Week Fifteen: Censorship Issues: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (cover photo from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. New York: MTV Books. ISBN: 978-0671027346

SUMMARY
Charlie is an awkward, shy guy. He has trouble making friends, his family isn't very communicative and he doesn't always understand himself. In a serious to letters to an unnamed "Friend," Charlie writes about his life. He starts high school, meets a new group of friends, falls in love, tries drugs and becomes sexually active for the first time, and realizes how the past has shaped him into who he is now. It's a coming of age book about participation vs. passivity, shyness vs. being social, and it captures the tenuous, emotionally charged high school years.

MY IMPRESSIONS
This book ties for my favorite of the semester. I really related to Charlie and his awkward separateness from his peers as a high school freshman. But he had a wisdom that I never had, a mature understanding of people that came from observing them so carefully from the sidelines. The writing sounds like a teenage boy, albeit a smart, introverted one. Life revolves around friends, music and parties, and at this age, things are so vivid, tragic and ripe with possibilities. Chbosky gives his readers the pleasure of complex characters, especially with Charlie. While Charlie is frustrating and embarrassing and sympathetic, he's also vulnerable and funny. The book moves from the mundane to the profound from page to page, and its messages sink deep into the reader's mind long after the book is finished.

The letters lay Charlie bare, even more than a journal entry would, and reveal how confused and alone he feels sometimes. Like this, from page 139: "I just wish that God or my parents or Sam or my sister or someone would just tell me what's wrong with me. Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense. To make this all go away. And disappear. I know that's wrong because it's my responsibility, and I know that things get worse before they get better because that's what my psychiatrist says, but this is a worse that feels too big."

Or like this one, when Charlie spends the day at the mall, observing people (from p. 144): "I saw other people there. Old men sitting alone. Young girls with blue eye shadow and awkward jaws. Little kids who looked tired. Fathers in nice coats who looked even more tired. Kids working behind the counters of the food places who looked like they hadn't had the will to live for hours. The machines kept opening and closing. The people kept giving money and getting their change. And it all felt unsettling to me. So, I decided to find another place to go and figure out why people go there. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of places like that. I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It's much easier not to know things sometimes."

The Perks of Being a Wallflower isn't for everyone. I think that readers who focus on action and plot over character development would be put off by the overly earnest and angsty navel-gazing that Charlie writes about. Fans of The Catcher in the Rye might find it too derivative. I also can understand why this book was challenged. It contains pretty much every controversial theme in literary fiction: suicide, sex, drugs, rape, incest, abortion, violence, language, homosexuality, masturbation, death and mental illness. But it includes these themes in a real-world way. Teens like Charlie deal with such heavy topics all the time, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a reminder to readers that yes, life is complicated, difficult and messy, but life can also focus on hope, compassion and growth.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 9 to 12, especially due to the adult themes.

Pretend you are the "Friend" who has been receiving Charlie's letters. Write a response letter to him. What would you say to him? How did his letters make you feel?

Charlie talks a lot about music and how it can shape or enhance his experiences. Create a mix CD of your favorite songs. Why did you pick these songs? What do they mean to you?

2000 Best Books for Young Adults
2000 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
2002 YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

REVIEWS
"In his letters to a never-identified person, 15-year-old Charlie's freshman high school year and coming of age ring fresh and true. Chbosky captures adolescent angst, confusion and joy as Charlie reveals his innermost thoughts while trying to discover who he is and whom is he to become. Eventually, he discovers that to be a whole person who knows how to be a real friend rather than a patsy, he must confront his past--and remember what his beloved, deceased Aunt Helen did to him."
Booklist, February 15, 1999

"In a voice that is both naive and omniscient, [Charlie] records the tragic and mundane events in the lives of his friends and family, using a series of remarkable letters addressed to his 'dear friend.' I would recommend this coming of age story to readers who enjoyed Catcher in the Rye."
Voice of Youth Advocates, December 1, 1999

Week Fifteen: Censorship Issues

And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole. (Cover image from here.)

Since its publication in 2005, And Tango Makes Three has seen its share of both praise and scorn. According to the American Library Association, And Tango Makes Three has been the most challenged book of 2006, 2007, 2008 and the most banned book of 2009. It chronicles the true story of Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penquins that live in the Central Park Zoo in NYC, that became a couple and raised an egg from another male-female penquin partnership.

The controversy stems from two male penquins forming a family and raising a child. Numerous religious and political groups have used the book as part of the ongoing cultural battle within the United States regarding homosexuality (in humans and animals), same-sex marriage and adoption. Proponents of the book say that it is a tool to promote the political agenda of homosexuality (and thusly amorality). Defenders of the book say that the story of And Tango Makes Three offers proof that homosexuality is naturally occurring in the animal world, and therefore a natural component of human life as well.

As a librarian, I would site the American Library Association's and my library's philosophy that we are there to provide materials for all patrons, regardless of their race, age or sexual orientation. We also ensure every patron's right to information, even if other patrons don't agree with the content of the materials. And Tango Makes Three is a popular, well respected book that has won numerous awards: ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee, ASPCA Henry Bergh Book Award and Bank Street Best Books of the Year. It contains themes--penquins, animals taking care of their young, the zoo--that are interesting to both children and adults. Lastly, I would remind patrons that And Tango Makes Three is based on a true story. Like other birds, male penquins usually help hatch and raise their babies and its not unusual for two males to form a group.

Week Fourteen: Poetry/Short Stories: Make Lemonade

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff (Cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Wolff, V.E. (1993). Make lemonade. New York: Henry Hold and Company. ISBN: 978-0805080704

SUMMARY
Fourteen-year-old LaVaughn answers an ad for a babysitter on her school's bulletin board. She is saving up for college (so she can be the first person to go to college in the whole building, if not the neighborhood) and her single working mother can't help her much if she doesn't save money or get a scholarship. LaVaughn starts working for Jolly, a seventeen-year-old mother of two, Jeremy and Jilly. Jolly's had a tough life--her parents were M.I.A. and she grew up on the streets, she did drugs, dropped out of school, has trouble reading and now, she can't keep her nighttime job at the factory without some help watching her two babies. Jolly gets fired after she rebuffs her boss's sexual advances and harassment. LaVaughn still tries to help Jolly and her kids as best she can, buying Jeremy's shoes, helping Jolly to enroll in a school program for single mothers, babysitting without pay. After Jolly starts passing her classes and improving her life, she saves her choking daughter with the CPR she learned from the Moms Up program. However, Jolly stops talking to LaVaughn and the two go their separate ways at the end of the book. Make Lemonade, told in verse, is a heart-breaking, uplifting, poignant, despairing and amazing testament to family, friendship, hope and education.

MY IMPRESSIONS
Make Lemonade is my single favorite book I've read all semester. This book burrowed under my skin, cracked my chest wide open, grabbed my heart and squeezed. I laughed, I cried, I raged, I judged, I hoped for LaVaughn, for Jolly and for Jolly's kids. Wolff paints believable, REAL characters who struggle every day with the realities of poverty, drugs, graduating from high school, having enough money to buy food and diapers, discrimination and self-esteem. LaVaughn makes an unlikely advocate and teacher to Jolly, and their interactions help shape both girls' current situations and their futures.

The verse works perfectly with the story and serves as a wonderful way to show the teenage characters' personalities, hardships and reactions to a world that is unfair, hard and unresolved.
LaVaughn's innocence and maturity shine through her words, and Jolly is equally complicated as she both craves and admires LaVaughn and resents her, even though her life isn't easy either after her dad was killed in the crossfire of a drive-by. Make Lemonade is a weighty book--it covers a full spectrum of mature topics: sex, sexual harassment, teen pregnancy, drugs, family, poverty and classicism, race and discrimination, public assistance, education and dependency/independence. LaVaughn and Jolly are compelling protagonists and their stories will haunt readers long after the book is over. Thank goodness there are two more books in the series!

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 8 to 12, especially due to the adult themes.
1. Why is it so important to LaVaughn's mom that she go to college?
2. Why do you think that LaVaughn kept babysitting Jeremy and Jilly even when Jolly couldn't pay her?
3. Were you surprised by the billionaire's letter at the end of the book? Do you think that he'll send Jolly another check?
4. Why do you think that LaVaughn's mom had such a hard time believing that Jolly would actually improve her life? Do you think she changed her mind by the end of the book? Why or why not?
5. What is the significance of the lemon tree that LaVaughn planted? Do you think it meant something that the tree only started to grow at the end of the book?
6. What about Jolly's story about the blind woman and her orange? Why did the story have such significance for Jolly and LaVaughn?
7. Do you think that LaVaughn will go to college? Why or why not? What about Jolly? Do you think she'll get her G.E.D.?
8. What important lessons did LaVaughn learn from her Steam Class?
9. Many times in the book, LaVaughn became the teacher of not only Jeremy and Jilly but of Jolly. Name several things that Jolly taught LaVaughn.

Write a free verse poem about either Jolly or LaVaughn, ten years after the end of Make Lemonade. How has life changed?

Golden Kite Award for Fiction
Winner of Child Study Center Children's Book Committee Award
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book for Children
ALA Quick Picks for Young Adults
ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Readers
Booklist Top of the List
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon winner
Hungry Mind Review Children's Book of Distinction
IRA Teachers' Choice
Parents' Choice Award Winner
A Parents Magazine Best Kids' Book
Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award
NCTE Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
Books for the Teen Age, New York Public Library
Horn Book Magazine Fanfare List
A School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
Michigan Best Book for Young Adults
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award

REVIEWS
"Jolly is the 17-year-old mother of Jeremy and Jilly. She needs a babysitter. Enter 14-year-old LaVaughn, as street naive as she is book smart. Together the two girls exist as a sort of family until the differences between them lead them on separate paths, each one making lemonade from the lemons in her life. Wolff's free-verse style depicts the harsh realities of parenting in urban poverty with equal parts grit and grace. The reader roots for both girls and for a more hopeful future. Luckily, the book is the first in a trilogy."
Library Journal, 1993

"'This word COLLEGE is in my house,/ and you have to walk around it in the rooms/ like furniture.' So LaVaughn, an urban 14-year-old, tries to earn the money she needs to make college a reality. She and her mother are a solid two-person family. When LaVaughn takes a baby sitting job for Jolly, an abused, 17-year-old single parent who lives with her two children in squalor, her mother is not sure it's a good idea. The themes of parental love, sexual harassment, abuse, independence, and the value of education are its underpinnings. The dynamics between the two young women are multidimensional and elastic--absolutely credible. The poetic form emphasizes the flow of the teenager's language and thought. Make Lemonade is a triumphant,
outstanding story."
School Library Journal, July 1, 1993

Week Thirteen: Graphic Novels/Series Books: The Amulet

The Amulet, Part One: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi.

Bibliography: Kibuishi, K. (2008). The amulet: Book one, the stonekeeper. New York: Graphix. ISBN: 978-0439846813

SUMMARY
Two years after Emily's father dies in a tragic car accident, she, her mother and brother, Navin, move to the creepy, former home of her mysterious Great Grandfather Silas Charnon, who disappeared years earlier and left the house to her family. Once there, Emily and Navin quickly discover not only the robots and toys that Silas built, but also monsters and gremlins lurking inside. While in the library, Emily accidentally activates a secret mechanism that reveals a stone pendant that communicates messages and warnings of danger to Emily. A tentacled monster eats (but doesn't kill) their mother and Emily and Navin chase after it to save her. With the help of the magic stone pendant, they reach Charnon House, a place where Silas has been hiding and building creatures to keep him company. Silas informs Emily that the pendant grants the wearer the power to rule the land of Alledia, the alternate version of Earth. He urges Emily to master the stone's abilities, and then he dies, leaving Emily and Navin in the hands of a motley band of characters: Miskit the rabbit, Cogsley, Theodore and Ruby, the robots. Together they battle terrifying monsters, survive epic adventures and face off with an evil elf, who wants Emily to kill his father, the Elf King. Emily and posse rescue her mother, but she is in a poison-induced coma. The series continues with them trying to heal her mother (and getting into more adventures.)

MY IMPRESSIONS
The Amulet was a highly entertaining book. The opening section was especially effective in capturing my attention and creating a very dramatic start to the story. During the accident, the panels were irregularly shaped, with sharp edges and larger font, and the characters had expressive faces as the action took place. Important or tense scenes used large (sometimes full page) panels and the muted color palette helped to ramp up the dreamy, otherworldly quality to the book. (It also made the pink of Miskit and the amulet that much more striking.) Gutters were usually consistent and the panels easily flowed from one to the next, making it a fast and addictive read. The monsters and strange creatures were the best part of this graphic novel. The Rakers, tentacled, sharped tooth squid-like beasts, were terrifying! But because of the magical, cartoony quality to the human characters, it would be easier for younger readers to recognize that this book was a fantasy story and not based in real life. However, the 2-D or elongated style of drawing the human characters does not diminish the emotional impact of the dialogue or plot line at all. Emily, Navin and their mother convey such strong, evocative feelings and this helps to develop them as characters and draw readers into the story.

Overall, the text and illustrations worked well together and match in terms of tone, style and age appropriateness. Emily, her family and Silas's creations were all compelling characters. It was impossible not to feel emotionally involved in their lives after Emily's father and Silas died, and I found myself rooting for them over and over again as they battled in this strange world of Alledia. Readers will be chomping at the bit to read part two, especially with the ending of book (when Silas's house sprouts legs and walks away, with everyone inside, to search for a cure for Emily's mother.) Plus, they'll be thrilled to know that Will Smith and Akiva Goldman have optioned The Amulet, combining the first two books into a movie. Screenwriters have been hired but it has not been greenlit yet.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades four and up.

Pretend you are Silas Charnon. Draw a creature you would like to create. What abilities does he/she have? Describe the creature's personality, characteristics and limitations. Next, draw a monster that could exist in Alledia. What does it look like? How does it act?

What would you do if you found a magic amulet? Write a short story with yourself as the hero. Explain the powers included with the amulet, the conflict you faced and the outcome.

Compare and contrast the magical abilities and alternate worlds of The Amulet and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. How are Emily and Harry alike? How do they differ? Which world would you rather inhabit?

2010 Rhode Island Children's Book Award
Eisner Award nominee
Children's Choice Book Award
2009 Best Books for Young Adults nominee
REVIEWS
"Gorgeous illustrations with great color bring light to this gloomy tale. Filled with excitement, monsters, robots, and mysteries, this fantasy adventure will appeal to many readers, but it does have some truly nightmarish elements."
School Library Journal

"Almost too clever and poignant, Amulet is, on the surface, about navigating the murky waters of adolescence and beneath that, an exploration of abandonment and survival. Emily and Navin are lost children, literally lost in a dark, new world and struggling to save their mother, who has been kidnapped by a drooling, tentacled beast. With stellar artwork, imaginative character design, moody color and consistent pacing, this first volume's weakness lies in its largely disjointed storytelling. The most frightening element of Amulet is the sense of insecurity we feel for Emily, fighting her way through uncharted terrain with no guide and no support system."
Publishers Weekly, January 28, 2008

"Tragedy leads to high adventure in Kibuishi's latest creation, which is guaranteed to follow in the footsteps of his previous award-winning title, Daisy Kutter (Viper, 2005). The artist's use of color, moving from the poignant warm blues and whites of comfort and family to the smoky browns and blacks of tragedy and mystery, is subtle but highly effective. This artwork, coupled with Kibuishi's distinctive onomatopoeia and tight frames, help to lock the reader into the action and keep pages rapidly turning toward protagonist Emily's fate.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December 1, 2007

Journal topic 12: Biography of popular celebrity

Adams, I. (2008). Robert Pattinson: Eternally yours, an unauthorized biography. New York: HarperEntertainment.

