11/15/2010 Read 339/439 Quick Picks Discusssion

[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.

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!

 Pam

Pam

[Danielle Sonni]

Meg,

I think the book was maybe teaching a lesson about being true to yourself and showing the strength all individuals have, even in adverse situations. I also think the author is telling us and each person is responsible for their own choices and has the power to change their own lives, for better or for worse.

[Rosalind Engerman]

Ooooo...sounds like a book I would enjoy! It seems as though there are a lot of plot lines possible for this book, and it seems like there are a lot of juicy layers present. Blind, sick, stolen?!? and on top of that her father is the CEO of Nike?!? That sounds fabulous....does she make it out alive??? Does her Pneumonia worsen?? Do the kidnappers buy her medicine? Sounds like a fun read.

[Pam Goble]

You could have gotten lucky!!!

[Heather Olson]

I enjoyed talking to you about this book on Saturday and am interested in reading it now! In terms of allowing it as an option for students to read on their own for an assignment, would that be for a book report or in what way do you think it could best work for an academic assignment?

[Pam Goble]

What is important is the fact that kids read these books and we need to know what they read and why.

[Laura Bychowski]

So it sounds like Carlos and Kiara lead really unique lives and focus on keeping their individuality despite social and environmental pressures to conform. It that right, or am I off? Anyway, with Kiara being a "not-so-stereotypical girl" who likes "working on cars, hiking, and working out" do you think this novel is discrediting the importance gender norms?

[Rebeka Mirza]

Heather,

This book sounds like a great read. I love hearing that people can change for the better. I think it was a good idea for Carlos' parents to take him out of a negative environment. They had has best interest in mind when they sent him to Colorado. I liked that he was assigned a peer mentor, someone that would be a positive benefit in his life. I wonder if that would help if all schools assigned peer mentors for more at-risk students?

Also, it's important to understand that change doesn't happen quickly. Even though Kiara was Carlos' peer mentor, he did not change right away. He was still hooked to his old ways. I think Kiara played a significant role in Carlos changing. Not only did he find a friend in her, but also someone he could start a relationship with.

It's good to know that people can help bring change. People can help change people. It doesn't hurt to try to get rid of someone's bad ways. It's important to act as a role model, and allow them to see different ways in which to deal with their emotions and find positive activities to take part in. I think that this book could be used in the classroom. This would be a good read for more at-risk students. A good amount of discussion can arise from this text.

[Pam Goble]

It is nice tor read about someone escaping their past life successfully.

[Meghann Lothson]

I read "A Boy Called Twister" by Anne Schraff, which is part of a series about the students of Harriet Tubman high school in California. I read it pretty quickly, and actually liked it. I didn't think I would; the writing isn't especially great and it seems a little simplistic when you're reading the first few pages. However, I did like the overall message and the story.
Kevin Walker, 16, moves from Texas to California to live with his grandparents. He's an only child, awkward, and does not have an easy time making friends--he has a "secret," and does not want anyone to find out. His secret is this: his father was sent to prison for murder when he was three. It was apparently an accident, his dad had a temper and pushed the guy, who fell and hit his head on a bathtub and died from the injury. Kevin grew up without any real contact with his father, and when he was six, his father died in prison in a fight. Kevin was raised by his mother, whom he adored and admired. However, she was diagnosed with cancer and eventually passed away. That's why he is living with his grandmother and grandfather.
Kevin is painfully shy and doesn't want anyone to know about his past, but eventually starts making friends at school. He's a runner, and eventually joins the track team. That's why he has the nickname "Twister--" his mother used to call him that because he was so fast. However, he has a lot of painful issues he is dealing with despite the attention. First of all, he is still dealing with the loss of his mother. He moved to his new school in the middle of the year, and is having a hard time adjusting. He is also dealing with Marko, a boy on the team who hates him and taunts him mercilessly. Though quiet, Kevin has a bit of a temper--like his father--and does not want to succumb to it. Despite these challenges, Kevin keeps running on the team. He loves running because it feels like he can just forget about all of it when he's out on the track.
Among the friends that Kevin makes, one of them is Carissa, a girl he becomes very close to. Eventually, Kevin actually decides to tell her his secret. She swears she won't tell anyone at school, and doesn't. However, she does tell her mother, who tells the other parents of everyone they know. Eventually Marko finds out, and Kevin begins to notice Marko taunting him about his father. He knows that Marko has found out somehow, and it truly bothers him.
He is left to deal with the situation, but forgives Carissa, who feels horrible. She was only confiding in her mother, so he is not really upset with her. Rather, he knows he has to face the situation sooner or later. He feels tortured by the situation, and does not know how to handle it.
Kevin volunteers with a foster program, spending time with foster kids with stories much like his. He gets his answer from a little boy named Shawne that he spends the day with. Shawne begins telling Kevin about how he does awkward things in front of other kids, but is just honest with them--like, "Hi, I'm Shawne. I trip and fall all the time, but I'd still like to be friends." Kevin really begins to take this to heart, and eventually decides to tell his friends his secret. When Kevin tells them what he's been through, he is surprised when they don't shy away from him. Instead, they hug him, pat him on the back, and encourage him. Overwhelmed by the love and support, Kevin is happy, and settles into his new life a little more easily now that he has let his secret go.

