World War Z

Alright, so I try to give every book the benefit of the doubt, but this book was just yucky. I felt so confused the whole time and I still have o idea what the main characters name is even. I guess I could understand why some people would find this book interesting, but it just wasn't for me. I really don't think this is an in class teachable book. I feel it would be better suited on the classroom bookshelf for students to check out at free will. I feel as though I would have been better prepared to read this book if I had a good geography lesson ahead of time. Also, since I'm not an avid history buff, I really didn't know what parts were made up and what were true. For example, the part towards the beginning where the guy talks about the Israelis being moved, I feel like that's true, but I really have no clue. I don't know, this book just didn't do it for me.

Maus I/Maus II

I was very excited to read these books (although I am tired of reading sad things). A few semesters back I had read the last snippet of the first book in an anthropology  class and I had no idea such a Holocaust story existed. When I first started reading I was highly worried about getting confused as to where I was supposed to read next since the frames were not always left to right and top to bottom. However, as I read, I realized that I didn't even think twice about where I was reading, it all just flowed naturally together. I feel as though Art's piece of history is very different from every other piece of Holocaust literature. He told it in a way that was very intriguing, but also in a way distracted you from feeling like "oh, another Holocaust story". I feel like the part of the book that made it so compelling was the fact that it was a dad telling the story to the son so it felt, in my eyes, as though my grandpa were telling me a story (if I had a grandpa to tell me a story).

I loved the fact that the first book could stand alone and just be a good story, but the second book is what really engraves the idea into your mind that it is a Holocaust story. I really feel like the way he tells the story seems almost "happy" rather than the depressing idea that you normally see in Holocaust stories. I don't know if it's because other Holocaust stories are usually told from the point of view of someone who was not involved in the Holocaust and was more or less going off of facts whereas this story was more or less a first hand account of the Holocaust so Vladek basically just wanted to remember a happier version of that time in his life? It's really hard to say. All I know is these two books were very interesting and although I do not like graphic novels anymore now than when I first started reading the books, I feel as though I would teach this book in the classroom. I feel as though the pictures are helpful for those who are picture readers and the words are helpful for the readers who actually read. Although they compliment each other well, you could read that entire story without glances at the pictures too often. The pictures definitely give a better sense of who people were because it was hard to keep many of the names straight, but with the different features such as the mice being Jews and such, it was easier to tell who was "good" and who was "bad".

Night/Hitler Youth

Night was a very powerful book. I had never heard of it or read it before. I feel as though the telling of the story was intense and painful to think about, but at the same time it was still readable and wasn't unbearable. He had a way of telling the story that showed the tragedy, but didn't give horrendous details that made it difficult to read because it was so graphic. I believe this is a very teachable book in a classroom. I think that the best way to teach a book about the Holocaust would be to incorporate the war aspect of the whole situation. Honestly, I truly do not know what was actually happening in the war and who was on whose side, etc. I think that incorporating a historical book similar to the Hitler Youth book except about the war would be a very beneficial teaching opportunity. I think the most heartbreaking piece of this book was how after his father had made the decision to leave the camp and not stay in the infirmary he states that those people were freed. I feel like that is almost something I would not want to know. I am very curious about his current life, did he ever find out what happened to the rest of his family, did he ever return to his home again? If he has written books about those pieces of his life, I think it may be an interesting way to make a unit. Since this book is so short, if the others were as well then it would be a nice way to make a unit about the holocaust and its aftermath.

Hitler Youth was a very different approaching to looking at the war. Often times I feel like the Holocaust overshadows everything, I'm not saying it wasn't important because it was, it's just that I feel we forget about everything else and why Germany was actually at war. I feel that the layout was not helpful for me though. I don't know why but I almost feel like I didn't actually learn anything. I feel as though it wasn't very informative. I think that if I were to use a book like this in a classroom they would be helpful but only if they specifically related to the context of what I was teaching. Throughout my years as a student I know my teachers never assigned a book like this to further our understanding of a topic. I feel that they are a unique way of teaching students.

