LS 5623 Advanced Literature for Young Adults

Anderson, M.T. 2006. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation: Volume I The Pox Party. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 0763624020

Compared to other boys, Octavian Nothing leads a very strange life. But Octavian knows nothing of how other boys spend their childhood. Aside from his mother, called Cassiopeia, the people around him are not addressed by names, but numbers according to their station. You see, Octavian is the subject of study by a group of scientists at a place called the College of Lucidity. Their study? To discover if Africans are a separate and distinct species or if they are the equal to any white man. The scientists measure everything about Octavian: his food intake, the weight of his excrement, his height. He is even given an education "equal to any of the princes of Europe," to test his mental capacity. While the scientists are not cruel to him, they are scientific in their behavior to him. One day, the benefactor of the college dies and his heir is appealed to to continue supporting their experiment. Only this man is not interested in discovering if Africans are equal to the white man. In fact, it is in his interest to prove that they are not.

This book is set in the years leading up to and during the American Revolution. It is written as a series of journal entries, newspaper clippings, and even letters for a large portion of the novel. The style of the language, while true to the time period I imagine, will probably put off many teens from wishing to finish the novel. Agreeing with me on this point is a Mr. Cooperman from the June 2007 edition of School Library Journal. He says that "While the idea and the scope of Anderson's novel are fresh, the plot and the prose are so confusing that it becomes difficult to follow the story."

However this book does touch upon many themes that are well worth exploring. For a world like today, where science has almost become the new religion, this novel points out the fact that while science has its uses not everything in life can be weighed and measured. Mr. Gitney, a.k.a. 03-01, chronicled everything he could about Octavian's life in a volume of books. When Octavian finds them, he immediately notes that it cannot be his whole life, for though it they could record a peach he ate one night, the books would not mention the hue of the sunset or the feel of his mother's hands. Another important theme in this novel is that of slavery and freedom. Much like Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains, the dilemma of black people during the Revolution is brought into focus. Why would a black man choose to fight for the freedom of the white men of the American nation when their own freedom, should they win, was by no means guarantied?

While this book is well worth the read, I would only recommend it to students in the upper levels of high school.


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Hinton, S.E. 1995. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Books.
ISBN 0143039857


Ponyboy is a 14 year old "greaser" who lives with his two brothers after their parents die. Despite being labeled as a "greaser," Ponyboy makes good grades; but he doesn't always think through the consequences of his actions. Greasers, kids from the poorer side of town who wear their hair longer and with grease, constantly clash with the "socs," rich kids who have so many things handed to them in life that their lack of want actually leaves them wanting and unfeeling. One night things go too far and the consequences leave their mark on greasers and socs alike.

I was browsing through a few Amazon reviews for this novel and decided to read a few of the one star ratings. Many of the reviewers were young adults who condemned it because it promoted violence and gang activity. They seemed to miss the point that the violence was a symptom of a deficiency in the needs of these young adults who are trying to find themselves and their way in the world. The story is told entirely from the point of view of Ponyboy, whose parents have been dead at least six months at the beginning of the story. These two characteristics are two of the qualities outlined by the Exeter University researchers. I chanced to listen to a portion of the audio book read by Jim Fyfe, who captured the dialect exceedingly well. When I sat down to read I found that the text of the novel flowed just as easily, as though I could hear Ponyboy speaking in my head.

There are many themes woven throughout the novel. Perhaps the most obvious one is that of brotherhood. It is shown by how Ponyboy's brothers sacrifice education in order to keep him living with them and to give him opportunities they won't get. It is shown by their "gang," who may not always get along, but always band together against a common enemy. It is shown by Dallas and Johnny, who've each had rough lives and bonded through the identification of the other's pain. It is even shown by the socs in the conversation Ponyboy has with Randy, the friend of the socs that Johnny killed.

Hinton gives us a great symbol to show the reader that Ponyboy has lost his innocence in this story. During an early encounter with the socs, one of the gang hands Ponyboy a broken glass bottle to fight with even though both acknowlede in the end that he would never have used it. After the major events of the novel when Ponyboy finds himself confronted with socs once more, he doesn't hesitate to break the glass bottle to threaten them off. Two-Bit, one of the gang, notices that he really would have used it this time. In order to reassure us that Ponyboy isn't completely hardened, the author has him pick up the glass from the bottle so that no one else steps on it.

