Title - Alison Rules
Author - Catherine Clark
ISBN - 0060559810
Publication Date - 2004
Plot -Alison has blossomed into a beautiful woman. She has smarts, good looks and good friends. Yet she has a bunch of rules that she has set up for herself, including not using her locker as that is a place of primarily bad news. Why has Alison set up all of these rules? She does not reveal this to the reader's right away. Instead she keeps living her life trying to stick to all of these rules because they seem to be her guard that keeps her balanced. What we end up finding out is that it is as a result of the death of her mother that she has put all of these rules together. All of the boundaries were meant to protect her from the outside world.
Eventually she would end up putting barriers between her and her best friend Laurie, because they end up liking the same guy. And there is no way to deal with that. They end up having a fight over it. And Alison tries to patch things together by refusing the boy they both like. She makes things worse, and Laurie and Alison try to come to some resolution about it, but fate intercedes one more time, and Laurie is taken away, never giving Alison the chance to fully reconcile with her friend.
The last portion of the novel is Alison trying to let go of all of the pain of everything. She knows that she needs to release the pain of her mom's death, as she needs to release the pain of her friends death. She knows that she has to crawl out of that shell, and that there are no amount of rules that can protect her from doing that. And eventually she knows she will have to connect with the boy that she likes, because she can no longer live her life in fear of violating any rules. The rules do not always protect you. Sometimes they just keep life out.
Critical Review - Catherine Clark weaves an interesting, somewhat disjointed tale of Alison, the girl who is trying desperately to protect herself from what is going on around her. The story is somewhat disjointed as the protagonist herself. We do not know the motivation for everything that Alison does. As a result we are unclear about what to make of the complex character that is Alison. Eventually we get the understanding that she is trying to keep life out, and protect her own little world that she has set up. But the moment that Laurie leaves, before she ends up dying by jumping into the river, we know that Alison is desperately alone inside with the walls that seem more like a tomb. Clark does a good job of not making transformation immediate and gives Alison a chance to grieve, not only for her lost friend, but for her lost mother as well.
Reader's Annotation - A day in the life of Alison consists of spending time with her friend Laurie, avoiding her locker, and keeping her feelings to herself. There are separate rules for each of these things. Is someone going to help Alison Break them?
About the Author - Catherine Clark, originally from Massachusetts, now calls Minnesota her home. Currently working as a bookseller in St. Paul, she spends much of her time following a variety of pursuits. These include teaching and running. Her first couple of novels had semi-autobiographical moments in them, including riding to bus as a teenager because her parents insisted.
Genre - Chic Lit, Drama
Curriculum Ties - Discuss why the rules fail to protect Alison in the end. How does the novel follow the format for setting, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. Discuss whether there is a satisfactory resolution to Alison Rules or is it somewhat unresolved. - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the nature of the Rules that are developed by Alison? Discuss whether rules protect or harm people in the end. Why/Why not?
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 9+
Challenge Issues - None
Why included - Another opportunity to explore the chic lit genre, although I would not entirely classify this as chic lit as its themes are darker and consist of much less gossip and innuendo that the others in the genre might.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Teach Me
Title -Teach Me
Author - R. A. Nelson
ISBN - 1595140840
Publication date - 2005
Plot - Carolina Livingston is in the last year of high school. She has but a few classes to take and then a world opens up before her. Everything seems like it should be falling into place just right, and then she meets Mr. Mann. He is the high school English teacher whose passion seems to emanate from within. She is enamored by both his words and what he is communicating in class. Soon she has to spend more time with him. As they spend more and more time together, the fall into an elicit affair of student and teacher. He should be the responsible one, but cannot seem to be. She is lost in her own emotions to him as they proceed to make love for the first time, and the last. Mr. Mann then abruptly halts everything and all contact with her, trying to end it all.
A wedding announcement comes for his nuptials and something takes a turn in Carolina. All of this confusion and heartbreak has converted itself to rage, and she seems bent on trying to destroy everyone and everything. Trying to interrupt the wedding, spy on the nuptials, and tell his father-in-law that she had been sleeping with her when she was with her daughter.. Eventually she goes as far as taking a paintball gun to a poetry reading to scare Mr. Mann to death. She drags her friend Schyuler along with her all along the way. And despite his love and affection for her she almost destroys him as well in the process. The epilogue consists of her seeing Mr. Mann and his wife, and the baby they had conceived together when she had just met Mr. Mann. There is a hollow ringing of closure as she sees him as a closed part of her life, ever present, but nevermore.
Reader's Annotation - Why is there something so intriguing about the elicit? What drives someone to do something that they know is wrong deep down, but they seem powerless to stop it. R. A. Nelson explores the elicit romance of teacher and pupil in the Novel Teach Me.
About the Author - R.A. Nelson comes from Alabama. His father was a NASA engineer on the Apollo Moon program, so much of his time was spend insular and inventing new things and exploring his imagination. Nelson views Teach Me, his first major work, as a cautionary tale, describing the plight of a 17/18 year old girl who is still too caught up in her own little world to be able to deal properly with the situation that presents itself with her teacher. She should be able to take a step back and notice, but she has had control of her own life for too long. Nelson is very sympathetic to this aspect of her character as much of his life was spent alone because of the long hours his father had to spend away working on the program.
Genre - Drama
Curriculum Ties - Compare and contrast Teach Me with Anna Karenina. How does the love affair proceed? What is its outcome? Is it believable?
Booktalking ideas - Engage in a discussion of how the poetry is used in the novel. How does it support the novel's premise? Are they an accurate reflection of the feelings of the person using the poetry? Who uses the poetry and to what effect?
Challenge Issues - The student and teacher have an illicit sexual affair, with seemingly no dire consequences to either.
Overcoming Challenges - Have a list of materials of who to contact when abuse is taking place. Encourage parents to engage in reading material with their child, and see what they think happened, and why they feel it was wrong. Have a set of questions available to parents to discuss the book after reading it.
Why included - I was looking for controversial books in the teen lit department and found that this was among the top of the list on many Internet websites.
Author - R. A. Nelson
ISBN - 1595140840
Publication date - 2005
Plot - Carolina Livingston is in the last year of high school. She has but a few classes to take and then a world opens up before her. Everything seems like it should be falling into place just right, and then she meets Mr. Mann. He is the high school English teacher whose passion seems to emanate from within. She is enamored by both his words and what he is communicating in class. Soon she has to spend more time with him. As they spend more and more time together, the fall into an elicit affair of student and teacher. He should be the responsible one, but cannot seem to be. She is lost in her own emotions to him as they proceed to make love for the first time, and the last. Mr. Mann then abruptly halts everything and all contact with her, trying to end it all.
A wedding announcement comes for his nuptials and something takes a turn in Carolina. All of this confusion and heartbreak has converted itself to rage, and she seems bent on trying to destroy everyone and everything. Trying to interrupt the wedding, spy on the nuptials, and tell his father-in-law that she had been sleeping with her when she was with her daughter.. Eventually she goes as far as taking a paintball gun to a poetry reading to scare Mr. Mann to death. She drags her friend Schyuler along with her all along the way. And despite his love and affection for her she almost destroys him as well in the process. The epilogue consists of her seeing Mr. Mann and his wife, and the baby they had conceived together when she had just met Mr. Mann. There is a hollow ringing of closure as she sees him as a closed part of her life, ever present, but nevermore.
Reader's Annotation - Why is there something so intriguing about the elicit? What drives someone to do something that they know is wrong deep down, but they seem powerless to stop it. R. A. Nelson explores the elicit romance of teacher and pupil in the Novel Teach Me.
About the Author - R.A. Nelson comes from Alabama. His father was a NASA engineer on the Apollo Moon program, so much of his time was spend insular and inventing new things and exploring his imagination. Nelson views Teach Me, his first major work, as a cautionary tale, describing the plight of a 17/18 year old girl who is still too caught up in her own little world to be able to deal properly with the situation that presents itself with her teacher. She should be able to take a step back and notice, but she has had control of her own life for too long. Nelson is very sympathetic to this aspect of her character as much of his life was spent alone because of the long hours his father had to spend away working on the program.