Warriors Don't Cry

I have never read a book quite like this one before. My writing teacher always tells us, "Write about what you know". I often think to myself, my life is so not that interesting so why would anyone want to hear about it? Although Melba's life is much more traumatic and demanding of her than mine is, I can see why people would write about what they know. If people didn't write about what they knew and they just assumed that everyone knew it, then we would most likely live in a very dark world where no one really seemed to understand other people. I feel as though these last three books have really given me a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a black American in history. I have never experienced the struggles of black people the way I have through these last three books. I have long since forgot about the fact that blacks still had a hard time "fitting in" to society even after slavery was abolished. I feel as though I was only taught textbook material, the standard: slavery existed, slavery was abolished, end of story. To have a book like this in classrooms would be so beneficial. I feel as though (in my hopeful mind) students may be more appreciative of their education and how easy it is for them to go to school and learn. I also loved the way God was incorporated into this book. My parents sent me to a Catholic school and God was shoved down my throat for the years that I attended that school. Although I do believe in God, I do not support some of the things that the Catholic church teaches and often struggle with my faith in that regard. I feel that the way God is presented in this book is a very gentle approach and I could see how it may be a problem for some parents, but at the same time I feel as though it isn't something that would be really stressed upon in classroom discussions. Overall, I feel this was an excellent book and also an excellent way to get students interested in autobiographies.

Kindred

Wow! I was honestly expecting this book to be awful to read just because Professor Arnold said that we should not wait until the last second to read this book because it was more mature reading. I was terrified to read the book, expecting it to be extremely boring and have a terrible plot line, but man was it interesting. I really have to give credit to the author for figuring out time traavel and making it sound realistic. I have been in writing classes before where students try to use time travel in their works of writing and they usually have so many flaws in the logic that they have to start from scratch and scrap the time travel idea. Butler on the other hand, to me, did an excellent job of keeping the concept of time travel legitimate. I'm not really sure why, because I normally have zero trouble with this, but keeping up with all of the names within the book was a bit of a challenge for me. I for some reason had a hard time remembering who Mister Weylin was and then they would call him Tom and I would be all confused. I normally have no issue with this, but this book really got me tripped up sometimes. If some day the school I teach at has the English classes broken into different reading levels, I would absolutely teach this to my advanced reading class. As we had spoke about in class, I feel it was excellent to read a book that was steeped in slavery before reading this book. I feel that really helped me understand some "customs" or "proper" ways for slaves to act. Also, I feel as though I should have known more about the geography of the land and the time period's history before reading this book so that I feel as though teaching some things such as that would be excellent framing activities for the book.
The one flaw I found with this book (which may not be a flaw at all) was that at times, the language did not seem to feel right. The slaves would comment on Dana's speech and how she didn't sound like anyone they had heard before, but at the same time the slaves didn't have horrible speech either. I feel as though reading the other book first maybe gave a skewed version of the language or maybe just a version that was specific to that particular plantation.
Overall, I was well pleased with this book and would definitely use it in my classroom.

Copper Sun

Wow! What a thoroughly enjoyable book. I really liked the quick pace of the book. The predictability at some points was annoying like Amari being pregnant and hushpuppy being at the cave and not a bear. However, I think that is just an aspect of reading adolescent literature as an adult. I would absolutely teach this book in my classroom. I feel it has many good qualities such as it being an adventurous book that would really interest kids and teach them something about the past as well. I also feel that the author did some excellent research before writing this book and including discussion questions at the end was a wise idea. I really like the fact that the author wrote about the beginning of Amari's journey and showed the reader the journey across the ocean as well. That's something that I feel is forgotten in books about slavery. We often just see slaves and feel pity for them because of the slavery and tend to overlook the real misery they are feeling from missing their homeland and their family. I also liked how she included Polly, the indentured servant. Call me ignorant, but I'm not exactly sure that I really knew such a thing existed before reading this book. Overall, this was an excellent read and I would absolutely use it in my classroom.

