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.
Did this experience completely turn you off from graphic novels or would consider reading/teaching any? This one is particular was a little hard to follow and really get involved in, but there are a lot of great "coming of age" graphic novels that could be used with adolescent readers. Try "Stitches" by David Small or "Skim" by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, both of these are really good reads.
ReplyDelete"Something Like Normal" seems to be the favorite this week and understandably so. Doller did such a great job telling Travis' story and getting us personally involved in his life. I am also very glad I purchased this book. I am sure to keep it around for others to read!
-Allison