Genre - Drama
Curriculum Ties - Compare and contrast Teach Me with Anna Karenina. How does the love affair proceed? What is its outcome? Is it believable?
Booktalking ideas - Engage in a discussion of how the poetry is used in the novel. How does it support the novel's premise? Are they an accurate reflection of the feelings of the person using the poetry? Who uses the poetry and to what effect?
Challenge Issues - The student and teacher have an illicit sexual affair, with seemingly no dire consequences to either.
Overcoming Challenges - Have a list of materials of who to contact when abuse is taking place. Encourage parents to engage in reading material with their child, and see what they think happened, and why they feel it was wrong. Have a set of questions available to parents to discuss the book after reading it.
Why included - I was looking for controversial books in the teen lit department and found that this was among the top of the list on many Internet websites.
The White Darkness
Title - The White Darkness
Author - Geraldine McCaughrean
ISBN - 0060890363
Publication Date - 2005
Plot - Symone Wates is a 14 year old girl who is driven by the obsession that her "uncle," Victor Briggs places upon her. Briggs is going to find the location of where the world goes underground. Ascribing to the theory of a hollow crust, Briggs has dragged his "adoptive daughter" down with him to engage in this fantasy... or madness. Along the way we are introduced to some other characters who think they are going to take advantage of Briggs situation. Manfred and Sigrud Burch are con men out to take what money they can get from Briggs. But when you are trying to con someone who is nearly insane and hellbent on achieving something that is not real, who will not let anyone stand in his way, you are likely to come up on the short end of the stick.
Symone, who is the protagonist is observing all of this from the middle of it. As she is led farther and farther by her uncle on this wild goose chase, she confides in "Titus," a friend of her own imagination, to help her make sense of everything that is going on around her. Finally she realizes that her uncle is mad, and he is going to put all of them in grave danger, no matter the consequences. Her character has a moment of epiphany, finally, when she stands up to her uncle and decides to take a different path than the one he seems to have imposed upon her.
Critical Review - A fascinating book covering not only an interesting story between a girl and her uncle, but involving shady con men and other various subplots about the relationship that she has with her parents. While there is the obvious abuse that is going on between her and her uncle, the author does a good job of allowing the reader to see that abuse is not just what someone physically does to someone else. Abuse cannot even be qualified as verbal with harsh language. Sometimes abuse occurs when a person ends up saturating a person with a lot of poisonous beliefs, ones that will eventually do them harm if they are not stopped.
Furthermore, I loved the amount of history that was discussed within the basic plot of the story. Being able to tie their adventure to the one that went on with Scott as he attempted to get to the pole and back, it was fascinating to see all of the connections made between the fiction story and the real one.
Finally the book does a good job with questioning the lines of what is real, and what is not real. It can be said that Victor's faith in what was not real caused harm; but the author does not make this a universal truth. He qualifies it by allowing Symone to have an imaginary friend. At the end of the novel we are faced with the fact that he might have been more than the imaginary friend. He might have had a reality to him, apart from what was in Symone's imagination. Overall it was a compelling, well-written story.
Reader's Annotation - Deep among the Antarctic, a few brave souls are trying to discover whether or not there is a world underneath our own. If your uncle, who was a father figure to you, was the one pushing you to go forward and yet you thought his theories might be wrong, what would you do?
About the Author - Geraldine McCaughrean grew up in a family as the youngest of three children. She grew up wanting to follow in the footsteps of her brother, experiencing the world as he saw it. When at 14 the brother would have a work of his published, it became a secret desire of hers to do the same.
When she finally had to choose a career, she originally decided on the teaching profession but it was too confining for her tastes. Writing for her had always been a great love, enjoying the freedom to work with settings and places that she had never been to. She writes the way she always wanted to, writing not about the places she had already been, but about the places she wanted to go to.
Genre - Drama
Curriculum ties - Connect this book to the Scott expedition to the pole. Discuss the preparations necessary for such a journey, and what might drive a man to do such a thing despite the odds against accomplishing the task. - History
Booktalk ideas - Discuss the blurring of realities between fact and fantasy. Is the character of Titus a product of Sym's imagination, or in the end is there something very real about him? Is Victor Briggs fantasy something equally as real to him? Which is the better fantasy?
Challenges - None
Why included - I found it in the Printz award winners section of my library and wanted to include it as it sounded like an intriguing concept. I had read about the Scott expedition and while I found the uncles belief in an underground realm nonsense, the drive to get across the continent I found intriguing.
Author - Geraldine McCaughrean
ISBN - 0060890363
Publication Date - 2005
Plot - Symone Wates is a 14 year old girl who is driven by the obsession that her "uncle," Victor Briggs places upon her. Briggs is going to find the location of where the world goes underground. Ascribing to the theory of a hollow crust, Briggs has dragged his "adoptive daughter" down with him to engage in this fantasy... or madness. Along the way we are introduced to some other characters who think they are going to take advantage of Briggs situation. Manfred and Sigrud Burch are con men out to take what money they can get from Briggs. But when you are trying to con someone who is nearly insane and hellbent on achieving something that is not real, who will not let anyone stand in his way, you are likely to come up on the short end of the stick.
Symone, who is the protagonist is observing all of this from the middle of it. As she is led farther and farther by her uncle on this wild goose chase, she confides in "Titus," a friend of her own imagination, to help her make sense of everything that is going on around her. Finally she realizes that her uncle is mad, and he is going to put all of them in grave danger, no matter the consequences. Her character has a moment of epiphany, finally, when she stands up to her uncle and decides to take a different path than the one he seems to have imposed upon her.
Critical Review - A fascinating book covering not only an interesting story between a girl and her uncle, but involving shady con men and other various subplots about the relationship that she has with her parents. While there is the obvious abuse that is going on between her and her uncle, the author does a good job of allowing the reader to see that abuse is not just what someone physically does to someone else. Abuse cannot even be qualified as verbal with harsh language. Sometimes abuse occurs when a person ends up saturating a person with a lot of poisonous beliefs, ones that will eventually do them harm if they are not stopped.
Furthermore, I loved the amount of history that was discussed within the basic plot of the story. Being able to tie their adventure to the one that went on with Scott as he attempted to get to the pole and back, it was fascinating to see all of the connections made between the fiction story and the real one.
Finally the book does a good job with questioning the lines of what is real, and what is not real. It can be said that Victor's faith in what was not real caused harm; but the author does not make this a universal truth. He qualifies it by allowing Symone to have an imaginary friend. At the end of the novel we are faced with the fact that he might have been more than the imaginary friend. He might have had a reality to him, apart from what was in Symone's imagination. Overall it was a compelling, well-written story.
Reader's Annotation - Deep among the Antarctic, a few brave souls are trying to discover whether or not there is a world underneath our own. If your uncle, who was a father figure to you, was the one pushing you to go forward and yet you thought his theories might be wrong, what would you do?
About the Author - Geraldine McCaughrean grew up in a family as the youngest of three children. She grew up wanting to follow in the footsteps of her brother, experiencing the world as he saw it. When at 14 the brother would have a work of his published, it became a secret desire of hers to do the same.
When she finally had to choose a career, she originally decided on the teaching profession but it was too confining for her tastes. Writing for her had always been a great love, enjoying the freedom to work with settings and places that she had never been to. She writes the way she always wanted to, writing not about the places she had already been, but about the places she wanted to go to.
Genre - Drama
Curriculum ties - Connect this book to the Scott expedition to the pole. Discuss the preparations necessary for such a journey, and what might drive a man to do such a thing despite the odds against accomplishing the task. - History
Booktalk ideas - Discuss the blurring of realities between fact and fantasy. Is the character of Titus a product of Sym's imagination, or in the end is there something very real about him? Is Victor Briggs fantasy something equally as real to him? Which is the better fantasy?
