Alt-Press Watch. (2010). Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest LLC.
http://proquest.umi.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?COPT=REJTPTM4M2MmSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=17867
•Covers
Articles and information from alternative journals, magazines, and newspapers (currently 210 publications). At present, there are 670,000 articles available from the subscription-only database. Although it has its own entry page (which could use some usability compliance help), the search pages are the same as for ProQuest, making it easier to navigate than it otherwise would have been.
•Critical Evaluation
All information is available in full text/full image versions, and the presses covered are dated from 1970 to the present, making this an excellent resource. It is also open URL enabled for purposes of locating it easily, although it does not have MARC records available (probably not required by teens).
•Genre
Subscription Database
•Curriculum Ties
History
English
Science
Social Science
Government
•Booktalking Ideas
Locating information on controversial topics, current events, pop culture
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19
•Challenge Issues
Some adults may prefer students not have full access to the types of materials available with this database, but most of the material is probably also available in other databases that are just more widely spread. Up-to-the-minute information from Alt-Press Watch should be appreciated as being preferable to what some others may offer, especially when it comes to class projects and papers.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I felt that it was important to look at a database that might really appeal to teens, rather than just one that was available also available through the SJSU Library.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Ever After: A Cinderella Story
Loggia, W. (1998). Ever After: A Cinderella Story. New York, NY: Dell Books.
ISBN-10: 0440228158
•Plot Summary
Danielle de Barbarac is only eight when her father remarries the Baroness Rodmilla of Ghent, a social climber with two daughters near Danielle's own age. Father and daughter had developed a close bond after Danielle's mother died, and he often brought her back books from his trips. The last book he will bring back is Sir Thomas More's Utopia. It's a book for older people, but Danielle is excited, and it will become one of her most prized possessions when her father dies, only days later. Twelve years later, Danielle has been reduced to sleeping in front of the fireplace, and taking care of her step-mother and step-sisters. Pieces of the family's artwork and silver are beginning to go missing, and one of the older servants has already been sold to pay off a debt. Danielle is not the only one having trouble, however, and young Henry I of France is fighting with his father about being forced into an arranged marriage with someone he does not love. When he flees the castle, and steals a horse from the de Barbarac estate, Danielle knocks off him off with a few well-aimed apples. Not knowing at first who he is because of his cloak, Henry reveals himself, and says he will not kill Danielle if she will let him take the horse. She agrees, but Henry is foiled in his plan as he comes across a band of gypsies accosting an old man. The old man turns out to be Leonardo da Vinci, and the painting that Henry returns to him in a brass tube, is the Mona Lisa. Leonardo is coming to work at the court of Henry's father, and the guards find them both, forcing Henry to return. When Danielle finds out about the man sold into slavery, and bound for America, she uses coin that Henry gives her for the use of the horse to get the old man out. She is dressed as a courtier, but it takes Henry appearing with instructions for the man to be released, for her plan to work. Henry does not recognize Danielle as the girl from the incident with the horse, and when she chastises him using text from Utopia, he is fascinated. Not knowing what else to do, and a name demanded of her, Danielle gives her mother's name instead-Countess Nicole de Lancret. Henry has another fight with his father, but a conversation between King and da Vinci convinces the ruler that perhaps he has been too hard on his son, and the two strike a bargain. Henry has five days to find a woman to marry, or he will be forced into the planned arrangement with the Princess of Spain. Henry and Danielle meet again, and he takes her to a monastic library, after which he tells his father he wants to build the finest library in France. In the meantime, with the possibility of marriage to her oldest daughter present, Rodmilla schemes to place Marguerite under Henry's nose. She succeeds, and since a ball is planned, she wants only the best for her daughter. Her best is actually the real Nicole's dress and slippers, placed in a trunk to be Danielle's wedding dress, yet she tells Danielle she can attend the ball if she is on her best behavior until the day of the event. When she finds out that Danielle has been posing as a courtier, Rodmilla convinces the royal family that "Nicole" was engaged to a Belgian and has already left the country. Remembering during their last meeting that Nicole had tried to explain something to him, Henry reasons it must be this, and agrees to marry the Spanish princess. At the wedding, the princess is crying her eyes out, and he lets her go. She flees into the arms of an unknown bald gentleman from her own court, and Henry knows he was wrong to let Nicole go. Rodmilla locks Danielle away, and goes to the ball with her own daughters, the youngest (Jacqueline) of which has had enough of the treatment given both to her, and to Danielle. She has met the Captain of the Guard several times now, Laurent, and they have embarked on a possible relationship. Danielle's childhood friend, Gustav, is sent to find da Vinci as no one else can open the lock on the cellar door. Gustav is an aspiring painter, and terrified, but da Vinci comes immediately, freeing Danielle. Outfitting her in Nicole's dress, painting her face, and designing wings for her to wear, Danielle is taken to the ball. Henry sees her, only moments before his father announcing the identity of the woman to whom Henry will become engaged. Rodmilla rushes in, and tells Henry the truth, who then turns on Danielle with disgust. Danille runs away, losing her shoe, and da Vinci delivers it to Henry with the information that he's a fool for letting Danielle go. As punishment for what she's done, Rodmilla trades Danielle to Pierre le Pieu, a grotesque man that she's also been selling the household items to for coin. He returns the other objects, and Henry goes to rescue Danielle, finally placing the slipper on her foot. Rodmilla and Marguerite are called into the court, and rather than have them killed for lying to the Queen about Danielle marrying a Belgian, Danielle has them placed in the castle laundry room as servants. Danielle and Henry are then free to live...and you know the rest.
•Critical Evaluation
Somewhat overly sentimental account of the classical Cinderella fairytale, but the additions of da Vinci as a central character and Danielle's keen sense of philosophy keep it from being too insipid. Takes place in France, where the original tale was said to have originated as well, though the historical elements were not apparently well researched.
•Reader’s Annotation
Based on the screenplay and film of the same name. Lacks the beginning and ending seen in the film, where Danielle's great-granddaughter is supposedly telling the tale to the Brothers Grimm.