Feed/Maze Runner

First of all I will start off talking about the book Feed. This book was very interesting to think about how our world is rapidly evolving and how close we are to this technological phenomenon. Although I didn't feel there was really an important theme within this book, I could see myself using this book in my classroom for its content that makes my students think about technology within their own lives and how life would be without it. It would also be a great book to talk about the government and how propaganda works. It would also be interesting to tie in the view of what a utopia is and whether or not Utopias are true or if they are really just an extremely well covered up dystopia.

I really enjoyed the contemporary feel of Feed. The pace of the book was very satisfying. I didn't feel as though we rushed through it and I didn't feel as if it dragged along. I wish though that some things would be further explained. For example if we could have more information about the world and how everything seems to be in bubbles and why the government decided to take out all of the trees. It would also be interesting to see how the rest of the world is because I gathered that this was mainly just the United States that was involved in this whole "feed" and what not.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Overall, this book was okay. I feel that it was mostly relatable to the way kids are feeling when they first start high school. They are unsure of themselves and they are just trying to figure life out and see where they fit in with the rest of society. I feel that this book may be a touch outdated though. I just kept getting this vibe that the society was out of touch with today's society. I'm not saying that kid's cannot relate because it is an older story, but it definitely makes it more difficult considering how much technology plays a big role in adolescent's lives nowadays.

When I first started reading this book I had a lot of enthusiasm for it because one of my good friends in high school loved this book and he always wanted me to read it, but I never got around to it until now. As I read however, I became very disinterested in the book. It wasn't really my style and actually made me feel very depressed. When I read a book I really get into the character's mind and can relate with them, and this book just took me down a few notches too many on the happiness scale.

I am almost positive that I would not teach this as a classroom book. I would maybe suggest it to a student, although I don't know what kind of student. I feel as though if I give it to a kid who seems to be struggling that this book won't help them have a better outlook on life and on the flipside if I give it to a student who is positive then they will be dragged down in happiness. I could see how it would be an interesting book plot to do lesson plans such as writing letters to someone about your life (similar to journaling) and seeing how that makes the students feel better. It also could show how writing things down and getting things off of your chest can help you sort out your feelings and help you understand your life better.

Grass Dancer

Alright, I really try to give the author the benefit of the doubt and I really try to believe that some student will like the book, even if I don't and I need to keep an open mind. However, with this book, I really am having a hard time trying to wrap my mind around a student actually enjoying this book. It was definitely hard for me to follow afterwhile which is odd for me because I can read four different books at once and keep them all straight. Right away in the beginning the way the characters would just shift with nothing more than an extra space inbetween them, I was confused. It happened so quickly and sometimes the segments were so brief that I didn't even get a chance to realize that someone new was thinking. Also, I felt like some of the character's choices were unbelieveable. Right away on page 39 when Pumpkin slips off  her clothes at random when she is with Harley, I was really turned off from the book at this point because it just seemed so uncharacter-like. I don't know how I feel about this book. I know that I most likely would not use it as a class book and rather would just give it to an individual to read who I felt was advanced enough to keep the stories straight.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

This book was very satisfying and I could definitely see how students would be able to enjoy this book. I felt that it was a very easy read and very engaging. Many students have the confusion of knowing what their identity is, that's half the battle of middle school so to have the main character be Junior on the rez and Arnold in Reardan gives students a physical showing of feeling like two different people. I thought the cartoon drawings were an amazing thing for kids to see. Junior saw cartoon drawing as an outlet for his problems, a way for him to understand life and I thought that this is an excellent thing to show students who may have trouble understanding what they are thinking and feeling. It may inspire some students to find their creative side and start sorting out life. On the contrary, I do feel that some of the book seemed a little skewed or maybe I am just uneducated. I really have never met someone who had water on their brain as a baby, therefor I have no idea how it truly affects people, however from what Junior said in the beginning of the book, it seemed unrealistic that he would be that crazy intelligent. I guess we all have our miracle stories in our lives and this is just his. Overall I would be very willing to give this book to a student who is a reluctant reader because I feel that its quick pace would engage them to start reading other novels as well.