This is a biography of Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in the movie version of the worldwide phenomenon that is Twilight (the book series written by Stephenie Meyer). With chapter titles like “Be Still Our Hearts!”, “Rob’s Dazzling Roots” and “Rob the Heartthrob!” (the exclamation points exist in the original), this is not a book that focuses on scholarly character analysis or in-depth historical fact. Adams writes for the teenage general public and for diehard fans. The point is not to turn a critical eye toward the actor and his career, but rather to fuel his popularity and provide trivia fodder about Pattinson. Eternally Yours shares the same flavor as sensationalized tabloids or teen fan magazines. Sample sentences include “But this gifted (and stunningly attractive) young actor better get used to the attention because his starring role as the world’s hottest vampire has secured his spot in our hearts” and “So it looks like fans can add ‘humble’ to the long list of admirable traits that make him dream!” It is truthful in that it does contain facts and career details of his childhood in London, his personal attributes, his acting roles through 2008 and his musical interests (and OME* his shoe size is a 10!) Plus, it’s difficult to write a richly textured biography when the subject is 23 years old and has only been in the spotlight for the last three years. Much of the content is focused on Twilight and Harry Potter, including quotes about Rob from the director and his co-stars, behind the scenes details on filming and the same sorts of questions/answers aimed at Pattinson during the promotional tour of the movies. It is entirely age appropriate for teens and it does not delve more than a surface level of the celebrity persona because this age doesn’t want anymore than that. His non-blockbuster movies are only mentioned in passing. If anything, it helps blur the line between Robert Pattinson and Edward Cullen as if they were inseparable parts of the same whole.

While this isn’t an epic piece of literature by any means, it is very popular for this age group. My public library owns multiple copies of this book with short waiting lists for each copy. (More evidence of demand from the fandom: all of the color photos in the middle of the book were ripped out in my copy.) If I were in charge of collection development, I would also purchase this book for our library. It would circulate well, especially with all of the hype on New Moon. It would be easy to amp up the Edward vs. Jacob storyline by setting up a display with the Twilight series and any biographies on Kristen Stewart, Taylor Launtner or other actors in the movies. It would also have cross appeal with the Vampire Diaries series, a popular new paranormal television show based on the books. Since the Twilight movies will extend through at least the next two years, this is a book that would continue to circulate (until the paperback copy was completely destroyed.)

*OME stands for “Oh my Edward!”, an expression coined by fans of Twilight.

Week Twelve: Biography: Phineas Gage

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman

Bibliography: Fleischman, J. (2002). Phineas Gage: A gruesome but true story about brain science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 978-0618494781

SUMMARY
Phineas Gage was the foreman of a track laying company that was hired to blast through the granite bedrock outside of Vermont to allow the railroads to pass through it. On September 13, 1848, something went wrong with Gage's explosives. His tamping iron shot through this cheek and out the top of his head. Not only did he survive the accident, but he continued to talk, walk and stay coherent for hours until the doctors finally showed up. After the accident, Gage's personality changed and he became very aggressive and unpredictable. During the 11 1/2 years that he lived after the explosion, his behavior, medical information and eventually his brain played a huge role in helping doctors understand how the brain functioned, which parts corresponded to which behaviors/activities and how the wider body systems worked.

MY IMPRESSIONS
Much like An American Plague, I highly enjoyed this book. Fleischman combined not only the in-depth information about Phineas Gage and his accident, but the medical beliefs of the time regarding brain function, common medical treatments and theories of science, and transportation. It was especially fascinating that Phineas Gage's life and amazing accident played such a huge role in brain science, even 150 years later! This was an exciting time during science, when the medical field was still figuring out such things as microscopes, cells and bacteria (and that humors and phrenology were not accurate concepts in medicine.) The many photographs and illustrations in the book helped explain Gage's situation and helped the reader better understand the world in 1848. While some of the images may be too gruesome for younger readers (despite the warning title), it was an informative, exciting and important book. The writing was clear and engaging, the content was shocking yet still scholarly, and it combined science with real life (which should appeal to both children and parents/teachers.)

Gage's story really captures the imagination of people. An internet search brought up all sorts of homemade videos, drawings and reports on Gage and his contributions toward science. This was my favorite, made for a children's neuroscience fair at Connecticut College by Jessica Freeland and Karl Langberg:

Phineas even has his own YouTube music video! Since so much of the brain is still a mystery to us, I think people can really appreciate the significance of what was learned because of Gage.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 5 to 12.

After his accident, Phineas Gage took part in the carnival circuit. Research the history of these travelling circuses and the well-known acts at the time. Compare these early carnivals to modern circuses like Barnum & Baileys or Ringling Brothers. How have they changed over time? What does that shift in aesthetics say about our culture?

Let's explore the brain and its functions. Draw a diagram of the brain. Compare and contrast this map of the brain to the Phrenological Head on page 36. Were the phrenologists correct about any parts of their beliefs about how the brain worked? How did Phineas Gage help change the way doctors viewed the brain?

Write a short poem or song about the life of Phineas Gage.

REVIEWS
"Science writer John Fleischman uses a clipped, engaging expository style to tell the incredible story of the railroad worker who, in 1848, survived the piercing blast of a 13-pound iron rod as it entered below his cheekbone and exited the front of his skull. Photographs, glossary, a resource listing and index lend this textbook case the same sense of immediacy as do the words."
Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002

"Carefully separating fact from legend...Fleischman fleshes out the tale with looks at mid-19th century medicine, the history of brain science, and how modern researchers have reconstructed Gage's accident with high-tech tools. He also adds eye-widening photos of Gage's actual skull (now at Harvard), his life mask, and dramatic rod-through-bone computer images that, as the author writes, will make you wince 'whether you're a brain surgeon or a sixth grader.'"
Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2002

"Like Penny Colman's Corpses, Coffins and Crypts (Holt, 1997) and James M. Deem's Bodies from the Bog (Houghton, 1998), Phineas Gage brings a scientific viewpoint to a topic that will be delightfully gruesome to many readers"
School Library Journal, March 1, 2002

Week Eleven: Informational books: An American Plague

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy (Cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Murphy, J. (2003). An American plague: The true and terrifying story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 978-0395776087

SUMMARY
In 1793, thousands of people died in Philadelphia from yellow fever. This book gives an in-depth historical account of the events leading up to the outbreak, the medical practices of the time, the government's response to the epidemic and the day-by-day conditions that paralyzed a city, decimated a population and enlightened a generation about the nature of disease, sanitation and human behavior.

MY IMPRESSIONS
I couldn't put this book down. Murphy creates an interesting, detailed and sometimes gruesome account of the yellow fever outbreak from Saturday August 3, 1793 to January 8, 1794, as well as the lasting effects on public policy, medicine, sanitation and race relations that came from this time period. He uses journals, newspapers, artwork and testimonials to interweave the lives of the people in Philadelphia with the effects of the yellow fever outbreak. I had no idea how horrible the conditions were in the city, how disgusting it was to have yellow fever and the dire circumstances that befell the city during the worst parts of the epidemic. (I still can't believe that amidst the death, fear, chaos and disease in 1793, a meteorite hit downtown Philadelphia!!) Murphy's research includes so many topics--the leaders in the city's government and their inability to effectively handle the outbreak after most of the city had fled in a panic, the ignorance of how yellow fever was contracted or cured, the role of the African American population in caring for the ailing citizens and the sheer number of people who died as a result of this disease. At any given point in the story, I felt as if I were walking down the streets of Philadelphia and really experiencing the tragedy as it unfolded. This book truly brings history to life and will capture the attention and imagination of readers.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 6 to 12 and would pair really well with Fever 1793 or Murphy's other book, The Great Fire.

Choose another epidemic (AIDS, black plague, H1N1, Influenza) and compare it to the yellow fever outbreak in 1793. How did the government or public health organizations respond? How did the understanding of the disease change after the outbreak? How many people were killed or affected by the disease? What are the symptoms, treatments and/or cures for the diseases?

How does yellow fever compare to malaria? Write a report on the differences between the two and how the world is trying to combat the spread of these diseases.

Write a short story using 1793 Philadelphia as the setting. Describe the person's life, characteristics and conflict as they relate to the yellow fever outbreak.

Create a board game using the map of Philadelphia in the front of An American Plague. Use the characters, locations and historical information contained in the book.

