15 weeks of class, 10 books, and perhaps a new perspective

When I began this class, I was a little caught off guard. I expected The Adolescent in American Literature to be more about the classics involving adolescents, things we would expect to find in our curriculum: Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, A Separate Peace, and others of that nature.

So needless to say, I was a little surprised and resisted at first.

However, I always think it's valuable to be exposed to a wide variety of literature, and this was no different. I think my students will someday benefit from my exposure to YA lit. Perhaps they will be inclined to read more outside the classroom if I can present to them a variety of literature. If I can give them literature they like, they may be more likely to trust me about more mature or challenging reads.

I really like the idea of pairing classic literature with YA in order to bring out the similarities, but I have yet to really understand how to effectively do this in a classroom. I'll be holding onto that idea and looking into it as I begin to teach in the coming years.

As I've said, I really enjoyed some books more than others. I will not soon forget Looking for Alaska or My Most Excellent Year. The rest have given me a glimpse of YA Lit and the ability to find new reads for my students in the future.

Blogging with real teens

I thought for one of my final reflections it would be really relevant to touch on the class of sophomores, juniors, and seniors we blogged with about their YA Lit class.

I have to admit that at first, I didn't see the real value in this idea. I thought it'd just be sort of silly and we wouldn't get much out of it. I was quite wrong. Though we only had a brief time to interact with them, I saw immediate value.

I think many of us especially in this class, most of us English or Education majors of some sort, we probably had relatively positive experiences with reading growing up, perhaps even accelerated. Many of us said we may have skipped YA Lit at least a little, if not entirely. We missed out on this literature, but that doesn't mean that many teens don't enjoy it and benefit from it. And hearing what they had to say about why it was important to them to have this kind of class was insightful.

I just saw how much they enjoyed their class, if nothing else. They respected and liked their teacher and trusted her book choices. They seemed to actually read the books, to enjoy them, and to learn from them. Some of the students said they hated reading before this class, and I was excited to hear them say that they really liked to read some of these books. I've said from the beginning that reading is beneficial no matter what kind. And this sort of thing can definitely be a stepping stone to enjoying more challenging reading as an adult.

I also had to comment on the references to the classics. I commented on the blog that it sounded more like they had teachers who were unable to reach them with the classics, to connect the underlying themes to their lives. One student wrote how the sex, drugs, and love in the YA books they just didn't find in Romeo and Juliet... I think they missed something, which made me so sad.

It reinforced to me, as a preservice English teacher, that it is ESSENTIAL to connect with my students, to help them connect with the literature, to help them find relevant meaning. It will turn them off from reading if I can't do that effectively.

The Most Excellent book of the semester?

Okay, sorry, the titles of these posts are really sort of cheesey. I just can't help myself.

Anyway, as the last book of the semester, I couldn't help but think back on all of the ones I've read. The one that stuck out most in my mind was Looking for Alaska. I just so enjoyed that book, and after that, nothing ever quite met that expectation. Sometimes it was the genre, sometimes the characters or the plot itself, but I never quite reached the satisfaction that I had while reading Alaska... until My Most Excellent Year, by Steve Kluger. The story is one of three friends growing up, dealing with love and loss, friendship, and mostly hope.

I know many people didn't like the varying format, but I thought it so enhanced the book and kept it interesting. It gave great insight on each of the characters and helped me better get into their heads and understand their motivations. I just thought the format was appropriate. No complaints.

I also think that one of my favorite parts of the book was its ability to get across a point without making it glaringly obvious. I don't think that it had an "agenda" so to speak, but I think it's fair to say that Kluger was trying to make a point about homosexuality, mostly by not making it at all, less perhaps one line, said by Augie's dad, "I realized that we'd never had the "I'm gay" conversation. Has this generation finally made it superfluous? If only."

Though homosexuality was a theme throughout the book, it was just that, A theme, not THE theme, and nothing jammed down your throat or shoved in your face. I so appreciated that. Perhaps it was an ideal world, perhaps it wasn't "realistic" enough, but the first step to accomplishing a social goal is to be able to envision it. And I think Kluger did an exceptional job with his handling of this social issue.

The rest of the book was simply about love. Father-son love, Mother-son love, friendly love, budding love, romantic love, the love of a child, among probably others. Yes, the world is full of horrible things, and often life is not fair... but sometimes it's nice to step outside of that and remember that love prevails. It was a pick-me-up book, an easy read, something fun, and it left me with a smile. I would give it my highest recommendation for any student looking for this sort of feeling.

Why do we read?

This question seemed to be glaringly significant after the class discussion for We Were Here, by Matt De la Pena. The discussion became somewhat heated and some feelings seemed to be hurt, but I think it very much boiled down to the question, why do we read?

Do we read to relate to our characters or the plot or setting of the book? Do we read to expose societal issues? Do we read to have a different experience or learn something new? Do we read simply to enjoy? I'd argue that all of those are great reasons to read, and there are so many more.

Reading the posts from the high school class in Michigan, they often referenced how the YA lit they were reading was easier to relate to, dealt with issues they deal with, and was more interesting. I simply stated that I believed that a book like We Were Here would not necessarily provide them with what they were looking for, if that in fact was it.

