Let It Snow

There’s something about the holiday season that makes me want to curl up with a cozy blanket, hot chocolate, and read stories of love.  Let It Snow was the perfect holiday read.

Let It Snow
by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
352 p. Speak. 2008.
Gr 9 Up

Three authors of teen fiction join together to write a collection of linked novellas set in the same town in North Carolina around Christmas Eve.  When a snowstorm hits, a packed train get stuck in the resulting snow, and the teens from the train interact from the teens from the town in hilarious and romantic ways.  In Johnson’s “Jubilee Express,” Jubilee meets Stuarts, who convinces her she deserves better than the boyfriend she left at home.  Green portrays the teen male perspective with humor and wit that reminded me of Paper Townsin “Cheertastic Christmas Miracle,” in which Toby struggles on his quest through the snow with his two buddies to reach the Waffle House in order to meet 14 stranded cheerleaders.  In Myracle’s “Patron Saint of Pigs,” Addie agonizes about her recent breakup.  Everything concludes nicely with all the main characters enjoying coffee at Starbucks.

The Feels

Mild feels. The stories are tender and humorous with believable characters. Johnson’s was probably my favorite of the three, and I did not much care for Myracle’s story at all.  The stories illuminate the magic of the holidays, and the collection is a light, but satisfying read for cold winter nights.

Why We Broke Up

“It’s not you, it’s me.”
“I’m just trying to find myself, and I need to be alone to do that…”
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t working out.”
“I found someone else…”
“I need space.”
“I’m not ready for a relationship.”
“I’m not over my ex.”
“I’m going through a lot with my family/job/school/apartment right now.”

Daniel Handler (who also write as Lemony Snicket, who you probably haven’t heard of. He wrote these super obscure books including A Series of Unfortunate Events, which Netflix is adapting into a TV series) with the help of Maria Kalman shows the rise and fall of one particular relationship in Why We Broke Up. Why We Broke Up has a couple literary honors: Printz Honor (2012), The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky (2012), Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of the Year (2011).

According to the author bios, Daniel Handler was dumped at least three times in high school, and Maira Kalman’s heart was broken in high school first by a boy who looked like Bob Dylan and shortly thereafter by one who looked like Leonard Cohen.

Why We Broke Up
by Daniel Handler,
Maira Kalman (illustrator)
354 p. Little, Brown Books. 2013.
Gr 9 Up

After film aficionado Min Green breaks up with the co-captain of the basketball team, Ed Slaterton, she drops a box full of the souvenirs from their love on his doorstep along with a very long “letter.”  The letter makes up the text of this book, painfully explaining how the relationship fell apart.  Each chapter is introduced with a full-color painting of a memento–from bottle caps to rose petals to movie tickets to condom wrappers–that represents an important element in the decline of their romance.  Min’s passion and despair is captured in a stream of consciousness that may be hard for some readers to follow, but the heartbreak is undeniable and almost impossible not to relate to.

The Feels

I knew how this was going to end–the title says it all–but after 300 pages of romance, I wanted a different ending. I wanted to understand the inevitable conclusion the title promised me, yet I also wanted an HEA because I am a romantic and just can’t help but hope.

I didn’t cry, but the book is poignant and exhilerating where ordinary things somehow become extraordinary things in the context of their five week love affair.  While the relationship only last a couple weeks, the love story between to teens from contrasting social groups is beautifully portrayed. Honestly, though, despite the sweetness of their courtship, the relationship seemed to doomed to the start for me, because their interests were so completely different.  Yeah, yeah, but what about opposites attract?  I’m sorry, but there needs to be some common interests or at least desire to understand the other’s interests.  Min finds basketball boring and is just counting down the seconds until she can leave the bleachers; Ed refers to the classic movies Min likes so much as “gay.” She goes to his games and he goes to her movies, but it felt more like a sense of obligation to me, something they were supposed to be doing as each other’s significant other.

The one thing that did get annoying after a while was Min’s tireless referencing of old movies. I felt Handler was trying a bit to hard to make her quirky.

