Young Adult Lit/Crit

Lit. Circle

I'm reading Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood for lit circle and book club.   I won't go into it since will discuss it tonight, but so far, so great!  Dawn, we struck out on Criss Cross, but this book is wonderful.

-chris

Wonder When You'll Miss Me

Hello all - I am reading "Wonder When You'll Miss Me" by Amanda Davis for this week's book club.  I'm not that far along yet, but I know already that it won't take me long to become completely enthralled.  From the beginning, I was reminded of Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone."  This story like Lamb's deals with an overweight teen and her struggle to fit into the sometimes unforgiving microcosm called high school. 

Storyline: The protagonist, Faith, returns to school after a seven month absence.  She tried to commit suicide and was institutionalized (she calls it "the loony bin").   Davis has not yet come out and said that Faith was gang raped at a school function, but it is implied in the language of the story.  Faith then returns to school having lost 48 pounds, but not many people recognize her or care, with the exception of one young man, Tony Giobambera.  Unfortunately, she has brought back with her an apparition of her former self (she calls her "the fat girl") who is bent on revenge.

This would be a wonderful addition to the classroom because so many people, especially teens deal with weight issues as well as the abuse that accompies them.  I can't wait to see if Faith gives into her former self. 

Chrissy

book club

So, I finished The Weight of the Sky, loved it and didn't want it to end (so I stretched it into two weeks...impressive).  And then I just read MASSIVE by Julie Bell, which was great, but the ending really disappointed me.  It's also the first book I've read this semester by a British author...maybe the humor is a little different, but it was a great look at body image and the cyclical nature of eating disorders...nice title for you, Jack!

Now, I'm in the middle of PREP, which I am loving.  Let's just skip ahead and say it's about a girl going to a prep school and all of the struggles it takes to find herself in the microcosm of that society.  Check them ALL out!

Dawn

What Are You Reading?

What are you reading for book club this week? Do share. KES

The Earth, My Butt, and Other BIG Round Things

...by Carolyn Mackler.

Fact of Life # 1: Fat girls don't get much action.
Fact of Life # 2: I want to increase my kissability.

Does my inexperience show? What do I do with my tongue once it's in his mouth? Am I suctioning my lips too tightly? Should I keep my eyes open? Too wierd! Or closed? Maybe. But what if HIS eyes are open and mine are closed and I make a freaky face and he sees it and laughs so hard that he bites off my tongue?

One of my daughter's friends squealed when she picked this book up from  my kitchen table. Another friend of theirs thoroughly enjoyed reading it, so I had to learn  why the book was so popular.

Virginia Shreves is "every teen-aged girl" -- insecure and clueless, and desperate to fit in. To top it off, , Virgina's best friend moved to Walla Walla for a year, leaving her in the lurch.  Virginia embarks on her own adventure as she runs away from a stress-filled home in search of herself.  Mackler paints a humorous but realistic character portrait  in which  teen-aged girls are able to relate.

Put this one your reading list.
Nancy

Beautiful Novel

No mention of birds in this post, I promise you! 

I found a beautiful new book for book club, and I had to share it with everyone!  (black juice is on the back burner for now...I'll get back to it, promise.) 

I picked up The Weight of the Sky by Lisa Ann Sandell Friday, and I CANNOT put it down.  Though I decided on it because of its cover, I was surprised and a little skeptical when I saw the novel was not written in prose, but in freeform poetry!  Needless to say, I am not one who is easily deterred or scared away by poetry, so as I started reading it, I found I liked the flowing, profound free verse to be absolutely spectacular! 

And since the topic is one I am not too familiar with (a Jewish-American girl goes to Israel for summer break to work on a commune called a kibbutz), I am also learning about a different culture.  Learning, and enjoying it.  Not bad.

Here's a look at the intro for all of you who are dying to see what it's like:

I peer outside the tiny,

scratched-up window and

exhale a foggy mist,

clouding the glass,

blocking the view.

There is no view, anyway.

Check it out!  For those of you who thought there wasn't a good follow-up to Criss Cross, I think I've finally found one!  ;)

Dawn

Ender's Game

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game was ahead of its time.  Some time in the far off future, children are being bred for a war in space.  Their ability to lead and problem solve is tested through a fantasy video game.  Card's ability to conceptualize a simulated gaming experience is compelling,  especially when you consider that the book was published in 1977.  Card wrote about the educational benefits of video games thirty years before this topic was seriously studied.  Thanks for the recommendation Dave.

Matt

The Land

Dave here, talking about Mildred Taylor's novel The Land.  I've managed to get myself over halfway through this book, which I am priding myself on.  This book is lengthy!  However, it is highly engaging and continues to be interesting.  I thought the novel nature of the narrator (a child of a slave and her owner, now living in the aftermath of the Civil War) would wear off eventually.  It still might, I suppose, but so far I still find myself reeling everytime it is mentioned that he is persecuted by just about everyone he meets.  The blacks don't like him because he is educated and looks white, and the whites don't respect him because he is a "colored boy" -- which is almost funny, because many characters ask him about it curiously.  "I understand you're colored?"

Talk about an unheard voice!  I've never encountered an investigation into the life of a half-white/half-black adolescent in the post-Civil War South before.  The way Paul is treated at school, at work, and even by his own family is enough to make you realize that he was in one of the most undesirable situations imaginable.  And yet, thus far, he has not let his bad luck get him down and force him down a bad path himself.  Sure, he gets into some trouble, but that's just to be expected of adolscents, no matter what the circumstances.

Anyway, so far I've found it to be an excellent book.  It gives us a very intriguing look into an era of American life we often view as black and white -- Paul is the ultimate grey area.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Okay, so I am reading A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, and I really like it. I think I'd call it a cross between the movies Heathers and The Craft, mixed with a little bit of The Chronicles of Narnia.  It deals with a lot of issues, such as being the new kid in school, cliques and popularity, family problems, etc. Trying not to tell too much of the story, I will just say that I definately recommend it!

The Book Thief

I could try to wax intellectual about The Book Thief:  I won't.  I will simply say that this is a book everyone should read.  Some YA lit comes under fire for its lack of stylistic and artistic weight; this book is proof that beauty in literature exists. 

Read it.