We Were Here is the story of a teenage boy who's committed an awful crime that he cannot face. He is sentenced to a year in a group home, where he must record his feelings and experiences in a journal. Along the way he meets a few different boys who teach him several lessons about himself, his experiences, and dealing with tragedies. The story is really one of forgiving- others, yourself. Running from life simply isn't the answer.

I could definitely see the concept of this book used in a classroom, but the profanity in this specific book may be difficult to bring into a classroom, depending on the district. The title of this section was "unheard voices", and I think that's something worth examining.

Do we bring voices into the classroom specifically because they are unheard? Or can we simply bring this book into a classroom because it has important themes and perspective, and it just happens to have three boys of color as its main characters. I think that the story is worth telling, and these questions are so important to discuss with students. It's a teacher decision, but students should understand the issues.

Not my cup of tea, but enjoyable

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore was a part of our "page turners" section of this class, and it falls specifically under fantasy with a very visible element of romance as well throughout. I'm not a fantasy person, but the book was definitely fun, smart, and enjoyable.

I could see where it was a YA book, but I also felt at times that the book was really mature. The romance was fairly mature, and there was a non-detailed sex scene at one point, but the characters themselves were very mature for their ages. The romance is fairly mature, and there is a very present issue of marriage and if you should get married and why or why not, which I thought to be advanced as well for some young readers. Although I suppose they might just not pick up on it.

This book obviously displays an extreme case, but it begs the question, do you use the powers (whatever they might be) you have to rule over people just because you can? Because the government has power over its people, should they take advantage of it? Or should they rule FOR the people?

The only issue I had with this book is this sort of question. Teen readers say they want something to "relate to" and such, but is this question really relevant in their lives? On some level maybe, but it's seems to be sort of a strange and abstract question. Even the romance, like I said, is so mature, it seems a little much for teen readers.

Though I think it was an interesting and enjoyable read, I would probably recommend it to an older crowd interested in fantasy, and I'm not sure I'd use it in the classroom. I just think there are so many other books out there with more pressing issues for high schoolers.

Saw a little of myself in Frankie

Overall, I would have to say that I really enjoyed The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart. There were some very real issues presented in the book, specifically gender and class, and I think it could really spark some interesting questions, especially for the young women reading it. Whether or not you believe Frankie was true to herself or got too caught up in everything, that question alone opens up for further discussions, and I think that shows true value in a book.

I can remember going through some of the many things Frankie experienced, suddenly physically maturing, getting a little wrapped up in the opposite sex, etc. I'd say that was junior high age. By the time I got to high school, I had taken on a very strong female persona, where I did not need a guy to feel validated, though I saw many of my friends continue to get too caught up, leave their friends behind while they're dating a new guy, and all of those other issues that arise. Over the years, it's become more apparent the gender issues that our society faces.

I'll never forget my senior year of high school when we did an enneagram test, in which personalities are classified into 9 types, ranging from peacemaker and helper to asserter and adventurer. I took the class my second semester, and on the first day of class, our teacher asked us if any of our friends who took the class first semester had already told us what number we were. I raised my hand and said my friends had told me I was an 8, or the asserter/challenger. He raised his eyebrows and ever-s0-condescendingly said, "Hmm, we often refer to girl 8's as a word that begins with a 'b', if ya know what I mean."

I was furious. It's okay for a boy to be assertive and strong, but if I am as a female, I'm a bitch? Unbelievable. I could not help but think Frankie faces some of these issues in the book: how strong is too strong, will the guys not like her if she's too strong or too weak? Where is that happy medium, and how does a girl and emerging woman establish herself as strong and independent without society calling her a bitch, or worse?

As I was reading this book, I did enjoy the silly pranks, funny scenes, and characters, but for me, the message was so much more. I can really imagine bringing some gender issues to the forefront in a classroom. I worry about the alienation of males, but I do think that they should be a part of the conversation, as they are a part of the society that perpetuates these gender roles. They need to realize that both genders must take responsibility for this issue.

Like I said, I really liked the book, but I more loved the issues that it brought to the forefront, and for me I placed more emphasis on gender than class. I could really see this book working in a classroom, and I could also really see my students enjoying it as well.

Octavian was nothing special for me

I've been very forthright about my opinions of these books, and I will continue to be honest. I got through less than half of this book before I just could not finish it. And I am not usually the type of person who doesn't finish something, a book or otherwise. I just could not do it. That being said, let me continue with what I can say about The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson.

The whole idea of YA historical fiction was terribly unappealing to me, but I really made an attempt to get through it. But when I was forewarned in class that, "the first 1/3 or so of the book is tough to get through, but then it's excellent!" I was just not pleased. I continued to try, but when other work piled up, I just could not make it a priority.

Though we like to think that our students are only taking our class and that our class is the most important, that simply is not the case. And I would have a really hard time pitching a book where I recognized that the first THIRD of the book was "tough to get through". Personally, I don't care how good the book turns out when over a hundred pages are not that great. A good author shouldn't take so long to draw a reader in- I believe that a good author draws the reader in right away. I also am more of a page-turner kind of reader, but I think most of my young students might feel the same way.

So I hope that if I want to teach this kind of a book in my classroom or encourage my students to read historical fiction, I can find a better option for them. I would not rule out this book entirely, because I'm aware that not everyone reads like I do, but I'd say that if a student is looking for YA lit, this is not quite what they're looking for.