2004 Newbery Honor Book
2004 Notable Children's Books
2004 Best Books for Young Adults
2004 Silbert Medal Winner
2003 Top 10 Sci-Tech Books for Youth

REVIEWS
"If surviving the first 20 years of a new nationhood weren't challenge enough, the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, centering in Philadelphia, was a crisis of monumental proportions. Murphy chronicles this frightening time with solid research and a flair for weaving facts into fascinating stories. An afterword explains the yellow fever phenomenon, its causes, and contemporary outbreaks, and source notes are extensive and interesting."
School Library Journal, October 1, 2004

"History, science, politics and public health come together in this dramatic account of the disastrous yellow fever epidemic that hit the nation's capital more than 200 years ago. Drawing on first-hand accounts, medical and non-medical, Murphy recreates the fear and panic in the infected city, the social conditions that caused the disease to spread, and the arguments about causes and cures."
Booklist, June 1, 2003

Week Ten: Historical fiction: The Devil's Arithmetic

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (Cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Yolen, J. (1988). The Devil's arithmetic. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN: 978-0142401095

SUMMARY
Hannah is annoyed and bored with her family's Passover Seders and doesn't understand why her relatives focus so much attention on the Holocaust. During their celebration, Hannah is magically transported back in time to 1940's Poland to experience the concentration camps firsthand. She learns what it took to survive daily life there and how precious both friendship and hope became in such dire circumstances. When she returns to her family's house in her own time, she finally understands the importance of remembering.

MY IMPRESSIONS
The Holocaust is a subject I normally avoid. The staggering number of Jewish (and other) casualties and the extreme cruelty that occurred during the War usually leave me too emotionally devastated and overwhelmed to think. I was more than surprised by the accessibility of The Devil's Arithmetic. It is a riveting novel that captures the reality and bleakness of the concentration camps without paralyzing the reader.

Hannah is a typical teen and serves as a compelling protagonist as she struggles to survive her boredom at her family's Seder and her time at the camp. Because she sees the events unfold through the filter of her modern life, she presents a fresh perspective on such bleak subject matter. Yolen's incredible ability to write such believable characters helps shape the story into more than a moralistic tale. All of them--from Hannah's family to the Jews at the camp--are not perfect. They are flawed and human, adding layers of depth and emotional growth throughout the story. Hannah in particular reaches the end of the book as a new person with an intimate understanding of her relative's experience during the Holocaust and their inner strength to have survived such a grueling time in history.

ACTIVITIES
The Devil's Arithmetic is a good introduction to the Holocaust for late middle schoolers and early high schoolers.

Discuss the major holiday traditions of different religions.

Study how the treatment of the Jews changed during the course of WWII. Write a brief report on the concentration camps and what was done with them after the war ended.

Read a memoir of a concentration camp survivor. How does her/his experience compare to Hannah's? How did their time at the camps shape the rest of their lives? What message do you take from their stories?

Select a personal story from one of the people listed in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Write a fictional story from this person's POV about a scene in his/her life. It does not have to take place at the concentration camps.

National Jewish Book Award
Sydney Taylor Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries
The Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award
Nebula Honor Book
1992 Kentucky Bluegrass Master List book
1991/92 Florida Children's Book Award nominee
1994 Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Master List Book
2008 Honor Book for the Phoenix Award (Children's Literature Association)

REVIEWS
"Through Hannah, with her memories of the present and the past, Yolen does a fine job of illustrating the importance of remembering. She adds much to children's understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate through history, today and tomorrow."
School Library Journal, November 1, 1988

"During a Passover Seder, 12-year-old Hannah finds herself transported from American in 1988 to Poland in 1942, where she assumes the life of young Chaya. Within days the Nazis take Chaya and her neighbors off to a concentration camp. The book's simplicity is its strength; no comment is needed because the facts speak for themselves. This brave and powerful book has much it can teach a young audience."
Publisher's Weekly, October 14, 1988

Annotated bibliography for historical fiction on the Vietnam War for high school students

I was able to find a number of titles, but many of them are out of print. Frustrating! Most are available used from online vendors and a few are partially available on Google Books. Many other non-fiction stories and biographies exist, but this list is strictly historical fiction (with one graphic novel).

Easton, K. (2001). The life history of a star. New York: McElderry. (208 p.)
A coming of age story about Kristen Folger, a fourteen-year-old who uses her diary to vent about puberty, her parents’ antagonistic relationship and her grief about her brother, David. David, once her hero, came back from Vietnam as a crippled and emotionally destroyed man, and he spends his time locked in the attic like a ghost. Full of family drama, historical details and Vietnam‘s lingering effects on the soldiers who served there.

Emerson, Z. (1991). Welcome to Vietnam. New York: Scholastic, Inc. [Out of print.] (208 p.)
This four part series was written by Ellen White under the pseudonym Zack Emerson. The first book tells the story of Michael, an eighteen-year-old from Colorado, who was drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam. After becoming a member of the Echo Company, he quickly learns that war is uglier, more brutal and more terrifying than he could have ever imagined.

Emerson, Z. (1991). Hill 568. New York: Scholastic, Inc. [Out of print.]
Part two in the Echo Company series. The Echo Company continues to fight in Vietnam as Michael grows more disillusioned with the war and the United States’ role in it. Through gritty and graphic descriptions of the horrors of battle, the Echo Company faces off against Vietnamese soldiers at Hill 568.

Emerson, Z. (1991). ‘Tis the season. New York: Scholastic, Inc. [Out of print.] (254 p.)
Part three in the Echo Company series. Becky Phillips, from White’s The Road Home, is introduced as a happy, caring nurse in Vietnam despite the trauma and danger she and the other soldiers face. On Christmas Eve, her helicopter crashes and Becky watches two of her friends die. Left on her own and lost in the jungle, Becky must fight an enemy soldier to stay alive. Becky also meets Michael and they develop a friendship/romance.

Emerson, Z. (1992). Stand down. New York: Scholastic, Inc. [Out of print.] (323 p.)
In the fourth book of the Echo Company series, Michael is haunted by his feelings for Becky after meeting her in ‘Tis the Season. His squad is on a stand-down on the same base as Becky‘s hospital, and the romance between the two of them continues to grow. Michael helps Becky battle the demons and emotional anguish from the helicopter crash and her harrowing time in the jungle.

Hobbs, V. (2006). Sonny’s war. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (224 p.)
After her father dies, Corin’s older brother and idol, Sonny, is drafted in the war in Vietnam. She and her mother struggle to keep the family restaurant afloat. Corin falls in love with her new high school history teacher, Lawrence, an anti-war activist. At a peace rally, her feelings for Lawrence change when he sets fire to an Army recruitment center. Sonny returns home from Vietnam a changed and bitter man, and Corin struggles to make sense of the war and this troubling period in history.

Hughes, D. (2008). Search and destroy. New York: Simon Pulse. (224 p.)
Rick quits his job, breaks up with his girlfriend and gradates from high school with no idea of what he’s going to do with his life. He joins the army and prepares to go to Vietnam in the Special Forces. With graphic descriptions of war violence and death, Rick tells the story of his time in Vietnam.

Jones, A. (1993). Long time passing: A novel. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books. [Out of print.] (256 p.)
Jonas Duncan is a seventeen-year old who moves to California to live with his cousin after his father is sent to fight in the Vietnam War and his mother dies. There he meets Auleen, a hippie flower child and peace activist, and falls in love. He follows Auleen and her friends to Berkeley and questions his feelings toward the war. When his father is M.I.A., he joins the Marines.

Lewis, C. (2000). Postcards to Father Abraham. New York: Atheneum. (304 p.)
Sixteen-year-old Meghan has a lot to be angry about. She won a running scholarship to a private school but cancer claimed one of her legs. She was expelled from school. Her mother died at the hands of a drunk driver and her father is emotionally distant. Her brother came home from Vietnam a broken man. As she recuperates in the hospital, Meghan studies her idol, Abraham Lincoln, and she writes him postcards as a way to express her rage and pain.

Mason, B. A. (2005). In country. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. (272 p.)
In 1984, Sam Hughes is a typical teenager who is working at a local restaurant, applying for colleges and dealing with boyfriends and breakups. She lives with her uncle Emmett, a veteran dealing with the aftereffects of Agent Orange from his time in Vietnam. Sam’s father died in Vietnam before her birth, but no one in her family will talk about him or the war. She becomes obsessed with it and finds her father’s diary to help her understand the experience of fighting in Vietnam.

