Extra Credit Review 2: The Hunger Games

Citation: Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print.

Annotation: Locked in an arena for a fight to the death, Katniss doesn't really expect to see her family again, but she must ask herself, what is she willing to do in order to get home?

Justification for Rejection:

      In The Hunger Games, Collins crafts an intriguing, fast-paced plot that hooks readers, both avid and reluctant. The characters experience danger and adventure which appeals to readers while an unconventional female protagonist manages to cross any lines of gender-based appeal. Katniss makes for an authentic, yet admirable protagonist. She sacrifices her own safety repeatedly for the safety of her family and those weaker than her, even in the arena. Yet, Katniss makes for a fierce contender who is not limited by her gender or her size. Katniss balances very difficult ethical dilemmas and somehow comes out a winner. Collins' settings and plot mirror reality enough to be convincing but the story slips into a striking departure from the reader's reality into a horrific, yet captivating dystopian universe. In Katniss' world, the reader sees characters not much different from their own family and friends. Her world is different from the reader's but it is not difficult to imagine how our own world could take just such a striking and terrifying turn. Collins takes aim at important social commentary on politics, ethics and the importance of family life but falls just short and the buzz of action drowns out the potential message. The Hunger Games is a well-written and highly readable book, particular useful for reluctant readers, but the book's potentially meaningful resonance with adolescent development falls prey, like many of The Hunger Games' characters, to the slaughter of the games. For this reason, The Hunger Games comes up short as a “best book” contender.

Genre: Coming of Age, Science Fiction, Challenged Books.

Extra Credit Review 1: Speak

Citation: Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999. Print.

Annotation: An outcast without a voice, Melinda must find a way to speak up for herself and for the other girls who might suffer because of IT, before anyone else gets hurt.

Justification for Nomination:

      Anderson writes the story of Melinda, a girl who was raped and outcast from a limited first person perspective. Through this device, the reader experiences Melinda's isolation. Alone with her thoughts, removed from all possible help, Melinda must battle her fear of speaking. Melinda's loneliness and confusion resonate with adolescent readers, even if their experiences differ from those of the character. Melinda's voice is simple, but authentic. Speak may not be flashy. In many ways it reads like a teen's diary, but that is precisely why it is relevant. This work of fiction was created to mirror the real-life experiences of a teen. The pep-rallies and cutting class, the dysfunctional home- this may not be flashy, but it is real and the pain of Melinda's experience- her rape is real to many teens. Anderson does not create a flashy plot line with murder and intrigue in order to address the issue of sexual abuse. She places the experience smack dab in the middle of an ordinary teenager's life- a party on a farm, an art class, a janitor's closet- because that is precisely where these experiences take place, in ordinary life. The story does not need to take place in a back alley crime scene to be effective. In contrast, it is the normalcy, the almost boring setting that makes this story so riveting- these things happen to real people, in the midst of their every day lives and for that reason this story is indeed relevant.

     I do not believe that it is possible to write a story that every teen will embrace. While I believe and agree that a wider audience appeal is ideal and that broader relevance (particularly across genders) does attribute to the award-worthiness of a work, I believe ultimately, a work must be awarded for how powerfully and accurately it reaches readers. No work is perfect and no work will be relevant to every single reader, but some works reach their readers in such a powerful, life-altering manner that they cannot be ignored. I believe that Speak is one of these works. Speak may not reach every reader, but the readers that are effected by Speak are moved in such a meaningful way, in both their personal development and in their understanding of the world, that Speak is indeed a worthy title.

Genre: Printz Award Winner, Coming of Age, Realistic/Problem Novel, Challenged Books.

Review 10: Monster

Citation: Myers, Walter Dean. Performed by Peter Francis James. Monster. New York: Recorded Books, 2000. Print.

Annotation: In a world where accused criminals are automatically known as monsters, 16 year old Steve Harmon must prove to a jury and ultimately himself that he is not a monster, but a human being.

Justification for Rejection:

Myers' original approach and intriguing plot catch the reader's (or in this case listener's) in this courtroom novel. Myers' manages to address issues of racism, prejudice and the social justice system in one fairly succinct plot line. Steve Harmon's character gives voice to questions of ethics, morality and justice. His character is stigmatized and accused, to the point where even Steve is not sure of his own humanity. Steve's internal questioning and self-doubt resonates with adolescent readers, but I feel this title quickly gets caught up in the straight-forward plot details, at the expensive of potentially more meaningful reflection.