•Information about the author
Despite having authored over fifteen novels, mainly of a romantic nature for teen girls, there is no information available on this author beyond the titles of these novels, is the executive editor of Delacourte Press (a Random House imprint), and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Romantic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Folktales
•Booktalking Ideas
Classic tales retold, fairytales made into film
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-10/Ages 14-15
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Although it was sappy, I enjoyed the film version, and was impressed with the casting choices (including Drew Barrymore as Danielle, Anjelica Huston as Rodmilla, and Dougray Scott as Henry).
ISBN-10: 0440228158
•Plot Summary
Danielle de Barbarac is only eight when her father remarries the Baroness Rodmilla of Ghent, a social climber with two daughters near Danielle's own age. Father and daughter had developed a close bond after Danielle's mother died, and he often brought her back books from his trips. The last book he will bring back is Sir Thomas More's Utopia. It's a book for older people, but Danielle is excited, and it will become one of her most prized possessions when her father dies, only days later. Twelve years later, Danielle has been reduced to sleeping in front of the fireplace, and taking care of her step-mother and step-sisters. Pieces of the family's artwork and silver are beginning to go missing, and one of the older servants has already been sold to pay off a debt. Danielle is not the only one having trouble, however, and young Henry I of France is fighting with his father about being forced into an arranged marriage with someone he does not love. When he flees the castle, and steals a horse from the de Barbarac estate, Danielle knocks off him off with a few well-aimed apples. Not knowing at first who he is because of his cloak, Henry reveals himself, and says he will not kill Danielle if she will let him take the horse. She agrees, but Henry is foiled in his plan as he comes across a band of gypsies accosting an old man. The old man turns out to be Leonardo da Vinci, and the painting that Henry returns to him in a brass tube, is the Mona Lisa. Leonardo is coming to work at the court of Henry's father, and the guards find them both, forcing Henry to return. When Danielle finds out about the man sold into slavery, and bound for America, she uses coin that Henry gives her for the use of the horse to get the old man out. She is dressed as a courtier, but it takes Henry appearing with instructions for the man to be released, for her plan to work. Henry does not recognize Danielle as the girl from the incident with the horse, and when she chastises him using text from Utopia, he is fascinated. Not knowing what else to do, and a name demanded of her, Danielle gives her mother's name instead-Countess Nicole de Lancret. Henry has another fight with his father, but a conversation between King and da Vinci convinces the ruler that perhaps he has been too hard on his son, and the two strike a bargain. Henry has five days to find a woman to marry, or he will be forced into the planned arrangement with the Princess of Spain. Henry and Danielle meet again, and he takes her to a monastic library, after which he tells his father he wants to build the finest library in France. In the meantime, with the possibility of marriage to her oldest daughter present, Rodmilla schemes to place Marguerite under Henry's nose. She succeeds, and since a ball is planned, she wants only the best for her daughter. Her best is actually the real Nicole's dress and slippers, placed in a trunk to be Danielle's wedding dress, yet she tells Danielle she can attend the ball if she is on her best behavior until the day of the event. When she finds out that Danielle has been posing as a courtier, Rodmilla convinces the royal family that "Nicole" was engaged to a Belgian and has already left the country. Remembering during their last meeting that Nicole had tried to explain something to him, Henry reasons it must be this, and agrees to marry the Spanish princess. At the wedding, the princess is crying her eyes out, and he lets her go. She flees into the arms of an unknown bald gentleman from her own court, and Henry knows he was wrong to let Nicole go. Rodmilla locks Danielle away, and goes to the ball with her own daughters, the youngest (Jacqueline) of which has had enough of the treatment given both to her, and to Danielle. She has met the Captain of the Guard several times now, Laurent, and they have embarked on a possible relationship. Danielle's childhood friend, Gustav, is sent to find da Vinci as no one else can open the lock on the cellar door. Gustav is an aspiring painter, and terrified, but da Vinci comes immediately, freeing Danielle. Outfitting her in Nicole's dress, painting her face, and designing wings for her to wear, Danielle is taken to the ball. Henry sees her, only moments before his father announcing the identity of the woman to whom Henry will become engaged. Rodmilla rushes in, and tells Henry the truth, who then turns on Danielle with disgust. Danille runs away, losing her shoe, and da Vinci delivers it to Henry with the information that he's a fool for letting Danielle go. As punishment for what she's done, Rodmilla trades Danielle to Pierre le Pieu, a grotesque man that she's also been selling the household items to for coin. He returns the other objects, and Henry goes to rescue Danielle, finally placing the slipper on her foot. Rodmilla and Marguerite are called into the court, and rather than have them killed for lying to the Queen about Danielle marrying a Belgian, Danielle has them placed in the castle laundry room as servants. Danielle and Henry are then free to live...and you know the rest.
•Critical Evaluation
Somewhat overly sentimental account of the classical Cinderella fairytale, but the additions of da Vinci as a central character and Danielle's keen sense of philosophy keep it from being too insipid. Takes place in France, where the original tale was said to have originated as well, though the historical elements were not apparently well researched.
•Reader’s Annotation
Based on the screenplay and film of the same name. Lacks the beginning and ending seen in the film, where Danielle's great-granddaughter is supposedly telling the tale to the Brothers Grimm.
•Information about the author
Despite having authored over fifteen novels, mainly of a romantic nature for teen girls, there is no information available on this author beyond the titles of these novels, is the executive editor of Delacourte Press (a Random House imprint), and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Romantic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Folktales
•Booktalking Ideas
Classic tales retold, fairytales made into film
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-10/Ages 14-15
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Although it was sappy, I enjoyed the film version, and was impressed with the casting choices (including Drew Barrymore as Danielle, Anjelica Huston as Rodmilla, and Dougray Scott as Henry).
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The Fortunetelling
Hoffman, Alice. (2005). The Fortunetelling. New York, NY: Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN-13: 9780316154093
ISBN-10: 0316154091
·Plot Summary
Rain is of the Amazon warriors, the result of their Queen being raped by fifty men from another part of the world. Hated by her mother, who will not even look at her, Rain is being raised by Deborah, the Priestess, and the archers Asteria and Astella. Someday Rain will be Queen, but after adopting an abandoned bear cub (Usha), her people look at her differently. Her mother has taken a former slave as her lover, and the woman's daughter (Io) sees Rain as her sister. Once Rain finally accepts Io, the two spend all their time with Usha and Rain's horse. When Rain begins to lie about the kills she has made so that she does not have to join in the celebratory parties, her mother decides to have another daughter, someone new to be Queen. Her fortunes, however, remain steady. She dreams of a black horse, a sign of impending trouble among her people, although it does not prevent her from making friends with a boy (Melek) who is set free from slavery by the Amazon's most recent victory. In the end, Rain saves the new child, who turns out to be a boy, from the death intended for him. She gives him to Melek, then returns to her people to suppress an uprising that caused the assassination attempt that resulted in Io's death instead. Rain takes her place as Queen, ushering in a new life for the Amazon women, believing that make their own fortunes.
·Critical Evaluation
Fantastic novel for young women. Full of inspiration, especially for teens that are consistently led to believe that they can't fulfill their own dreams.
·Reader’s Annotation
Contains content that is of an adult nature.
·Information about the author
Alice Hoffman was born in New Jersey in 1952, and was an avid actress in school plays until the age of 20, when she discovered writing. She received a B.A. in English and Anthropology from Adelphi University, and an M.A. in creative writing. By the age of 25, she has written her first novel, Of Property.
She has written for several television series, published almost twenty-five novels for adults, hand six novels in the young adult genre. Her novels are based primarily on historical or paranormal themes. She lived in New York City from 1983 to 2003, but currently lives with her husband and children in Boston.
·Genre
Historical Fiction
·Curriculum Ties
Includes information on myths and ideas about the Amazonian warriors, as well as practices such as the use of bees in warfare, and by priestesses for their work.
·Booktalking Ideas
Myths and legends. Amazons.
·Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-18
·Challenge Issues
N/A
·Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I'm fascinated by myths with strong female characters. This book put a more human slant on the Amazons, making them seem more real.
ISBN-13: 9780316154093
ISBN-10: 0316154091
·Plot Summary
Rain is of the Amazon warriors, the result of their Queen being raped by fifty men from another part of the world. Hated by her mother, who will not even look at her, Rain is being raised by Deborah, the Priestess, and the archers Asteria and Astella. Someday Rain will be Queen, but after adopting an abandoned bear cub (Usha), her people look at her differently. Her mother has taken a former slave as her lover, and the woman's daughter (Io) sees Rain as her sister. Once Rain finally accepts Io, the two spend all their time with Usha and Rain's horse. When Rain begins to lie about the kills she has made so that she does not have to join in the celebratory parties, her mother decides to have another daughter, someone new to be Queen. Her fortunes, however, remain steady. She dreams of a black horse, a sign of impending trouble among her people, although it does not prevent her from making friends with a boy (Melek) who is set free from slavery by the Amazon's most recent victory. In the end, Rain saves the new child, who turns out to be a boy, from the death intended for him. She gives him to Melek, then returns to her people to suppress an uprising that caused the assassination attempt that resulted in Io's death instead. Rain takes her place as Queen, ushering in a new life for the Amazon women, believing that make their own fortunes.
·Critical Evaluation
Fantastic novel for young women. Full of inspiration, especially for teens that are consistently led to believe that they can't fulfill their own dreams.
·Reader’s Annotation
Contains content that is of an adult nature.
·Information about the author
Alice Hoffman was born in New Jersey in 1952, and was an avid actress in school plays until the age of 20, when she discovered writing. She received a B.A. in English and Anthropology from Adelphi University, and an M.A. in creative writing. By the age of 25, she has written her first novel, Of Property.
She has written for several television series, published almost twenty-five novels for adults, hand six novels in the young adult genre. Her novels are based primarily on historical or paranormal themes. She lived in New York City from 1983 to 2003, but currently lives with her husband and children in Boston.
·Genre
Historical Fiction
·Curriculum Ties
Includes information on myths and ideas about the Amazonian warriors, as well as practices such as the use of bees in warfare, and by priestesses for their work.
·Booktalking Ideas
Myths and legends. Amazons.
·Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-18
·Challenge Issues
N/A
·Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I'm fascinated by myths with strong female characters. This book put a more human slant on the Amazons, making them seem more real.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Chloe Doe
Phillips, Z. (2007). Chloe Doe. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
ISBN-10: 0316014141
ISBN-13: 9780316014144
•Plot Summary
Chloe has been a kid on the streets for four years by the time she lands in Madeline Parker Institute for Girls, a place for teens that have been arrested for either drugs, alcohol, violence, suicide attempts, prostitution or a mixture of these. Her mother immediately fell in love with Chloe's father, a European man she met in a diner, married, and gave two daughter's before he left when Chloe was only three. Chloe inherited his eyes, and both girls his light skin, making them popular in the barrios. A woman always looking for a man to love and care for her, Chloe's mother goes from one boyfriend to the next, largely overlooking the needs of her daughters. When she marries the wrong man, Walt, in ends in Camille (Chloe's sister) being repeatedly raped, burned, and finally murdered at his hands. Chloe runs away, and ultimately ends up being a prostitute, because without a phone number or place to shower, she can't get a job that pays better. Now in therapy at the Institute, she slowly reveals her existence since the death of her father, fondly intertwining tales of her adventures with her sister, with those of life on the streets.
Her Institute roommate is a girl they all refer to as the Nina (for her innocence, despite several suicide attempts, and ended pregnancies from an ongoing incestuous relationship with her brother). Nina says all the right things, and is released, leaving her diary with Chloe. She believes they have more in common than Chloe realizes, and it's reading her diary that causes Chloe to feel she needs to leave. By the novel's end, she has been out of the Institute for a year, and is changing her to name to Chloe Aimes...Mixing her own name, with letters from her sister's, the only way she knows how to take Camille into her future with her.
•Critical Evaluation
A hard look at life through the eyes of a teen prostitute, but Chloe is an utterly convincing character. A novel reminiscent of Girl, Interrupted, but with an edge that those middle class characters never had.
