The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian

Alexie, Sherman. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316013680

Plot Summary: Arnold “Junior” Spirit is a 16-year old Native American living on the Spokane Indian reservation while he dreams of becoming a cartoonist. Starting life with unusual medical challenges, including poor eyesight, seizures, a stutter and a lisp, as a result of enduring excessive cerebral spinal fluid, he becomes an awkward but thoroughly likeable teenager trying to understand his life. His world is filled with poverty, domestic violence and neighborhood boys who bully him everyday. Finding loving support in his beleaguered family, his troubled best friend and an encouraging teacher, Junior decides to transfer to an all-white high school in a nearby town. Despite being seen as a traitor by his own community, contending with culture shock and making friends out of reluctant classmates, Junior manages to deal with life's joys and profound tragedies with a rare sense of courage, humor and self-possession.

Critical Evaluation: It is interesting and touching to see how Junior must contend with disappointing elements of his own body, his own family and his own culture. He begins as a goofy kid who is just trying to get along, yet must find the courage to abandon his best friend, hide his family's poverty and move against his own culture. We see him make intelligent, difficult and humorous choices that shows his true maturity and inner confidence. This book offers a refreshing look at race relations within our country through the personal tale of an earnest and very typical teenager. It describes with sensitivity yet honesty the entrenched problems that are occurring within our Native American culture. Likewise it also depicts the misunderstandings and arrogance aimed towards this forgotten culture by privileged White Americans. The adventures (and misadventures) of this sympathetic character make the book topic appealing. The use of comic illustrations are also effective in conveying his unique perspective.

Reader’s Annotation: Arnold “Junior” Spirit wants a better life than what he experiences on the Spokane Indian reservation. Will this mean he has to give up his friends, family, culture and everything he has known? And how can he deal with the seriousness of these life decisions when all he wants to do is draw funny comics?

Information About the Author: Much like his character, Sherman Alexie was born on the Spokane Indian reservation and suffered the debilitating efforts of hydrocephalis surgery at a young age. Much of his novel is based upon autobiographical fact, including his attendance at Reardan High School and his love of basketball. A bright student, Alexie excelled in school and showed an early talent for writing. After attempts at a medical degree, Alexie pursued poetry, writing under the tutelage of Chinese American writer, Alex Kuo, who encouraged him to find his literary voice and write about his own experiences. Since then, Alexie has received many awards, such as the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature in Fiction, the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Los Angeles Times Favorite Children’s Books, the New York Times Notable Children’s Books, National Parenting Publication Gold Winner Award, Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books and the National Endowment for the the Arts Poetry Fellowship. The author of 14 novels and poetry books, Alexie has received much critical acclaim. He lives with his wife and two sons in Seattle.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Physical Challenges, Racism, Physical and Emotional Abuse
Contemporary Life: Outsiders, Coming of Age, Humor
Multicultural Fiction: Native Americans, Multiple Cultures & Culture Clash

Curriculum Ties: English class, Ethnic Studies class, Art Class, Book Clubs, Social Clubs, Recommendations for Reluctant Readers and Recommendations for Young Adult Male Readers

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) How different races view each other (stereotypes, assumptions, foods, traditions, infatuation with the “other”)
2.) How native american history affects life on reservations (problems with poverty, self-identity, alcoholism, crime, violence, pride, relationships)
3.) How Junior contends with his adolescent physical, emotional and speech difficulties with humor and honesty
4.) Exploration of relationships between Junior and his father, mother, grandmother, best friend Rowdy, sister Mary Runs Away, Mr. P., Eugene, Penelope, Gordy and Roger
5.) Junior’s feelings about his father’s alcoholism

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges:
• Discussions about masturbation
• References to homosexuality
• Depictions of domestic violence
• Adult language
• Racist language

Defense Strategy:

• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Refer to book reviews and awards earned by this book: http://www.fallsapart.com/truediary.htm

• Refer to positive personal reviews and commentary from actual readers: http://www.amazon.com/Absolutely-Part-Time-Indian-Alexie-Sherman/dp/0316013684

Why This Book Was Included: There’s so much good stuff in this book that would appeal to this age group and make it relevant to their perspectives. First of all, finding quality young adult fiction for young males can be tough, but this one has just the right balance of visual comics, humor, tragedy, joy and sarcasm. The main character shows readers that it’s possible to feel like an undeserving geek, yet also be cool enough to win unlikely friends, rise above difficult challenges and find beauty in his ethnic identity. Junior’s ability to recognize his own shortcomings, yet tap into his own masculine ambitions, sexual longings, competitive spirit for basketball and relations with his father, teacher, coach and best friend all convey a message of hope, integrity and self acceptance to reader. Also, the book is very timely with its inclusions of email messages and popular media references. It’s a book that is told simply, yet belies complex feelings that every teen must endure in order to truly find themselves.

