Found what I was looking for in Alaska

My punny title (sorry, I really couldn't help it) says it all. I was struggling to find YA novels of substance, of literary merit, of true quality. Granted, I haven't read many yet, but I was still disheartened. I was also hesitant to pick up another contemporary novel, afraid of the same issues I'd already run into.

I can honestly say that from the first page until the last, I truly enjoyed Looking for Alaska, by John Green. Miles is a junior in high school who decides to leave his boring life behind and seek the Great Perhaps at Culver Creek boarding school. Miles has a strange interest in knowing people's last words, and the last words of Francois Rabelais, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps" inspire Miles' trip and guide his journey. He immediately meets an eclectic group of friends, each bringing something interesting and distinctive to the table. One of these friends is Alaska- sexy, beautiful, rebellious, and perhaps reckless. And absolutely irresistible to Miles. The book moves at a steady pace, following the daily happenings and harmless mischief, until the climax of the story, where the book cuts into sections of Before and After. The event that separates them will devastate and challenge the friends together and as individuals.

One of the things I loved about this book was its ability to be laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining while still incorporating literary strategies, real-life issues, and so many elements to dissect and interpret. Students will likely enjoy the novel, and this always puts them in a more willing position to analyze. We discussed a few in class, but there are so many ways to look at this novel. Alaska's character alone presents family issues, gender issues, psychological issues. The Colonel, Miles' roommate, has an intense hatred for the "Weekday Warriors", the rich students who go home on weekends; this presents a prominent social class element. It's also then interesting to explore where Lara, a friend in the group who comes from a wealthy family, fits into the group despite her social class. If you delve deeper, there's a recurring image of running and what it means, be it running scared in the darkness or running from trouble with sparklers. Character development is also so important. How much of our personalities are shaped by the events and circumstances in our lives that we cannot control? What makes us who we are? Each character in the book is distinctive and comes from a different background and different life experiences. How does this motivate their actions? There are so many other questions to ask of students, and I really think you could spend weeks just delving into characters and all of the other issues I've mentioned.

I can't help but be cliche. I laughed. I cried. I loved this book for so many reasons. I would give it my highest recommendation for a classroom, a summer read, high school students, college students, even adults. I think it would satisfy most any reader.

A quick matter of business...

So I wanted to take a moment to clarify the purpose of this blog for the time being. I've struggled with it a little, and I've admittedly had no specific audience in mind when writing my posts so far. What I've written has been mainly directed at the class and based on our discussions.

I've also done some more broad thinking about the usage of a blog in my classroom, which has lead me to some other ideas for purposes of this blog. Though I tend to brush off technology in most cases, I've really taken some time to think this one through. What if one day I want my students to do independent reading or recreational reading on their own time? Don't I want them to read books they like? And how will they know if they like them if they have no idea what they're about. So, perhaps, someday I will have a blog with book reviews for my students so they can find books that might interest them. I considered that as an audience for this class assignment. However, I really thought this limited the things I could say in my posts, and for the purposes of this class I want to be clear.

This blog is intended for not only the students in this class, but also future middle or high school teachers. They could theoretically read this blog and find books that are and are not suitable, appropriate, or interesting for their students. Each post will provide a summary, an expansion or analysis of a particular element, and its potential place in the classroom.

Just wanted to clarify!

Appreciating a Classic

The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton is undeniably a classic. It broke away from the cookie-cutter previously novels aimed at young adults. It spoke about real things, real life. It is certainly of the "coming of age" genre, but it far surpasses the usual themes. Through its combination of groundbreaking reality, literary merit, universal themes, and ability to pull at your heart strings, The Outsiders will continue to stand the test of time.

Ponyboy Curtis, our male protagonist is a mere fourteen years old, but his perspective is one few fourteen year olds could dream of knowing. He and his two older brothers are members of the Greasers, the poor lower class. They and their gang have a bitter and violent rivalry with the Socs (short for Socials). As the violence escalates, Ponyboy is forced to deal with social class, relationships, family, and loyalty. How much is too much? How far is too far?

Overall, the book was undoubtedly well-written, impressively so when you realize Hinton was just sixteen when she wrote it. Hinton also does an impressive job incorporating several apparent themes, motifs, and recurring symbols. It's a great introductory novel to literary elements, and I believe it's a story that students will really like. The fast-paced, action-packed, high-interest plot would keep both genders satisfied throughout.

I want to specifically point out the gender issues in this book. I first heard of this book a few years back when my younger brother read it. He has fallen into the typical "boy dilemma", one in which he rarely enjoys reading and has trouble finding books he likes. This particular book stood out in my mind, because he actually enjoyed it, so I made a mental note. Having now read it myself, I understand why he liked it. Though I liked it myself, I could see where someone would label this a "boy book". The main characters are all male, and the gangs, violent action, brotherly loyalty and male bonding are prominent themes, more appealing to males than females.

With that in mind, it's interesting that S.E Hinton chose to write under a gender ambiguous name. I can honestly say I didn't know S.E. Hinton was a woman until I did a little more research into the novel, and while reading the book, I assumed the author was male. It begs the question... would her book have been as popular if it was widely known that she was female? Did her gender ambiguity let her fall under the radar and let her book take the center stage?

Furthermore, I thought the role of male and female characters in the book was interesting, especially from a female author. The males were a band of brothers, reliable, loyal, and even the Socs stuck together. The females, however, were widely unreliable, fake, superficial, and problematic for the males. Overall, the gender aspect is an interesting one to examine throughout the book.

There are so many other ideas to examine, consider, and analyze. What a great book, one students enjoy AND you can use for literary purposes.