Milner, D. (2009). After River: A novel. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. (352 p.)
Natalie Ward returns to her childhood home to face the death of her mother. The story flashes back to her teenage years on her family’s farm. A Vietnam draft dodger named River Jordan shows up at the house and asks if they will hire him as a farm hand. Though Natalie’s family falls in love with this handsome stranger, their connection to him causes a tragedy that forces Natalie to leave in shame.

Minfong, H. (1997). The clay marble. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (180 p.)
Twelve-year-old Dara and her family are refugees from Cambodia during the Vietnam War. They travel to Thailand and meet up with another family. During a skirmish between local guerrilla soldiers, Dara and her friend, Jantu, are separated from their families for a while. After they are reunited with their families, Jantu is killed. Dara keeps a clay marble that she believes holds Jantu’s magic and uses it to find courage in her bleak situation. Though technically a book better suited for middle schoolers, some high schoolers may enjoy this book.

Murray, D., Golden, M. & Vansant, W. (2009). The ‘Nam (Vol. 1 TPB). New York: Marvel Comics. (248 p.)
This collection of issues 1-10 of this graphic novel describes the experiences of Private Ed Marks and his squad as they face the horrors and realities of fighting in Vietnam.

Myers, W. D. (2008). Fallen angels. New York: Scholastic Paperbacks. (336 p.)
Richie Perry, a poor African American kid from Harlem, enlists in the army only because he wasn’t accepted into college. He is sent to Vietnam. There he meets PeeWee and several other men, and they become a tight circle of friends. They face racial discrimination from their peers and commanders, violence and the brutality of war. A real, gripping tale of friendship, racism and the struggle to stay alive in the direst conditions.
This book is a great example of historical fiction because it captures not only the detail of the Vietnam war, but the lives of black youth in the United States. It addresses the racial prejudice that was rampant in America and abroad during this time. It also shows a slice of life from Richie’s point of view with accuracy and honesty. Myers brings this historical period to life for young readers and doesn't glorify war or fighting. Instead readers can become personally invested in Perry's story as he tries to stay alive though the compelling, dramatic plot.

O’Brien, T. (1998). The things they carried. New York: Broadway. (272 p.)
A collection of twenty-two short stories about a group of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Each of them carried a personal item with them, and this forms the basis of these stories on memory, truth and fiction.

Qualey, M. (2008). Come in from the cold. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers. (224 p.)
In 1969, Maud’s sister, Lucy, bombs a physics lab in Minnesota to protest the Vietnam war. In the same week, Jeff’s brother, a Marine, is killed in Vietnam. Jeff organizes an anti-war protest in his town, which raises the ire of his community. Almost a year later, Maud and Jeff meet and instantly feel an attraction. Their relationship develops until the two join a commune at the end of the book (continued by Everybody’s Daughter).

Rostkowski, M. (1989). The best of friends. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. (192 p.)
Three very different friends try to make sense of each other and the tumultuous world around them during the Vietnam War. Sarah is an anti-war activist, while her brother, Dan, and her friend, Will, decide what to do about the draft.

White, E. E. (1995). The road home. New York: Scholastic, Inc. (469 p.)
Becky Phillips is a newly graduated nurse stationed in Vietnam. (This character was introduced in the third and fourth books, Tis the Season and Stand Down, of White’s pseudonymously written series Echo Company.) There she faces nightmarish conditions, soldiers torn apart with horrible injuries, few supplies and the constant threat of death, but she does her best to help the young wounded GIs she treats. Becky develops romantic feelings for Michael, a confident, funny soldier who is helping her cope with the aftermath of a gruesome helicopter crash that killed two of her friends. After an injury, Michael is sent home. The bulk of the book is about Becky returning to the United States to piece together a life after seeing years of trauma, violence and misery in a country that scorns her for serving in Vietnam.

Week Nine: Mystery: The Night My Sister Went Missing

The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci (cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Plum-Ucci, C. (2006). The night my sister went missing. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN: 978-0152047580

SUMMARY
Kurt and his sister, Casey, are having fun at a typical beach party in their tiny island community of Mystic. However, on this particular night, one of their friends brings a gun and the teens take turns passing it around while commenting how much it looks like a toy. Later that evening, the gun goes off, Casey falls off the edge of the pier and disappears. The police arrive and spend hours questioning the party-goers to determine who fired the gun, what was the motive and where Casey went. During their investigation, they uncover bitter rivalries and grudges between the families on the island, as well as a shocking conclusion of what really happened that evening.

MY IMPRESSIONS
This was an intense, mature book. In addition to crafting a taut mystery, Plum-Ucci weaves in a deft exploration of personalities within an insular community. She creates a believable cast of characters ranging from townies to outsiders, popular kids to scorned mothers. She also captures the ennui of senior year in high school, when Kurt and his friends stand on the cusp of the next phase of their life. He's grown weary of the judgment and emotional upheaval of high school, of the same-old-same-old drama and gossip from the same group of people he's hung out with for years. As the police force searches for Casey, Kurt inadvertently gets to listen in on the police chiefs questioning the attendees of the party. He learns more than he wanted to know about his friends and neighbors as they bend the truth, rehash old emotional wounds and make startling confessions on who they are and what they know.

Older teens, especially those who live in a smaller town or suburb, will enjoy this story. It is not a conventional mystery (especially since Casey doesn't die), but it is very interesting to "listen in" on the differing experiences of the same event through each of the character's eyes and to witness the shift in Kurt as he learns the truth about what happened before, during and after the gun went off on the pier. The Night My Sister Went Missing is not overly graphic and doesnt have foul language, but it does contain themes of incest, teen pregnancy and suicide. It is a potent novel that sticks with you long after you've finished the book and I highly recommend it.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 9 to 12.
1. In what ways does the small community of Mystic deal with people who are perceived as outsiders?
2. Describe Kurt and how he changes from the beginning of the book to the end.
3. Have you ever felt guilty for something that happened to someone you knew, even if you weren't responsible? Why did you feel that way?
4. Give an example of when your opinion of someone else was proven to be false. What did you learn from that experience?
5. Is Stacy Kearney a sympathetic character? Why or why not? Were you surprised by the ending to the book?
6. Why do you think that Stacy was villainized by her friends and her community? Do you think they were justified?
7. Do you believe that the ghost of Kenny Fife played a part in Casey's survival? Why or why not?
8. Discuss the behavior of the Mystic Marvels at the funeral. Were they being honest in how they reacted?

In this book, there are different versions of the "truth" based on people's biases and histories. Write a short research paper on the reliability of witnesses and how memory isn't always correct.

Pair The Night My Sister Went Missing with The Body of Christopher Creed. Compare and contrast the victim, the narrator and the crime. What were the similarities between the two stories in terms of setting and community?

ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Finalist for Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Finalist for Mystery Writers of America

REVIEWS
"In classic crime-fiction style, Kurt pieces together the night, eavesdropping on statements, questioning key figures, and trying to make sense of Stacy's increasingly disturbing backstory--all the while questioning human nature, his friendships, and his post-high-school plans. Plum-Ucci struggles with pace early on, and her supporting characters are one-dimensional. While the mystery is engrossing and the dramatic ending satisfying, if overdone, it is Kurt's emotional growth that forms the heart of the story and has the most to offer readers. Fans of the author's novels or crime fiction in general will welcome this addition to the genre."
School Library Journal

"There's no doubt Plum-Ucci can tell a heck of a story. But there are chinks in the narrative's armor: characters tend to sound the same, and the one-way mirror in the station that enables Kurt to spy on the witnesses sticks out like the device that it is. Still, readers will be turning pages as new information is dispensed in each chapter, moving and changing the story in unexpected ways. They'll race to the ending and won't guess it until they get there."
Booklist, October 15, 2006, vol. 103(4), p. 41.