The raw emotion of the book is perfectly complimented by Kalman’s illustrations, which, to me, were what made this book so great.  They’re poignant, powerful, and emotional, perfectly capturing the sad souvenirs of adolescent heartache.

Handler also created the Why We Broke Up Project, which is a tumblr that allows others to share their stories of heartbreak, which “will enable all of our heartbreak to reach critical mass, so that, unlike [name redacted], it will never bother us again.” It doesn’t look like the site as been updated in a while, but it is still fun to poke around and look through.

Twisted

It’s been exactly a month since my last post when I finished my personal inquiry project for my class. After finishing the rest of my finals, I’ve been incredibly busy with very important things like Netflix binging, catching up on my zzz’s, knitting bad scarves, celebrating Christmas (Happy Holidays, y’all!), reading other books besides contemporary realistic YA, and other activities of critical importance.  Oh, and I’ve been trying to finish this book.

This is my first book by Laurie Halse Anderson–I know, I know. How can I have a blog about contemporary realistic YA and not have read Speak? I just haven’t, okay? It’s on my bookshelf. I’ll get there, I promise.  Twisted is Anderson’s fourth novel and won LA Best Book for Young Adults 2008, ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults 2008, International Reading Association Top Ten of 2007, and New York Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age, and became a The New York Times best seller.

Twisted
by Laurie Halse Anderson
250 p. Viking Juvenile. 2007.
Gr 9 Up.

Once invisible and slightly nerdy, Tyler Miller returns to high school for his senior year after a summer of “character building” physical labor following a graffiti prank, as a result his physique and reputation both recieve a boost.  His physical growth attracts the attention of ultra-popular Bethany Milbury, sister of his worst enemy, Chip, and daughter of his father’s boss.  After an incident at a party, Tyler must contend with the police, a verbally and emotionally abusive father, a principal still angry about the graffiti, and new enemies at school.  Anderson captures Tyler’s struggles with responsibility, integrity, and what it means to be a manwith honesty and vulnerability.  As Tyler’s emotional instability mounts, he reaches a crisis point in a poignant and rousing scene.  With short chapters tackling issues of sex, alcohol, school, and family, this compelling novel will stay with readers long after the book is finished.

“I’m not the problem here . . . I’m tired of feeling like I am.”

The Feels

I picked up this book looking for an emotionally-charged contemporary novel that captured the male point of view.

“Everybody told me to be a man. Nobody told me how.”

This probably isn’t my favorite book I’ve read this year. I sympathized with Tyler’s turmoil, and was at the edge of my seat as the tension mounted, but I myself struggled to identify with Tyler.  Despite some of his disturbing and cringe-worthy thoughts, Tyler is hard not to root for, because he ultimately feels like one of the “good guys.”  The book deals with serious problems modern teens face and is a good source for entertainment as well as serious discussion.

I definitely plan to read more from Anderson.

“Finished” Product

Today, I am turning in my presentation to be shared with the rest of my class, which is hard for me to wrap my brain around, as I still feel like it is not complete. There is so much more reading for me to do, so much more for me to still discover about contemporary realistic YA.

I put together my presentation using emaze. I had a little trouble trying to add audio to each slide.  I borrowed my boyfriend’s microphone and could not for the life of me figure out how to actually make a recording.  I felt incredibly incompetent.  When I plugged it into my laptop a window popped up “You have plugged in a device!” and I thought, “Great! Now how do I use the device, computer?”  Once I finally figured out how to use Sound Recorder for Windows 8, my recordings were saved in an app.  I couldn’t figure out how to access them from the app, so I had to email each recording to myself to download to my computer, so that I could upload them to my each slide only to realize they weren’t in the correct format. Fortunately, Zamzar allowed me to convert them from M4A to MP3.

I’m a little disappointed with the audio component of the presentation. I think part of my presentation style is frantic and self-depricating. And that just didn’t come across at all.  Also, I sound like a robotic child.