The Body of Christopher Creed

Plum-Ucci, C. (2000). The Body of Christopher Creed. NY: Harcourt. ISBN: 0152023887.

Plot Summary: Torey Adams’ perfect world is shattered when an unpopular classmate, Chris Creed, disappears and he sees his own name mentioned in Creed’s farewell note. Speculation by the neighborhood begins about what the note means. Some think it’s a suicide note, while others think it’s a runaway note. Others think a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, named Bo Richardson, killed Creed. But Torey wants to know the truth. His friend, Ali, lives across the street from Creed and has witnessed many of Creed's unusual behaviors because she can see into his house from her bedroom window. They know about Creed’s hidden diary and are convinced the answer lies within those pages. Ali reveals that she is romantically involved with Bo and the three of them hatch a plan to steal the diary while keeping their controversial relationships under cover. The plan succeeds, yet they are picked up by the police for harassment and extortion. Determined to discover the truth, Torey and Ali investigate Creed’s life while working to prevent Bo from taking all the blame.

At the end, Torey uncovers the truth about his own neighborhood’s history, secrets, tragedies and hypocrisy. He never does find Creed and changes schools to avoid the town's prejudice, but still holds onto meaningful friendships and learns much about himself in the process. He still believes Creed is alive and pursues his hunch by contacting people with names he assumed Creed might be using. By the end, he receives some cryptic replies that allow him to remain hopeful that Creed is alive and happily choosing to remain hidden from his former life.

Critical Evaluation: The novel starts out a mysteriously and there’s little to engage the reader. But when the story of Chris Creed’s disappearance soon becomes revealed, the story becomes unquestionable absorbing. Most remarkably, we see how Torey’s world of typical teen concerns changes from being petty, superficial and judgmental into something much more complicated and deeper. He sees that relationships are not always what they seem, bad reputations are not always what they seem, exemplary adult behavior is not always what it seems and that his priorities are not always going to be the same. Readers see him slowly mature from being a popular jock in school who would join in the cruelty aimed at Creed into being a sensitive, thoughtful, intelligent young man who cares deeply about how he sees the world and how he conducts himself towards others. His relentless search for Creed becomes a search for himself and by the conclusion he has a greater understanding of the world around him.

Reader’s Annotation: Rumors start circulating around school when an annoying, unpopular kid named Chris Creed vanishes. Did he run? Commit suicide? Was he kidnapped? Murdered? No one knows for sure, but Torey Adams is determined to find out, especially since his name is mentioned in Chris Creed’s farewell note.

Information About the Author: Carol Plum-Ucci is a young adult novelist, freelance
writer, critic, speech writer, and essayist. Many of her novels take place in Southern New Jersey, where she resides with her husband and two children. She studied at Purdue University and Rutgers University. Following her education, she worked as a writer in Chicago and was employed as a producer, writer and editor by the Miss America Organization. A recipient of several journalism awards, Plum-Ucci has also worked with groups that funded the smuggling of classic literature behind the Iron Curtain. The Body of Christopher Creed has won the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award in 2002, was named a finalist to the Edgar Allan Poe Award and is among ALA’s Best Books for Young Adults.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Crime and Criminals, Outsiders, Missing Teens
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age
Mystery and Suspense
Multicultural Fiction: Multiple Cultures and Culture Clash

Curriculum Ties: English Class, Psychology class, Book Clubs, Social Clubs, Recommendations for Young Adult Male Readers

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) Has a teen ever gone missing from your school? What did people do? What did they say? What happened to that missing student?
2.) Does someone in your school have a bad reputation? Do people say mean things about different groups of students and assume things about them? Did you ever find out that some of it isn’t true? Or if it is true, there’s more behind the story than people know?
3.) What happens when someone from the popular group becomes friends with another person from an unpopular group in high school?
4.) Have you ever tried to protect a friend from getting into trouble?
5.) Have you ever been mean to someone in school and later regret it?