Challenges - None
Why included - I found it in the Printz award winners section of my library and wanted to include it as it sounded like an intriguing concept. I had read about the Scott expedition and while I found the uncles belief in an underground realm nonsense, the drive to get across the continent I found intriguing.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Shadow Kiss
Title - A Vampire Academy Novel : Shadow Kiss
Author - Richelle Mead
ISBN - 9781595141972
Publication Date - 2008
Plot- Its kind of hard to jump in the middle of things, but this novel series is about the tales of Rose and Lissa, two girls who have various amounts of power. They are part of a larger vampire community that has their own codes that have developed over millennia. Rose and Lissa are connected by some sort of unbreakable bond that was developed when Lissa ended up bringing Rose back to life. Rose is now the protector of Lissa as she has a sense for the thoughts of Lissa. Lissa is part of the upper class community of the Vampire community.
With that little background in mind the story of Shadows kiss begins where the story of Frostbite left off. One of Rose's good friends Mason has just died and she is in a state of shock. But still they must get on with school and the process of learning their skills at being a Vampire and Vampire protector. They have lessons where their teachers pose as evil heartless vampires out to kill the main vampire. They are paired off into groups. Rose, who it would naturally be paired with Lissa because of their bond, is paired off with Christian instead. She ends up not being able to fend off the attack by the teacher because she ends up being confronted by Mason's ghost. Throughout the rest of the novel she is haunted by more and more specters, and her headaches keep increasing.
Simultaneously the relationship she is developing with her instructor, Dimitri, is getting more intimate until they finally consummate the relationship. They end up being attacked by this evil vampire group. Eventually her and her classmates prepare to attack a group of these evil vampires as well as the teachers. A large battle ensues where they fight off this group and everyone is able to free themselves, except Dimitri, who is converted into one of their evil band of vampires. Rose decides to leave Lissa, despite her protestations, and pursue and kill Dimitri, not out of hatred, but out of love as he has now lost his own so
Critical Review - The Vampire Academy series is kind of walking on the fence between what many consider to be the dark sexual realization of what they believe vampires truly are, and the romantic sensitive brooding types that Stephanie Myers in her Twilight series imagine them to be. Being in the middle of a Vampire series and trying to write a review strictly on the one novel is difficult because there is a large story arc, and this series is six novels long. The middle portions of any good series move the novel and the plot along and still have something fresh to give. This novel effectively further develops the relationships between Rose and Dimitri as well as Rose and Lissa, while adding new angles as a Queen is introduced. She has her own schemings about who is to end up with who how relationships should work themselves out. Overall the book is a nice quick read. However, I would recommend do not attempt to try to begin the series in the middle as there is so much going on you will get lost in a sea of names and characters.
Reader's Annotation - At the Vampire Academy, the difference between those who kill for sport, and those who eat for pleasure, may be considered very minuscule; but this major difference separates good and evil in the novel's developed by Richelle Mead.
About the Author - Richelle Mead was born in Michigan. She ended up getting three separate degrees including a bachelors in general studies, a masters in comparative religion and a masters in education. After she finished her first novel she quit her job to focus full time on her writing, although she did not seem to want to uncomplicate her life. A somewhat overzealous individual, Mead has to turn out a novel every three months as she is writing for three fairly popular book series. While one might question her sanity, one can never question her commitment to her fans and her work.
Genre - Monster/Horror Novel
Curriculum Ties -
Compare and contrast to the classic Horror Genre, i.e. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Frankenstein.
Booktalking Ideas -
Discuss the idea of the horror/romance genre that appears to be popping up with items like Twilight. Is this a real genre? What are its tenants? What distinguish them from the classic Horror and Romance genres?
Reading Level - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - There might be complaints about the Romanticism between the undead as well as the issue of sex with instructors that this novelization brings up.
Overcoming Challenges - Have a lot of literature on the fantasy genre. Compare and contrast much of the fantasy genre with the horror genre. Describe how there are similarities and what one might accept in one they should accept the same in another, irrespective of who the author of the piece maybe.
Why included - I wanted to include a Monster / Horror Novel in the group of things I reviewed but I really wanted to avoid using Twilight as I have heard and read too much about it recently.
Author - Richelle Mead
ISBN - 9781595141972
Publication Date - 2008
Plot- Its kind of hard to jump in the middle of things, but this novel series is about the tales of Rose and Lissa, two girls who have various amounts of power. They are part of a larger vampire community that has their own codes that have developed over millennia. Rose and Lissa are connected by some sort of unbreakable bond that was developed when Lissa ended up bringing Rose back to life. Rose is now the protector of Lissa as she has a sense for the thoughts of Lissa. Lissa is part of the upper class community of the Vampire community.
With that little background in mind the story of Shadows kiss begins where the story of Frostbite left off. One of Rose's good friends Mason has just died and she is in a state of shock. But still they must get on with school and the process of learning their skills at being a Vampire and Vampire protector. They have lessons where their teachers pose as evil heartless vampires out to kill the main vampire. They are paired off into groups. Rose, who it would naturally be paired with Lissa because of their bond, is paired off with Christian instead. She ends up not being able to fend off the attack by the teacher because she ends up being confronted by Mason's ghost. Throughout the rest of the novel she is haunted by more and more specters, and her headaches keep increasing.
Simultaneously the relationship she is developing with her instructor, Dimitri, is getting more intimate until they finally consummate the relationship. They end up being attacked by this evil vampire group. Eventually her and her classmates prepare to attack a group of these evil vampires as well as the teachers. A large battle ensues where they fight off this group and everyone is able to free themselves, except Dimitri, who is converted into one of their evil band of vampires. Rose decides to leave Lissa, despite her protestations, and pursue and kill Dimitri, not out of hatred, but out of love as he has now lost his own so
Critical Review - The Vampire Academy series is kind of walking on the fence between what many consider to be the dark sexual realization of what they believe vampires truly are, and the romantic sensitive brooding types that Stephanie Myers in her Twilight series imagine them to be. Being in the middle of a Vampire series and trying to write a review strictly on the one novel is difficult because there is a large story arc, and this series is six novels long. The middle portions of any good series move the novel and the plot along and still have something fresh to give. This novel effectively further develops the relationships between Rose and Dimitri as well as Rose and Lissa, while adding new angles as a Queen is introduced. She has her own schemings about who is to end up with who how relationships should work themselves out. Overall the book is a nice quick read. However, I would recommend do not attempt to try to begin the series in the middle as there is so much going on you will get lost in a sea of names and characters.
Reader's Annotation - At the Vampire Academy, the difference between those who kill for sport, and those who eat for pleasure, may be considered very minuscule; but this major difference separates good and evil in the novel's developed by Richelle Mead.
About the Author - Richelle Mead was born in Michigan. She ended up getting three separate degrees including a bachelors in general studies, a masters in comparative religion and a masters in education. After she finished her first novel she quit her job to focus full time on her writing, although she did not seem to want to uncomplicate her life. A somewhat overzealous individual, Mead has to turn out a novel every three months as she is writing for three fairly popular book series. While one might question her sanity, one can never question her commitment to her fans and her work.
Genre - Monster/Horror Novel
Curriculum Ties -
Compare and contrast to the classic Horror Genre, i.e. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or Frankenstein.
Booktalking Ideas -
Discuss the idea of the horror/romance genre that appears to be popping up with items like Twilight. Is this a real genre? What are its tenants? What distinguish them from the classic Horror and Romance genres?
Reading Level - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - There might be complaints about the Romanticism between the undead as well as the issue of sex with instructors that this novelization brings up.
Overcoming Challenges - Have a lot of literature on the fantasy genre. Compare and contrast much of the fantasy genre with the horror genre. Describe how there are similarities and what one might accept in one they should accept the same in another, irrespective of who the author of the piece maybe.
Why included - I wanted to include a Monster / Horror Novel in the group of things I reviewed but I really wanted to avoid using Twilight as I have heard and read too much about it recently.