Journal topic 9: stereotypical roles in mystery and fantasy

In the mystery and fantasy modules, there were books that both followed and disregarded gender roles.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is the obvious candidate for patriarchal, classic gender roles. Bella is pretty, shy and clumsy. Her main expressions of affection toward her father are cooking dinner and cleaning the house while he watches endless sporting events on TV or goes fishing. Enter Edward Cullen, local hottie and eternally 17 year-old vampire. Bella falls in love, shuns her friends, focuses all of her attentions on Edward and is ready to give up everything in her life--her family, her humanity--to be with him forever. Edward, meanwhile, is controlling and jealous. He sneaks into her room and watches her sleep. He constantly warns her that he's a breath away from killing her because she's the tastiest human he's ever encountered. Bitch magazine has a great feminist article bashing the books. They call the Twilight series "abstinence porn" and particularly rage against the conversion of Bella into a 1950's housewife in the fourth installment, Breaking Dawn. On one hand, these books are harmless and appealing. What teenage girl (or stressed out, unappreciated mom) doesn't wish for some rich, gorgeous, devoted man to swoop in and take care of her? It's a simple love story for fans of Jane Austin or Shakespeare. On the other hand, it reinforces all sorts of horrible stereotypes about men and women. A man is the most important thing in a woman's life. Girls shouldn't have sex before marriage. The best option for a woman is to get married and have a baby. It's okay for a guy to act like a creepy stalker and threaten your life as long as he's like Edward Cullen. (And, in the second book, New Moon, is this choice lesson: If your boyfriend dumps you, it's okay to sink into a deep, spiraling depression, emotionally manipulate your best friend, drop him like a hot potato when the ex attempts suicide in Italy, instantly forgive said ex after he barely apologizes for deserting you in the first place and continue to put yourself in danger because you love him. YUCK.) It's a book that's easy to either love or hate (or both). I have mixed feelings about Twilight. I like it and am a dedicated member of the fan fiction fandom. At the same time, I continually ask myself why I enjoy these books so much when their message is so sexist. It's also really hard to explain the events of the plot without being utterly horrified. (Especially when Edward chews open Bella's womb during the birth of their hybrid baby, Renesmee, or when Jacob imprints on newborn Renesmee. Double yuck.) As a parent or teacher, I would want to discuss the gender stereotypes for women in the books and make sure that girls know they have options other than marriage and children. Especially with all of the hype around the movies, it's easy for girls to think that Bella is a good role model or that her relationship with Edward is the ideal. (She's not and it's not.)

As a polar opposite, Maximum Ride by James Patterson and Narae Lee has strong, unconventional female characters. Max and her brood are genetically altered avian/human hybrids who escaped from their school/prison to attempt to have a normal life. When Erasers, lupine/human hybrids, attack the group and kidnap Angel, a young doe-eyed girl, Max and her friends unsuccessfully attempt to rescue her. Max is beautiful, but independent and strong. She fights for her "family", doesn't cook and is a respected leader. She's not romantically involved with anyone and there are no gratuitously sexual representations of her or the other female characters in the graphic novel. It was refreshing to see a female lead in this story--especially since it's a graphic novel. It can be so limiting for readers to assume that women need to behave or think in a certain way or that men always need to be the dominant ones. Maximum Ride offers a story with a teenage girl as the hero rather than just a victim who needs to be saved.

The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci is incredibly realistic but does veer toward stereotypical roles with its female characters in particular. While part of the behavior is based on living in a small town, most of the teenage girls are flirtatious, catty and shallow, engaging in petty jealousies over boys or starting rumors about each other. Casey is bolder--unafraid to go skydiving or mountain climbing. On more than one occasion she is described as beautiful and ditzy. It's tricky because this book is a great portrayal of how teens act in high school. There is pressure from friends to behave in a certain way. You are judged by your clique. It's an ongoing battle to fit in and be cool. I think most readers would respond to this book and to Kurt, the narrator. But it doesn't offer up any good strong unconventional characters of either sex.

Skullduggery by Peter Hautman and Mary Logue is a mixed bag. Roni is smart and sassy. She names her Vespa scooter after Hillary Clinton. She's an investigative reporter for her school newspaper. She's an equal partner in the crime solving duo. At the same time, she spends most of her time in class drooling over cute Eric Bloodwater. She's on a diet. She doesn't always assert herself around her male peers. Boys aren't exempt from stereotypes in this story either. Eric is good looking but dumb while Brian is the unattractive nerd. There aren't any non-traditional male roles in this book, although it's nice that the smart, nerdy guy is the lead rather than the cute, popular jock. However, despite any tendencies toward cliches, Roni and Brian make a great team as friends and crime solvers. Intelligence is valued and they both can take control of the situation. This allows readers to see both females and males as leaders and heroes.

Week Eight: Fantasy and Science Fiction #2: Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Pfeffer, S. B. (2006). Life as we knew it. Boston, MA: Harcourt Children's Books. ISBN: 978-0152058265

SUMMARY
Miranda, a high school sophomore, is a typical teen. In her journal, she writes about her friends, boys and the upcoming school dance, barely mentioning the news reports that a meteor is hurtling its way toward the moon. Much to the dismay of everyone on the planet, the meteor knocks the moon off of its orbit, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes and other natural disasters and wiping out hundreds of thousands of people. Miranda and her family scramble for supplies and attempt to stay safe and alive during the coming months. She continues to write in her journal, commenting on how her town copies with the disaster and her own growing frustration as they run out of food, water and compassion for the people around them, despite trying to live as "normally" as possible.

MY IMPRESSIONS
I'm a big fan of dystopian stories, so I liked Life As We Knew It. Pfeffer creates a believable narrator in Miranda, who is initially more concerned about school homework than a potential cataclysmic disaster. Like a young adult with limited perspective and experience, when it finally occurs, Miranda focuses on her annoyance at the inconveniences of food, lack of electricity and unreliable telephone communication instead of on the rising death toll and potential risk for her and her family. While sometimes frustrated at her lack of big-picture vision, Miranda's take is more realistic of how life would be should a catastrophic event happen on the planet (which, by the way, makes me think of this.) It would be nearly impossible to find out for sure what was happening across the world or get in touch with relatives outside the city. Daily life would shrink down to here and now. The small pleasures, like pancakes or the chance to swim with a friend, would seem like great rewards in the face of rationing, uncertainty and lack. Pfeffer captures the anxiety, panic and passivity of Miranda's family as they try to cope with their new reality. It's fascinating and heart breaking to read the story as Miranda is forced to grow up quickly and make decisions that can save (or endanger) her family, like when the kitchen stove gets wet and starts spewing out smoke while her family is sick with the flu.

While this book is serious and deals with life or death matters, it offers a chance for readers to reflect on how they would react in a similar situation. The ending is slightly unresolved, which is fitting given the plot of the story. Miranda and her family overcome numerous obstacles and change dramatically by the end of the book. Overall, a very engaging and enjoyable read.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 7 to 12, mostly due to the adult themes.
1. In what ways did Miranda's mother improve their ability to survive the aftereffects of the meteor strike?
2. How would you have reacted if you heard that a meteor was going to strike the moon? Why do you think Miranda reacted the way that she did?
3. If a major disaster struck the Earth, where would you go to escape and why? Who would you bring with you?
4. Name the five most important things you'd want to have with you to stay alive and stay sane if you were Miranda.
5. How did Miranda's friendship with Megan change after the disaster?
6. What did you think of the ending of the book? What do you think will happen to Miranda and her family?