•Reader’s Annotation
Not recommended for young teens, due to language and violence. Completely convincing characters, and a novel that manages to give us hope after being often bleak.
•Information about the author
Suzanne Phillips is a special education teacher in San Diego, CA. Chloe Doe is her first novel.
Her newest novel is called Burn, and deals with how being continuously bullied, can end in the person being bullied finally murdering their persecutor. It's a novel written in hopes that those reading it will learn to take a stance when they see bullying happen, not turn a blind eye until violence makes it impossible.
•Genre
Realistic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Psychology
•Booktalking Ideas
Domestic violence, rape, drug abuse, prostitution by teens, murder
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12-Ages 15-19
•Challenge Issues
Almost everything in this novel could be viewed as possibly unsuitable for teens, especially by concerned parents and library staff. I think it would be important to give statistics on how common cases like Chloe's really are, perhaps not to the point of murder, but certainly criminal neglect, domestic violence, runaways, abuse, and teen prostitution (especially in major cities like Los Angeles where Chloe lives). Too, if they are able to see how Chloe gets beyond her past, and turns her eyes toward creating a future for herself, I would hope they'd view the novel in a more positive light.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I don't often pick up novels of this type, as they bring up some issues that occurred in my own family, and it's sometimes difficult to read about them. Still, I thought the plot line was interesting, and it received a good review from Booklist.
ISBN-10: 0316014141
ISBN-13: 9780316014144
•Plot Summary
Chloe has been a kid on the streets for four years by the time she lands in Madeline Parker Institute for Girls, a place for teens that have been arrested for either drugs, alcohol, violence, suicide attempts, prostitution or a mixture of these. Her mother immediately fell in love with Chloe's father, a European man she met in a diner, married, and gave two daughter's before he left when Chloe was only three. Chloe inherited his eyes, and both girls his light skin, making them popular in the barrios. A woman always looking for a man to love and care for her, Chloe's mother goes from one boyfriend to the next, largely overlooking the needs of her daughters. When she marries the wrong man, Walt, in ends in Camille (Chloe's sister) being repeatedly raped, burned, and finally murdered at his hands. Chloe runs away, and ultimately ends up being a prostitute, because without a phone number or place to shower, she can't get a job that pays better. Now in therapy at the Institute, she slowly reveals her existence since the death of her father, fondly intertwining tales of her adventures with her sister, with those of life on the streets.
Her Institute roommate is a girl they all refer to as the Nina (for her innocence, despite several suicide attempts, and ended pregnancies from an ongoing incestuous relationship with her brother). Nina says all the right things, and is released, leaving her diary with Chloe. She believes they have more in common than Chloe realizes, and it's reading her diary that causes Chloe to feel she needs to leave. By the novel's end, she has been out of the Institute for a year, and is changing her to name to Chloe Aimes...Mixing her own name, with letters from her sister's, the only way she knows how to take Camille into her future with her.
•Critical Evaluation
A hard look at life through the eyes of a teen prostitute, but Chloe is an utterly convincing character. A novel reminiscent of Girl, Interrupted, but with an edge that those middle class characters never had.
•Reader’s Annotation
Not recommended for young teens, due to language and violence. Completely convincing characters, and a novel that manages to give us hope after being often bleak.
•Information about the author
Suzanne Phillips is a special education teacher in San Diego, CA. Chloe Doe is her first novel.
Her newest novel is called Burn, and deals with how being continuously bullied, can end in the person being bullied finally murdering their persecutor. It's a novel written in hopes that those reading it will learn to take a stance when they see bullying happen, not turn a blind eye until violence makes it impossible.
•Genre
Realistic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Psychology
•Booktalking Ideas
Domestic violence, rape, drug abuse, prostitution by teens, murder
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12-Ages 15-19
•Challenge Issues
Almost everything in this novel could be viewed as possibly unsuitable for teens, especially by concerned parents and library staff. I think it would be important to give statistics on how common cases like Chloe's really are, perhaps not to the point of murder, but certainly criminal neglect, domestic violence, runaways, abuse, and teen prostitution (especially in major cities like Los Angeles where Chloe lives). Too, if they are able to see how Chloe gets beyond her past, and turns her eyes toward creating a future for herself, I would hope they'd view the novel in a more positive light.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I don't often pick up novels of this type, as they bring up some issues that occurred in my own family, and it's sometimes difficult to read about them. Still, I thought the plot line was interesting, and it received a good review from Booklist.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Little Brother
Doctorow, C. (2008). Little Brother. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
ISBN-10: 0765323117
ISBN-13: 9780765323118
•Plot Summary
Marcus Yallow is a fan of Harajuku Fun Madness, a Japanese game where players receive clues online, and then find valuable objects by deciphering the locations hinted at by the clues. As the novel opens, Marcus is in school, but cunningly figuring out a way to skip in order to locate the newest game destination. As he and his friends reach the site, San Francisco is hit by a terrorist attack, the Bay bridge bombed. Marcus, Vanessa, and Jolu are taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security, and interrogated until they finally answer questions to the DHS's satisfaction, and are released-if not set free, since the DHS will continue to monitor their behavior. Darryl has disappeared, Marcus begins to have trouble with his father, who believes the DHS is doing the right thing. Vanessa and Jolu back out of helping Marcus find Darryl, afraid of reprisal from the DHS, but he meets Angela (Ange). Together, the two embark on a plan to undermine the DHS, and get Darryl. Using X-Net, a fictitious wireless network supposedly unmonitored by the DHS, and an equally fictitious Nintendo XBox Universal, Marcus is able to spread his message. He is successful in having Darryl and Ange released from custody, and the DHS loses their power.
•Critical Evaluation
While Doctorow's novel does bring up critical issues, especially in light of recent events in the U.S. (PATRIOT act, Guantánamo Bay, etc), some readers may get lost in the technical jargon being used to prove that w1n5t0n (Marcus) is a techie of the first degree. The story line is sharp, and the characterizations accurate for each of the groups, but the creation of fictional devices could be confusing, even to some teens.