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges:
• Portrayal of violence and suicide
• Graphic depiction of dead bodies
• Content includes conversation with a psychic
• Inclusion of teen promiscuity and adult sexual activity
• Content includes mentions of homosexuality
• Adult language

Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp
• Refer to awards earned by this book:
http://www.carolplumucci.com/honors_awards.html
• Refer to book reviews by actual readers of all ages:
http://www.amazon.com/Body-Christopher-Creed-Carol-Plum-Ucci/dp/0152023887
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Body-of-Christopher-Creed/Carol-Plum-Ucci/e/9780786816415
• If needed, provide a website link to resources that explain teen behavior in the midst of loss, death, grief and divorce
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/griefwar.pdf.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/families/divorce.html

Why This Book Was Included: It was recommended on a list of recent award-winning YA fiction. At first, the novel did not engage me, but by persevering into further chapters, I discovered a multi-layered story with useful content for teens about how to cope with different groups in high school. It really explores the ideas of how bad cruelty among teens can become, how reputations can effect teen life and how every neighborhood has its own adult secrets. Plum-Ucci’s stories have depth and complexity and her characters are never simple and perfect. A good book to recommend to male teens and older adolescents.

A Northern Light

Donnelly, J. (2003). A Northern Light. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN: 0152167056.

Plot Summary: Sixteen-year old Mattie Gokey is the oldest daughter of a widowed farmer in upstate New York during the early 1900s, and with that title comes enormous responsibilities on the farm. The problem is that she does not want to be a farm girl all her life. She is a talented writer and her teacher's involvement has led to her being accepted with a scholarship to Barnard College. She faces the biggest decision of her life: does she stay home and honor a promise made to her deceased mother? Or does she leave in order to to follow her own dream?

In the meantime, Mattie gets a summer job at a resort lodge. She meets Grace Brown, who hands her a bundle of letters with instructions to burn them. Later, before Mattie can carry out the task, Grace turns up dead in the lake. Mattie, unable to quell her curiosity, begins reading the letters. As she pieces together Grace's life and realizes why she ended up dead, Mattie is also able to come to terms with her own place in life and her decision to leave the farm to become her own person.

Critical Evaluation: This book is a fictional account based on a real event. It’s a well-crafted, suspenseful book that uses flashbacks to reveal clues about the murder case. It’s interesting how Mattie has a pessimistic outlook on life and calls Jane Austen a liar with her relentlessly happy endings. And it’s true that no one in this book necessarily has happy ending, yet her strong viewpoint (which readers may or may not always agree with) makes her a realistic and memorable character. She is intelligent and hardworking, yet confused about her future. She wants an education, but isn't sure if it is worth the cost of leaving her home, her family and her boyfriend behind. At first glance that might not seem to be the most original of plots, but Mattie is an amazingly intense character that makes this unique story resonate with teenage girls.

Reader’s Annotation:
Mattie is deciding if she should stay with her family and help with the farm or have her own adventures as a student at Barnard College. When the body of her friend washes up at the summer resort she works at, her uncovering of the mystery leads her to the answer as well as to her own future.

Information About the Author:
Jennifer Donnelly is an author of historical children’s and young adult books. She was born in 1963 in New York and attended the University of Rochester, majoring in English Literature and European History. A Northern Light is her second published novel and is based around the infamous murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the Adirondacks in 1906. In 2004, A Northern Light won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, as well as the Carnegie Medal in the UK. Donnelly currently lives in both New York, with her husband, daughter, and one rescued greyhound.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Crime and criminals
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age
Mystery: Suspense
Historical Fiction: Twentieth Century (1900-1920)

Curriculum Ties: English class, History class, Book clubs

Booktalking Ideas:
• The impact of Mattie’s promise to her mother
• Mattie’s talent for writing and how this affects the novel
• Why Grace Brown wanted the letters destroyed
• Making big decisions and the inevitable involved
• Mattie’s decision to leave and pursue her own life

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 16-21

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges:
• Negative Depictions About Motherhood
• Portrayals of Death and Sickness
• Depictions of Racism
• Sexual Content

Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Refer to awards won by this book from reputable organizations:
http://www.harcourtbooks.com/bookcatalogs/bookpages/9780152167059.asp

• Provide book reviews by literary journals and media publications:
http://www.jenniferdonnelly.com/jd_reviews.htm

• Provide book reviews by actual readers on a publicly accessible website:
http://www.amazon.com/Northern-Light-Jennifer-Donnelly/dp/0152167056


Why This Book Was Included: I read a review of this book and think it’s a good example of historical fiction that would still appeal to today’s teens, particularly female readers. It’s beautifully written, filled with realistic characters and based on true life events.

