Going, K. L. (2003). Fat Kid Rules the World. New York: Speak.
Annotation: 296 pound, 6 foot 1, 17-year-old Troy is about to jump in front of a subway and end it all. But then enters Curt MacCrae. Curt is mostly homeless skinny kid, but for some reason wants to start a band with Troy. Troy discovers a lot about himself, and a whole new world is opened up to him.
Justification for Rejection: I did not like the emphasis on drugs, language, and Troy’s weight in this book.
However, I do understand that that was a “reality” (haha yes I do know this is fiction! ☺) for him. And it is a reality for a lot of adolescents. Troy had a sense that everyone was looking at him all the time – which is so common to the adolescent experience.
I did also like how this book came around in the end. You could see the transformation in Troy’s relationship with his dad and his brother as he matured and began to love himself, he could love them.
I just do not think this book was “great”, and as far as the literary work itself I felt it was lacking and not good. It was confusing and hard to read.
Genre: Coming of Age/Search for Identity
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Ironman
Crutcher, Chris. (1995). Ironman. New York: HarperTempest.
Annotation: Because of how his dad has treated him in the past, Bo has had an ager welling inside him his whole life. Faced with getting kicked out of school, Bo is forced to attend Anger Management classes and for the first time in his life come face to face with these issues, while he is training for the Yukon Jack triathlon.
Justification for Nomination: At first, I was totally confused and did not like the switching between third-person and first-person writing. I felt like I couldn’t keep track of who was who and what was happening because there was some overlap and sometimes Bo was Bo and sometimes he was “me” (as in his letters to Larry King).
I really liked the strong positive themes throughout this book. Bo had every reason to give up, but he found something to keep him going.
I thought this book was a raw and real depiction of a boy with so much hurt stuffed inside him from so many years of struggles with his dad, and he faced them in a real way.
I loved his descriptions of the others in the Anger Management class. They all were so unique and I loved watching them come together to be Bo’s stotans.
I also felt that even through there was no definitive resolution in the end, Bo and his dad had faced enough of their problems to be able to have them in the open and work towards a solution.
Genre: Coming of Age/Sports
Annotation: Because of how his dad has treated him in the past, Bo has had an ager welling inside him his whole life. Faced with getting kicked out of school, Bo is forced to attend Anger Management classes and for the first time in his life come face to face with these issues, while he is training for the Yukon Jack triathlon.
Justification for Nomination: At first, I was totally confused and did not like the switching between third-person and first-person writing. I felt like I couldn’t keep track of who was who and what was happening because there was some overlap and sometimes Bo was Bo and sometimes he was “me” (as in his letters to Larry King).
I really liked the strong positive themes throughout this book. Bo had every reason to give up, but he found something to keep him going.
I thought this book was a raw and real depiction of a boy with so much hurt stuffed inside him from so many years of struggles with his dad, and he faced them in a real way.
I loved his descriptions of the others in the Anger Management class. They all were so unique and I loved watching them come together to be Bo’s stotans.
I also felt that even through there was no definitive resolution in the end, Bo and his dad had faced enough of their problems to be able to have them in the open and work towards a solution.
Genre: Coming of Age/Sports
Go Ask Alice
Anonymous. (1971). Go Ask Alice. New York: Simon Pulse.
Annotation: This fifteen-year-old anonymous author shares with us through her diary the ups and downs she experiences as she gets introduced to LSD, and other drugs and risky behaviors. Once she starts, it seems she just can’t stop.
Justification for Rejection: This book ended SO WEIRD!!! I was on the fence about it the whole time, leaning towards no. Then it got the end and I kind of liked the hopeful, peaceful way she ended the book. Then I read the one paragraph epilogue and wow that was weird and random and now it’s a definite no from me.
I did like the positive message and positive outlook the author gained through her experience. She has a lot of times of a fake “recovery” where she wanted to change, but in the end I really believe she did want that life change. For me, I used to volunteer with a youth group, and it was so amazing to see those teens go from a place of despair to a place of genuine life change.