Rogue Angel : Solomon's Jar
Title - Solomon's Jar
Author - Alex Archer / Victor Milan
ISBN - 0373621205
Publication Date - 2006
Plot - Annja Creed is an Indiana Jones type archaeologist, running into and out of scrapes trying to track down some historical artifact that is rumored as part of mythology and she must confirm or deny their very existence. Part of a larger series of Rogue Angel Novels, Solomon's Jar is the second installment in the series of novels developed under the Pen Name of Alex Archer. The story starts off in the best Indiana Jones cliffhanger fashion where she is researching some artifact out in the wild areas of Peru. She ends up running into some deadly men thinking that she is some spy sent to watch over their movements. They demand that the villagers release her. Deciding not to let the villagers get into too much trouble she leads them away on a long chase culminating in a walk over a bridge where, like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, she decides to cut the bridge out from under them, holding onto the planks and able to survive as it crashes into the rock wall, despite breaking her nose.
The readers are then taken to more modern surroundings and Annja is introduced to the idea the Solomon's Jar has been found. It was rumored to hold mystical powers and told that Solomon was able to bind the worlds demons in it after building the temple in Jerusalem. The story takes the familiar twists and turns allowing the evil people to briefly have access to the precious artifact only to finally fall into the hands of the good guys. They are then confronted with a struggle within themselves. Should they attempt to use the artifact to their own advantage, or will it destroy them inside in the process. Eventually they decide for the best to give the item up. As opposed to Indiana Jones, who is strictly American and would only release such an artifact to an American Museum or government agency, Annja decides to sell of the artifact to a former Russian Agent, who has taken care of its safekeeping into the future.
Book Review - While certainly an interesting story, Solomon's Jar makes far too many easy references to Indiana Jones. While changing the character to female certainly changes some of the dynamics involved in her various brushes with death the Rogue Angel series is not enough of a unique chapter in the cliffhanger genre to engender much excitement. Created by the Harlequin executive Randall Toy, the Rogue Angel series was envisioned as a series involving a modern day Joan of Arc. And while I know that Joan of Arc plays prevalently in the first novelization in the series, this series might has well have been called Miss Indiana Jones, and no one would have know much of a difference in style or tone. A further problem with this genre is that many of the brushes with death, while fascinating and harrowing as they are portrayed on the silver screen, seem to be lacking in depth as they are described in words on a page. There is no Alexander Dumas swashbuckling magic to be had here. This is only Indiana Jones lite.
Reader's Annotation - Are deadly marauders barreling down a village? Is the only way to escape these people that you must fly a bi-plane to escape a fate worse than death? Are you trapped on both sides of a bridge with people out to kill you? No problem. This is all in a days work for Annja Creed.
About the Author - While Alex Archer is listed as the official author for the Rogue Angel series, this is an entirely fictitious name for the various authors they have used to write in this series. This was designed by the Harlequin romance people, created to make stories in the same series in rapid succession, costing them relatively little money and not having to be high quality works of art. As Solomon's Jar was published in 2006, there have already been 24 other novels published in the Rogue Angel series to date. Most of the first works were written by Victor Milan, or Mel Odom. This particular book was written by Victor Milan as he has a small credit on the back of the front page.
Victor Milan has been involved primarily in the science fiction genre for most of his writing. They have classified this as libertarian science fiction, focusing on the politics and social order of futuristic societies from a libertarian perspective. He has also written in the Star Trek Universe. In more recent years he has seemed to pair together with the Harlequin people and write under pen names for several of their different series, including the Alex Rider Series.
Author - Alex Archer / Victor Milan
ISBN - 0373621205
Publication Date - 2006
Plot - Annja Creed is an Indiana Jones type archaeologist, running into and out of scrapes trying to track down some historical artifact that is rumored as part of mythology and she must confirm or deny their very existence. Part of a larger series of Rogue Angel Novels, Solomon's Jar is the second installment in the series of novels developed under the Pen Name of Alex Archer. The story starts off in the best Indiana Jones cliffhanger fashion where she is researching some artifact out in the wild areas of Peru. She ends up running into some deadly men thinking that she is some spy sent to watch over their movements. They demand that the villagers release her. Deciding not to let the villagers get into too much trouble she leads them away on a long chase culminating in a walk over a bridge where, like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, she decides to cut the bridge out from under them, holding onto the planks and able to survive as it crashes into the rock wall, despite breaking her nose.
The readers are then taken to more modern surroundings and Annja is introduced to the idea the Solomon's Jar has been found. It was rumored to hold mystical powers and told that Solomon was able to bind the worlds demons in it after building the temple in Jerusalem. The story takes the familiar twists and turns allowing the evil people to briefly have access to the precious artifact only to finally fall into the hands of the good guys. They are then confronted with a struggle within themselves. Should they attempt to use the artifact to their own advantage, or will it destroy them inside in the process. Eventually they decide for the best to give the item up. As opposed to Indiana Jones, who is strictly American and would only release such an artifact to an American Museum or government agency, Annja decides to sell of the artifact to a former Russian Agent, who has taken care of its safekeeping into the future.
Book Review - While certainly an interesting story, Solomon's Jar makes far too many easy references to Indiana Jones. While changing the character to female certainly changes some of the dynamics involved in her various brushes with death the Rogue Angel series is not enough of a unique chapter in the cliffhanger genre to engender much excitement. Created by the Harlequin executive Randall Toy, the Rogue Angel series was envisioned as a series involving a modern day Joan of Arc. And while I know that Joan of Arc plays prevalently in the first novelization in the series, this series might has well have been called Miss Indiana Jones, and no one would have know much of a difference in style or tone. A further problem with this genre is that many of the brushes with death, while fascinating and harrowing as they are portrayed on the silver screen, seem to be lacking in depth as they are described in words on a page. There is no Alexander Dumas swashbuckling magic to be had here. This is only Indiana Jones lite.
Reader's Annotation - Are deadly marauders barreling down a village? Is the only way to escape these people that you must fly a bi-plane to escape a fate worse than death? Are you trapped on both sides of a bridge with people out to kill you? No problem. This is all in a days work for Annja Creed.
About the Author - While Alex Archer is listed as the official author for the Rogue Angel series, this is an entirely fictitious name for the various authors they have used to write in this series. This was designed by the Harlequin romance people, created to make stories in the same series in rapid succession, costing them relatively little money and not having to be high quality works of art. As Solomon's Jar was published in 2006, there have already been 24 other novels published in the Rogue Angel series to date. Most of the first works were written by Victor Milan, or Mel Odom. This particular book was written by Victor Milan as he has a small credit on the back of the front page.
Victor Milan has been involved primarily in the science fiction genre for most of his writing. They have classified this as libertarian science fiction, focusing on the politics and social order of futuristic societies from a libertarian perspective. He has also written in the Star Trek Universe. In more recent years he has seemed to pair together with the Harlequin people and write under pen names for several of their different series, including the Alex Rider Series.
Genre- Science Fiction / Fantasy
Curriculum Ties - Discuss the actual Temple built by Solomon at Jerusalem - History / Mythology / Theology
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the temple and all of the different aspects of the temple written in the account in the Kings in the Bible. Discuss how mythology is created and larger myths are developed.
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 8+
Challenge Issues - Possible challenges by overly religious people who would argue of the inaccuracies of Solomon having a jar with demons held inside, suggesting that their religious freedom's are being abridged.
Overcoming Challenges - Discuss Indiana Jones and many other areas where people have used ancient mythical artifacts. If necessary include Veggie Tales and the search for Solomon's Hair brush and ask if the religious zealots would really want to remove Veggie Tales from the collection.
Why Included -I was curious as to what Harlequin would do with an Indiana Jones type story and how the idea of a female in that role would change the dynamics of the situations.
Game Pro
Title - GamePro (Magazine)
Editor - Mike Weigand
Publication Dates - 1989 - Present
Magazine Contents - This particular magazine is designed specifically for teens as it focuses on the heavy interest that teens have in the Video Game market. The magazine is largely designed for older teenage boys, as they are the ones with more spending power and more likely to play video games. As one peruses through the front covers of most magazines, they are frequented by images of menacing looking video game men, or science fiction heroes. Rarely are the concerned with a more feminine oriented video game. While the Wii video game consul has upped the anti for game manufacturers trying to capture the female teen market, it is still light years behind what is going on with video games made for males.