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things

Mackler, Carolyn. (2003). The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763620912

Plot Summary: Virginia Shreves is going through a tough time: Her best friend is spending a year 3,000 miles away, the brother she idolizes is going away to college, her parents spend every weekend golfing in Connecticut and she is filled with self-loathing for her larger-than-average body. The only good thing happening is her Monday afternoon make-out sessions with a boy in class she barely knows. Coping with her inferiority complex and sense of loneliness is consuming her life as fast as she continues to consume junk food. But then an astonishing and shattering thing happens: her beloved brother is found guilty of date rape while away at college. Virginia’s world begins to change and she sees everything in a completely different way. She begins to see the hypocrisy of her “perfect family,” the façade of the popular kids at school and the destructive nature of her own self-contempt. Once a frumpy and passive teen, we witness through an series of soul-awakening events Virginia’s heroic and rewarding transformation into an assertive, sassy, funny and kickboxing feminist.

Critical Evaluation: Mackler lends a nice touch to the novel by creating characters that are realistic, albeit flawed and at times, dislikeable. Just as we see Virginia experience a character reversal from being a mousy and obedient child who wears “plus-sized” clothes and hides in the second floor bathrooms during lunchtime into a courageous, purple-haired, independent and self-aware class leader. We also see reversals of everyone else around her. Her mother is sometimes a sensitive and honest “adolescent psychologist,” other times a critical and unforgiving control freak and then again a proud mother who finally appreciates her daughters “chutzpah.” Her brother, the treasured golden child, is revealed to be a selfish and verbally abusive sibling who for once inspires Virginia's anger. Her tactless father comes around to showing Virginia his sensitive and caring nature. Even Froggy, her make-out partner that she assumes is just using her, returns to show that he genuinely likes being around her.

Reader’s Annotation: Virginia is sick of being fat, ignored, invisible and self-critical. But the idea of changing this seems impossible and useless. Yet when her “perfect” family image is shattered by shocking news, she discovers that it will be up to her to find out who she really is and what she really wants. Watch this funny, honest and uplifting gal take on the world and transform from a meek turtle into a beautiful butterfly!

Information About the Author: Mackler was born in 1973 and grew up in a typical family arrangement in the New York region. It wasn’t until adolescence hit that she began to feel like a misfit and sought refuge within young adult novels by Judy Bloom, Lois Lowry, M.E. Kerr and Norma Klein. Having been an avid reader and storyteller since the 4th grade, Mackler began to write articles for Seventeen, Glamour, CosmoGIRL! and American Girl. As she studied Art History at Vassar College, her parents divorced and Mackler again relied upon her “life-saving” friendships. When asked why she writes young adult novels today, she replies, “One of the biggest reasons is that I honestly believe that, along with certain friendships, I was saved by the books I read during those years. They spoke to me in a way that nothing else did. They helped me feel less alone. They made me laugh. They made me feel like there was a world bigger than my high school.” She currently lives with her husband and son in Manhattan.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Physical Challenges, Sexual Abuse, Outsiders
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age, Humor,
Other: Self-Realization, Body Image, Stong Female Protagonist Stories

Curriculum Ties: English class, Book Clubs, Health class, Psychology class, Physical Education class, Recommendations for Young Adult Female Readers

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) What it feels like to be ashamed of your body and the struggles of teens who want to lose weight
2.) Family relations and not being like the rest of your family
3.) Popular kids vs. non-popular kids in high school
4.) Date Rape: what it is and how it affects the perpetrator, the victim and their families
5.) Self-awareness and self-acceptance: Knowing who you are, loving who you are and being assertive
6.) Confronting family members and defying parents: How, When and Why or Why Not

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges:
• Content includes issues of date rape, sexual petting and masturbation
• Adult language
• References to teen bulimia and anorexia