•Reader’s Annotation
Not recommended for reluctant readers unless they happen to be very knowledgeable about technology and gaming. One of the longer novels published for teens in recent years, this story is serious, and not the sort of one that can be read in one or two sittings.
•Information about the author
•Genre
Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Tech Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Computers
Political Science
History
•Booktalking Ideas
Loss of identity, teens and computers, teens in science fiction, terrorism
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-12/Ages 13-19
•Challenge Issues
Potential for trouble with parents or administrators for views on the DHS. I would point out the incidences of problems in this area that have been documented over the last few years, especially since the end of the last presidential administration.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
This was a novel required by the course, and it is unlikely I would have chosen to read it for any other reason. While I understood the tech language, I found it a distraction from the content of the novel, a factor I usually look at in the library or store when choosing books.
ISBN-10: 0765323117
ISBN-13: 9780765323118
•Plot Summary
Marcus Yallow is a fan of Harajuku Fun Madness, a Japanese game where players receive clues online, and then find valuable objects by deciphering the locations hinted at by the clues. As the novel opens, Marcus is in school, but cunningly figuring out a way to skip in order to locate the newest game destination. As he and his friends reach the site, San Francisco is hit by a terrorist attack, the Bay bridge bombed. Marcus, Vanessa, and Jolu are taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security, and interrogated until they finally answer questions to the DHS's satisfaction, and are released-if not set free, since the DHS will continue to monitor their behavior. Darryl has disappeared, Marcus begins to have trouble with his father, who believes the DHS is doing the right thing. Vanessa and Jolu back out of helping Marcus find Darryl, afraid of reprisal from the DHS, but he meets Angela (Ange). Together, the two embark on a plan to undermine the DHS, and get Darryl. Using X-Net, a fictitious wireless network supposedly unmonitored by the DHS, and an equally fictitious Nintendo XBox Universal, Marcus is able to spread his message. He is successful in having Darryl and Ange released from custody, and the DHS loses their power.
•Critical Evaluation
While Doctorow's novel does bring up critical issues, especially in light of recent events in the U.S. (PATRIOT act, Guantánamo Bay, etc), some readers may get lost in the technical jargon being used to prove that w1n5t0n (Marcus) is a techie of the first degree. The story line is sharp, and the characterizations accurate for each of the groups, but the creation of fictional devices could be confusing, even to some teens.
•Reader’s Annotation
Not recommended for reluctant readers unless they happen to be very knowledgeable about technology and gaming. One of the longer novels published for teens in recent years, this story is serious, and not the sort of one that can be read in one or two sittings.
•Information about the author
•Genre
Science Fiction, Dystopian Fiction, Tech Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Computers
Political Science
History
•Booktalking Ideas
Loss of identity, teens and computers, teens in science fiction, terrorism
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-12/Ages 13-19
•Challenge Issues
Potential for trouble with parents or administrators for views on the DHS. I would point out the incidences of problems in this area that have been documented over the last few years, especially since the end of the last presidential administration.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
This was a novel required by the course, and it is unlikely I would have chosen to read it for any other reason. While I understood the tech language, I found it a distraction from the content of the novel, a factor I usually look at in the library or store when choosing books.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Body of Christopher Creed
Plum-Ucci, C. (2000). The Body of Christopher Creed. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books.
ISBN-13: 9780152063863
•Plot Summary
Torey Adams was good looking, one of the popular kids, with great parents. He had the kind of life all kids would want, including Chris Creed, the most bullied kid in Steepleton. Told almost entirely in flashback, this novel is about a boy that goes missing, but that no one seems to know if he's been killed, committed suicide or left a collection of bad situations for better things. Chris's disappearance is just another source of amusement for most of the kids he knew, but Torey becomes more involved when his friend Ali reveals that she has been keeping tabs on Chris for years, and his controlling mother has been searching his bedroom every night since his disappearance. When Ali's "boon" (wrong side of the tracks) boyfriend, Bo, becomes a suspect, Torey and his mother become active defenders. Things escalate when Torey's best friend doesn't know if he can trust Torey though, mainly because of a bad joke told during the same conversation where it was revealed his own girlfriend's father had been sleeping with Ali. Half the town is convinced Torey is to blame, a psychic tells him he will find the dead, while alone in the woods. He does, but it's not Chris at all, it's the long-missing body of a man that disappeared when his own son left due to their bad relationship. Torey breaks his leg, and the bodies decomposes before his very eyes, causing him to go from regular hospital into the psychiatric facility. A year later, he is attending private school, but has a website devoted to finding Chris. He receives regular letters from people pretending to be various persons in the story, maligning him for not understanding the parent's grief, and many other individuals. One, he believes may even be Chris, with detailed ideas about a treasure map once discussed between Chris and Torey's friend, and theories on Chris having gone to live with the relatives his mother had not spoken to in years.
•Critical Evaluation
Gritty, without being overly dramatic, and the combined plights of people stuck in various bad circumstances comes across as real. This book handles well the problems with bullying, and prejudice both, although if one is looking for a clean ending, they may be disappointed. This one ends on a large "what if".
•Reader’s Annotation
Potentially of greater interest to male teens than females, most of the female characters in this novel being rather two dimensional, but the level of intrigue and plot twists are good.
•Information about the author
•Genre
Mystery, Suspense
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Biology
•Booktalking Ideas
Bullying, prejudice, heresay
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I was looking for a good solid mystery, something with less romance than most of the teen novels I've picked up. I was glad to see this one spent the majority of the content exploring Chris's case, not the possible romantic plot line between Chris and his girlfriend.