I think the raw and realness the author shows in what she went through because of using drugs was good. I think adolescents reading this can understand somewhat of how messed up she got from the drugs and not want any part of it.
My one big fear is that teens reading this book will read about the times the author thought these drug highs were so great, and think “oh, I’ll just try it once.” They too will get caught in the downward spiral the author found herself sucked in to.
I really liked the strong family themes throughout the book. The author’s family really loved her and cared about her deeply. I think in a way, this subconsciously kept her going.
Genre: Edgy/Autobiography
Annotation: This fifteen-year-old anonymous author shares with us through her diary the ups and downs she experiences as she gets introduced to LSD, and other drugs and risky behaviors. Once she starts, it seems she just can’t stop.
Justification for Rejection: This book ended SO WEIRD!!! I was on the fence about it the whole time, leaning towards no. Then it got the end and I kind of liked the hopeful, peaceful way she ended the book. Then I read the one paragraph epilogue and wow that was weird and random and now it’s a definite no from me.
I did like the positive message and positive outlook the author gained through her experience. She has a lot of times of a fake “recovery” where she wanted to change, but in the end I really believe she did want that life change. For me, I used to volunteer with a youth group, and it was so amazing to see those teens go from a place of despair to a place of genuine life change.
I think the raw and realness the author shows in what she went through because of using drugs was good. I think adolescents reading this can understand somewhat of how messed up she got from the drugs and not want any part of it.
My one big fear is that teens reading this book will read about the times the author thought these drug highs were so great, and think “oh, I’ll just try it once.” They too will get caught in the downward spiral the author found herself sucked in to.
I really liked the strong family themes throughout the book. The author’s family really loved her and cared about her deeply. I think in a way, this subconsciously kept her going.
Genre: Edgy/Autobiography
Friday, August 8, 2008
Final Passionate Pleas
Fiction - Speak
I can't say it enough how perfectly I think this book resonates with the adolescent experience - especially for girls. This book uses language and themes that really can connect deeply with the adolescent, and yet it challenges their literary thinking to go to deeper levels. Overall, I think this book definitely deserves to win the award. In the book, the reader can so deeply connect with Melinda, which is an important aspect of adolescent literature. I think this book makes a breakthrough in that it talks about the internal silence of someone who's been raped and gone against her friends to follow her best judgment and do what was right - and now she's suffering the consequences of that. I think an important part of this book is that it shows its alright and good to do what's right, even when there are consequences. Through everything, Melinda learns so much about herself and her morals and standing up for what is right and discovers who really cares about her and who matters anyways.
Non-Fiction - Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
I think the amount of valuable pieces of history interwoven in this book (it is an important piece of history itself!) make it an important contender for the award. This book not only resonates with the development of the adolescent, but it is a completely true story. There is something compelling about knowing these diary entries really happened and she lived through an important time in our world's history. This book can be such a wonderful supplement to learning about the war and Jewish history in school. High school years are the years they delve deeper into these subjects, so it seems an appropriate time to read this book. Also, Anne being thirteen to fifteen years old throughout the book, she is struggling and facing the same things they are.
I can't say it enough how perfectly I think this book resonates with the adolescent experience - especially for girls. This book uses language and themes that really can connect deeply with the adolescent, and yet it challenges their literary thinking to go to deeper levels. Overall, I think this book definitely deserves to win the award. In the book, the reader can so deeply connect with Melinda, which is an important aspect of adolescent literature. I think this book makes a breakthrough in that it talks about the internal silence of someone who's been raped and gone against her friends to follow her best judgment and do what was right - and now she's suffering the consequences of that. I think an important part of this book is that it shows its alright and good to do what's right, even when there are consequences. Through everything, Melinda learns so much about herself and her morals and standing up for what is right and discovers who really cares about her and who matters anyways.
Non-Fiction - Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
I think the amount of valuable pieces of history interwoven in this book (it is an important piece of history itself!) make it an important contender for the award. This book not only resonates with the development of the adolescent, but it is a completely true story. There is something compelling about knowing these diary entries really happened and she lived through an important time in our world's history. This book can be such a wonderful supplement to learning about the war and Jewish history in school. High school years are the years they delve deeper into these subjects, so it seems an appropriate time to read this book. Also, Anne being thirteen to fifteen years old throughout the book, she is struggling and facing the same things they are.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Frank, Anne. (1999). Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Bantam Books.