The book definitely connects with the YAL criteria. It reminded me a bit of "Looking for Alaska." Awkward boy begins in new school, and has to get used to what's going on around him. Kevin struggles with trust, feelings of belonging, and pressure from the mean guys in the school. It really captures how mean kids can be, and how difficult it is to be different in a new environment. He has a very difficult time facing these issues because he's so quiet and does not know who he can completely trust. He's also very mature for his age, and I can definitely identify with him. Being in high school is like watching an ant farm sometimes, and Kevin feels totally out of place--the weird one.

The book is absolutely classroom appropriate. Kevin's story could be very relatable to students, and 9th - 12th graders would be able to connect with the book. Students can definitely connect with the feeling of being alone, not knowing if they can depend on anyone. They also know the meaning of good friends, and how great it feels to know that there are people who love them. That's the most valuable reminder that this book offers.

Here are a couple of sources that connect well with the book. Unfortunately, the books seems small and a bit unknown, so I found very little on it. Here is an amazon review for now.

http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Called-Twister-Urban-Underground/dp/16165...

[Meghann Lothson]

I found a few links that will be helpful-- the first is a website for the publishing company that highlights all of the books in the series. Each book is written simply to discuss the issue that book is centered upon, and I believe the series to be a wonderful source for students.

http://www.sdlback.com/p-96168-urban-underground-a-boy-called-twist...

This is an article exploring the common causes and sources of adolescent loneliness in high school.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/wq8u7v6147131248/

Also, go on Help.com and type in "I'm lonely in high school" or I can't tell my friends in high school." It's heartbreaking, but enlightening, to read these kids' pleas for help and attention, and realize what a close eye we are going to need to have as teachers. Kids like Kevin exist everywhere.

[Pam Goble]

This does seem relatable.  I have had many students whose parents had been in prison. They obviously did not want to talk about it.

[Alexander Wm. Evers]

Scrolling through the list of Quick Picks, my eyes froze, my heart leapt, and my soul sung when I saw 2, count'em, two Zombie-themed texts in the selections for this week. So, being the all-thing-Zombie connoisseur that I am, I bought both novels; however, I subsequently returned one when I discovered that one of the "in-laws" saw the book and bought it for me as a "secret santa" gift (not so secret, huh). Regardless, Steve Mockus brilliant work, "How to Speak Zombie: a Guide for the Living" is a hysterical, veritable Rosetta Stone, of the Zombie vernacular. The text features ten essential Zombie terms/phrases (how does one classify, "RAHHHhh") and comes with an electronic sound module and assists students in learning how to speak while performing essential tasks (e.g. shopping) amid a Zombie infestation. The text is fun, funny, and hard to put down. However, it's best for an age range of maybe 5-10 years old (or an immature Zombie-nut, like myself). The novel is not from the viewpoint of a YA; as noted, it is best suited for a pre-adolescent age group. However, it definitely employs a theme that is gaining increasing popularity within YA culture (noting increase in number and popularity of recent Zombie films and fiction) and this might explain its presence on the ALA list. However, while it might not be best suited to educate adolescents, I'm hard pressed to find a text better suited to motivate YA students- "reading this text might, one day, prevent you from having your brains eaten by Zombies" (I mean, no offense, but can you say that about anything John Green's written lately? I think not.).
Does the novel remove parents; well sort of. The Zombie theme is one that evokes a great amount of individual reflection. That is, the Zombie theme is often about personal survival, "how will I survive...escape...live", and thus succeeds in making the reader feel like they are on their own; this is essential to fear & horror aspects of Zombie fiction. Furthermore, the "on my own" feeling achieved by Zombie texts, in the context of YA readers, allows for the removal of parents/guardians; too the degree chosen (i.e. imagined) by the reader. That is, if the student, while reading Zombie fiction, wants to imagine being totally isolated, so be it; however, if they want to imagine that their parents, brother, dog, etc. survived and are with them, that's their decision.
This text is a tutorial narrative, so yes, the text meets the criteria of absent or removed parental figures. The text is definitely fast paced, a very quick read; so short, in fact, i would hesitate to use this in the classroom. While this Zombie text doesn't address the "deeper" themes, the Zombie genre as a whole does explore "love, friendship, betrayal, justice, etc.". If you don't believe me, watch one episode of "The Walking Dead" or one of George A. Romero's early work(s) and you will see that true Zombie fiction is about much more than copious, voracious consumption of human grey-matter and viscera; though, this is essential in my opinion. YA novels are "optimistic"; well, this "Guide for the Living" provides optimism only for those who read it; because, for those who do not "Speak Zombie", the outlook is anything but optimistic!

P.s. The sound module is an interesting component to this text, it is an essential supplement, easy to use, and succeeds in giving the text that something-extra. I have put the book away, but keep the module out to, occasionally (or constantly) try to annoy and/or convince my girlfriend that the Zombie Apocalypse is imminent.

Unfortunately, I do not foresee myself using this text in the classroom as part of the curriculum. However, it will defiantly be available in my classroom library for free-reading. I think that the reason students are reading this text, despite not meeting the aforementioned criteria, is precisely because the text is entertaining first and educational second, or third. However, I think that, with some effort, an instructor could incorporate this text as an entertaining, academic aside- that is, imagine a Zombie themed unit, in which you would use this text in a one-day activity, to explain or address the concept of "vernacular" or "colloquialism".

Some links to related texts and/or information:

I own two copies of this text, "The Zombie Survival Guide"; one copy I simply read and re-read. However, the other I have taken tons of notes in, made additions, and revisions to, in order to develop my own sort of "if the pooh hits the fan" survival guide: http://www.thinkgeek.com/books/humor/7838/

This is the other novel I wanted, bought, and had to deny myself: http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780763649340-4

One of TV's best productions ever: http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/