Defense Strategy:
• Provide statistics regarding the reality of these key issues:
Date rape: http://www.your-personal-and-home-security.com/date-rape-statistics.html
Teen Sex: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_ATSRH.html
Teen Eating Disorders: http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#eatingdisorders
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp
• Refer to book reviews and awards earned by this book: http://www.carolynmackler.com/The-Earth-My-Butt-and-Other-Big-Round-Things-by-Carolyn-Mackler.asp?id=praise
• Provide guidelines book clubs have used to address issues: http://www.teenreads.com/guides/earth_my_butt1.asp

Why This Book Was Included: At first glance, this book title and cover image sounded like a lightweight and merely entertaining teen paperback. But judging this book by its cover was my mistake. The story delves much deeper and portrays an honest look at an overweight teen girl’s reality that will make you cringe from its poignancy. Mackler’s deft skill at creating full characters and a believable story that addresses the affect of date rape and family hypocrisy never feels forced and never speaks from an adult viewpoint instead of a true teen’s perspective. A worthy read!

The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time

Haddon, M. (2002). The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time. NY: Doubleday. ISBN: 0385509456.

Plot Summary: Christopher Boone is 15 and knows all the countries of the world and every prime number up to 7,057. He can relate to animals, but can’t understand human emotions and can’t stand to be touched. Christopher is autistic and everyday interactions have little meaning for him. Routine and order provide him an escape from a messy and unpleasantly complicated world. Then his carefully constructed world implodes when he finds his neighbor's dog impaled on a garden fork, and is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer. His investigation leads him down some unexpected paths until he has to deal with the reality of his parent’s failed marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family while travelling the subway train all over the city, we are provided with insight into Christopher’s mind through his drawings, calculations, humor and life lessons.

In the end, he discovers the dog’s unlikely killer: his own father. Horrified at his father's viciousness, Christopher flees in fear of being murdered. He journeys to London on his own, to live with his estranged mother, whom Christopher had thought was dead. Finally, Christopher knows the truth about his family and decides to stay with his mother.

Critical Evaluation: This is a really fresh novel with a fascinating protagonist. It’s ironic that the most poignant moments of the story are expressed by a teenage boy who can’t fathom the idea of emotions. It’s his unique blessing and curse to perceive the world so literally, even if he sometimes chooses to deal with the world’s overstimulus by curling up in a ball and groaning loudly. We come to understand how Christopher’s mind works and laugh at the objective interpretation he has of people’s actions, words and motivation. Readers will sympathize with the patient adults who must tend to his periodic fits and the frustrations they must face in trying to understand that Christopher’s mind just works in different ways. He is an unforgettable character and the book is great fun to read.

Reader’s Annotation:
Ever wondered what the world looks like from the perspective of someone who has autism? Come along with 15-year old Christopher Boone who has a mystery to solve. He’s smart, funny and clever, even if he can’t always understand your feelings.

Information About the Author:
Mark Haddon was born in 1962 in Northhampton, England and studied English Literature at the Uppington School and Merton College. While a young man, he worked with autistic individuals and came to understand their unique perspective. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Overall Best First Book. He written for TV and radio and devotes his time to art and writing children’s and adult books. He currently lives in Oxford with his wife and two sons. He enjoys vegetarian cooking and is a self-proclaimed atheist.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Problems
Contemporary Life: Humor
Mystery and Suspense
Alternative Format: Diaries and Journals

Curriculum Ties: English class, Psychology class, Book Clubs, Social clubs, Recommended Books for Young Adult Male Readers

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) Insight into the Autistic Mind
2.) How Christopher’s drawings, diagrams and lists contribute to our understanding of his decisions in the book
3.) How his parents and other adults cope with Christopher’s special needs
4.) How do you feel about the book’s ending?
5.) The use of humor to help progress resolution of the mystery

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 14-adult

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges:
• Portrayal of autistic/mentally challenged teens
• Adult Language
• Content includes anti-religious statements

Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Refer to awards granted to this book:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/mark-haddon/curious-incident-of-dog-in-nighttime.htm

• Provide a link to book reviews by literary journals and media publications:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=1400032717

• Provide a link to book reviews by actual readers from a publicly accessible website:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1618.The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night_time

• Provide discussion questions book clubs have used to address issues or book content:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400032716&view=rg

Why This Book Was Included: This was recommended by a friend who thought it would appeal to adult as well as young adults. I wanted to include at least one cross-over novel and this one is particularly refreshing and fun for everyone to read. It really provides an informative yet lighthearted look at autism from an unusual perspective.