ISBN-13: 9780152063863
•Plot Summary
Torey Adams was good looking, one of the popular kids, with great parents. He had the kind of life all kids would want, including Chris Creed, the most bullied kid in Steepleton. Told almost entirely in flashback, this novel is about a boy that goes missing, but that no one seems to know if he's been killed, committed suicide or left a collection of bad situations for better things. Chris's disappearance is just another source of amusement for most of the kids he knew, but Torey becomes more involved when his friend Ali reveals that she has been keeping tabs on Chris for years, and his controlling mother has been searching his bedroom every night since his disappearance. When Ali's "boon" (wrong side of the tracks) boyfriend, Bo, becomes a suspect, Torey and his mother become active defenders. Things escalate when Torey's best friend doesn't know if he can trust Torey though, mainly because of a bad joke told during the same conversation where it was revealed his own girlfriend's father had been sleeping with Ali. Half the town is convinced Torey is to blame, a psychic tells him he will find the dead, while alone in the woods. He does, but it's not Chris at all, it's the long-missing body of a man that disappeared when his own son left due to their bad relationship. Torey breaks his leg, and the bodies decomposes before his very eyes, causing him to go from regular hospital into the psychiatric facility. A year later, he is attending private school, but has a website devoted to finding Chris. He receives regular letters from people pretending to be various persons in the story, maligning him for not understanding the parent's grief, and many other individuals. One, he believes may even be Chris, with detailed ideas about a treasure map once discussed between Chris and Torey's friend, and theories on Chris having gone to live with the relatives his mother had not spoken to in years.
•Critical Evaluation
Gritty, without being overly dramatic, and the combined plights of people stuck in various bad circumstances comes across as real. This book handles well the problems with bullying, and prejudice both, although if one is looking for a clean ending, they may be disappointed. This one ends on a large "what if".
•Reader’s Annotation
Potentially of greater interest to male teens than females, most of the female characters in this novel being rather two dimensional, but the level of intrigue and plot twists are good.
•Information about the author
•Genre
Mystery, Suspense
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Biology
•Booktalking Ideas
Bullying, prejudice, heresay
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I was looking for a good solid mystery, something with less romance than most of the teen novels I've picked up. I was glad to see this one spent the majority of the content exploring Chris's case, not the possible romantic plot line between Chris and his girlfriend.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Haunting in Connecticut
Brooks, P., Farrands, D., Rhoads, W., Trapani, A. (Producers), & Cornwell, P. (Director). (2009). The Haunting in Connecticut. [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate.
UPC 031398111917
•Plot Summary
Although he is only a teenager, Matt Campbell is quickly learning about death. Matt is undergoing experimental treatment as a cancer patient, and often on the road with his mother, because the hospital is hours away from their home. His parents are having troubles as well, his father is a recovering alcoholic, and finances are a problem. One night, after a session of treatment, Matt is so ill that his mother (Sara) must pull over to the side of the road. His parents have been debating about renting a house closer to the hospital, and Sara makes the decision that night. Unfortunately for Matt, the house formerly housed a mortuary, and he begins seeing visions of a young man in his basement bedroom. As more and more visions take hold, and Matt is aware it may be a side effect of his treatment, his behavior also worsens. It's while sitting in the hospital one day that Matt meets Rev. Popescu, a fellow patient, and a man that explains the paranormal to him-how their being closer to death allows them to see things that the healthy can't see. It isn't until a game of hide and seek in the house, that the rest of the family begins to see what Matt does, and Matt discovers a series of sinister objects that go with the mourning photos his mother found the first day. Together, Matt and his cousin (Wendy), try to find out what the significance is of the sightings, the photos, and the strange box of objects they find in the attic. The Reverend comes to help, but it takes explosions of light bulbs all over the house for Sara to believe, and ask the Reverend back. He investigates, and finds pieces of the dead boy's (Jonah's) skull in the crematorium oven. When he removes these pieces, he also removes the only thing keeping death at bay. Jonah was just a pawn, a teenage medium used by the mortician to conduct seances in the house, and one night things got out of hand. The mortician and the seance participants were burned alive, and Jonah tries to flee, but is caught in the oven by the same spirits whose bodies the mortician had mutilated in order to bind them as watchers of the house. The objects in the box are eyelids, and the dead have watching everything in the house, unable to attack as long as Jonah's body was present in some form. With his parents gone one night, Matt forces his cousin and sister out of the house, using an axe to dislodged the dining room walls-and releasing the bodies of the dead on the floor. He sets first to the house, and is overcome by his own illness, as well as smoke and the dead that are coming for him. Sara goes into the house, and they are pulled out by fireman, but the bodies are consumed. The spirits are released, and Matt can no longer see the dead. His cancer disappears overnight.
•Critical Evaluation
The actors and actresses in this film are all extremely convincing, especially Kyle Gallner (Matt), and the film has just enough of a scare factor to keep most teens riveted to their seats. Supposedly based on a true story from 1987, it begins with Sara explaining the events leading up to her moving into the house.
•Reader’s Annotation
Although it was given a PG-13 rating for theatres, this film may be too mature for some younger teens, and the above UPC is for the unrated version that I bought. Not recommended for teens that have trouble with psychological thrillers.
•Genre
Motion Picture, Film, DVD
•Curriculum Ties
Folktales
•Booktalking Ideas
Paranormal activity, horror films with teen lead characters
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-12, Ages 13-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
There are so few good horror films being made now in the classic style, more fright than gore, and fewer still with teen leads-I bought this DVD on sale just to see it, and was already a fan ten minutes into the movie.
