SLIS 5420 Module 9 Oct.26-Nov.1

Acceleration

by

Graham McNamee

Summary

Duncan is working a summer job in the "lost and found" department for the Toronto Transit Commission. He is hoping it will at least help him forget about the girl who died at the beach; the girl he tried to save. What he thinks is going to be the most boring summer of his life, quickly becomes anything but dull when Duncan finds a beat up leather journal that holds the key to the mind of a killer.

My Thoughts

I think this is a book that teens would really like. It has enough edge that it would capture their attention like so many movies they see. The line "Me and you going after this guy...is like the Hardy Boys meet Hannibal Lecter" is right on the back of the book and I think it would get a kid's attention and make them choose the book. I think the story line of the boys tracking down the potential serial killer is well done and filled with the right amount of tension, but the parallel story line of Duncan's intense guilt over the accidental drowning of a girl he tried to save, is a little less believable and doesn't seem to have a concrete relation to the story. Overall, however, the book is well written and I enjoyed it. I think teens would like the fact that Duncan and his friends figured out everything on their own and never even told the police or their parents they had caught a potential killer.

Reviews

"McNamee smoothly integrates snapshots from Duncan's escapades with a new buddy and his wild best friend, who lives teetering on the edge of the law, with information plucked from the diary. He never overexploits the sensational potential of the subject and builds suspense layer upon layer, while injecting some surprising comedy relief that springs from the boys' friendship."-Booklist

Awards / Honors

Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Suggested Activities

I would ask student to rewrite the end of the story. I would have them start at the point at which Duncan finds himself in the killer's basement, and have them create a new story line and resolution.

SLIS 5420 Module 8 Oct.19-25

Tithe

A modern faerie tale

by

Holly Black

Summary

Tithe is a fantasy story about a teenage girl named Kaye, who has a rather unsettled life. She has been moved around much of her life due to her mother's career choice of being in various small rock bands. Kaye and her mother end up back to Kaye's childhood hometown living with her grandmother. Kaye is no normal teen. Besides the fact of her unusual upbringing, she also has special abilities and has friends who are faeries. After Kaye's return home, she quickly finds herself on the dark side of the faerie world mixed up with some very strange characters. Kaye finds herself in love with an 'otherworldly being' and ultimately she must decide if this romance is worth risking her life.

My Thoughts

I think I've discovered that I'm just not a fan in general of fantasy novels. I was really drawn to this book because of its title and cover, but I was a little disappointed with the story. I like a story that is cutting edge, but it seemed to me that Holly Black was just trying to shock young readers with some of her language and situations. If I had liked the story more, perhaps I wouldn't have found some of the language so annoying. When Kaye finds out that she is not completely human, she seems to accept this news a little too easily. I also found the romance between Kaye and Roiben improbable and I never really felt connected to their story. For me, Tithe is one of those novels where you get to the end and don't really care what happened to any of the characters. Young people must find it more appealing than I do, however, because it is the first in a series of books about Kaye and her faerie friends. I think teens may like Tithe because it feels rebellious and forbidden to them.

Reviews

"Dark, edgy, beautifully written, and compulsively readable." - Booklist

"Debauchery, despair, deceit, and grisly death-what more could you ask for from a fairy tale?...A luscious treat for fans of urban fantasy and romantic horror. - Kirkus reviews

Awards / Honors

YALSA Best Book for Young Adults

YALSA Teen's Top Ten Booklist

Suggested Activities

I would have students try to draw a picture or make a computer generated image of how they think Kaye looks without her "glamour", or in other words, her appearance as a faerie.

Because this is the first book in a series, I would have teens write a creative extension of the story, predicting what will happen to the character's in the future.

Life As We Knew It

by

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Summary

Miranda is tired of hearing about the asteroid at school, and even more tired of getting writing assignments about it in every class. The whole neighborhood is out to watch the night the asteroid is supposed to hit the moon. Everyone has been assured it will be something they won't want to miss. What no one knew is that life would never be the same. Miranda and her family must learn to survive life as they never dreamed it could be. She records her thoughts, despair, and longings in her journal. Miranda ultimately learns all that she has been given, even when she has very little left.

My Thoughts

I can't say enough about this book. It will make you things of things you have never thought of before, and things you hope you never have to know. Life As We Knew It is often disturbing, but it is so authentic that it is difficult to put down. Pfeffer seems to have thought of almost every nightmare one would face in the event of a global disaster. I found myself thinking of Miranda and her family several times a day. I happened to have a flood at my house while reading this novel, and while things were frustrating, I kept thinking how much worse they could be. I kept wondering if I would have thought of half of the things Miranda's mother thought of at the beginning of the crisis. I also wonder if I would have the will to keep living if I had to face everything Miranda and her family suffered.

Reviews

"Clear some space in your schedule: you won't want to be interrupted as you read this nail-biting drama. Could these events really happen? I sure hope not, or else life as we know it will become the stuff of legend." -Jennifer Armstrong, co-author of the Fire-Us trilogy.

"This fascinating and engrossing story shows how quickly 'normal' life as we know it could disappear, and how something as innocent as the moon could become a horrible threat. But Miranda's tale is also reassuring, as her diary shows how love, family bonds, and the will to live all remain strong even in the face of disaster."- Margaret Haddix Peterson, author of Among the Hidden.

Awards / Honors

A Junior Library Guild Premier Selection

A Listening Library Selection

Suggested Activities

I would have students research the effects the moon has on earth and compare them with the events in the novel. Students could then evaluate the probability of the events happening as described in the book.

Students would work in teams of four or "family" teams to chart the supplies they would need in the event of a global disaster. They could also chart the duties of each member of the family.