The first couple of sections of the magazine consist of editors comments with letters to the editor. Then they move onto articles that are featured on anything the video game magazine feels it is important for its readers to know about. Sometimes they are as innocuous as describing how multi player games have taken over the video gaming industry. However, sometimes they consist of more important essays, dealing with digital rights management and how it impacts peoples gaming lives. The writer described in the one article how the gaming industry is trying to blur the lines of fair use, and trying to make it so that any purchase made by an individual is only for licensing rights and not actual ownership, allowing the designer to take the video game back at any time, for whatever its purpose maybe.
Following the essays they right about current video game issues, the vast majority of the magazine is dedicated to reviews of the games that have been released, the games that are almost about to be released, or promotions for games that will be released in the future. This section could almost be found in the last half of the School Library Journal, were they talking about teen books instead of video games. And maybe the synopsis of the individual video games may run a little longer in GamePro.
Magazine Review - The purpose of the magazine is twofold. The first purpose is to inform the readers about upcoming issues and ideas that are happening in the video game world. This is accomplished quite adequately in the article section of the magazine. They do not talk down to the readers, knowing that the vast majority of them will be teens. They expect their readership to have some understanding of the issues. Teens appreciate being given that kind of respect. Secondly the purpose is to garner excitement for what the video game world has to offer, and allow purchasers of games to make informed decisions about what they want. They do a quite creditable job at this as well, explaining the game, the console, and the type of game play involved, allowing their readers to make informed decisions about their purchases, and in a way promoting those purchases as well. By accomplishing these goals, you cannot help but say that this is a very effective magazine, perfectly suited to the audience it is trying to serve.
Reader's Annotation - Looking to buy and Xbox 360? Trying to determine whether the kinect motion system is better on the Xbox or whether one would be better off purchasing the Wii video game consul? Want to purchase the latest Mario Galaxy game that is coming out for the Wii? For all your video game needs and more, read GamePro magazine.
About the Editor - Ironically enough, as I am printing this out right now, I am finding that Mike Weigand is no longer the lead editor at GamePro magazine. While this maybe important to future issues of the magazine, I believe discussing his impact on the magazine and its past is important to understanding the purpose and direction of the magazine in the future. While it was difficult to dig up information about him personally, he does maintain a Twitter account where one can reflect on what his contributions and ideas about the industry are. First, one gets the idea that Weigand is interested in the promotion of all digital media, as he has various things about Blu Ray editions of the Sound of Music, and other various titles.
Of course Weigands heart is with the gaming industry. And as such the vast majority of his concerns tend towards items in that industry. Many of his web links consist of articles about upcoming items in the gaming industry. The rest seem to be items of interest or concern to the game industry, such as items about Big Brother and whether or not new laws allowing the government to censor websites without due process is a legitimate use of government time and funds, setting a dangerous precedent.
Editor - Mike Weigand
Publication Dates - 1989 - Present
Magazine Contents - This particular magazine is designed specifically for teens as it focuses on the heavy interest that teens have in the Video Game market. The magazine is largely designed for older teenage boys, as they are the ones with more spending power and more likely to play video games. As one peruses through the front covers of most magazines, they are frequented by images of menacing looking video game men, or science fiction heroes. Rarely are the concerned with a more feminine oriented video game. While the Wii video game consul has upped the anti for game manufacturers trying to capture the female teen market, it is still light years behind what is going on with video games made for males.
The first couple of sections of the magazine consist of editors comments with letters to the editor. Then they move onto articles that are featured on anything the video game magazine feels it is important for its readers to know about. Sometimes they are as innocuous as describing how multi player games have taken over the video gaming industry. However, sometimes they consist of more important essays, dealing with digital rights management and how it impacts peoples gaming lives. The writer described in the one article how the gaming industry is trying to blur the lines of fair use, and trying to make it so that any purchase made by an individual is only for licensing rights and not actual ownership, allowing the designer to take the video game back at any time, for whatever its purpose maybe.
Following the essays they right about current video game issues, the vast majority of the magazine is dedicated to reviews of the games that have been released, the games that are almost about to be released, or promotions for games that will be released in the future. This section could almost be found in the last half of the School Library Journal, were they talking about teen books instead of video games. And maybe the synopsis of the individual video games may run a little longer in GamePro.
Magazine Review - The purpose of the magazine is twofold. The first purpose is to inform the readers about upcoming issues and ideas that are happening in the video game world. This is accomplished quite adequately in the article section of the magazine. They do not talk down to the readers, knowing that the vast majority of them will be teens. They expect their readership to have some understanding of the issues. Teens appreciate being given that kind of respect. Secondly the purpose is to garner excitement for what the video game world has to offer, and allow purchasers of games to make informed decisions about what they want. They do a quite creditable job at this as well, explaining the game, the console, and the type of game play involved, allowing their readers to make informed decisions about their purchases, and in a way promoting those purchases as well. By accomplishing these goals, you cannot help but say that this is a very effective magazine, perfectly suited to the audience it is trying to serve.
Reader's Annotation - Looking to buy and Xbox 360? Trying to determine whether the kinect motion system is better on the Xbox or whether one would be better off purchasing the Wii video game consul? Want to purchase the latest Mario Galaxy game that is coming out for the Wii? For all your video game needs and more, read GamePro magazine.
About the Editor - Ironically enough, as I am printing this out right now, I am finding that Mike Weigand is no longer the lead editor at GamePro magazine. While this maybe important to future issues of the magazine, I believe discussing his impact on the magazine and its past is important to understanding the purpose and direction of the magazine in the future. While it was difficult to dig up information about him personally, he does maintain a Twitter account where one can reflect on what his contributions and ideas about the industry are. First, one gets the idea that Weigand is interested in the promotion of all digital media, as he has various things about Blu Ray editions of the Sound of Music, and other various titles.
Of course Weigands heart is with the gaming industry. And as such the vast majority of his concerns tend towards items in that industry. Many of his web links consist of articles about upcoming items in the gaming industry. The rest seem to be items of interest or concern to the game industry, such as items about Big Brother and whether or not new laws allowing the government to censor websites without due process is a legitimate use of government time and funds, setting a dangerous precedent.
Genre- Magazine
Curriculum Ties - Possibly could be used for a position paper as some essays take positions of digital rights management software - English
Booktalking Ideas - N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 7+
Challenge Issues - The only thing one could argue is that it does nothing to promote the educational goals of a school library.
Overcoming Challenges - Make sure to keep copies of academic type essays found in the magazine and have them available to see that the magazine, while video game focused does have interesting, informative articles that benefit the knowledge and understanding of the teenage population.
Why Included - To be perfectly honest I felt like this would be a fun magazine that could be included, consisting of things I would like to read about, as I am interested in Digital Rights Management issues and I enjoy playing video games.
Splendor : A Luxe Novel
Title - Splendor : A Luxe Novel
Author - Anna Godbersen
ISBN - 9780061626319
Production Date - 2010
Plot - As complex a plot as their as as point of view in the novel shifts seamlessly from one character to the next, Splendor tells the story of several women growing up and dealing with relationships issues around the turn of the century. The fourth and last in the series of Luxe novels the story is bookended by the character of Diana Holland, trying to catch up with her first love, Henry Schoonmaker as he is supposed to be fighting overseas. When we catch up with Henry, he is not fighting overseas, but rather running drills off of Cuba with his commander who keeps him around something like a pet. Elizabeth Holland is married to her second husband, hiding the fact that she was already with child from her first short lived marriage. Penelope Schoonmaker is trying to to land other foreign men with the knowledge that her husbands care and affections tend toward somewhere else. Finally Carolina Broad is fearing exposure of her past because she did not come from a family with money and inherited it. She has fallen in love with someone but someone else is on her tale threatening to expose the secrets that she had.
As is common with chic lit there is much wringing of hands and subtleties that are being played out behind the scenes with complex resolutions abounding. Elizabeth finds out that her second husband murdered her first to get a hold of some land that was held. And she in turn murders the second husband, somehow getting away with it. Carolina Broad is exposed and the man leaves, but not for the reason she thinks. She it told that he is leaving to work things out because she didn't feel like she could tell him the truth. Penelope Schoonmaker finds that exposing Henry to ridicule is not that much fun and that she is being used by her foreign suitor. Finally Diana decides that despite her love for Henry, and Henry's love for her, that they belong in two different places, and it wouldn't be fair to make the other person be where they did not want to be. At the end she views from a perspective of history, everything that has happened, grateful to have experienced it all despite the pain that might have been caused.