Annotation: At thirteen, Anne Frank and her family must go in to hiding – as they can not be Jews living in Holland with the war going on. They find shelter in the “Secret Annexe” and Anne reveals to us her most intimate thoughts and moments through the 25 months she spends in the “Secret Annexe” with her family, the Van Daan’s and Mr. Dussel.
Justification for Nomination: This book was so raw and real. There is something amazing to me about reading an autobiography – this is not made up stuff. A real person really lived and felt this. How cool.
Anne Frank’s diary has been translated into 30 languages and made into a motion picture. I think this speaks volumes about the importance of this book.
Anne stays so positive throughout the whole time she is in hiding. I think this can be inspirational to teens. No matter who was fighting or what rotten food they had to eat that night, Anne always tried to have a positive spirit about it all.
Anne's style of writing is incredibly deep for a young teenager, but it is still easy to read and follow. You get sucked in as you feel like you are really there hiding with her in the Annexe.
Genre: Autobiography
Annotation: At thirteen, Anne Frank and her family must go in to hiding – as they can not be Jews living in Holland with the war going on. They find shelter in the “Secret Annexe” and Anne reveals to us her most intimate thoughts and moments through the 25 months she spends in the “Secret Annexe” with her family, the Van Daan’s and Mr. Dussel.
Justification for Nomination: This book was so raw and real. There is something amazing to me about reading an autobiography – this is not made up stuff. A real person really lived and felt this. How cool.
Anne Frank’s diary has been translated into 30 languages and made into a motion picture. I think this speaks volumes about the importance of this book.
Anne stays so positive throughout the whole time she is in hiding. I think this can be inspirational to teens. No matter who was fighting or what rotten food they had to eat that night, Anne always tried to have a positive spirit about it all.
Anne's style of writing is incredibly deep for a young teenager, but it is still easy to read and follow. You get sucked in as you feel like you are really there hiding with her in the Annexe.
Genre: Autobiography
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monster
Myers, Walter Dean. (1999). Monster. New York: HarperTempest.
Myers, Walter Dean. (1999). Monster. James, Peter Francis. Audiobook on CD. Recorded Books, LLC, 2000.
Annotation: Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon tells the story of being put through a trial for a felony murder some of his acquaintances say he was a part of. Steve is a filmmaker, so tells the story as a film of his own. He also shares with us through his journaling. Will Ms. O’Brien be able to convince the jury of Steve’s innocence and spare him the 25 years to life in prison he could face?
Justification for Nomination: I actually “read” this book as an audiobook. This was such a great book to listen to. There were so many characters, and “Listening Library” did such a great job of bringing them to life. It was also really a good one because it was meant to be written like a movie, so you were meant to “see” it and I felt I could do that a lot through listening to the book.
I also picked up the print copy of the book, and it looked like it was written in a really interesting way. I think this would make the book more interesting for a teen to read, as the words on the page seem to come alive too. You can almost feel the different emotions in the different size and stress of the text.
I don’t really know, because I’ve never been there, but I felt like it gave a somewhat accurate portrayal of a courtroom and court case. Again, I think the audiobook helped me with this part. You could feel the tension, and hear everyone’s arguments and it felt for me like I was there.
I liked reading this book because I think it is one that would appeal to boys. Not a ton of the books I read this semester would necessarily be a boy’s first pick, but this one I think would be a good choice for a male adolescent.
I also liked the innocence of Steve’s character. He was real, and had a real family and real values. I’m not sure why that appealed to me. Maybe because he could have been a “monster” as it was suggested in the beginning of the book, but he really had a gentle core to him.
I think this book would be a good one for a class to read together. I also picked up the print version of this book and, at least the version I got, had some really good discussion questions in the back. I think this makes it appeal to teens and their teachers.