UPC 031398111917
•Plot Summary
Although he is only a teenager, Matt Campbell is quickly learning about death. Matt is undergoing experimental treatment as a cancer patient, and often on the road with his mother, because the hospital is hours away from their home. His parents are having troubles as well, his father is a recovering alcoholic, and finances are a problem. One night, after a session of treatment, Matt is so ill that his mother (Sara) must pull over to the side of the road. His parents have been debating about renting a house closer to the hospital, and Sara makes the decision that night. Unfortunately for Matt, the house formerly housed a mortuary, and he begins seeing visions of a young man in his basement bedroom. As more and more visions take hold, and Matt is aware it may be a side effect of his treatment, his behavior also worsens. It's while sitting in the hospital one day that Matt meets Rev. Popescu, a fellow patient, and a man that explains the paranormal to him-how their being closer to death allows them to see things that the healthy can't see. It isn't until a game of hide and seek in the house, that the rest of the family begins to see what Matt does, and Matt discovers a series of sinister objects that go with the mourning photos his mother found the first day. Together, Matt and his cousin (Wendy), try to find out what the significance is of the sightings, the photos, and the strange box of objects they find in the attic. The Reverend comes to help, but it takes explosions of light bulbs all over the house for Sara to believe, and ask the Reverend back. He investigates, and finds pieces of the dead boy's (Jonah's) skull in the crematorium oven. When he removes these pieces, he also removes the only thing keeping death at bay. Jonah was just a pawn, a teenage medium used by the mortician to conduct seances in the house, and one night things got out of hand. The mortician and the seance participants were burned alive, and Jonah tries to flee, but is caught in the oven by the same spirits whose bodies the mortician had mutilated in order to bind them as watchers of the house. The objects in the box are eyelids, and the dead have watching everything in the house, unable to attack as long as Jonah's body was present in some form. With his parents gone one night, Matt forces his cousin and sister out of the house, using an axe to dislodged the dining room walls-and releasing the bodies of the dead on the floor. He sets first to the house, and is overcome by his own illness, as well as smoke and the dead that are coming for him. Sara goes into the house, and they are pulled out by fireman, but the bodies are consumed. The spirits are released, and Matt can no longer see the dead. His cancer disappears overnight.
•Critical Evaluation
The actors and actresses in this film are all extremely convincing, especially Kyle Gallner (Matt), and the film has just enough of a scare factor to keep most teens riveted to their seats. Supposedly based on a true story from 1987, it begins with Sara explaining the events leading up to her moving into the house.
•Reader’s Annotation
Although it was given a PG-13 rating for theatres, this film may be too mature for some younger teens, and the above UPC is for the unrated version that I bought. Not recommended for teens that have trouble with psychological thrillers.
•Genre
Motion Picture, Film, DVD
•Curriculum Ties
Folktales
•Booktalking Ideas
Paranormal activity, horror films with teen lead characters
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 8-12, Ages 13-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
There are so few good horror films being made now in the classic style, more fright than gore, and fewer still with teen leads-I bought this DVD on sale just to see it, and was already a fan ten minutes into the movie.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Foreign Exchange (Poetry)
Glenn, M. (1999). Foreign Exchange: A Mystery in Poems. New York, BY: Morrow Junior Books.
ISBN-10: 0688164722
•Plot Summary
The exchange is actually the visit of a group of teens from the city, and scheduled to only last one weekend. Still, it requires a city council vote to make the exchange happen, and not everyone is thrilled with the outcome. Melinda Kurtz is pregnant, and the father won't accept the baby is his, so she will give it up. Oliver Nesbitt's store has been failing since the arrival of the Royale Market, and his wife left him. Tonmy la Blanca hates his twin brother, Anthony, because the more they try to be different, the more they are the same. Brian Paxton is an all-American boy, looking forward to college. Annie Gardner, social studies teacher, has fantasies about exotic men rescuing her from Hudson, and not listening to her mother's harping on about her being an old maid. Kristen Clarke just wants to have sex with her boyfriend, and leave Hudson behind, the town new to her. It's nothing but a pain with all the girls jealous of her, and the guys drooling, not to mention her dad too busy to be a dad any longer. David Khalil has no family roots, his father and mother from different countries, his brother now living in Canada, and his various others relatives likewise scattered over the globe. Kwame Richards, from the projects, just wants to have a relaxing evening at a dance. Using poetry, Glenn has created a story of prejudice, anger, the ills that often exist under the surface in small towns. Kristen is found murdered, and Kwame taken in for questioning. They were in a boat, and he was hit from behind, awakening to see Kristen screaming. He remembers nothing else, and now she is dead. Unknown to anyone but the doctor, the investigator, and her father, Kristen was also three months pregnant. It comes to light that Oliver killed her, angry about the young people having a nice time, his failing business, and his wife's rejection. Kwame is released, and the town has learned a lesson about suspicion of the unknown.
•Critical Evaluation
An intriguing mystery, using poetry rather than prose. The problems of small town life are easily expressed through the mental dialogue of each person involved in Hudson's everyday goings on. The fears of the city students are equally well outlined, fears of having no food, of failing grades, and of ignorance taking away everything that matters.
•Reader’s Annotation
Mystery and poetry, surprising, but effective.
•Information about the author
Mel Glenn has authored ten books for young adults, and been nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America. The ALA has recognized several of his works as Best Books for Young Adults.
He grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and attended Lincoln High School, where he now teaches English. He and his wife, Elyse, have two sons (Jonathan and Andrew).
•Genre
Poetry
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
English
•Booktalking Ideas
Prejudice and hate crimes, small town life
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I was interested in the use of poetry as a means for revealing the various personalities of the characters involved, as well as the unraveling of the details surrounding the mystery.
ISBN-10: 0688164722
•Plot Summary
The exchange is actually the visit of a group of teens from the city, and scheduled to only last one weekend. Still, it requires a city council vote to make the exchange happen, and not everyone is thrilled with the outcome. Melinda Kurtz is pregnant, and the father won't accept the baby is his, so she will give it up. Oliver Nesbitt's store has been failing since the arrival of the Royale Market, and his wife left him. Tonmy la Blanca hates his twin brother, Anthony, because the more they try to be different, the more they are the same. Brian Paxton is an all-American boy, looking forward to college. Annie Gardner, social studies teacher, has fantasies about exotic men rescuing her from Hudson, and not listening to her mother's harping on about her being an old maid. Kristen Clarke just wants to have sex with her boyfriend, and leave Hudson behind, the town new to her. It's nothing but a pain with all the girls jealous of her, and the guys drooling, not to mention her dad too busy to be a dad any longer. David Khalil has no family roots, his father and mother from different countries, his brother now living in Canada, and his various others relatives likewise scattered over the globe. Kwame Richards, from the projects, just wants to have a relaxing evening at a dance. Using poetry, Glenn has created a story of prejudice, anger, the ills that often exist under the surface in small towns. Kristen is found murdered, and Kwame taken in for questioning. They were in a boat, and he was hit from behind, awakening to see Kristen screaming. He remembers nothing else, and now she is dead. Unknown to anyone but the doctor, the investigator, and her father, Kristen was also three months pregnant. It comes to light that Oliver killed her, angry about the young people having a nice time, his failing business, and his wife's rejection. Kwame is released, and the town has learned a lesson about suspicion of the unknown.