Anyway, to make a long story short (too late), I finished my presentation. So as part of the sharing phase, if you’re interested in viewing it, you can find it here.

Bibliographies

Now that my personal inquiry assignment is coming to a close, I have compiled a list of all of the resources I used in my study.  I wish I had been able to read more and really delve deeper into contemporary realistic fiction.  As it stands now, I have read 16 YA novels (about 5000 pages); I also examined about 6 books from the research collection of Wells Library at IU Bloomington on the subject.

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Bibliographies:

• Professional Resources Bibliography
• Bibliography of Contemporary YA

Evaluating Contemporary Realistic Fiction

If contemporary fiction is what teens want to read, then as librarians, teachers, etc., I think it is important to know how to recognize good young adult literature and know how to evaluate it, so that we can make smart decisions in collection development and readers’ advisory.

In my research, I found two guides to evaluating realistic fiction. The latter was developed more for children’s contemporary realism, but many of the evaluation criteria applies to YA literature as well.

Considerations for Selecting Young Adult Literature: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
When evaluating a contemporary realistic fiction novel, ask these questions:

• Are they engaging, true-to-life, well-rounded characters, who are both wise and foolish while they are growing and changing?
• Is there an accurate reflection of the human condition and contemporary life, without stereotyping?
• Is there a sensitivity to all people regardless of sex or sexual orientation, race, religion, age, socioeconomic level, social group, or culture?
• Does the plot appeal to young adults? Address the challenges, hopes, and fears as well as the problems faced by contemporary adolescents? Offer hope for the future?
• Does the plot ask young adults to consider or reconsider their own values and beliefs , inspire without providing pat resolutions, and avoid talking down to readers or telling them what to think?
• Is the setting believable?
• Is there an appropriate treatment of violence that never glamorizes it, records it more graphically than necessary, or includes it gratuitously?
• Does the language accurately reflect the characters as well as their educational status, social class, culture, and the place where they live?

Evaluating Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Consider the following when evaluating realistic fiction:

• Does the book honestly portray the realities of life for today’s children?
• Does the book illuminate problems and issues of growing up in today’s world?
• Does the story transcend the contemporary setting and have universal implications?
• Are the characters convincing and credible to today’s child?
• Are controversial topics such as sexuality dealt with in an open and forthright way?
• If violence or other negative behavior is part of the story, does the author provide motivations and show aftereffects?
• Does the author avoid stereotyping?
• Does the book truly represent the experience of the culture depicted?
• Does the book help children enlarge their personal points of view and develop appreciation for our ever-changing pluralistic society?

If I Stay

“Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.”

If I Stay
by Gayle Forman
201 p. Dutton. 2009
Gr 9 Up

When snow cancels school, 17-year-old Mia and her family decide to take a drive, but the trip takes a turn for the worse when they are hit by an oncoming driver, killing her parents and gravely injuring her and her younger brother.  As she is separated from her body, she becomes a spirit-like observer forced to decide if she should stay or go.  Over 24 hours, Mia narrates the care given to her by her medical team, friends, extended family, and boyfriend and reminisces on her past, revealing the details and complexities of her relationships.  Mia is torn not only between pursuing her love of music at Julliard and a future with her boyfriend in Oregon, but also the decision to fight to survive and giving in to the resulting sadness and despair over the accident.  Beautifully written, this is a thought-provoking story that will stay with teens long after the final page.

The Feels

I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind or what, but I, honestly, was not a huge fan of this book.  That is to say, I did not weep one bit, and from the description, I really thought I would be an emotional mess.  The story is beautifully written, however, seamlessly weaving the past and present narratives together to create an affecting story about tragedy and grieving.  Teens will easily identify with Mia’s honest portrayal of her insecurities and doubts.

Exploring Presentation Tools

For my creating phase of my personal inquiry, I am supposed to make some sort of visual product creation.  My instructor gave us a list of possible ideas like Prezi, Glogster, easel.ly, and Pixton.