Since my experience of Monster was via an audio recording, I decided to pick up a copy of the printed edition as well. Thumbing through the book, I am noticing the effects of radical change in format. There are pertinent pictures which appear at just the right time in the story. Myers' “screenplay” approach takes on a whole new life in print, mimicking an actual screenplay with camera directions. Portions of the story which are intended as a first person narrative are printed in Steve's handwriting in order to mimic a journal entry. So much of this novel's strengths are in the formatting that I feel I must re-evaluate the work in print. As for my “rejection”, let me specify that it is for the audio recording of Monster and as far as the book itself goes- the jury is still out.

Genre: Printz award winner, Search for Identity, Realistic/Problem Novel, Multicultural, Audio title.

Review 9: The Book of Lost Things

Citation: Connolly, John. The Book of Lost Things. New York: Atria Books, 2006. Print.

Annotation: After David's mother dies and his father remarries, David would give just about anything to escape. Little did he know, an escape awaits him that would have him longing for home again, only he will have to overcomes magical beasts, a tricky crooked man and packs of ravenous wolves to get there.

Justification for Nomination:

John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things is the pinnacle of fantasy, a fairy tale for adults. Beginning with a gold leaf cover that is crawling with ivy and an opening line of “Once upon a time”, both the aesthetics and format of The Book of Lost Things emulate a bygone age, where Grimm's fairy tales were regularly stocked on shelves and stories were told at night around fireplaces as a regular past time. Connolly’s story is lengthier and darker than some might expect for a fairy tale, but his intriguing characters, fast-moving plot and substantive approach appeal to both adult and young adult readers. The book's omniscient third person narrator follows David, a young adult on a journey of self-discovery through a magical land of dreams, or better yet nightmares while transforming the reader's imagination and challenging the reader's understanding of the genre. While The Book of Lost Things is an adult market title, nearly every aspect of the story appeals to young adult readers, from the riveting horror to the deeper questioning of oneself.

The obvious connection between the protagonist, David and young adult readers is age and experience. When David's father remarries and his half-brother Georgie consumes his parents' time and energy, David feels displaced within his family. He is angry and makes an escape from his discontent into an alternative realm which holds within it both the beauty of dreams and the terror of nightmares. At first David finds himself wondering if he is missed, if he matters to his family and whether he will be able to find a place in his new world. The journey within this alternate reality mirrors a quest theme, in which David embarks a child, scared and selfish and finishes a man, flawed but self-aware and conscientious of others. In this world he confronts his fears, but more important he confronts his own short-comings and gains new wisdom from them. Connolly's story echoes the adolescent experience- it is a search for identity, a journey to find ones own worth- a difficult but worthwhile journey indeed.

Genre: Coming of Age, Fantasy, ALEX Award Winner

Review 8: The Color Purple

Citation: Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. Print.

Annotation: Through self-doubt, rape, abuse, and the loss of her family Celie discovers herself and what it means to be loved. 

Justification for Nomination:

Alice Walker gives voice to Celie, a once voiceless and abused woman in The Color Purple. Walker's form mimics letters, addressed “Dear God” from Celie in her own vernacular. The tone set through Walker's writing style is at once believable, matter-of-fact and heart-wrenching. Walker's characters are authentic and interesting. All of the characters are developed fully through a series of letters written by Celie and then later to Celie from her sister, Nettie. The reader feels what Celie feels toward each character as the story progresses: disdain for “Mister” and “Pa”, a deep abiding love for Nettie and wonder and admiration for Shug. Aside from well-executed stylistic and formal elements, Walker makes a lasting statement on deeply meaningful social issues.

In one fell swoop, the first chapter of the book cracks open the issues of incest and abuse, as Celie writes to God the things she is too ashamed to speak aloud. Here, in Walker's work- “voice” becomes so much more than a stylistic element- it transforms into a tool for justice. Unfortunately, many girls, by their teenage years, have been the victim of some form of abuse, often sexual. To see these experiences play out in the pages of a novel may very likely become a “safe haven” for readers, a place to find solace, or simply answer questions. Walker addresses issues of sexuality ranging from same-sex desires to female masturbation that may never be addressed in the life of an adolescent reader anywhere other than the pages of this book. Walker presents strong, independent and willful female characters, which will not set well with all readers, but she makes no secret of her intentions. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker challenges established ideas of patriarchy, racism and religion. She does not merely shame these ideologies but she tears them down and rebuilds them from the ground up. Walker presents characters that are flawed, like any human, but that seek to build for themselves and their families, a life full of meaning and love. Walker's characters teach adolescent readers to think, to question and to fight for their beliefs. Such characters, even in their flawed human states, make for excellent teachers.