2007 Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book
2007 YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
Booklist Editor's Choice for 2006: Older Readers Category
2006 Junior Library Guild Premier Selection
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
Rhode Island Teen Book Award

REVIEWS
"Pfeffer tones down the terror, but otherwise crafts a frighteningly plausible account of the local effects of a near-future worldwide catastrophe. The prospect of an asteroid hitting the Moon is just a mildly interesting news item to Pennsylvania teenager Miranda, for whom a date for the prom and the personality changes in her born-again friend, Megan, are more immediate concerns. Her priorities undergo a radical change, however, when that collision shifts the Moon into a closer orbit, causing violent earthquakes, massive tsunamis, millions of deaths, and an upsurge in volcanism. Thanks to frantic preparations by her quick-thinking mother, Miranda's family is in better shape than many as utilities and public services break down in stages, wild storms bring extremes of temperature, and outbreaks of disease turn the hospital into a dead zone. In Miranda's day-by-day journal entries, however, Pfeffer keeps nearly all of the death and explicit violence offstage, focusing instead on the stresses of spending months huddled in increasingly confined quarters, watching supplies dwindle, and wondering whether there will be any future to make the effort worthwhile. The author provides a glimmer of hope at the end, but readers will still be left stunned and thoughtful."–John Peters, New York Public Library from School Library Journal

"...Miranda's world is literally ripped apart when an asteroid hits the moon, shifts it from its orbit and throws the earth into chaos. The story, told through a series of entries in Miranda's journal, chronicles the heroine's and her family's efforts to survive in a world where staying warm and having enough to eat and drink becomes the day-to-day priority. [Pfeffer] skillfully captures Miranda's adolescent angst with all its emotional highs and lows."
Publishers Weekly, December 11, 2006

Week Eight: Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, Mary E. (Cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Pearson, M. E. (2008). The adoration of Jenna Fox. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 978-085076684

SUMMARY
After being in a year-long coma, seventeen year old Jenna Fox wakes up with no memory of herself, her parents or her friends. She slowly regains the memories of who she was before the terrible car accident that killed her two best friends and nearly ended her own life. However, she also learns the truth about her miraculous recovery and the lengths her parents went to in order to save her. Jenna struggles to reconcile her past and current selves and she must also decide what (and how much) truly makes a person human.

MY IMPRESSIONS
This book was highly addictive and extremely well-written. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is an unconventional fantasy, and the plot would appeal to those who claim to dislike this genre. The boundaries of science--cloning, face transplants, genetic engineering--are realities in today's world, and this book asks some of the hard questions about this technology. What makes a human? Is it the brain? The heart? The soul? Is it a percentage of viable tissue? Or is it something else entirely? Pearson uses Jenna's amnesia to ensnare readers into the story and we find out together what happened that fateful evening when the car crashed and burned, before Jenna became more synthetic material than flesh and bone.

Jenna is a strong, interesting and captivating character. She also serves as an adept narrator as the reader slowly pieces together Jenna's situation and the high stakes of her new life. Pearson also creates a heart-breakingly realistic relationship between Jenna and her parents. I could feel their suffocating love and attention toward Jenna as they endlessly videotaped her entire childhood. I empathized with Jenna as she crumbled under the pressure to perform, to achieve, to be worthy of their almost painful devotion. I also loved the initial distance between her and her grandmother, Lily, and how they forged a new relationship in the aftermath of her parent's medical and scientific intervention. This new Jenna is stronger and more fearful, smarter and yet more innocent than the old Jenna. This lush, poetic novel is an excellent read, with a host of believable characters and a tense, dramatic ending.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 8 to 12.
1. What do you think of Jenna's parent's decision to save Jenna's life? Can you understand why they made that choice? How did you feel when Allys's parents showed up at the end of the book? Were you surprised at the ending?
2. Do you think there should be limits to science? If so, where do you draw the line? Genetic engineering? Organ transplants? Who should make those decisions of how far science can go to save human lives?
3. What did you think of the grey pages interspersed throughout the book? How were they different than the normal chapters?
4. When do you think this story takes place? Do you think that Jenna's situation could become a reality given the advances in technology?
5. Why do you think Jenna tells Ethan the truth about the accident?
6. What is the significance of the title of this book?
7. How has Jenna and Lily's relationship changed after the accident?
8. Who do you think vandalized Mr. Bender's garage? Why?
9. Why did Jenna destroy the backups of herself, Kara and Locke? Would you have made the same decision? Why or why not?

2008 School Library Journal Best Books
2008 Lone Star Reading List
2008 Texas Tayshas High School Reading List
Locus Magazine 2008 Recommended Read
Never Jam Today Best of 2008
2009 ALA Best Books for Young Adults
VOYA Top Shelf Fiction 2008
Booklist 2009 Amazing Audiobooks
Kirkus Best Young Adult Books of 2008
Cynsational Books of 2008
Not Your Mother's Faves 2008
IndieBound "Top Ten" Summer 2008 Pick
2009 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Master List
2009 Andre Norton Award Finalist
2009 Capitol Choices for Teens
2008 Golden Kite Honor Award
Librarians' Choices 2008
Rhode Island Teen Book Award Master List
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Master List
2010 Maine Student Book Award Master List
2010 Kentucky Book Award Master List

REVIEWS
"Jenna can remember nothing of her past as she emerges from a long coma, but pieces of her memory begin to return as she recuperates, leading her to question her family's sudden move, the strained relationship between her parents and her grandmother, and their incomplete, evasive answers about her accident. Jenna's memory loss is a cleverly effective way for Pearson to generate suspense and dispense information, and as it becomes apparent that the novel is set in a future with advanced biomedical technology, nearly every character must wrestle with the attendant ethical implications. Recalling Peter Dickinson's Eva and Monica Hughes's Keeper of the Isis Light, this provocative exploration of bioethics is heightened by the portrait of a family under enormous stress and the subtle thematic threads of faith and science woven through the story, making this a thriller with uncharacteristic literary merit."
The Horn Book Magazine, May-June 2008 v84 i3 p325(1)

"Pearson has constructed a gripping, believable vision of a future dystopia. She explores issues surrounding scientific ethics, the power of science, and the nature of the soul with grace, poetry, and an apt sense of drama and suspense. Some of the supporting characters are a bit underdeveloped, but Jenna herself is complex, interesting, and very real. This is a beautiful blend of science fiction, medical thriller, and teen-relationship novel that melds into a seamless whole that will please fans of all three genres."
School Library Journal, May 2008 v54 i5 p136(1)

Week Seven: Realistic Fiction for Young Adults: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things

THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS by Carolyn Mackler (Cover image from LibraryThing)

Bibliography: Mackler, C. (2003). The Earth, my butt, and other round things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick. ISBN: 978-0763619589

SUMMARY
Virginia, a fifteen year old "average" girl, struggles with body image, fitting in, coping with the move of her best friend and wanting a boyfriend. Her parents try to encourage her, but in ways that make her feel worse about herself or that their love is based on how she looks rather than who she is. When she finds out that her seemingly perfect older brother has date raped a girl from college and is suspended from school, she finally gains the courage to become her own person, rather than the person everyone else wants her to be.

MY IMPRESSIONS
I really, really enjoyed this book. As a longtime fan of fiction where the protagonist is an overweight girl struggling with self esteem and finding love, this one fits in with the likes of Paula Danziger's The Cat Ate My Gymsuit or There's a Bat in Bunk Five. Virginia is a believable, well-written character and it's hard not to root for her. It's hard to feel like an outsider in your own family because you're not thin enough or smart enough or popular enough. While it's sometimes awkward and painful to read about the sexual fumblings between Virginia and Froggy, it's a frank and realistic portrayal of the weirdly competitive pressure to have sex in high school. Mackler also does a great job of creating a dysfunctional family--a child psychologist who lectures on understanding teens but who barely even knows her own kids, a father who breeds body issues by constantly praising rail thin women, a feminist daughter fed up with her mother who moves off to Europe, a golden boy brother whose life crashes after he rapes a classmate and Virginia--insecure, mercurial, emotional and frustrating. Both the absence of her best friend and her brother's date rape serve as catalysts for Virginia's own personal growth. She finally sees her own self worth and how much she's hidden herself under who she's supposed to be rather than her true self.

While the tidy happy ending was nice, I found it slightly disappointing and unrealistic. I also wish the date rape could have been dealt with in more detail (I was surprised at how friendly and chatty the victim was when Virginia showed up at her dorm room unexpectedly) and that Mackler would have explored the darker parts of body loathing in more depth. It's not something you suddenly snap out of after years of viewing your body as the enemy just because you get a boyfriend or stand up to your parents. Still, it's a highly enjoyable read.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 8 to 12, especially due to the sexual content, language and adult themes.

Pair The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things with K. L. Going's Fat Kid Rules the World. Both live in New York, both deal with parents who unsuccessfully try to "help" them, both struggle with making friends and finding a place in high school. Do people judge males differently than females in terms of size and appearance? How are body image and size similar and different for Virginia and Troy? How do each of them deal with these issues? Compare the endings of both books--what do you think happens next for Virginia and Troy?