The key to this portion of the Personal Inquiry Assignment is to choose something “novel” to us.  Therefore, since I normally use Prezi for all of my presentations, I wanted to choose something different.

You can use easel.ly to create infographics, but I didn’t think my inquiry really lent itself to this format.  However, it is a really neat and free tool; it is something I will keep note of for future projects.  I can really envision myself using this tool to present information in the professional field.

Pixton is really cool; it is used to create comic strips! And while I love comics, I couldn’t see myself using this tool for sharing my project.

I initially planned on using Glogster, which allows you to create multimedia format posters, until I stumbled upon emaze. I liked the emaze was different from PowerPoint and Prezi but was in a similar format so it would be easily recognizable and understandable for my intended audience.  It has the tagline “Create Amazing Presentations!” which seemed a little lame to me.  However, the online software has free templates that you choose from to make slideshows, video presentations, and even 3D presentations! Their home page features this nice infographic (I really love infographics) about why you should use emaze over PowerPoint.  

Honestly, I don’t really need much convincing; PowerPoint has become a little tired for me.

So it’s settled: I’ll be using emaze for my visual product creation tool.

Rubric Review

It just got real, folks.  My instructor uploaded the rubrics for our personal inquiry journal, presentation, and paper today.  My initial reaction when reviewing the rubric? Panic. The due date kind of sneaked up on me, and I still feel like I have not done enough for this project. I’ve been working diligently on my journal (i.e. this blog), and after reviewing the rubrics, I think I might have to go back and redo a lot of it.

I feel a little overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed seems to be the recurring theme of my personal inquiry project so far…

Fortunately, the rubrics fall in line with the Alberta Inquiry Model, which is the model I am trying to follow.  The whole personal inquiry project is new to me, and I feel like I am stumbling through all of this meta-cognition. I am so accustom to just going right to work on the product, rather than talking and writing about my thought process for each phase.

My strategy for this is to do some serious work in order to satisfy the highest levels for each of the rubrics, which will probably include going back and doing some editing of my previous blog posts.

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Rubrics:

• Personal Inquiry Presentation
• Personal Inquiry Journal
• Personal Inquiry Reflection Paper

This One Summer

I’m a big fan of graphic novels, and I loved the gorgeous artwork on the cover, so I was already drawn to it. Then the summary said it was going to be “heartbreaking,” therefore I had to read it:

“In This One Summer two stellar creators redefine the teen graphic novel. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of her teen age—a story of renewal and revelation.”

This One Summer
by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki
320 p. First Second. May 2014.
Gr 8 Up

Every summer, Rose and her family vacation at a lakeside cottage in Awago Beach where she reunites with her younger friend Windy.  The summer is usually their refuge, where they can spend their days swimming, digging holes in the sand, and playing MASH–but this summer is different.  Rose, on the cusp of adolescence, is fascinated by the local teens and their experiences. Meanwhile, the tension between her parents is growing, and she doesn’t understand it.  Told through tones of monochromatic blue-on-white illustrations, the mood is thoughtful and quiet.   The story is captivating, resolving with an imperfect hope that will have readers wishing for summer.

The Feels

This One Summer is a leisure read that slowly unfolds just like you expect a summer day on vacation.  There’s no tidy resolution to the story; the end has a lot of loose strands, which is strangely okay.  It is after all only one summer, not everything can realistically be wrapped up in a perfect bow after such a short period of time.  The story is beautifully illustrated though in blue and white that really complements the nostalgic and meditative feel of the story.

And I have got to hand it to First Second (who always publish amazing graphic novels), they’re not just publishing a coming-of-age graphic novel about two girls spending the summer in a lakeside cottage.  They’re publishing a graphic novel that tackles bigger issues like teen pregnancy, adult infertility, martial stress, friendship, sexuality, and more.

I didn’t cry, but I did not really expect to with such a quiet piece; I did have a lot of feels.  This graphic novel is definitely worth a read if just for the breathtaking art.