Perhaps the most succinct review I've read so far comes from the March 1990 issue of Booklist. "Peer relationships, poverty, sacrifice, and a search for self underlie this story about Pony~boy, Sodapop, and Darrel--"greasers" who face death, defeat, and socioeconomic struggles." As evidenced by a few negative reviews from Amazon, this book may not please all young adults but it is worth the read and recommended for 6th grade and up.





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Hey everyone! Just doing a spacer post so that the content between my last class and this one are distinguishable. So if you reach Going Bovine, an excellent book by the way, you've gone to far. But just for coming this far, I'll show you a picture of Darcy, my studious kitty who also studies library science, as you can see.

Bray, Libba. 2009. GOING BOVINE. New York: Delacourt Press. ISBN 9780385733977


Review:
Cameron is your typical bored with life teenager who indulges in the occassional joint, hates his family and doesn't see the point of anything. After a series of delusional episodes Cameron is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, or mad-cow disease; a condition that causes the patient to lose grip on reality and slip into their own world. For Cameron, slipping into his own world gives him a chance to learn to enjoy life.

The message in this book is to get out and live your life. Bray uses parallels with Don Quixote as the vehicle to give Cameron a series of adventures to battle evil, solve mysteries of the universe, and get the girl. Throughout the reader is never sure whether the adventure is real or all in Cameron's head. Each adventure seems more outrageous than the last but readers will enjoy watching Cameron shed his determination to be disappointed with everything and find value and meaning in his life. Bray takes a few satirical shots at today's society through the happiness cult, who has rigged the bowling alley to give everyone strikes and the MTV-like television channel that kills brain cells. Overall written with a good balance of humor and meaning, this story is a must read.


Reviews/Awards:
Michael L. Printz Award (WON AWARD) 2010
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books (WON AWARD) 2009
Locus Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2010

School Library Journal: "It's a trip worth taking, though meandering and message-driven at times."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "The novel is a laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking, fantastical voyage into the meaning of what is real in life and how someone can learn to live."
Booklist: Star Reviewed* "Bray's latest offering is an unforgettable, nearly indefinable fantasy adventure, as immense and sprawling as Cervantes' Don Quixote, on which it's based."
Publisher's Weekly: "what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World."
Library Journal: "Bray has not written a teen problem novel about mad cow disease. She swims in deeper water, defending the importance of friendship, family, and life purpose in the face of mediocrity."

Connections:
*Discuss the actual symptoms of mad-cow disease.
*Point out the parallels with Don Quixote and discuss.
Read Printz nominees for 2010:
Heiligman, Debra. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. ISBN 9780805087215
Yancey, Rick. The Monstrumologist. ISBN 9781416984481




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Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780060530921


"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." This chilling line is the opening of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. The hand belongs to a man named Jack, who uses that knife to kill all of the residents of the house bathed in darkness. Except one. A toddler, who somehow wandered out of the house to a graveyard up the hill, finds asylum in the graveyard. The inhabitants, ghosts from a variety of time periods, name the boy Nobody. Bod spends his formative years being raised by his ghostly parents and taught by his mentor, Silas, who is neither living nor dead.

If the opening line is not visual enough, it is printed on a black page with the text in white and the image of a hand holding a knife going across the page. The illustrations in this book are all black and white charcoal or pencil drawings and they add to the macabre feeling of reading a book about a boy growing up in a graveyard. Each of the chapters are like little mini-stories from Bod's life, which is probably good for weaker readers as it makes the story easier to digest piece by piece. Despite growing up in a graveyard, the love shared in Bod's family is heartwarming and the adventures with ghouls, ancient guardians, and school, make this tale one that kids are bound to enjoy.


Reviews/Awards:

Hugo Awards (WON AWARD) 2009
Los Angeles Times Book Prizes (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2008
Locus Awards (WON AWARD) 2009
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Audie Award (WON AWARD) 2009
World Fantasy Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award (WON AWARD) 2009
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009
Book Sense Book of the Year (WON AWARD) 2009
American Library Association Notable Books for Children (WON AWARD) 2009
Great Stone Face Children's Book Award (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2009

School Library Journal: "Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family."
Library Journal: "An elegant combination of Gaiman's masterly storytelling and McKean's lovely drawings."
Booklist: Star Reviewed* "This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Gaiman writes with charm and humor, and again he has a real winner."
Publisher's Weekly: "When the chilling moments do come, they are as genuinely frightening as only Gaiman can make them."

