characters' understanding of themselves. It makes you question what aspects of your own society you take for granted and whether bliss is favorable to complexity. The characters, despite their ignorance of war, love, and family, still had passions and personalities and were therefore relatable. The reader can become invested in Jonas because he is a unique, dynamic character. The themes of discovering identity and developing perspective are well developed. What were your opinions of it?

[Tiffany Shreve]

You make all of these books sound very interesting. I have not read any of them I actually in my middle and high school years avoided them because they did not sound like something I would want to get into but now I may have to pick one up over break and see if I was wrong all along.

[Nicole Priester]

The book I read for this week was "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown. This book is about a now senior (Valerie Leftman) dealing with the aftermath of a hate book she and her boyfriend created over a three year period which lead to a school shooting by her boyfriend Nick Levil. Valerie a long with many of her classmates, were shot or killed by Nick, and some in fact many feel that Valerie was apart of the shooting and that Nick only shot her because they made a suicide pact. Valerie also has a lot of stuff to deal with at home and long with dealing with her feelings about the people on the list, her boyfriend and herself. This book deals with her healing and finding out who she is after a tragic event.

I can see where this book is considered a Young Adult Literature piece, and I would happen to agree even though it does not fit most of the critiera set fourth to us. Parents and adult figures are pretty present through out the novel. They also have a lot of influence on her life before and after the shooting. While the story primarely focuses on Valerie, it also tells a tale about her parents and her brother. GIven the nature of the story, I feel it is only natural that the parents would be involved as much as they are. It would be very unnatural if Valerie was dealing with everything all on her own without anyone.The book is written from Valeries perspective, so that fits the criteria, but I feel like she uses language that is above what most teenagers would know or use. These words would make great vocabulary lessons though. The book deals with a lot of issues and emotions teens do go through, but not all teens do. All the students and families are dealing with the aftermath or a tragic event. They are also dealing with their own insecurities that the reader finds out later in the novel. There are suicide throughts and attempts of suicide, finding ones self, dealing with parents that are unhappy in marriage, affairs, guilt, shame and so on. The story does not really talk about race and things like that. some characters do have ethnic names, but does disect kids from different social groups which is very interesting and unique.

Some interesting Links... that are provided at the end of the book

http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/

http://www.meangirlsnotcool.com



This book is very interesting and I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. It definately was not what I expected. While it was definately an emotional roller coaster the reader is on with Valerie. I definately became invested in her, but I kind of kept thinking what it would be like to get into the minds of all these other characters/survivors and see what they were going through. Valerie does become this very dynamic character and it is amazing to watch her transform. she is a character that you want to cheer for and you want to see do well. There are times where I got frustrated with her parents, but it is very hard to blame them for how they feel. I really would love to teach this book in a class, but I really feel there are only two context where it would be appropriate for this book to be taught. The first would be in a modern lit class and I would want to teach it with a book also about a school shooting called "We Need to Talk about Kevin" and the other would be as giving students a list of books to chose from and have lit cirlces. there are a lot of valuable life lessons learned, but known a lot of technique used to right the book really. I feel class discussions would focus on the context of the book, and nothing about how the book was written which is fine, but I feel there should be a good blend between the two and this does not have it. I also think to some extent it would be hard to talk about the subjects in this book. I personally come from a high school with a lot of tradgety. I also went to NIU for a year and knew a couple of people who were shot at the NIU shooting. These factors had a lot to do with why i chose this book, but it was also very hard to read the book because of that. Teaching in Illinois, or any school that has had a history of tradgety it would be hard to talk about this stuff, especially because it is such a small world and someone in the classroom could have been affected by something that is examined in that book. I would be nervous to teach it as much as i would want to.

[Danielle Sonni]

Nikki,

I've read the book Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, another book about the aftermath of a school shooting (it has some twists and is a good read, although depressing). The character of Valerie seems very interesting and complicated. You mentioned that she is a character you cheer for, yet she also seems like a villain. Does she and her boyfriend write the hate book because they are outsiders and feel bullied? Or is it more similar to "Mean Girls"? Books like this provide some important teachable moments and life lessons for young adults. If you could impress upon students how destructive bullying can be, you could really change they way some people treat each other and maybe convince kids to think before they speak (something I still have trouble with sometimes....haha). Although I haven't read this book, I would probably feel the same way you do about teaching it. I would be nervous to glorify any type of violence but would like to use a book like this to shed light on important issues.

[Pam Goble]

This has been a mainstay in many school districts to deal with violence and tragedy.

[Nicole Priester]

She and her boyfriend wrote the book, because they were out casted by many of their peers. They were teased about everything. Valerie was called "sister death" because of the way she dressed and nick was beat up all the time in ways from the popular crowd. You say that students could changed the way they treat eachother, but the book acknowledges that most of the students did not change at all. They were affected by what happened, but it did not change the cliques and what not. I found that very interesting though. When in particular a former student from my high school passed away, it really brought the sophmores juniors and seniors together, the freshman never got to met the man who died, but I noticed things were a lot different from that point on. I would have throught that this event would have brought the class together, but it really didn't and at the end the students acknowledged that in the end.

As a reader, you cheer for her, but the people around her, I would say 95% hate her. It is really interesting

[Pam Goble]

You would hope things like that would not happen, but they unfortunately do.

[Heather Olson]

Danielle,
I thought of the same Picoult book when I was reading her review and was going to mention it in my response to her! :) This book certainly seems to be vastly different from that book but still sounds interesting.