Readers Annotation - Scandal, affairs, misdirection and gossip abound in Splendor, the final novel in the Luxe series.
About the Author - Anna Godbersen, born in Berkeley California, and educated at Barnard College in Massachusetts took up writing with the Luxe series of novels. While very little is known about her past she maintains a blog on her website that she discusses the novels that she is writing and how she relates to any one of the characters.
According to Godbersen, the character she relates to most in the Luxe Novels is Diana. She is the one who is somewhat flighty and younger than the rest of the people involved. She is experiencing love and its wonders as well as its heartaches for the first time. As Anna sees her, there is a kind of wide eyed wonder which she also has about the world, wanting to know its secrets. About her writing, Godbersen describes the excitement of the written as well as the unwritten word. To her, what is unsaid can almost be as fascinating as what is actually put down on paper.
Author - Anna Godbersen
ISBN - 9780061626319
Production Date - 2010
Plot - As complex a plot as their as as point of view in the novel shifts seamlessly from one character to the next, Splendor tells the story of several women growing up and dealing with relationships issues around the turn of the century. The fourth and last in the series of Luxe novels the story is bookended by the character of Diana Holland, trying to catch up with her first love, Henry Schoonmaker as he is supposed to be fighting overseas. When we catch up with Henry, he is not fighting overseas, but rather running drills off of Cuba with his commander who keeps him around something like a pet. Elizabeth Holland is married to her second husband, hiding the fact that she was already with child from her first short lived marriage. Penelope Schoonmaker is trying to to land other foreign men with the knowledge that her husbands care and affections tend toward somewhere else. Finally Carolina Broad is fearing exposure of her past because she did not come from a family with money and inherited it. She has fallen in love with someone but someone else is on her tale threatening to expose the secrets that she had.
As is common with chic lit there is much wringing of hands and subtleties that are being played out behind the scenes with complex resolutions abounding. Elizabeth finds out that her second husband murdered her first to get a hold of some land that was held. And she in turn murders the second husband, somehow getting away with it. Carolina Broad is exposed and the man leaves, but not for the reason she thinks. She it told that he is leaving to work things out because she didn't feel like she could tell him the truth. Penelope Schoonmaker finds that exposing Henry to ridicule is not that much fun and that she is being used by her foreign suitor. Finally Diana decides that despite her love for Henry, and Henry's love for her, that they belong in two different places, and it wouldn't be fair to make the other person be where they did not want to be. At the end she views from a perspective of history, everything that has happened, grateful to have experienced it all despite the pain that might have been caused.
Readers Annotation - Scandal, affairs, misdirection and gossip abound in Splendor, the final novel in the Luxe series.
About the Author - Anna Godbersen, born in Berkeley California, and educated at Barnard College in Massachusetts took up writing with the Luxe series of novels. While very little is known about her past she maintains a blog on her website that she discusses the novels that she is writing and how she relates to any one of the characters.
According to Godbersen, the character she relates to most in the Luxe Novels is Diana. She is the one who is somewhat flighty and younger than the rest of the people involved. She is experiencing love and its wonders as well as its heartaches for the first time. As Anna sees her, there is a kind of wide eyed wonder which she also has about the world, wanting to know its secrets. About her writing, Godbersen describes the excitement of the written as well as the unwritten word. To her, what is unsaid can almost be as fascinating as what is actually put down on paper.
Genre- Chic Lit
Curriculum Ties - Historical Fiction as a genre- Literature
Compare and Contrast The Luxe series with a novel such as War and Peace set in a slightly earlier period if Russia. - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - Talk about what it would have been liked to live around the turn of the century. What was the attire; what were the customs; what did it mean to be wealthy? Address what it was like to have old money versus new money. How much different was it in the United States versus other parts of the world?
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 9+
Challenge Issues - Affairs, lying, cheating and murder abound in this series.
Overcoming Challenges - Be prepared to compare what is in the novels versus the typical soap opera that exists today.
Why Included - I wanted to include several different chic lit novels, and I was always partial to historical fiction.
Fallout
Title - Fallout
Author - Ellen Hopkins
ISBN - 9781416950097
Publication Date - 2010
Plot - Fallout covers the repercussions of the original character of the Crank series Kristina, or Bree as her alter ego would have one believe. In this novel we are told the tale of three separate individuals: Hunter, Autumn, and Summer. Each of these three individuals has a different last name, given the fact of their mother's promiscuity it is not surprising. Furthermore, each of these individuals is hanging onto their own sanity and lives by a slender thread.
Hunter is 19 now and angry. He tries to live a normal life but rage is buried within him, especially when he has to confront the dad who raped him mother causing him to be born. Autumn has been forced to live with her aunt and grandfather, and when the aunt leaves to get married, her little stability that she held onto vanished. Summer doesn't know about any of her family. She has been abused at the hand of foster parents and countless of her fathers girlfriends.
All of them are rapidly headed for destruction, and at the same time they are headed for a confrontation with the mother who gave them birth, and is responsible for all of this pain that is ripping them apart as well. This final confrontation leads them to a deeper understanding of each other and a sense of community, while at the same time the harrowing fear that each of them has their mother, and this demon, buried within them.
Critical Review - Like with Crank Ellen Hopkins visits into the world of those haunted by the abuse of drugs. This time she decides to elevate the story of the offspring of Kristina, trying to convey the world from their perspective. She does such a good job of telling of the hurt and pain that each of them feel. There are so many mixed up emotions in all of it as a reader you feel like you are caught in a storm, with no way of escape. As opposed to the first novel, Crank, which felt like you made a decision and were being sucked down into a deep dark hole, Fallout feels more like you are caught up in something with which you have no control over. Each of these characters feels their own personal void, and being pulled to the vortex their mother created for them when she decided to make that one fateful decision and enter the world of the meth addict. Hauntingly real despite the telling of it in free verse. I love the fact that it feels like layers being pulled back to delve into each new section of poetry.
Reader's Annotation - What would life be like if you felt that you had no control over anything around you? You have a pull that grabs you and you cannot tell from where or who is doing it. And it maybe the siren song of the mermaid calling you to crash into the rocks. Someone has blown up your world and you are not even sure who did it. All you have left is the Fallout.
About the Author - Ellen Hopkins began her career in the non-fiction field, writing books for children. But in 2002 she found out that her daughter had developed a severe meth-amphetamine addiction. Keenly aware of all the damage that was being caused by her daughters use of the drug, and desiring to sense some connection and responsibility she might bear for her daughters condition, Hopkins set out to write a novel about the monster of crank.
This cathartic journey encouraged her to explore a wide range of subjects that might be effecting teens with a series of verse novels including Burned, Impulse, Identical and Glass. Each of these explores the drama effecting teens and how their choices have a significant impact on the rest of their lives.
Author - Ellen Hopkins
ISBN - 9781416950097
Publication Date - 2010
Plot - Fallout covers the repercussions of the original character of the Crank series Kristina, or Bree as her alter ego would have one believe. In this novel we are told the tale of three separate individuals: Hunter, Autumn, and Summer. Each of these three individuals has a different last name, given the fact of their mother's promiscuity it is not surprising. Furthermore, each of these individuals is hanging onto their own sanity and lives by a slender thread.
Hunter is 19 now and angry. He tries to live a normal life but rage is buried within him, especially when he has to confront the dad who raped him mother causing him to be born. Autumn has been forced to live with her aunt and grandfather, and when the aunt leaves to get married, her little stability that she held onto vanished. Summer doesn't know about any of her family. She has been abused at the hand of foster parents and countless of her fathers girlfriends.
All of them are rapidly headed for destruction, and at the same time they are headed for a confrontation with the mother who gave them birth, and is responsible for all of this pain that is ripping them apart as well. This final confrontation leads them to a deeper understanding of each other and a sense of community, while at the same time the harrowing fear that each of them has their mother, and this demon, buried within them.