Pride and Prejudice (Movie)

Bevan, T. & Feller, E. & Webster, P. (Producers) & Wright, J. (Director). (2005). Pride and Prejudice [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: StudioCanal and Working Title Films.

Plot Summary: At the turn of the 19th century in rural England, The Bennet family is eager to make successful marriages for their five daughters. However, daughter Elizabeth is convinced that she shouldn’t marry unless compelled by true love. A wealthy bachelor, Mr. Bingley, moves to town and introduces the family to his friend, Mr. Darcy. Bingley is enchanted with her sister, Jane, while Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to Darcy. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy spar, as Elizabeth believes Darcy has dissuaded Bingley from marrying Jane and has mistreated his own stepbrother, Wickham.

When she visits her friend’s estate, she encounters Darcy again and meets his rich snobby aunt, Lady Catherine. He pursues a greater interest in her but she rebuffs him when they argue and he insults her. Both are angry and confused. Later, Darcy gives her a letter apologizing for his misjudgment of Jane’s affection and explaining Wickham’s disgraceful behavior towards his family.

On another trip to a relatives’ estate, she encounters Darcy again and they get along more amicably as she learns more about his life. She is distraught over her younger sister’s disgrace at having run away with Wickham and later learns that Darcy sought out his stepbrother and paid for a legitimate marriage to save the Bennet family reputation. After she returns home, Bingley and Darcy visit the Bennet home again. Jane accepts Bingley’s proposal and despite Darcy’s aunt’s interference, Elizabeth accepts Darcy’s proposal. They both recognize how their own pride and prejudice have prevented them from developing their true love.

Critical Evaluation: Jane Austen is a classic book often required for high school assigned reading. This recent film adaptation of the book is sumptuous, with beautiful settings, stunning costumes and popular young actors who add an element of glamour to the story. Keira Knightley, who was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award for her role, is sparkling as the spunky, clever and headstrong Elizabeth. The romance developed between her and Matthew Mcfadyen’s Darcy is well matched. He depicts the right amount of insecurity and arrogance that befits Darcy’s sullen character. One of the best film renditions of this novel that I have seen.

Reader’s Annotation:
Elizabeth is sure Darcy is a jerk. Darcy thinks she is beneath him. The two assume all sorts of bad things about each other, until they discover that neither one if so bad after all. In fact, they might even love each other…

Information About the Director:
Joe Wright is the director of the film. He was born in 1972 in London to theatrical parents. He started making films at a young age and studied at the Anna Scher Theatre School and Camberwell College of Arts. He received his fine art and film degee from Central St. Martins. During the 1990s, he became known for his music video productions before he made the transition to feature films. Pride and Prejudice received numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations and six BAFTA nominations. Wright won the BAFTA for most promising newcomer.

Genre:
Contemporary Life: Romance
Historic Novels: 19th century (1800-1820)

Curriculum Ties: English class, Book clubs, Social clubs, Filmmaking class, History class, Psychology class

Movietalking Ideas:
• The role of social class and family reputation during this era
• Elizabeth’s spirited yet sometimes defiant character
• Examples of pride and prejudice exhibited by Elizabeth and Darcy
• Filmic techniques to progress the plot and enhance the story
• Why Jane Austen is considered a classic of English literature

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 13 - adult

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges: Jane Austen books are often required reading in high school curriculums as age appropriate material, so there usually isn’t challenges to the story content. But if there is anything questionable in the storyline to be challenged, it might be:

• Portrayal of a disreputable male character who elopes with a Bennet sister and damages her good reputation
• Portrayal of an improper female character who elopes with the rascal and is presumed to have engaged in premarital sex

Defense Strategy:
• Provide advisory reviews for parents about issues of this movie’s age appropriateness and content:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/Pride-Prejudice.html

• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Refer to awards granted to this movie by reputable organizations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_&_Prejudice_(2005_film)#Awards_.26_Nominations

• Provide a link to movie reviews by actual viewers on a publicly accessible website:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414387/#comment


Why This Book Was Included: For teens who like Jane Austen, this movie will probably confirm their interest and provide an updated interpretation of the novel. For those who might be indifferent to faded classic stories, this movie’s contemporary aspects will hold better appeal and convey Austen’s literary genius in an accessible, entertaining way.

Speak

Anderson, L. (1999). Speak. NY: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN: 0374371520.

Plot Summary: Melinda Sordino is afraid to enter high school on the first day and with good reason. It seems like everyone she ever knew (including her best friend) hates her and shuns her whenever they see her. They are angry that she called the police on the night of a summer party and got everyone in trouble.

What they don’t know until the end of the novel is that during her drunken state at the summer party, she is raped in the woods by an older classmate named Andy Evans. Because she cannot bring herself to tell anyone, she becomes progressively depressed, stops speaking and begins to seclude herself inside a janitorial closet at school. She manages to befriend a new student, though is abandoned when her new friend has the chance to join a popular clique. Her only source of comfort is teacher Mr. Freeman, who encourages his students to express themselves through art.

When her former best friend, Rachel, begins dating Andy, Melinda feels obligated to tell her about the rape. Andy confronts her and attempts to rape her again until Melinda taps into her deep sense of outrage and courageously fights him off. She is saved by another former friend and the news of her victimization turns her status of social pariah into something like a heroine. As she completes her art project at the end of the year, Mr. Freeman encourages her to tell her story and to move towards healing.

Critical Evaluation: Speak is a moving and poignant novel, keenly capturing the isolation and self-blame that teens experience after a painfully traumatic event. The good, bad and indifferent behavior of these teen characters is honest and accurate. Melinda’s reaction to the whole episode and its sad aftermath is authentically portrayed and symbolically represented by her inability to speak of such an inexplicable crime. Most surprising, though, is her inner dialogue that continues to be witty and wry in her observations about the hypocrisy and superficiality of her parents and her classmates around her. She remarks, “My parents didn’t raise me with religion. The closest we cme to worship is the Trinity of Visa, MasterCard and American Express.” After travelling through an agonizing journey of Melinda’s year-long recovery process, it’s such a hard-won victory to witness her metamorphosis from a tender victim into becoming a brave, confident and creative young woman.

Reader’s Annotation: Melinda Sordino called the cops during a summer party. Now her friends won't talk to her and everyone hates her. The only place she can exist is inside her own head. But it’s not a peaceful place, because something bad happened that night and she can’t ever tell anyone.

Information About the Author: Laurie Halse Anderson was born in 1961 in New York. She studied language and linguistics from Onondaga County Community College and Georgetown University. Following her education, she worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, a freelance writer for magazines and a self-publishing author of children’s books. She says her idea for Speak occurred immediately after hearing a young girl screaming for help during a nightmare. The subsequent writing of this book was long and arduous, in which she rewrote the ending three times. The honors she received include being a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Printz Honor Medal Book Award. This book was made into a movie in 2004 starring Twilight-fame actress, Kristen Stewart, and has been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Dutch, Hungarian and German. Anderson currently resides with her husband and two daughters in Pennsylvania.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Problems, Sexual Abuse, Outsiders
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age

Curriculum Ties: English class, Art Class, Psychology class, Books Clubs, Social Clubs, Health class, Recommendations for Young Adult Female Readers

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) What happens when friends turn against you and shun you in school
2.) Teen rape: Why it happens, what to do, how to prevent it
3.) How Melinda chooses to cope with her trauma and depression
4.) The value of artistic expression for communicating feelings and ideas
5.) People around Melinda and how they affect her: former friends, her parents and her teachers.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 13-18.


Potential Challenges: Due to its controversial subject matter, Speak has often been challenged since its publication in 1999.

• Content includes issues of rape, teenage drinking and mental illness

Defense Strategy:
• Provide statistics regarding the reality of teen rape:
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/teens/stat.asp
http://www.troubledteen101.com/articles52.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/277788/how_to_avoid_teen_rape.html

• Provide the author’s response to her book being challenged and her opposition to censorship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_%28novel%29

• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Refer to book reviews and awards earned by this book:
http://www.thingsmeanalot.com/2009/07/speak-by-laurie-halse-anderson.html
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/439288.Speak

• Provide guidelines book clubs have used to address issues: http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2009/10/book-club-meeting-speak-by-laurie-halse.html

Why This Book Was Included: I kept hearing about this author and the impact she has had upon YA literature. I decided to read the book that earned her many awards yet is consistently challenged for its controversial topic. I’ve discovered that indeed it’s an important book and one that needs to be talked about by teens today. I also agree with her statement that censorship of this book “does not protect anybody. Quite the opposite. It leaves kids in the darkness and makes them vulnerable.” She’s a brave writer who will no doubt author more remarkable books and continue to influence the YA genre.