Speak (Extra Credit)

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Annotation:

Shortly before the start of her freshmen year, Melinda Sordino attends a party. She ends up calling the cops who bust up the event. With that, she becomes hated by almost everyone. If only they knew why, maybe Melinda would not be the outcast she is. But how can anyone understand what really happened when Melinda refuses to talk? Will she ever find her voice?

Nomination Thoughts:

The book has strong themes that many YA can relate to or otherwise have seen. Melinda called the cops to report a crime but can not follow through with the truth- she was raped. All the kids think she did it to break up the party. This leads to her shunning by just about everyone.  It is hard to read how cruel her classmates are. Even her parents are too busy to really take stock of what is at the root of their daughter’s depression and lack of talking. Within her silence, Melinda does find small ways to rebel and push past her limits.

She continues  her downward spiral barely passing her classes. The only bright spot is her art class. Melinda, pushed by her art teacher, pours her heart into a tree collage. As the year drones on, her ex-friend Rachel starts to date boy who raped her and Melinda must decide how to warn her. When she does tell her about the boy, Rachel does not believe her until he tries the same thing with her. Then events play out that let everyone know what happened and the pain Melinda endured.

The characters, mainly heard through Melinda’s thoughts, are realistic to the high school scene. Still, this is the part that makes it a soft yes for me- all of the narration and dialog is through one person- Melinda. It’s cleaver but can still get tedious coming from that one perspective. YA will find some humor in her nick names of people- IT, Principal Principle and Hairywoman. The story has a good pace. Melinda gets stronger as the book progresses and the ending, predictable since the boy does get his come-uppance, still satisfies. 

Nominate?

Yes, but a soft yes. The book as strong themes for YA- dating and relationships, bullying, isolation and sexual violence. It’s limit is its strength being told through one person.

Genre:

Coming of Age, Realistic/Edgy, Censored 

One Last interesting note: A movie version is available via Netflex. Kristen Stewart played Melinda. 

Holes

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Citation:

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Scholastic, 1998. Print.

Annotation:

Stanley Yelnats lives daily with the curse that has been in his family from the time of his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather”. It should come as no surprise when he is falsely accused of stealing and can either chose jail or Camp Green Lake, a juvenile corrections camp. You’d think camp would be preferable but not when it involves a mean warden and digging lots and lots of holes.

Nomination Thoughts:

I have not seen the movie and was curious to read the book. Stanley is 13 years old, chubby, has no friends and gets bullied in school. He feels everything bad that happens to him is because of family curse. The author brings together the story of Stanley’s time at the detention center and that of his “no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather”.  Stanley comes to realize that the warden may be saying she makes the boys dig holes to build character but in reality she is making them dig holes to find a treasure connected to Stanley’s family curse. Regardless what the odds are, it does make a good story. Stanley’s life does improve at the camp because he makes friends and stands up for them. Sachar tells the story with humor and deals with many issues that face YA- isolation, finding courage, justice and redemption. It’s got a saccharine sweet ending but that’s kind of the cheesy ending this humorous book is destined to deliver. 

Nominate:

No… but a soft no. My biggest problem with the book in terms of nominating it for our Printz book is its range. I feel the book’s appeal is too focused on young YA and might not appeal to girls enough.

Genre:

Humor, Coming of Age, Adventure

Going Bovine (Extra Credit)

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Citation:
Bray, Libba. Going Bovine. New York: Random House, 2009. ebook.

Annotation:
Life is kind of one big joke to Cameron Smith. He takes nothing too serious- school, friends, family and any future goals. Everyone assumes he has hit the drugs a little too hard when he starts acting crazy complete with radical hallucinations and shaky muscles. When the doctors quickly discover it's actually mad cow disease, Cameron goes on an epic journey to save the world and maybe even himself. 


Nomination thoughts:
Duuuuuuude, this book is really a trip.  Cameron narrates his mission to save the world. It's an unbelievable task. Since there is no way to do it justice in my words, here's a quote from the book:


" Never once did I see myself standing under the window of a house belonging to some druggie named Carbine, waiting for his yard gnome to steal his stash so I could get a cab back to a cheap motel where my friend, a neurotic, death-obsessed dwarf, was waiting for me so we could get on the road to an undefined place and a mysterious Dr. X, who would cure me of mad cow disease and stop a band of dark energy from destroying the universe."

Along this incredible journey, the reader gets to see a true transformation take place in Cameron. He starts out as self-centered and kind of a jerk. His attitude will make sense to many YA as Cameron talks of his "perfect" sister and his mom and dad who are both teachers and not sure how their kid is "barely not failing high school". He is the odd man out in his family. This theme of finding one's identity and struggling to find your place comes across strongly. 