Critical Review - Like with Crank Ellen Hopkins visits into the world of those haunted by the abuse of drugs. This time she decides to elevate the story of the offspring of Kristina, trying to convey the world from their perspective. She does such a good job of telling of the hurt and pain that each of them feel. There are so many mixed up emotions in all of it as a reader you feel like you are caught in a storm, with no way of escape. As opposed to the first novel, Crank, which felt like you made a decision and were being sucked down into a deep dark hole, Fallout feels more like you are caught up in something with which you have no control over. Each of these characters feels their own personal void, and being pulled to the vortex their mother created for them when she decided to make that one fateful decision and enter the world of the meth addict. Hauntingly real despite the telling of it in free verse. I love the fact that it feels like layers being pulled back to delve into each new section of poetry.
Reader's Annotation - What would life be like if you felt that you had no control over anything around you? You have a pull that grabs you and you cannot tell from where or who is doing it. And it maybe the siren song of the mermaid calling you to crash into the rocks. Someone has blown up your world and you are not even sure who did it. All you have left is the Fallout.
About the Author - Ellen Hopkins began her career in the non-fiction field, writing books for children. But in 2002 she found out that her daughter had developed a severe meth-amphetamine addiction. Keenly aware of all the damage that was being caused by her daughters use of the drug, and desiring to sense some connection and responsibility she might bear for her daughters condition, Hopkins set out to write a novel about the monster of crank.
This cathartic journey encouraged her to explore a wide range of subjects that might be effecting teens with a series of verse novels including Burned, Impulse, Identical and Glass. Each of these explores the drama effecting teens and how their choices have a significant impact on the rest of their lives.
Genre- Drama, Free Verse Poetry
Curriculum Ties - Discuss the use of Free Verse to write an entire novel. - Literature
Compare and contrast the novel Crank with other Epic poems such as Milton's Paradise Lost, or Dante's Inferno. - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the nature of addiction.
Discuss the difference, if any, of the nature of many of the prescription drugs that are out there.
Discuss the efficacy of decriminalizing drugs such as marijuana and its social impact
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - I think there are so many challenge issues it would be difficult to start. As I know, Hopkins has been banned from doing book talks at certain places because of the controversy over the Crank series. It is hard to pick one issue. But aside from language issues the novel contains a person who has to confront the man who raped her mother and was literally his father, teen alcohol abuse, and severe drug abuse without any resolution aside from the fact that we know she remorseful at the end.
Overcoming Challenges - I think it would be important to first point out that there is no glamour involved to the drug use. Discussing with teens that actions have consequences is important and this can be a good way to begin that discussion. Also having a list of items from drug agencies about drug abuse and its negative consequences on hand to show to parents to that they have a way to discuss the novel with their teen would be a good thing as well. This should allay the fears of most responsible parents.
Why Included - Along with Wintergirls, I really wanted to find another book that would be considered controversial in teen literature. A friend of mine put me onto Ellen Hopkins and I was very pleased.
The Amazing Spider Man : Election Day
Title - The Amazing Spider Man : Election Day
Author - Marc Guggenheim
ISBN - 9780785141310
Production Date - 2009
Plot - The Amazing Spider Man is being framed for a bunch of murders of people around town by leaving his trademark calling card on the victims. Peter's best friend Harry is distracted because he is going to propose to the woman of his dreams, or is it his worst nightmare? Harry's father, the Green Goblin is overseeing all of this action between his son and girlfriend, intent on who is taking his secret formula and what they are doing with it. All of this is set during a Mayoral election for the community. How will Spiderman's being on the loose effect the election? Will his being captured throw the election in one way or another? Are they going to face Spiderman to take off the mask, or will the hero known as Daredevil, in his own mild mannered costume, save Spiderman with some legal maneuvering of his own? While the mayoral race ends up in somewhat of a stalemate, certainly Spiderman comes through and does not have to reveal his secret identity, and be able to help out his friends in prison, all the while dealing with a level of personal guilt about all of it.
Critical Review - True the comic book universe, and the character of Spiderman, Peter Parker in this set of comics, tied together as one graphic novel, deals with a large load of guilt that he has over how his life has impacted that of his friends. Like his uncle dying and the fact that maybe he could have done something about it, this guilt impels Spiderman into action. He feels a sense of responsibility to those around him for becoming what they are. Although he maintains a wise-cracking persona throughout the piece that is a little more than the Spider-man comics I remember reading as a kid and young adult. The feel of the comic itself is slightly darker than the original, with the possible exception of the Web of Spiderman series in which Spiderman dealt with this new suit, which would be called Venom. The drawings are beautiful and filled with lots of shadows, as Spiderman faces the creatures of the night. Whatever the slight alterations of character to the original, the general story is consistent to the past history of Spiderman, which is what anyone who is designing comic books in the Stan Lee created universe is trying to do. And for that they should be proud.
Reader's Annotation - Stop the bad guys. Rescue your friends. Find yourself chased around by those who are jealous or upset by your antics. This is all in a day's work, for you friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
About the Author - Marc Guggenheim's first professional career was with the law, which he practiced in Boston for five years. Although he always had a passion for writing. When one of his scripts drew a considerable amount of interest from producers, he decided that he would pursue his true calling, leaving the law for screenwriting.
After leaving the lawyer profession and coming out for screenwriting he ended up getting a job writing about the one profession with which he had experience, the law. It was ironic that his first professional job screenwriting was to write for TV/s The Practice. He also has landed several other similarly based law TV shows with jobs writing for Law and Order, and CSI Miami.
Eventually he would land a job working for Marvel. With great success writing in the Marvel Universe they decided to expand his repertoire writing for comics as popular as the Flash. In 2007, Marvel announced at comic con in San Diego that he would be doing the rotating duties of writing comics in the Spiderman universe, which is held in high esteem among fans of the Marvel Comic brand. The comics written for the Election Day series were among the first he scribed in the Spiderman universe.
Genre - Comics, Graphic Novels
Curriculum Ties - One could talk about layout and presentation on a page in a journalism class.
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the costumes that people wear. Is a teacher, librarian, professional athlete wearing something that changes how we view them?
Reading Level- Grade 9+
Challenge Issues - At a school they might challenge academic appropriateness.
Overcoming challenges - Have a set of articles on hand that reviews graphic novels as literature, including some that discuss how graphic novels can help the reading of people who have a hard time reading.
Why I included - Aside from Superman, Spiderman was one of my favorite comics growing up and I wanted to review one.
Author - Marc Guggenheim
ISBN - 9780785141310
Production Date - 2009
Plot - The Amazing Spider Man is being framed for a bunch of murders of people around town by leaving his trademark calling card on the victims. Peter's best friend Harry is distracted because he is going to propose to the woman of his dreams, or is it his worst nightmare? Harry's father, the Green Goblin is overseeing all of this action between his son and girlfriend, intent on who is taking his secret formula and what they are doing with it. All of this is set during a Mayoral election for the community. How will Spiderman's being on the loose effect the election? Will his being captured throw the election in one way or another? Are they going to face Spiderman to take off the mask, or will the hero known as Daredevil, in his own mild mannered costume, save Spiderman with some legal maneuvering of his own? While the mayoral race ends up in somewhat of a stalemate, certainly Spiderman comes through and does not have to reveal his secret identity, and be able to help out his friends in prison, all the while dealing with a level of personal guilt about all of it.
Critical Review - True the comic book universe, and the character of Spiderman, Peter Parker in this set of comics, tied together as one graphic novel, deals with a large load of guilt that he has over how his life has impacted that of his friends. Like his uncle dying and the fact that maybe he could have done something about it, this guilt impels Spiderman into action. He feels a sense of responsibility to those around him for becoming what they are. Although he maintains a wise-cracking persona throughout the piece that is a little more than the Spider-man comics I remember reading as a kid and young adult. The feel of the comic itself is slightly darker than the original, with the possible exception of the Web of Spiderman series in which Spiderman dealt with this new suit, which would be called Venom. The drawings are beautiful and filled with lots of shadows, as Spiderman faces the creatures of the night. Whatever the slight alterations of character to the original, the general story is consistent to the past history of Spiderman, which is what anyone who is designing comic books in the Stan Lee created universe is trying to do. And for that they should be proud.