Genre: Audiobook/Printz/Edgy/Coming of Age
Myers, Walter Dean. (1999). Monster. James, Peter Francis. Audiobook on CD. Recorded Books, LLC, 2000.
Annotation: Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon tells the story of being put through a trial for a felony murder some of his acquaintances say he was a part of. Steve is a filmmaker, so tells the story as a film of his own. He also shares with us through his journaling. Will Ms. O’Brien be able to convince the jury of Steve’s innocence and spare him the 25 years to life in prison he could face?
Justification for Nomination: I actually “read” this book as an audiobook. This was such a great book to listen to. There were so many characters, and “Listening Library” did such a great job of bringing them to life. It was also really a good one because it was meant to be written like a movie, so you were meant to “see” it and I felt I could do that a lot through listening to the book.
I also picked up the print copy of the book, and it looked like it was written in a really interesting way. I think this would make the book more interesting for a teen to read, as the words on the page seem to come alive too. You can almost feel the different emotions in the different size and stress of the text.
I don’t really know, because I’ve never been there, but I felt like it gave a somewhat accurate portrayal of a courtroom and court case. Again, I think the audiobook helped me with this part. You could feel the tension, and hear everyone’s arguments and it felt for me like I was there.
I liked reading this book because I think it is one that would appeal to boys. Not a ton of the books I read this semester would necessarily be a boy’s first pick, but this one I think would be a good choice for a male adolescent.
I also liked the innocence of Steve’s character. He was real, and had a real family and real values. I’m not sure why that appealed to me. Maybe because he could have been a “monster” as it was suggested in the beginning of the book, but he really had a gentle core to him.
I think this book would be a good one for a class to read together. I also picked up the print version of this book and, at least the version I got, had some really good discussion questions in the back. I think this makes it appeal to teens and their teachers.
Genre: Audiobook/Printz/Edgy/Coming of Age
Monday, August 4, 2008
Chill Wind
McDonald, Janet. (2002). Chill Wind. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Annotation: Nineteen-year-old Aisha receives a letter in the mail. This is not good news – she’s just about at the point where she’s been on welfare with her two young kids for five years and they’re going to terminate her benefits. Aisha has to figure out what to do now that she’s got two little mouths to feed, and a mother who’s not going to let her live for free.
Justification for Rejection: This book had no redeeming features. It did not come back around. You see Aisha struggle through not knowing what to do now that her benefits are up, but she gets off too easy. It was all too simple; she really didn’t have to work to get herself somewhere. It was not realistic and not even right.
Maybe I should not be so negative – I have not been in her place in life. Aisha grew up in the projects in Brooklyn, New York, and I’m sure that’s where a lot of her ideas and values about life come from.
I did not at all like that she just got off so easy. She had to go work for like less than a total of one day and then went off on her big commercial and modeling career. This is not the way that real life works and there are some of us who work out butts off day in and day out! I think this book will totally turn off teens that are in the work force. I think there is a small group of people this book may appeal to, but not enough to nominate it for an award.
Genre: Coming of Age/Edgy
Annotation: Nineteen-year-old Aisha receives a letter in the mail. This is not good news – she’s just about at the point where she’s been on welfare with her two young kids for five years and they’re going to terminate her benefits. Aisha has to figure out what to do now that she’s got two little mouths to feed, and a mother who’s not going to let her live for free.
Justification for Rejection: This book had no redeeming features. It did not come back around. You see Aisha struggle through not knowing what to do now that her benefits are up, but she gets off too easy. It was all too simple; she really didn’t have to work to get herself somewhere. It was not realistic and not even right.
Maybe I should not be so negative – I have not been in her place in life. Aisha grew up in the projects in Brooklyn, New York, and I’m sure that’s where a lot of her ideas and values about life come from.
I did not at all like that she just got off so easy. She had to go work for like less than a total of one day and then went off on her big commercial and modeling career. This is not the way that real life works and there are some of us who work out butts off day in and day out! I think this book will totally turn off teens that are in the work force. I think there is a small group of people this book may appeal to, but not enough to nominate it for an award.
Genre: Coming of Age/Edgy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)