SLIS 5420 Module 15 Dec. 7-10

Athletic Shorts

Six

Short

Stories

by

Chris Crutcher

Summary

This collection of short stories, while dealing with athletes, is not a "sports" book. Chris Crutcher deals openly and honestly with many taboo subjects and situations, as well as detailing the general pathos of being a young adult. The stories are told with humor and a sense of powerful realism.

My Thoughts

I normally don't enjoy short stories, but I honestly love this book. I can always tell a great book when I see myself nearing the end and I just don't want to get to that last page. After reading Athletic Shorts, I want to read everything Chris Crutcher has ever written. I guess I just love the honesty and lack of fear he seems to have in writing about topics that make people uncomfortable. Even though the topics are controversial, I don't get the "in your face" sense as I do from some authors who seem to have a goal of causing a firestorm. I like how he introduces each story and tries to give the reader background information or an explanation of his mindset as the author. I would really like to suggest this book to my students, but I'm a little afraid of parent reaction.

Reviews

The stereotype of jocks as insensitive dullards is challenged in stories that grapple with the big questions of life as well as with athletic prowess, told with good-natured aplomb and gritty reality."--School Library Journal

"If the stereotype of "bonehead jock" is ever to be defeated, it will be at Crutcher's hands."

--Publishers Weekly

Suggested Activities

Athletic Shorts offers endless possibilities for discussion, but one activity I might try is to have students write another version of "The Other Pin" from the viewpoint of Chris Byers. Since all of the stories center on male athletes, I think it might be interesting to compare the stories written by boys and girls from the perspective of a female wrestler.

SLIS 5420 Module 14 Dec. 1-6

Stop Pretending

what happened

when my big

big sister went

crazy

by

Sonya Sones

Summary

A novel told in verse, Stop Pretending details the events in the life of author Sonya Sones as a young girl when her older sister, whom she adores, is suddenly struck with mental illness which results in long term hospitalization. The poems chronicle life before the illness and the ensuing damage done to a family when one member slips away into an altered reality.

My Thoughts

Stop Pretending is the first novel in verse I have ever read. I found it much more enjoyable than a book of poems each with a different subject and theme. It is great to be able to follow such an intimate story told through poetry. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it did leave me wishing that I had more of the story. I am excited to have a new type of book to explore. Some poetry I love, but there is much that I don't enjoy. The story linking a novel in verse keeps me interested and in the case of Stop Pretending, the story flowed so easily I almost forgot I was reading poetry.

Reviews

"This debut novel shows the capacity of poetry to record the personal and translate it into the universal." --ALA Booklist

"The poems take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale."-- Kirkus Reviews

Suggested Activities

I would have students write a mini-novel in verse either using a particularly memorable time in their lives, or just chronicling the past year as a whole.

I think Stop Pretending could be used as a great discussion of how we each pretend at times in our lives that things are fine when in reality we feel our world crashing in. I think it would be a great experiment to have students for one day answer honestly to anyone who asks "How are you?". We could then discuss the reaction of the person who asked and talk about things we ask other people without wanting the truth.