Reader's Annotation - Stop the bad guys. Rescue your friends. Find yourself chased around by those who are jealous or upset by your antics. This is all in a day's work, for you friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
About the Author - Marc Guggenheim's first professional career was with the law, which he practiced in Boston for five years. Although he always had a passion for writing. When one of his scripts drew a considerable amount of interest from producers, he decided that he would pursue his true calling, leaving the law for screenwriting.
After leaving the lawyer profession and coming out for screenwriting he ended up getting a job writing about the one profession with which he had experience, the law. It was ironic that his first professional job screenwriting was to write for TV/s The Practice. He also has landed several other similarly based law TV shows with jobs writing for Law and Order, and CSI Miami.
Eventually he would land a job working for Marvel. With great success writing in the Marvel Universe they decided to expand his repertoire writing for comics as popular as the Flash. In 2007, Marvel announced at comic con in San Diego that he would be doing the rotating duties of writing comics in the Spiderman universe, which is held in high esteem among fans of the Marvel Comic brand. The comics written for the Election Day series were among the first he scribed in the Spiderman universe.
Genre - Comics, Graphic Novels
Curriculum Ties - One could talk about layout and presentation on a page in a journalism class.
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss the costumes that people wear. Is a teacher, librarian, professional athlete wearing something that changes how we view them?
Reading Level- Grade 9+
Challenge Issues - At a school they might challenge academic appropriateness.
Overcoming challenges - Have a set of articles on hand that reviews graphic novels as literature, including some that discuss how graphic novels can help the reading of people who have a hard time reading.
Why I included - Aside from Superman, Spiderman was one of my favorite comics growing up and I wanted to review one.
17 Again
Title - 17 Again (film)
Author - Burr Steers(director)
Release Date - April 17, 2009
Plot - Michael O'Donnell has a problem with his life. It seems to be careening out of control before he knows it. His wife is separating him; he is stuck in a dead end job; and he is forced to move in with his nerdy best friend. He feels like his whole life took a shift when he was seventeen when he decided to marry his girlfriend instead of pursuing his basketball dreams because his girlfriend became pregnant. He ends up getting a second chance of sorts with a magical encounter with a janitor who transforms him to the age of 17 again. He decides to go for his basketball dreams but along the way ends up connecting with his own kids in a meaningful way as they are struggling with relationships and self esteem issues. Through them he ends up connecting with his wife.
Comic implications ensue as his daughter starts to fall in love with him (a weird Back to the Future role reversal), and he finds that he still has a passion for the woman that he decided to marry all that time ago when he was in high school. The question becomes, is he too late? Has life already passed him by? Or can he go back and fix things because he has come to realize that the one decision, was the best decision of his life.
Critical Review - An often copied tale of a person who seems to be at a crossroads in their life, wanting to go back and relive a portion of their former glory. Like many in the genre, some magical event transpires and gives them the opportunity to see this through. While some pick the route of taking the person back to the past, 17 again merely transforms the person into the age at which he felt like his life spiralled out of control. I was surprised at the depth of character that was displayed by Zac Efron, the 17 year old version of the male lead. There was a remarkable amount of emotion expressed in his eyes, and he did not overplay his role as the younger version of Michael O'Donnell. Michelle Trachtenberg, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, plays the lost teenage daughter, who seems to need to have a stronger father role in her life. She plays up the comic situations quite well, while transferring her affections from the high school bully to her unknowing(and now 17 year old) dad. Overall, it was lighthearted but meaningful fair that I can imagine a teen audience would appreciate while still maintaining the interest of their parents.
Annotation - What was the one decision in your life that you wish you could take back? Would you live it all over again to get the chance? Michael O'Donnell did and he is not sure whether he had made the best or worst decision of his life.
About the author - Burr Steers had an interesting life as his family history would suggest. His father was a Republican congressman from Maryland, while his mother was the daughter of a socialite and a lawyer. She would eventually divorce his father and get remarried having another brother in that marriage as well as five step-siblings. His relatives read like a whose who list with people like Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson's Vice President and man who shot Alexander Hamilton, Gore Vidal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as well as Oliver Burr Jennings, the creator of Standard Oil. One can imagine the social and political pressure to be something big in this family. This may have been too much pressure as he ended up being expelled from two separate schools.
Eventually, proving that you can overcome anything, Steers would get his GED and move on to New York University. Out of which he got involved in various film productions including Pulp Fiction and Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid. 17 Again was his second major piece in the director's chair.
Author - Burr Steers(director)
Release Date - April 17, 2009
Plot - Michael O'Donnell has a problem with his life. It seems to be careening out of control before he knows it. His wife is separating him; he is stuck in a dead end job; and he is forced to move in with his nerdy best friend. He feels like his whole life took a shift when he was seventeen when he decided to marry his girlfriend instead of pursuing his basketball dreams because his girlfriend became pregnant. He ends up getting a second chance of sorts with a magical encounter with a janitor who transforms him to the age of 17 again. He decides to go for his basketball dreams but along the way ends up connecting with his own kids in a meaningful way as they are struggling with relationships and self esteem issues. Through them he ends up connecting with his wife.
Comic implications ensue as his daughter starts to fall in love with him (a weird Back to the Future role reversal), and he finds that he still has a passion for the woman that he decided to marry all that time ago when he was in high school. The question becomes, is he too late? Has life already passed him by? Or can he go back and fix things because he has come to realize that the one decision, was the best decision of his life.
Critical Review - An often copied tale of a person who seems to be at a crossroads in their life, wanting to go back and relive a portion of their former glory. Like many in the genre, some magical event transpires and gives them the opportunity to see this through. While some pick the route of taking the person back to the past, 17 again merely transforms the person into the age at which he felt like his life spiralled out of control. I was surprised at the depth of character that was displayed by Zac Efron, the 17 year old version of the male lead. There was a remarkable amount of emotion expressed in his eyes, and he did not overplay his role as the younger version of Michael O'Donnell. Michelle Trachtenberg, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, plays the lost teenage daughter, who seems to need to have a stronger father role in her life. She plays up the comic situations quite well, while transferring her affections from the high school bully to her unknowing(and now 17 year old) dad. Overall, it was lighthearted but meaningful fair that I can imagine a teen audience would appreciate while still maintaining the interest of their parents.
Annotation - What was the one decision in your life that you wish you could take back? Would you live it all over again to get the chance? Michael O'Donnell did and he is not sure whether he had made the best or worst decision of his life.
About the author - Burr Steers had an interesting life as his family history would suggest. His father was a Republican congressman from Maryland, while his mother was the daughter of a socialite and a lawyer. She would eventually divorce his father and get remarried having another brother in that marriage as well as five step-siblings. His relatives read like a whose who list with people like Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson's Vice President and man who shot Alexander Hamilton, Gore Vidal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as well as Oliver Burr Jennings, the creator of Standard Oil. One can imagine the social and political pressure to be something big in this family. This may have been too much pressure as he ended up being expelled from two separate schools.
Eventually, proving that you can overcome anything, Steers would get his GED and move on to New York University. Out of which he got involved in various film productions including Pulp Fiction and Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid. 17 Again was his second major piece in the director's chair.
Genre- Film, Comedy, Coming of Age
Curriculum Ties - Discuss coming of age stories in class such as Huck Finn. Compare and contrast how alike and different these coming of age stories are. - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - N/A
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 9+
Challenge Issues - Scene of sexual interest with 17 year old Michael O'Donnell and his older wife is slightly awkward and maybe considered gross.
Challenge Overcoming - Focus on intent of the story and that it still is Michael O'Donnell despite the appearance, for the sake of the movie.
Why Included - Zac Effron is a very popular film actor and somewhat of a teen heart throb especially since he was involved in the High School Musical set of movies for the Disney Channel. I enjoyed this movie and its complexity of interweaving teenage themes with adult issue.
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