The biggest challenge, of course!, is how to come to terms with his fatal disease. So he takes flight in the only way he can- in his mind. As a reader, YA or otherwise, close attention to these shifts in mental state will help make sense of the story. Also key is knowing that reality and fantasy play off each other. The characters on his trip come from pieces of his life- people, hopes, dreams and a sudden urge to make sense of it all. The author does a surreal and amazing job weaving it all together. It might get a little long (crazy? psychedelic?) and harder to follow in the middle though.  In the end, Cameron becomes a person who learns how to embrace life on his own terms even if only in his head. It all has a way of prodding the reader to think about the deeper meaning to things, events and people in their own lives. Or even if there is a deeper meaning!

Nominate:
Yes! I do think the book has strong appeal to a YA audience. It's an emotional journey that will keep the pages turning. Cameron finds his answers without it necessarily being the answers for everyone. This let's each reader draw their own conclusions about what is and can be.

Genre:
Coming of age, Printz, Fantasy

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

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Citation:
Enrenreich, Barbara.  Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 2002. Print.


Annotation:

The American dream is alive and well. It basically states that if you work hard and treat people well, you should be able to make a living. So what happens when you wake up, hop a bus across town, clock in at a big box mart and try to make ends meet? Let’s just say reality has some cold hard truths to dish you up for dinner.

Nomination Thoughts:

Barbara Ehrenreich works first and foremost as a writer for various media outlets. As part of the genesis for her book, she became curious how hard it would be for a single woman to live off wages from an entry level type job. So she devised an undercover experiment that would take her across the country to see how she would fair. She sets about some basic rules that in some ways diminish what a low paid worker would have access to- mainly a car and food. Along the way she takes jobs as a waitress in Florida, house cleaner in Maine and Walmart worker in Minnesota. By the way, she sadly found Minnesota not quite up to its “Minnesota Nice” sterotype. She basically finds no feasible way to live off the wages from those jobs and just how expensive being poor is.

What I was most taken with is how surprised Ehrenreich was about the working conditions in which she found herself. She does an excellent job walking the reader through her eye opening experiences. Ehrenreich introduces co-workers who don’t have the luxury of knowing they can high tail to a comfortable life if they choose. Her writing spares nothings in saying how hard of life the people are living. I found myself crying when she wrote about a pregnant coworker who was sick and yet unable to afford adequate health care. It seems each of the people she comes across has a role to play. The managers work to keep the workers in line and happy not to have union protection at Walmart. Ehrenreich finds herself almost invisible to the people whose houses she cleans- something she finds uncomfortably intimate.

Through the course of the book Ehrenreich grows in her understanding of the struggle of low wage earners. Each place she works pits her against a machinery that only wants to take as much out of her as possible while paying her as little possible. I found myself caring about the people she wrote about and wanting to find some steel toed boots for some of the jerks she came across too. She had an engaging and thoughtful way of presenting her story that made me tear through the pages.

Nomination?
This is a worthy book for our mock Printz Award. I think this book can have great appeal for a YA reader interested in what it will take to make it in today's world. It's rough out there!

Genre: Alex Award

The Hunger Games

image source: http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483

Citation:

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. Print.

Annotation:

Children age 12-18 years gather in the middle of an old town square. Parents wait anxiously, roped off from them. They all hold their collective breath as an official from the government draws the name of a single boy and girl name. This is not a time you want to win the lottery. Katniss, already rebelling against the power structures, takes the place of her younger sister after her name is drawn.  Peeta, the baker’s son, stands as the boy from his district. They must prepare for the fight of their lives literally.

Nomination Thoughts:

Unless you live under a rock, you may be aware that The Hunger Games book was released as a movie earlier this year. I strongly encourage reading the book even if you saw or plan to see the movie for the biggest reason you can “hear” Katniss thinking. She lives in Panem, a post-revolution America taken over by tyrants bent on maintaining a status quo where only a few live comfortably. The rest of the people live in districts radiating from the new Capital in what was once the central area of America. Due to extreme inequalities, the folks from the outlaying districts produce the goods and services that make the Capital a gleaming wonder while they suffer with starvation and cruelty.

The powers-that-be wield any and all tools they can to maintain control. As part of that goal, every year one boy and one girl age 12-18 years from each of the 12 districts is “offered” up as tribute to fight to the death until only one stands. It is shown on live. It is mandated to watch. And it is brutal. Into this game of life and death, Katniss and Peeta struggle to maintain their humanity as they bond trying to stay alive. Unlike the movie, the book brings Katniss’s inner thoughts into complete view. She works as a complicated character. You can read her as a cold calculating person who has no trust in anyone or anything. That changes as the book progresses. Help for the duo comes from surprising places though their mentor, Haymitch. The supporting characters add to the complex dynamics of the book. It is easy to fall in love with Katniss and Peeta but sad to know for them to live, others must all die. In the end, the game dictates only one winner. Katniss and Peeta team up in a most brilliant way to show the people of Panem cracks in the power structure. All this is possible only once Katniss takes a leap of extreme faith.

Nominate?

Yes! The Hunger Games has crisp dialog and a fast pace. The main characters grow as the book progresses. Salient issues in a YA’s life such as friendship, loyalty, injustice and love are tackled with unflinching honesty. Due to the nature of the book (the whole fight to the death thing!), background information should be given to prepare both the student and parent if the this is to be read in class. There are great conversations and historical context that can be discussed. I recommend this book because of the issues it raises and how it has drawn so many reluctant readers to tear through a book.

