Boy Meets Boy

Bibliographic Information: Levithan, D. (2003). Boy meets boy. New York: Knopf.

Plot Summary: Paul, an openly gay sophomore, leads a pretty good life.  He lives in a town where people accept his homosexuality.  One night when he and his friends, Joni and Tony, venture to a local bookstore, Paul meets Noah, and they instantly make a connection.  Luckily for Paul, Noah is new in town and attends the same school.  After enlisting his friends to help him track Noah down, he finally sees him again at the school pep assembly.  Noah and Paul begin to lay the foundation for a strong relationship, that is until Kyle, Paul’s ex-boyfriend, starts talking to him after spreading rumors that Paul had “tricked” Kyle into being gay.  This change in Kyle confuses Paul, and combined with his best friend Joni’s new relationship with Chuck and her slow disappearance from the group (and his life), he finds himself on the verge of losing his new-found love.  Before Paul can get his “happily ever after” he needs to reconcile his feelings for Kyle, and the odds are stacked against him.

Critical Evaluation:  The setting and characters in Boy Meets Boy provide a fresh perspective through the eyes of a gay character.  The story takes place in a community that is open and accepting to homosexuality, and transvestism.  In elementary school Paul ran a campaign for class president with the slogan “Vote for me, I’m gay,” and the high school quarterback, Daryl Heisenberg, is a cross-dresser who now goes by the name Infinite Darlene (she is also the homecoming queen).  The community also has a strong PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) organization.  Pauls’ community is an ideal place for lesbians, gays, and transvestites to flourish, which provided him the environment needed to become the confident person he is.  Paul’s friend, Tony, juxtaposes his life entirely.  Tony lives in a neighboring town and goes to a different school.  Tony’s homosexuality isn’t embraced by his community, and it is abhorred by his severely religious parents.  As a result, Tony’s life isn’t as easy as Paul’s.  His parents openly pray for his soul and forbid him from friendship with Paul when they are caught hugging by one of his mother’s friends.  Boy Meets Boy is not only a story about love, but it shows how lesbians and gays are affected by the acceptance of their communities.  David Levithan broke the mold of novels about gay teens by not turning the main character into a victim of homophobic abuse.  Instead, the main character thrives as a homosexual teen, as do many of his peers in the book. 

Reader’s Annotation:  Boy meets boy.  Boy loses boy.  Can boy win boy back?

Information about the author: Boy Meets Boy was David Levithan's first book, and he wrote it as a gift to his friends for Valentine's Day.  He aimed to write a book about homosexuality that broke the reputation many homosexual-themed books had- that of a gay teen who suffered horrific prejudice and bullying from his peers. Levithan has published many other successful novels like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (which was also made into a movie), and Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-written with John Green (Levithan, n.d.). 
Earlier in his career, Levithan worked on The Babysitter's Club series while he was an intern at Scholastic Corporation.  He is the founding editor of PUSH.  Levithan received the Lambda Literary Award in 2003 for Boy Meets Boy, and in 2006 for The Full Spectrum (Wikipedia, n.d.). 

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties: English (literature)

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1.    Notes from Paul and Noah

Reading level/Interest age: 14+

Challenge Issues: This book includes homosexuality, but no references to sex.

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5.    Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I chose this book: This book is evidence of the evolution of gay literature.  No longer do gay characters have to be chained to the expectation of bullying and prejudices.  Boy Meets Boy tells the story of an accepting community, which is symbolic to the transformation society is undertaking with their acceptance of homosexuality.  

References:
Levithan, D. (n.d.). You probably think this page is about me. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/-pUhraVG7Ow

Wikipedia. (n.d.). David Levithan. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/-pUhraVG7Ow

The Fault in Our Stars

Bibliographic Information: Green, J. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York: Dutton Books.

Plot Summary: Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year old girl in remission from thyroid cancer, finds her soul mate, Augustus Waters, at an ominous location- cancer support group.  Hazel’s parents and doctors believe she is clinically depressed, but all Augustus sees is a Natalie Portman carbon copy who is witty, beautiful, and amazing.  Augustus and Hazel are two peas in a pod- Gus missing half his leg, and Hazel shackled to her oxygen tank.  When Hazel convinces Gus to read her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, he joins Hazel in her obsession to know what happens to the characters after the story ambiguously ends.  Hazel contracts pneumonia and is admitted to the hospital while Gus loyally keeps watch in the waiting room.  After her discharge from the hospital, Gus decided to use his wish from The Genies to take Hazel on a trip to Amsterdam to meet Peter Van Houten, the author of An Imperial Infliction.  What ensues is a journey of discovery, love, pain, and firsts.  Hazel falls in love with Gus “the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once,” but she worries that she is a grenade destined to destroy the ones she loves.