Other books by Neil Gaiman:
The Wolves in the Walls. ISBN 9780380810956
M is for Magic. ISBN 9780061186479
Coraline. ISBN 9780380977789






Image credit: www.pbs.org

Kinney, Jeff. 2007. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. New York: Amulet Books. ISBN 9780810993136


Review:

Using a blend of hand drawings and diary entries, Jeff Kinney has created a witty romp through the life of middle school student and 52nd or 53rd most popular guy in his class, Greg Heffley. The diary chronicles Greg's adventures as he schemes a way to become more popular and inevitably gets held back from his goal by his parents, friends, his own actions, and an old piece of cheese. It can be sometimes difficult when writing a novel in the first person to show the reader how other characters are reacting and feeling, but Kinney does a very good job of giving the reader this information through Greg's observations; even though Greg is oblivious to most of them. The book is over 200 pages, which may discourage a reluctant reader, but the illustrations help to break up the text and illuminate the action on the page. The character of Greg Heffley is hardly an upstanding moralist given the treatment of his friend Rowley and a healthy dose of self-centeredness, but perhaps this only makes the character more believable. Over all a fun read that kids obviously love and recommended for kids 4th grade and up.


Reviews/Awards:
Quill Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2007
Original Voices Award (WON AWARD) 2007
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (WON AWARD) 2009
Garden State Children's Book Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2010

Booklist: "The simple line drawings perfectly capture archetypes of growing up, such as a preschool-age little brother, out-of-touch teachers, and an assortment of class nerds. Lots of fun throughout."
School Library Journal: "Kinney does a masterful job of making the mundane life of boys on the brink of adolescence hilarious."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "Kinney provides readers with a realistic view of middle school life as seen through the eyes of the entertaining but not very bright class clown."
Publisher's Weekly: "Kinney ably skewers familiar aspects of junior high life, from dealing with the mysteries of what makes someone popular to the trauma of a "wrestling unit" in gym class."

Connections:
*Invite readers to start their own diaries.
*For readers not yet in middle school, discuss what they think middle school will be like.
*Compare Greg's siblings to each reader's own family situation.
Further Reading
Continue the series with:
Kinney, Greg. Rodrick Rules. ISBN 9780810994737
Kinney, Greg. The Last Straw. ISBN 9780810970687
Kinney, Greg. Dog Days. ISBN 978-0810983915



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Speare, Elizabeth George. 1958. THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND. New York: Bantom Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0440995779

Review:
The story begins with Kit Tyler's journey from Barbados to Connecticut after the death of her doting grandfather. Even before she reaches her destination she begins to find that her manners and habits are shocking to the strict puritans who inhabit the area. Kit must also grow accustomed to the absence of the luxuries she grew up with and learn to work alongside her Aunt's family. After running off one afternoon, scolded for yet another offense, she meets the witch of Blackbird Pond; who is merely a simple Quaker woman, spurned from society because of her religion. It is at the witches home that Kit teaches a local neglected little girl how to read. After a deadly illness sweeps the town, Kit must rescue the witch from an angry mob and then face judgment herself when the mob discovers evidence that Kit also practices witchcraft.

It is easy for the reader to identify with Kit's unease with being surrounded by people who's ways are so different from her own, and are very different from our own. The outsider point of view of this character is part of what makes Speare's novel a good work of historical fiction. The plot of the story and the details of life in colonial Connecticut are simply written yet easy to visualize, such as how much work it takes to keep a small household fed and running, and the strict lifestyle of a Puritan community. Also noteworthy for this book is the way that tension runs among the colonists over the governors assigned to them when they feel they are better able to govern themselves.


Awards/Reviews:
Newbery Medal winner 1959
School Library Journal: "Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle's doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her."

This book could begin discussions on the Salem Witch Trials, Puritan life, and Colonial American life.
Other books by Elizabeth George Speare:
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. ISBN 9780440479000
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Bronze Bow. ISBN 9780395137192



Image credit: www.quakerbooks.org