First impressions aren't everything...

...and it's a damn good thing, because I might've thrown in the towel with the first book I read. Before I critique, I'd like to put out a disclaimer- there is nothing inherently wrong with this book. As I have said, reading is reading, and it can be a gateway to more challenging literature. That said, I did not care for this book, Printz honor or not.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things

by Carolyn Mackler

The novel begins with a very stereotypical teenager going through stereotypical problems. Our protagonist, Virginia Shreves, is a fifteen-year-old girl braving the high school world and all it entails. She has a budding romance with a boy named Froggy, a relationship many of us might label "friends with benefits". Virginia eats lunch alone in the bathroom stall, and it just so happens that one day, the popular girls waltz into the bathroom and gossip about how "uncool" she is. Imagine that. Did I mention that her best friend moved away? Right... they exchange occasional emails in which Virginia struggles to deal with her best friend making new friends. Oh, and she's fat. Not to be insensitive... she herself says she lives by the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct". And to top things off, her parents and siblings are disgustingly perfect- thin, smart, and popular. Her mother is an adolescent psychologist who is clearly embarrassed by Virginia, and her dad is rarely around. Her sister is beautiful and slightly rebellious, joining the peace corps to escape her mother; though we rarely hear from her, it's clear Virginia wishes she could be more like her.

And then there's Byron. Byron is Virgina's college-age brother who is referred to as "big man on campus". He's your stereotypical heart throb- tall, handsome, athletic. He and Virginia were once close, and she often reaches out to him through her struggles, but their relationship has much changed. This is especially true when the novel takes a sharp turn down maturity lane when Byron shocks and disappoints all by committing an awful crime. Virginia then has to deal with that in the context of her life and their relationship.

And in the end, Virginia finds herself through piercings and dyed hair. Really? She couldn't find a more meaningful way to come into her own, to break away from her cookie-cutter family? What a shallow perspective to give kids who are looking to create themselves. Couldn't she have found something that interested her, something that defined her, something she could believe in? Isn't that really what kids are looking for?

I was also frustrated by the simplicity of the writing and the maturity of the themes. According to several reviews, the book is placed at the 7-10th grade level. While a 7th grader may find the book humorous and entertaining, I think some of the events are simply beyond the maturity level of a 7th grader. As for the top of the spectrum, though a 10th grader may better handle the mature aspects, they're likely to find a more interesting and challenging book on the shelves.

And need I address the stereotypes played out over and over again? Outcast in the perfect family. Friend moved away. Doesn't fit in with the popular girls. Mom's a psychologist. Been there, done that!! The twist at the end certainly provides a different angle, but even so. Perfect brother not so perfect after all? I guess it's not so unique after all.

I must have missed something, some appeal. I could see a 5th-7th grader reading this book and thinking it's funny and a bit rebellious, with some mild sexual content... and that's sort of where I think the appeal ends. Even then, I think the ending would be lost on that age group. I think this book had potential to be honest, funny, and inspiring. It really fell short, in my opinion.

YA Lit

Though I've been struggling with the concept of YA lit the beginning of this class, I'm slowly getting to know it. I guess I should start with my expectations for this class- it will help with some perspective. I came into this class expecting to read classic American literature that was either aimed at adolescents or had adolescent characters. I was expecting Catcher in the Rye and other classics. It's also important to know that as a junior education major, I'm really looking to learn practical topics I can teach and how I can teach them to my high school students. So even though I knew this was an English class and not an education class, I still had some educational objectives. With that in mind, I was a little thrown off when we started discussing what I perceived as "irrelevant" literature.

I have since found a new perspective, thankfully. I have decided that though YA lit does not lend itself perfectly to teaching in my high school classroom, I have looked beyond that to find some very legitimate purposes. We hear all the time that when students get to the high school level, they lose interest in reading. Whether it's a time issue (or lack thereof) or the introduction to the classics or otherwise, I don't care to debate it. The bottom line is that reading is important- all reading can be helpful to a student's vocabulary, critical thinking, and reading comprehension, among other perks. So I want my students to read.

As an English major, I need to remember that not all students will find great joy in reading those classics. Any time I can get them reading something that interests them outside the classroom, I have done that student a great service. YA lit can be a great alternative to your typical classroom novels. It is up to me, as the teacher, to be knowledgeable of this genre so I can recommend these books to my students.

One way to do that is to simply immerse myself, take the time to read whatever I can get my hands on and sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly, so to speak. Another option is certainly the award system that seems to be still expanding for YA lit. Maybe I work with Printz winners to find literary merit. Maybe I find some more mature books through the Alex Award (for adult books that appeal to young adult readers). The William C. Morris award recognizes first-time writers, and so maybe I find an author I really like and continue to follow his or her work. This is a lot of work for me, but if I can find books that I enjoy and think have value, then I can help my students do the same.

I've found some issues with YA lit, but I am working through them. Sometimes I think the writing is simple and unchallenging, while the content is more mature. I find this problem frustrating, because I think I can still challenge my students with YA lit, but these books just aren't going to do it. Take the Gossip Girl series, for instance. Sure, I read them while I was in high school, mostly over the summers when I wanted quick and easy "beach reads". And they were fun. But I can't say I learned much except that apparently upper east side New York city prep school students can get into martini bars at age 16... hmm...

So yes, I know this is not an education class, I promise! There is always some benefit to exposure to new literature, teachable or not. But I would certainly like to make it applicable to my teaching career. Anything that can benefit my students is worth investing my time. So I will continue to explore the field of YA lit with an open mind. I have already encountered both good and bad, and I will try to learn from both experiences.