Critical Analysis: John Green brilliantly pens a novel, not about cancer, but about the courage to love.  His two main characters, Hazel and Gus, shine with intelligence, and their witty banter makes a potentially sad story bearable.  Underneath their big words and silly puns, we catch glimpses of their vulnerability- fear and pain.  While cancer plays a supporting role in the book, it doesn’t read as a cancer book.  The characters, their journey to find Van Houten, and their star-crossed gamble on love are the true stars.  Hazel, the negative realist is a fitting juxtaposition to Gus’s idealism.  She wants to leave the smallest scar possible when she dies, but Gus wants to leave a legend.  Green’s descriptions of life through the eyes of Hazel are poignant and stark.  The personification of cancer and its many side affects speaks volumes of Hazel’s perception of her condition.  Green doesn’t shy away from the ugly realities to which cancer subjects its victims.  To read about Hazel finding Gus in his bed soaked by his own urine, barely able to string a coherent sentence together is almost unbearable.  The Fault in Our Stars, like pain, demands to be felt, not just read.

Reader’s Annotation:

Cancer sucks, but without it Hazel would have never met Augustus.  How can the biggest threat to her life provide the gateway to make it feel so complete?

About the Author: John Green grew up in Orlando, Florida in 1977.  He received a B.A. in English and in Religious Studies from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.  After college Green briefly worked as a student chaplain in a children’s hospital, but then moved to Chicago and worked as a publishing assistant at Booklist Magazine where he met editor Ilene Cooper who encouraged his writing (Wikipedia, n.d.).  Green’s published books include Looking for Alaska (2005), Abundance of Katherines (2006), Paper Towns (2008), Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-written with David Levithan (2010), and The Fault in Our Stars (2012).   In 2008 Green wrote a novel with two other authors, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, titles Let it Snow.    

Green and his brother, Hank, collaborate on their YouTube channel Vlogbrothers.  They have uploaded more than 950 videos.  Their community of nerdfighters fights to reduce the level of suck in the world (Green, n.d.).

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties: English (figurative language: personification; characterization; plot elements)

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. When you are a ticking time bomb, what’s the point in falling in love?

Reading level/Interest age: Ages 14 and up

Challenge Issues: Includes teen drinking, alludes to sex, and covers heavy-hearted subject matters (sickness and death).

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5. Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I chose this book: This novel discusses a tough topic- teenagers with cancer.  Reading this book evokes a lot of emotions from many readers, and it received numerous glowing reviews.  It has appeared on many bestseller lists, and was New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice (Green, n.d.).

References:

Green. J. (n.d.) Webpage. Retrieved 10 March 2013 from http://johngreenbooks.com

Wikipedia (n.d.) John Green. Webpage. Retrieved on 9 March 2013 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Green_%28author%29.

Go Ask Alice

Bibliographic Information: Sparks, B. [Editor]. (1971). Go Ask Alice  Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Plot Summary: The anonymous diarist of this novel begins her journal with normal teenage worries about weight, friends, fitting in, boys, sexuality, and parental misunderstanding.  She is desperate to fit in, and after a move to a larger town, the diarist finds herself at a party with some old friends, where she unknowingly drinks a soda laced with LSD.  After coming down from her high, she vows to never take drugs again only to voluntarily try them a few days later.  So begins her battle with drugs, the consequences of which include drug dealing, bad boyfriends, running away from home, rape, prostitution, homelessness, hitchhiking, bullying, and a stint in an insane asylum, to name a few.  Complicating her desires to stay clean are the horrible drug-loving friends who latch on to her and drag her down their descent into drugs.  After nearly dying from her habit, the diarist returns home with renewed strength to straighten out her life.  She even becomes romantically involved with Joel.  Will she finally break free from her drug habit?