Genre: Search for Identity, Realistic/ Problem Novel, Multicultural, Censored/ Challenged

Review 7: The Giver

Citation: Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.

Annotation: When Jonas is chosen for a unique role in his safe and structured community his training reveals a whole new realm of reality, which includes both new joys and new pains. Jonas is faced with a choice - does he placidly accept the colorless reality that was created for him or does he forge ahead into the dangerous world of freedom and choice?

Justification for Nomination:

Lois Lowry's The Giver is a dystopian science fiction novel written under the premise of a world that sought “sameness” by climate control, sexual suppression and various other forms of control. The devices that Lowry uses to construct this fictional world are foreign to the reader but comprehensible. Places like the“House of the Old” and events like the “Ceremony of Release” are fictional to readers but Lowry co-opts terminology from the reader's reality to form an entirely new world. The Giver presents a world that at present, is scientifically impossible, but may not always remain so. Lowry does not invest much time in the “how” of this fictitious world, but focuses mainly on the “why”. One of the greatest strengths of this story is how frighteningly possible its impossibilities seem. In an apparently fictional world that lacks color, pain, choice and variability, the reader recognizes truths of the human existence. The experiential realities presented in The Giver are that of power, choice, identity and justice.

These realities echo many of the real-life experiences of adolescent readers. Through Jonas, readers can face adulthood, questions rites of passage, doubt those in power and be motivated to make meaningful and cataclysmic choices. Lowry acknowledges her readers' powerful potential through the character of Jonas, whose power to radically change his community as well as himself appeals to and inspires adolescent readers.

Genre: Coming of Age, Science Fiction, Censored or Challenged

Review 6: Thirsty

Citation: Anderson, M. T.. Thirsty . Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 1997. Print.

Annotation: At present, Chris must navigate a teenage crush, the impending divorce of his parents and his own awkwardness- and as if that weren't enough, now he has to resist his growing urges to suck blood and find a way to save the world from the Dark Lord Tch'muchgar.

Justification for Nomination:

     In Thirsty, M.T. Anderson delivers a poignant coming-of-age story, complete with lots of teenage lust... blood-lust that is. When Chris, a typical, gawky teenage boy finds himself growing especially hungry after seeing a vampire before her execution, he begins to question the source of all this leaping anguish. Through Anderson's natural use of first person narrative, authentic voice and clever plot, the reader is pulled into Chris' world. It's not long before the adolescent reader identifies the hungry feeling Chris is experiencing, for it is a familiar one- longing. Chris' thirst turns out to be less conventional, but readers still identify with his feelings of anguish, lust, isolation and confusion. True to its genre, Thirsty provides a plethora of rejection, questioning and self-discovery, all of which add a deeper authenticity to this sometimes playful and humorous vampire novel.

     Throughout my reading of Thirsty I was convinced that the novel was enjoyable at many levels and thus would be an “easy sell”, especially to reluctant adolescent readers but I was not convinced of its award merit until I thoroughly pondered the novel's ending. Thirty's ending is ambiguous, open-ended and most important, authentic. Anderson challenges his readers by offering them a painfully realistic ending to a fantastical fictional narrative. Anderson does not provide a neat, formulaic conclusion. The protagonist makes the right choice. He overcomes his darkest desires. He resists urges that control him mentally and physically. He is a hero, but he is not rewarded. Instead, he is betrayed. He is left desperately questioning- will he be betrayed by the very woman who gave him life? Will he live forever in isolation, accepted by neither world? And finally will he even live? Chris chooses the ultimate sacrifice- forfeiting his life for another. He will not feed on a human. Any human, and as a result- he will die. Anderson leaves his readers a very real message within the pages of an impossible fiction, “the decision to be human is not one single instant, but a thousand choices made every day. It is choices we make every second and requires constant vigilance. We fight to remain human”. For adolescent readers the visceral longing in Thirsty reflects their own tumultuous thoughts and feelings. Anderson validates these desires, but does not simply excuse them. Ultimately, Anderson admonishes readers to take responsibility for themselves, even when the decision is difficult. In the end, the right choice may not be rewarded, but it is still the right choice.

Genre: Coming-of-Age, Fantasy, Humor, Vampire fiction