I think it would be great to discuss how many services and supplies we take for granted.

Students could think of things they would have to provide for themselves that are normally provided by government authorities, parents, or other adults.

SLIS 5420 Module 7 Oct. 12- 18

My Louisiana Sky
by
Kimberly Willis Holt


Summary

Tiger Ann Parker lives in a small, rural town in Louisiana in the 1950's. She lives with her parents, who are both described as "slow", and with her grandmother. Tiger relies heavily on her grandmother for guidance and advice and generally keeping Tiger's life running smoothly. Tiger feels like a bit of a misfit because she likes to play sports with the boys and is rejected by girls her age. When Tiger's grandmother dies, it changes her world completely. She embarks on a journey to figure out where she belongs in the world, only to find out she has everything she needs in Saitter, Louisiana.

My Thoughts

I didn't realize until I had already begun My Louisiana Sky that it was written by the same author as Mister and Me, which I reviewed in my previous blog. Kimberly Holt definitely knows how to capture both small town life and the struggles that young girls face. I think Tiger's struggles to fit in with her peers is a universal theme for kids and teens. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Tiger and Jesse Wade, a boy who lives on a neighboring farm. He is Tiger's friend and protector, and through a series of events including an awkward kiss, Jesse and Tiger decide that they need one another simply as friends.

Reviews

"In this unusually auspicious debut, a girl living in a small Louisiana town in 1957 must choose whether to care for her mentally slow parents or to move in with a glamorous aunt in Baton Rouge. The author presents and handles a sticky dilemma with remarkable grace" .

- Publishers Weekly

Awards/ Honors

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

Suggested Activities

The teacher or librarian could lead a discussion about gender roles and wanting to be accepted by others your age. It would be good to allow the kids to tell stories of times when they felt they did not fit in, and compare that with Tiger's life.



This book would definitely be a tool to discuss people with mental disabilities and how they are treated in our society.



Kids could research television in the 1950's and compare how many families had television then as compared to now. A project that might help kids realize how much time they spend watching television would be to encourage kids to apply the limits Tiger's grandmother set for television time. I think if children spent a week limiting themselves to two hours of television/computer viewing, it would be great to discuss how successful each child was and how it affected other family members.









Monster

by
Walter Dean Myers


Summary


Steve Harmon is a young man charged as an accessory to robbery and murder. He has grown up in Harlem, and as he has grown into adolescence, Steve has struggled with resisting the pull of some of the bad influences in his neighborhood. He is getting a close up view of the reality of prison life as he awaits the outcome of his trial. Steve is a student film maker and decides to use his time in prison to journal and sketch out his situation in the form of a movie. Steve discovers that whether he is found guilty or not, his normal teen life has been irrevocably changed.

My Thoughts

I really love the way this novel is portrayed alternately as a journal and movie script. The text used in the journal entries makes it seem more authentic in that the writing is irregular and it changes in size, shape, and boldness in accordance with Steve's emotions. The majority of the novel in script form gives the sense that Steve is detached from his own story, and by the end of the novel I could see that he had to detach himself in order to survive. To me, the most haunting part of the novel is when Steve tries to hug his defense attorney, who is supposed to be on his side, and she recoils from his touch. He knows that he will be labeled for life by some people just because of the choice he made to associate with bad people.

Reviews

"This riveting courtroom drama... will leave a powerful, haunting impression. An insightful look at a teenage suspect's lost innocence" - Publishers Weekly

Awards / Honors

National Book Award Finalist

Coretta Scott King Award

Michael Printz Award


Suggested Activities

With older readers I would suggest a writing activity. The students would choose an important or troubling time in their lives, and have them journal about the situation. The students would then turn their story into a script.

Because Monster is already in script form, it would be great to choose passages to be read aloud by students, or even to be dramatized and filmed.

Reading Monster could foster a discussion about race and poverty in determining how a person is treated, or how the person makes decisions. Students could also research racial profiling by law enforcement as it relates to teens.

Steve Harmon is labeled "monster" by the prosecutor, and it has a profound effect on how he views himself. I would have teens make a list of labels they give to each other and then have them discuss the effect the names have on people.

SLIS 5420 Module 6 Oct. 5-11

Mister and Me
by
Kimberly Willis Holt




Summary

Mister and Me follows the life of young Jolene, an African American girl in the 1940's. She lives with her mother and grandfather quite happily, and is none too happy when her mother begins dating Leroy. Jolene's father died when she was very young, and she can't understand why her mother would need more than her and her grandfather. Jolene decides to call Leroy "Mister", and set about making his life difficult.

My Thoughts

I thought this was an endearing book that really makes the reader feel the emotions of a young girl who fears losing a close relationship with her mother. Mister and Me is set in 1940, but is very relevant today. Kids are frequently dealing with the boyfriend or girlfriend of a parent, and the relationship often becomes contentious. It is natural for kids to fear losing their mom or dad to someone else, especially when they have already gone through the pain of divorce. In dealing with teens, the struggle with these types of relationships comes up frequently in their conversations.

Reviews

"The story is heartwarming and the prose is lucid, making this a book sure to captivate readers" - Children's Literature

Awards / Honors

A Texas Bluebonnet Master List Book

Suggested Activities

Mister and Me could spark some great discussion about blending families, including the difficulties and rewards. I know from experience that middle school children are eager to talk about this issue.
Another possible activity would be to have the children learn about crazy quilts and their place in recording history. It would be great to have someone demonstrate how to make a crazy quilt and show examples. Children could make their own crazy quilt by applying materials or paper to a large sheet of paper, which could be hung in the library or classroom.