Critical Evaluation: The story of the young girl in Go Ask Alice takes readers on a roller coaster ride through the rough stages of drug addiction.  The hardships the diarist experiences teeter on the verge of fictional, because it seems implausible that one young woman can really endure so many conflicts.  One theme throughout the novel is weakness, mostly in part of the main character herself.  Her initial weaknesses are those experienced by many teens: desire to fit in, obsession with weight, and conflict with parents.  Her desire to fit in leads her to join the wrong crowd and expose her to the dangers of drugs.  The drugs only compound her weaknesses by impairing her judgment, for addiction suffocates all her ability to reason, and she becomes a slave to the high.  It is heartbreaking to watch her break free from Drug Hell, return home with stalwart resolve to stay clean, and finally end up back in the depths of narcotics.  If she had more confidence in herself would she have plummeted to rock bottom?  We’ll never know, but parents can use this novel as a teaching tool to show their child possible consequences of drug addiction.  

 

Reader’s Annotation: Raped, beaten, homeless, hungry, and stoned.  All she wants to do is go back home to her family, but will they take her back?

Information about the author: When Go Ask Alice was first published, it was done so under the guise on an anonymous diary, but as years passed Beatrice Sparks came forth as the novel’s editor.  Beatrice Sparks, a youth counselor, claims she used journal entries from an actual teenaged client of hers, and added fictional events based on other patient’s stories.  

The details of where Sparks earned her PhD are fuzzy, as well as details about her professional experience (Wikipedia, n.d.).  

Before her death in May of 2012 she published eight diary style novels, and two other works.  

Genre: Realistic/Controversial Fiction

Curriculum Ties: English (literature)

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Psychiatrist’s perspective (considering the controversy of authorship).

2. Journal from diarist.

Reading level/Interest age: 15+

Challenge Issues: This novel includes drug use, homosexuality, rape, sex, violence and homelessness.

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5. Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

References:

Wikipedia. (n.d). Beatrice Sparks. Wikipedia. Retrieved 1 May 2013 from

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Sparks

The House on Mango Street

Bibliographic Information: Cisneros, S. (1984). The house on Mango Street. New York: Knopf.

Plot Summary: The House on Mango Streets contains a series of vignettes about a young girl named Esperanza.  She grew up in a latino neighborhood in Chicago, and her neighbors provide her many lessons about the realities of growing up.  Esperanza dreams about having a house all their own, but is disappointed in the house her parents move to in her neighborhood.  It is not the house of her dreams, but it will do for now.  Esperanza meets some neighborhood girls, who befriend her sister and her.  We read about Esperanza’s embarrassment of eating rice sandwiches at school, her friend who is black and blue from the abuse she’s dealt at home, the neighbor girl whose husband refuses to let her leave the house, and the old man who is cheating on his wife.  Esperanza also faces the reality of rape when she is taken advantage of by a boy at carnival.  She also tells stories about her own family- her mother who “could have been someone,” but chose to marry and have a family instead, and her father whom she had to comfort when his father passed away.  Through these experiences Esperanza discovers what she wants out of life and vows to one day have a house all her own where her dreams can come true.  

Critical Evaluation:  Esperanza’s life on Mango Street reflects those similar to her in reality.  She has eccentric neighbors through which she catches glimpses of a reality she isn’t ready for.  Her character is one who dreams of something bigger, who longs for more than what she has, and one who is determined to make something of herself despite the low expecations people have of her.  In one of the final chapters titles “A House of My Own,” we get a peek into Esperanza’s future hopes.  Growing up on Mango Street, Esperanza learned valuable lessons about education, relationships, friends, abuse, pride, and expectations.

Cisneros tells Esperanza’s story beautifully with figurative language.  The similes, metaphors, and personification bring the story to life and provide powerful mental images. She uses lines like “my feet swell big and heavy like plungers” shows Esperanza’s hesitancy to dance with her uncle because she is embarrassed of her shoes.  The figurative language invites readers in, and reminds readers what it is like to be young and imaginative.  

Reader’s Annotation: We were supposed to move to a nice house, but instead, we ended up on Mango Street in a house too old, too small, and too ugly to be claimed by me.  One day, I will have a house all my own where I don’t have to share anything with anybody.  