Refresh, Refresh/ Something like Normal

First I would like to comment on the story Refresh, Refresh. I had to write a rationale on this book, which I thought wouldn't be that challenging, however it proved me wrong. Writing a rationale on a graphic novel that I truly didn't grasp is harder than I thought it would be. Refresh, Refresh was hard for me to "read" because I have never picked up a graphic novel in my life. I have concluded that I am much better at imagining things from words rather than imagining words from pictures. The story was okay, but I felt like it was very unpowerful in the form of a graphic novel. I just found out today that the graphic novel actually comes from a short story, which I presume would be a good story and much more impactful than the graphic novel.

Now, on to Something Like Normal. Holy guacamole did I love this book. It was such a breath of fresh air. I have never read a book that has touched me in a place I've never felt before. At first when I heard the preview of the book I was intrigued because my best friend came back from Kuwait last  year and she always tells me how her boyfriend says to her "you're not you anymore" and "when are you going to go back to the way you used to be". I never really noticed a difference in her, nor could I understand what she was going through. This book just opened up a whole new world of understanding for me. I think this would be an excellent book for students to read because although it may not be 100% relatable, there are things that "haunt" us the way Charlie's death haunts Travis. I think this book was a very rewarding read and I might even consider it to be the first book I will ever re-read. I'm very glad that I have purchased all of my books and can put this one on my classroom bookshelf some day.

A Hope in the Unseen

I read a great deal of young adult literature, but unfortunately I have a tendency to read the same style of YA lit. so I am quite sheltered when it comes to different YA topics and novel styles. The book, A Hope in the Unseen, was something that I had to go out on a limb to read. I felt that the book was very slow moving and some times the choices Cedric made felt questionable. I feel that this book was a challenge for me to read because it was so distantly unrelatable. Although most stories I read are not at all like my life, they usually have an appealing factor about them. However, this book was something I just don't enjoy thinking about. It breaks my heart knowing that students have to go through such hardships. School should be a place of security, you should have friends to see and be excited to learn something. I know that having that attitude about school isn't always the case, but it definitely shouldn't be a place of fear because you are excelling. This book was also difficult for me to annotate. It's not that I couldn't find things to say or write about, but the fact that it was a slow read to begin with, it was even more challenging to read when I had to keep stopping and writing things down. The writing style felt unrealistic at times as well. For example on page 15 the author writes, "Oh yes, that's a good one, Cedric agree, and nods". I understand that this is a third person story, but the writing seemed a little cheesy here and there. I really don't know if I would use this book in a classroom though. I guess it would all depend on where I was teaching.

Story of a Girl/Stupid Fast

These two books had very different styles of writing in my opinion. In Story of a Girl (SG) by Sara Zarr the writing was almost "slow-paced" compared to Stupid Fast (SF) by Geoff Herbach. With SG the reader can hear her thoughts and piece things together on their own, however in SF the reader hears EVERY single thought that Felton is thinking. The two different styles of writing will definitely appeal to two different readers even if the basic bones of the story are the same.

Both novels had the concept in common of very broken down families, but that is what created the story. Without the hardships in the story, I don't think there would have been much driving the story. In SG Deana would have just been an average girl, who went to school, came home, etc. In SF Felton would have been just a regular boy, who had a brother and enjoyed running. There would have been no character development to them.

Also, speaking in terms of authorship, both books were written to span the time of summer which is a key piece to adolescent literature. Summer is often perceived as a time of growth for adolescents so typically adolescent literature is written over the summer time period, as were both of these novels. It was quite challenging for me to read SF because the author has been my teacher for five semesters at MSU now so all I could hear was his voice in my head and I could pick out tricks that he has taught us to use in our own writing.