Genre:

Challenged or Censored Title, Dystopian

Two Moons in August

image source: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Moons-Martha-Brooks/dp/0747548412

Citation:

Brooks, Martha. Two Moons in August.  Onterio, Canada: Groundwood Books, 2008. Print.

Genre: Romance, Coming of Age

Annotation:

Two August moons mark a horrid month for Sidonie. A year later, her family is still reeling from the events of that month. Just when life seems most intolerable, a new boy moves to town. Maybe things will look up after all.

Nomination Thoughts:

Even though Sidonie’s mother has been sick her whole childhood, her death still comes as a surprise. To make the event more horrible, it was also Sidonie’s 15th birthday. The book’s events are narrated in first person almost one year from the mother’s death. Sidonie’s sister, Roberta, has come home from college to spend the summer at the family’s rural Canadian home. Her father, a doctor, spends all day away from the home. The cat is actually her best and about only friend. Books offer her the only escape from the crushing loneliness and grief.

Then in the middle of all this emotional baggage, a new boy, Kieran moves in across the street. They both have parents who are doctors and their fair share of family tragedies. Even though they got off to the wrong foot, they do form a friendship that keeps teetering to more than that. In 1959, when the story takes place, the best thing to do it hang out at the local lake. It is there they spend most of their time flirting and trying to stay cool... in more ways than one.

There are a number of things that work well in this book. The family dynamics are fascinating and intriguing. Each of them is dealing with the loss of the mother in their own isolating ways. It feels as if acknowledging their grief with each other would shatter them so they ignore it. Yet, it sits squarely in the middle of every conversation, dinner and fight. Sidonie’s flashbacks to her mother’s life and death add just the right amount of tear jerking without becoming sappy. As the story moves, there are watershed moments when finally the family (aunts and all!) come together. The bottled up grief is like a tangled ball of yarn that finally is fixed up to be neat and tidy- the loss remains but the reconnection with family members makes it more bearable.

As Sidonie is working her way through her family’s dysfunction, she does make a friend who becomes her boyfriend. I thought this part of the book was weaker. The love interest’s tension and sparks never seemed to hit the same crescendo of the grief aspect. Kieran and Sidonie do best when Kieran revels why his parents do not live together and how he struggles to not make the same mistakes. Those are the tender moments I wanted to see more. I think so much of the book’s emotional energy was focused on grief, loss and isolation that to truly tackle the budding romance adequately, the book needed to be longer than 160 pages.

The characters, setting and plot do come together in a perfectly fine story. This is another book I find to be more than compelling enough to include on the classroom YA bookshelf but not up to muster for our final Printz Award.

Nomination?

No.

Dovey Coe

 Image source: http://www.amazon.com/Dovey-Coe-F-Dowell/dp/0613554450
 

Citation:

O’Roark Dowell, Frances. Dovey Coe. New York: Athenaeum Books for Young Readers, 2000.

Genre: Mystery

Annotation:

Stuck up rich teen Parnell Caraway had it coming. When 12 year old Dovey Coe wakes up to Parnell’s mom screaming as she discovers Dovey next to her son’s dead body, everyone in town assumes Dovey killed him. But why would a girl so young take such action and was she really the one who did it?

Nomination Thoughts:

Dear Dovey grew on me as I raced through this book. She’s about as scrappy as they come. It took a couple pages to fall into the dialect of the setting, mid 20’s North Carolina. The way the characters speak adds authenticity though. The book would not have the same power without it. Dovey does not take crap from anyone which drives Parnell Caraway a little crazy. He has free reign over the town because his family is the richest in it. Whatever he wants, he gets… except when it comes to the Coe family. Most the other townspeople are poor and beholden to the Caraway family. The Coe family might not be rich but they are self sufficient. According to Dovey “The way I seen things, us Coes had everything we needed in this world” They are happy with their lives. Even her deaf brother gets along ok in life. Her older beautiful sister unfortunately becomes object of Parnell’s lust. Since she is the prettiest girl in town, Parnell thinks she should marry, take care of and have lots of babies for him. She flatly turns him down in favor of following her dream to go to college and become a teacher. Shortly thereafter, Parnell is found dead next to Dovey.

I would recommend this as a possible contender for our Printz Award. As mysteries go, I am sure there are stronger ones out there. What this book has going instead is the depth of the characters. You find yourself believing they could exist. They interact in real ways that reflect a wide range of behavior and expectations based on social economic backgrounds. This holds true right down to a justice system that is heavily weighted against the spunky Dovey as she goes on trial for murder  at the age of 12 years. YA can see people they know in the characters. The plot moves along at a good pace. Did I mention how much I enjoyed Dovey’s voice?! There is much suspense as the crime is picked apart. This book gives a YA audience plenty to chew on- lust denied, inequalities, disability concerns, justice system issues, family dynamics and taking a stand for what you believe in.

Nominate? Yes.