Information about the author:  Sandra Cisneros has had several careers including a teacher, college-recruiter, arts administrator, and poet-in-the-schools (which explains her uncanny ability with figurative language.  Cisneros has published some poetry books, a few novels, and some story collections.  

    She founded the Macondo Foundation, and the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation, and serves as president for both.  Cisneros has won numerous awards and fellowships, and House on Mango Street has sold over two million copies, and is required reading in schools and universities all over the country (Cisneros, 2012).  

Genre: Fiction

Curriculum Ties: English (figurative language)

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Read a description of the Esperanza’s house on Mango Street.

Reading level/Interest age: 14+

Challenge Issues: This book contains references to sex and abuse.

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5. Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I chose this book: The House on Mango Street is a great addition to my collection because it showcases a Latino young adult experience.  Many young adult patrons can relate to Esperanza's less-than-ideal life in her neighborhood.  The lush figurative language employed by Cisneros exposes students to powerful language.    

References:

Cisneros, S. (2012, September 25). About Sandra Cisneros. Sandra Cisneros. Retrieved 6 May 2013 from http://www.sandracisneros.com/bio.php

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Bibliographic Information: Carter, A. (2006). I'd tell your I love you, but then I'd have to kill you. Grand Haven: Brilliance Audio.

Plot Summary: Cammie Morgan attends the Gallagher Academy For Exceptional Young Women.  Under the guise of a boarding school for gifted girls, the school actually operates as a school for future CIA spies.  Spying come naturally to Cammie, but that isn’t surprising considering her mother is the headmistress of the school, and her father lost his life while on a spy mission.  Her fourth year at the Gallagher Academy introduces her to her first Covert Operations class, taught by the vary handsome Joe Solomon, a new addition to the Gallagher faculty.  During their first covert mission, the girls are assigned to spy of one of their teachers.  During the mission, Cammie is left behind and she meets Josh, a kid from town, and sparks fly.  Cammie struggles between keeping her true identity a secret, and building a relationship with Josh based on lies.  She eventually gets caught in her web of lies, but will Josh understand?

Critical Evaluation: Ally Carter’s novel, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You, is a story appealing to younger teens.  The main character, Cammie Morgan, parades through the novel hindered only by her predicament between love and spy school.  Her conflicts are far from the rough issues teens deal with in novels like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Carter gives Cammie’s character some depth through the ongoing grief she encounters from losing her father, a world class spy, but it isn’t long until Cammie loses herself in thoughts about her boyfriend Josh.  The setting, spy school, is the most appealing aspect of the book, as it provides an environment different from most adolescent experiences.  Spy school is cool, and the fact that The Gallagher Academy is strictly a school for girls, breaks the stereotype that only boys are spies.  Hopefully in future installments of the Gallagher Girls series, Cammie can exercise more of her spy skills.

Reader’s Annotation: Welcome to spy school.  Today is Tuesday, which means you may only speak French, a welcome relief from yesterday’s Latin conversations, and hopefully you completed you Covert Operations homework, because that is one class you do not want to fail.

Information about the author: I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You was Ally Carter’s first YA novel, and part of a six-part series with the sixth and final novel due to hit shelves in 2013.  After growing up on a ranch in Oklahoma, Carter attended Oklahoma State University and Cornell University, and worked in the agricultural industry.

           Carter feels very grateful that she is able to write full-time because it is something she has wanted to do since she was a little girl.  She has published another YA series, Heist Society, and has published a few adult fiction novels as well.  Carter’s books have sold over two million copies and have appeared on many best-seller lists (Carter, n.d.). 

Genre: Fiction; Romance

Curriculum Ties: English (literature)

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1.    Spy school class schedule

2.    Description of covert operation

Reading level/Interest age: 14-16

Challenge Issues: N/A

Why I chose this audiobook:  I included this audiobook because of it's light-hearted tone.  Many of the books in my collection deal with heavy issues, so this one is a breath of freash air.  School Library Journal labeled this book as one young adults read for fun (2011).

References:

Carter, A. (n.d.). Detailed Bio - Ally Carter. Home - Ally Carter. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://allycarter.com/ally/detailed-bio/

Charnizon, M. (2011, April 5). What are they reading for fun? School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newslettersnewsletterbucketextrahelping2/890042-477/what_are_they_reading_for.html.csp