Discussion 1 – Consulting an Expert in the Field of Young Adolescent Literature and Choosing Your YA Novel.
Aida Smith is the Branch Manger of the Crescent City Library, a part of the PAL (Putnam, Alachua, and Levy County) Public Library Cooperative of North Central Florida. She and I had a lengthy conversation regarding Youth Adolescent Literature. While Crescent City does not have a large youth population, Mrs. Smith maintains a good group of readers which require a diverse selection of books.
Mrs. Smith uses the School Library Journal, VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) and Mumford Library Books, Inc. to make choices for books. She recommended that I use YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) to get an overall pulse of what of
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We come from different backgrounds, different parents (or no parents), and face individual challenges. The novel opens up and reveals important aspects of our teens. The main character rushes through life in the bodies of these different characters represented in our world. There is a girl dealing with suicidal thoughts and depression and the main character is able to warn her parents. The main character typically does not interfere in the lives he embodies but in this situation it was a must, it was morally right. The character witnesses and plays the lives of teens doing things that are bad for them and equally witnesses things parents do that are bad for their …show more content…
There is not one bad review out there – “they” all rave about how clever and brilliantly executed this novel reads. The character development the author uses is phenomenal, I will admit that! The author uses realistic teen situations and emotions to fit all the characters that are revealed – some good, some bad. The parent’s of these teens are equally portrayed in the same fashion.
I suspect what really rubbed me the wrong way was the labeling. I thought we were past all of that but it appears it is alive and well and once again, I need to remove my rose colored glasses. Perhaps too, having a genre that appears as LGBT is weird. Why is it necessary? Heck, if I lived with another woman I would not be called a nun – why, why, why do we label? This book in all fairness covers all the plights of teenagers: Transexuality, depression, being an illegal alien, overeating, drinking … the list goes
Evaluation: I thought the book was very exciting and suspenseful like her other books. The book had very good detail and an interesting plot. I liked the twist when Juan and the girl’s father came upon Glenn walking down the road. I also liked how the author described the action in great detail. It made me feel like I was right there seeing it all happen firsthand. I don’t think that the author could’ve made this book any better than she did already.
Once I get past all of the rambling I did in the past paragraphs, I honestly really enjoyed the book. Though it wasn't like most of the other books I’ve read (meaning I didn't cry during the process of reading it), the characters were just as provokingly interesting as the characters in other stories, it was a little edgy and made me want to yell at it, shouting at Sam when she wouldn’t let Tyler play video games with Danny, or Danny when he called to have Sam and Tyler taken to a separate facility. Overall, this book opened me up to something that just isn't a romance novel. This story really shows that there are people with a lot of difficulties in their lives, and that’s what I liked the most about it.
Tragedy struck Holcomb, Kansas on November 15th, 1959, with the lost of four members of the Clutter family, who were well known in their town. “Of all the people in the world, the Clutters were the least likely to be murdered,” (Capote 85) was what one townsperson said about the widely known family. Their lives were taken by two men named, Richard (Dick) Hickock and Perry Smith. After months of fleeing, Dick and Perry were captured. Over the next couple of years they were through numerous hearings and questioning over the murder they committed. Then the day came where some believed that vengeance was served. Hickock and Smith were both executed by hanging just after midnight on April 14, 1965. Dick and Perry 's mental health was widely discussed
I think that this book sends a very important message, it tells the reader about the dangers that adolescent girls face and survive every day. It also gives many different perspectives on issues that teens face because she gives us her own opinion and also those of her patients and their parents. I think that the reason this book is so eye-opening is because it gives you the honest truth, it's not candy coated. She tells stories that really happened, and the reality of the book is one of its best qualities.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book to early teens who are fans of drama and comedy because they could probably relate to most of the issues discussed to a certain extent. Girls my age, especially, would enjoy this book as they could relate to the issues discussed and they have probably already experienced similar
...hing I want to report about this book is youth education. The school environment the author present is shocked to me: too many groups and “combat” among them, just as Greg said” how it is possible to exist in a place that socks so bad”! In addition, I don’t think it is a good way for youth that parents are involved too much in teenagers’ world. Just like Greg’s mother forces him to do things that Greg is not willing to do, even eavesdrops on Greg and Rachel outside the door. Also, there is a lot of dirty talking in this book, which I think it is bad for the growth of teenagers.
Sutherland, Zena. "The Teen-Ager Speaks." The Saturday Review (27 Jan. 1968): 34. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter and Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol. 111. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
It could be said that the book goes beyond the theme of teenage angst. It paints a vivid picture of self-knowledge and self-acceptance in the making.
Ward, Martha E. and Marquardt, Dorothy A. Authors of Books for Young People. 2nd ed.' (supplement). Metuchen & London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1979.
list for an elective course entitled " Searching for Values and Identity Through Literature." Based on parents' objections to the language and
Tyler, Anne. “Teenage Wasteland.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. 189-95. Print.
My recommendation for this book would be that this book is just a fun read, nothing to serious. But yet it's a book were its easy to relate to were a lot of the situations that happen in the book happen in young teenage life as well. Like for example the desperation to fit in. kids will do most likely anything to be part of "the cool group" hopefully not take some sort of pill that will talk to you in your head. But other things like being pressured into talking drugs. Sneaking out of the house to go to some party and not coming back until the next day at dawn without getting caught. These days we do so much and our parents know so little.
[9]. "Young Adult Books." The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - The Washington Post. Web. 2011. .
"The Value of Children's Literature | Education.com." Education.com | An Education & Child Development Site for Parents | Parenting & Educational Resource. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .