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.
Great point about these taking place over the summer and the expectation of growth for adolescents. Summer is typicaly the time for adventure and romance which leads to growth for teenagers and development and growth for characters.
ReplyDeleteEven though both novels were centered around broken families, they each had such different tones. Stupid Fast seemed fast pace and chaotic, telling the "stupid fast" story of Felton and the tragedy of his life. His growth mirrored this tone. He quickly grew into an athlete with friends, a girlfriend, and a social life. Story of a Girl was more slow moving and also mirrored Deana's life. She was just trying to make it through summer with her family and friend unit intact.
I really thought about the way different genders would respond to these books while reading. There is clearly a male/female dichotomy in both novels. SF focuses on the life a male who is interested in sports while SG focuses on a female who struggles with her sexual reputation. I think that SF would be a particularly good read for a teenage boy. It offers them something relatable (like sports), but also explores tougher topics, like suicide, bullying, and other family drama. Do you see a gender orienation for these novels?
-Allison
You are right that both novels used different styles of writing. I read Stupid Fast first, and, to be honest, I didnt' like it a whole lot. My opinion has nothing to do with the content of the book; I think it was the pacing that turned me off a bit. It really was like the reader was ALWAYS in Felton's head, making it difficult to get to know other characters. I really would have like to learn more about his brother's thought processes and why he was the way he was. In The Story of a Girl, the reader gets a better sense of each of the characters, well, to an extent. Most of their positive traits or flaws are seen through Deanna's eyes. Still, through pacing, the reader is able to "slow down" and get a better feeling for the brokenness of relationships and Deanna's frustration.
ReplyDeleteAs to whether one of the other book would appeal to male or female readers, I felt Story of a Girl was more likely to appeal to both male and female of adolescent age and beyond. Even if the reader could not relate to Deanna, he or she could relate to one of the other characters. As a mother, I felt a connection with Deanna's mother. The description of the mother trying to almost ignore tensions and gloss over things was something I myself have experienced. The fact that the father held "the incident" over Deanna's head for three years was reprehensible. That made me angry. She was only 13 years old and had been manipulated by an older boy. I think most normal fathers would have had the guy up on charges and have been more protective of his daughter. But, that's just my opinion.
Overall, both books were good reads. I look forward to more books to come!
My immediate connection between the books was also the broken family issue. Both are a little on the extreme side, but that's what makes them so interesting. While Felton's issue was mostly with his mom, Deanna's was with her dad, though both characters had great secondary story lines with their brothers. Personally, I enjoyed the relationships and stories with the brothers more than the parents.
ReplyDeleteGreat point about the summer season--I did not pick up on that until I read this post!
I also picked up on the issues of both of the characters coming from broken families. I think that this was an important part of both of the novels, because, as you said, without it, both of the characters would not have any character development throughout the story. I think that both of the characters' family issues also lead them to discover more about themselves and who they are as people.
ReplyDeleteI also like the point that you make about both of these novels taking place during the summer; I think that is a very good point because it's true- adolescents do change and grow during the summer period and I think that it is interesting that is reflected in both of these books.
Very insightful look into these two books! I really enjoyed that you didn't just say "I liked this book" or "I didn't like this book," but actually picked the two works apart and analyzed them that way.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed that you included the bit about how summer was included in each book. I hadn't thought about it like that before, but you are right, summer is a very important time for growth in an adolescent's life!
It is also interesting that you have had the author of Stupid Fast for so many semesters! What were some of the writing tricks he taught you that kept reoccurring in your mind while reading his book?