Both self-mutilation and date rape are dealt with in this book. Discuss other YA novels like Patricia McCormicks' Cut or Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. Compare and contrast the characters from these books with those in The Earth, My Butt and Other Round Things.

Michael L. Printz Honor Book
An American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A YALSA Teens' Top Ten Book
Publishers Weekly Cuffie Award winner for Best Book Title
A Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Honor Book
An International Reading Association's Young Adults' Choice
2006 Volunteer State Book Award
An Amelia Bloomer Project Selection
A Pennsylvania School Librarians Association YA Top Forty Fiction Titles

REVIEWS
"Fifteen-year-old Viriginia Shreves is the blond, round, average daughter in a family of dark-haired, thin superstars. Her best friend has moved away, and she's on the fringes at her private Manhattan school. She wants a boyfriend, but she settles for Froggy Welsh, who comes over on Mondays to grope her. The story follows Virginia as she tries to lose weight, struggles with her 'imperfections,' and deals with the knowledge that her idealized older brother has committed date rape. There's a lot going on here, and some important elements, such as Virginia's flirtation with self-mutilation, are passed over too quickly. But Mackler writes with such insight and humor (sometimes using strong language to make her point) that many readers will immediately identify with Virginia's longings as well as her fear and loathing. Her gradually evolving ability to stand up to her family is hard won and not always believable, but it provides a hopeful ending for those trying stand on their own two feet."
Ilene Cooper, American Library Association, from Booklist

"Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her."
S. Ruth Lubka from Book Review Digest via FirstSearch

Week Seven: Realistic fiction for young adults: Stargirl

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
(cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Spinelli, J. (2000). Stargirl. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 978-0375822339

SUMMARY
Leo is shocked by and curious about a new student at Mica High School: Stargirl Caraway. She seems immune to the judgment and scorn of her classmates when she shows up in outrageous costumes, sings "Happy Birthday" to her peers while playing the ukelele, or bringing her pet rat to class. As Leo wrestles between wanting to fit in with his peers and falling in love with Stargirl, he watches the changing tide of Stargirl's popularity. She shifts from alien species to most popular girl and cheerleader. However, after a disastrous appearance on The Hot Seat, the student-run TV show, and the school's defeat at the basketball championship, Stargirl becomes a shunned pariah. When Leo realizes that he shouldn't ask Stargirl to stifle her personality just to please him and her classmates, it's too late. She disappears after the school dance, never to be seen again. The book is a lesson about self-discovery and the fickleness of popularity.

MY IMPRESSIONS
I ADORED Stargirl and inhaled it in a few hours. I wanted to go back in time and BE Stargirl. It captured everything about high school and beyond perfectly--the powerful urge to conform, the difficult struggle to be yourself at all costs, the lasting effects of someone who challenged your view of the world, and the sweet and poignant moments of teenage friendship and romance. Spinelli's vivid, evocative language set the mood of the book and help portray the depth of emotion that Leo feels toward Stargirl. He also includes foreshadowing and symbolism to alert readers that Stargirl's popularity will be short lived. So on one hand, it's no surprise that Stargirl is extremely popular. It's a standard teen book about the trials and tribulations of high school. Spinelli uses a universal theme--conformity--and credible characters to show the reality of rocking the status quo. Readers will empathize with both Leo and Stargirl. However, they will also understand that while ignoring public opinion may be important and empowering, there's usually a high price to pay for being different.

On the other hand, it's a heart-breaking novel for adults, a memoir of life lessons and lost chances by a narrator looking back at how monumentally Stargirl changed his life. Stargirl's innocence is exaggerated to the point of allegory, making her an even bigger target for ridicule. Many times she's written as impossibly idealized and selfless. It is also implausible that a junior in high school would ever write such romantic, overwrought prose for a girl. I often thought the book was written for adults like me, who wished for a do-over in high school, rather than a young adult, especially since the story was filtered through a grown up Leo, remembering his teenage years with Stargirl with wistful nostalgia and bittersweet regret.

After my first rushed devouring, I read it a second time aloud to my husband. (Note: my husband is a man continually haunted by things he said in high school, even though he's 36 years old.) As we moved through the story, he cringed and groaned, finally hissing, "I hate Leo." "Why?" I asked. "Because that was me in high school. He's going to do something bad to Stargirl." Clearly, the book well-written enough to conjure a visceral reaction from readers (young and old!) who are either angry at Leo's desperate attempts to fit in or understanding of them. Likewise, I suspect most readers wish they had more Stargirl in themselves and could ignore the opinion of others more easily. While I truly enjoyed this book, Stargirl is not a great audio experience. The sentences are choppy and don't always flow when reading aloud.

2000 Best Book of the Year (Publisher's Weekly)
2000 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner
2000 ALA Top Ten Best Books Award
New York Times Bestseller
2001 Best Books for Young Adults (Booklist)

ACTIVITIES
This book would be a great selection for a book discussion in grades 5-8. Questions could include:
1. How do you feel about Leo's desire to conform in high school? Is being popular important? Do you think it was fair for Leo to ask Stargirl to change and act more "normal"? Why or why not?
2. Do you believe that Stargirl is a believable character? Have you ever met anyone like her? If you were a student at Mica High School, how would you react to Stargirl? Would you avoid her? Be friends with her? Make fun of her?
3. Was Leo a good boyfriend? Which version of Stargirl do you think he liked the best: Stargirl or Susan?
4. Why do you think everyone turned against Stargirl after the basketball tournament? Do you think Stargirl was wrong to cheer for the opposing team?
5. Was it fair for Leo to invite Stargirl on the Hot Seat? Why do you think her classmates acted the way that they did toward her?
6. What do you think Leo learned from Stargirl? From Archie?
7. Why do you think Hillari Kimble reacted so strongly to Stargirl?
8. Have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself? Think of some celebrities who have tried to create a new persona. Were they successful? Did your opinion of them change?
9. Do you think that a person's name can define who they are as a person? If you could choose, would you use a different name? If so, would you act differently because of it?
10. Were you surprised that Stargirl went to the school dance? How do you feel about her classmates reactions to her? Why do you think they acted the way that they did?
11. Why do you think Stargirl left without saying goodbye to Leo? Do you think her experiences at Mica High School would change her behavior at her next school? Why or why not?

REVIEWS
"Sixteen-year-old Leo recounts Stargirl’s sojourn at Mica High in an allegorical story that is engagingly written but overreaches. Everyone notices Stargirl when she comes to school. She wears a granny gown, strums a ukulele, and sings 'Happy Birthday' to kids in the cafeteria. She also carries around a pet rat. Her classmates veer between ignoring her and being discreetly fascinated by her weirdness--dancing when there’s no music, speaking in class of trolls and stars. Slowly, Stargirl attracts a following, especially after she gives a spellbinding speech in an oratorical contest and singlehandly stirs up school spirit. But her intense popularity is short-lived as, predictably, the teens turn on her. Leo is attracted by Stargirl and her penchant for good works. But just about the time they get together, the rest of the school is shunning her, and to his confusion and despair, Leo eventually turns his back on Stargirl, too. Spinelli firmly captures the high-school milieu, here heightened by the physical and spiritual barrenness of an Arizona location, a new town where people come to work for technology companies and the school team is called the Electrons. Dialogue, plot, and supporting cast are strong: the problem here is Stargirl herself. She may have been homeschooled, may not have seen much TV, but despite her name, she has lived on planet earth for 15 years, and her naivete is overplayed and annoying. That she has not noticed she is being shunned is unbelievable, and, at times, readers may feel more sympathy for the bourgeois teens than the earnest, kind, magical Stargirl."
Ilene Cooper from Booklist Online (Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2000)

"Unconventional behavior is one way of getting attention, that's for sure. But Stargirl Caraway is not acting–she really does have a pet rat, loves her ukulele, and wears weird clothes. Mica High is a place where being normal is cherished, and being different is cause for alarm. Her wish for happiness is almost contagious, until peer pressure causes her conformist friends to abandon her. Spinelli presents an inspiring free spirit who will encourage many a misfit to endure the gauntlet of adolescence."
School Library Journal