•Critical Evaluation
An intriguing mystery, using poetry rather than prose. The problems of small town life are easily expressed through the mental dialogue of each person involved in Hudson's everyday goings on. The fears of the city students are equally well outlined, fears of having no food, of failing grades, and of ignorance taking away everything that matters.
•Reader’s Annotation
Mystery and poetry, surprising, but effective.
•Information about the author
Mel Glenn has authored ten books for young adults, and been nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America. The ALA has recognized several of his works as Best Books for Young Adults.
He grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and attended Lincoln High School, where he now teaches English. He and his wife, Elyse, have two sons (Jonathan and Andrew).
•Genre
Poetry
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
English
•Booktalking Ideas
Prejudice and hate crimes, small town life
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I was interested in the use of poetry as a means for revealing the various personalities of the characters involved, as well as the unraveling of the details surrounding the mystery.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World, The
Action Without Borders. (2009). The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
ISBN-13: 9780399534874
•Plot Summary
Although intended for adult readers, this handbook has something to teach everyone over the age of ten, and helps to eliminate the concept that only adults have something work giving to the world. Beginning with the Part I, this manual introduces the reader to ways they can start helping, explains the basics of nonprofits (vs not-for-profits or hybrids), and details how all experience is relevant (work, hobbies, having access to resources, possessing life experience). The reader will explore what type of organization (formal, informal, established or emerging), will best suit their ideas, skills, and desire to serve. It also maintains that contributions can be made in time, money or expertise. Would-be volunteers are given the tools to perform their own self-assessment, so they can find a place that's right for them (be it local, regional, state, national or international). Part II delves into an investigation into volunteering on a deeper level. Individuals may choose to "hit-and-run" or "episodic volunteering", which is giving a quick hand when time is available, bu requires no continuous commitment of any kind. Online volunteering may allow individuals without transportation, limited mobility or the desire to work with a national or global need, to volunteer without ever leaving home. Days of Service volunteering, that is, volunteering on organization-designated special days can also lend itself to occasional service or online volunteerism. For that want a more social activity, group volunteering might be the best idea, and this form is becoming more popular with business for teaching their employees how to work in teams. For persons lacking child care or that want to make a difference with persons they already know, family volunteering is a choice. To gain experience or learn new skills, internships, voluntourism, and a DIY approach to creating a volunteer org can open new avenues. For teens, all of these may be viable solutions, because they will develop new skills and approaches to problem solving.
•Critical Evaluation
A practical guide for getting involved in volunteering, and helping nonprofit organizations in other ways, ones that can literally change lives-both of the beneficiaries of service, and the teens. Easily followed format, and lack of legalese keeps this manual inside the scope of teen interest.
•Reader’s Annotation
A manual suitable for reading more than once, especially as teens grow, develop new skills, and find new areas of interest.
•Genre
Non-Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Economics
Business
Marketing
•Booktalking Ideas
Volunteerism, nonprofit organizations, internships, management
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-?/Ages 15-Adult
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I had my first volunteer job, in the local public library, at the age of eight. While my daughter hasn't expressed an interest in volunteering so far, she is becoming more aware of the world around her. She is not a teen yet, but those years are only a few away, and I think all teens could benefit from this manual-if not a teen version of it.
ISBN-13: 9780399534874
•Plot Summary
Although intended for adult readers, this handbook has something to teach everyone over the age of ten, and helps to eliminate the concept that only adults have something work giving to the world. Beginning with the Part I, this manual introduces the reader to ways they can start helping, explains the basics of nonprofits (vs not-for-profits or hybrids), and details how all experience is relevant (work, hobbies, having access to resources, possessing life experience). The reader will explore what type of organization (formal, informal, established or emerging), will best suit their ideas, skills, and desire to serve. It also maintains that contributions can be made in time, money or expertise. Would-be volunteers are given the tools to perform their own self-assessment, so they can find a place that's right for them (be it local, regional, state, national or international). Part II delves into an investigation into volunteering on a deeper level. Individuals may choose to "hit-and-run" or "episodic volunteering", which is giving a quick hand when time is available, bu requires no continuous commitment of any kind. Online volunteering may allow individuals without transportation, limited mobility or the desire to work with a national or global need, to volunteer without ever leaving home. Days of Service volunteering, that is, volunteering on organization-designated special days can also lend itself to occasional service or online volunteerism. For that want a more social activity, group volunteering might be the best idea, and this form is becoming more popular with business for teaching their employees how to work in teams. For persons lacking child care or that want to make a difference with persons they already know, family volunteering is a choice. To gain experience or learn new skills, internships, voluntourism, and a DIY approach to creating a volunteer org can open new avenues. For teens, all of these may be viable solutions, because they will develop new skills and approaches to problem solving.
•Critical Evaluation
A practical guide for getting involved in volunteering, and helping nonprofit organizations in other ways, ones that can literally change lives-both of the beneficiaries of service, and the teens. Easily followed format, and lack of legalese keeps this manual inside the scope of teen interest.
•Reader’s Annotation
A manual suitable for reading more than once, especially as teens grow, develop new skills, and find new areas of interest.
•Genre
Non-Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Social Science
Economics
Business
Marketing
•Booktalking Ideas
Volunteerism, nonprofit organizations, internships, management
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-?/Ages 15-Adult
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I had my first volunteer job, in the local public library, at the age of eight. While my daughter hasn't expressed an interest in volunteering so far, she is becoming more aware of the world around her. She is not a teen yet, but those years are only a few away, and I think all teens could benefit from this manual-if not a teen version of it.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Fearless #1
Pascal, F. (2002). Fearless #1. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.
ISBN-10: 0671039415
•Plot Summary
Gaia Moore is the new girl in school, and on the surface, looks like any other teenage girl of seventeen. Unlike others her age, or indeed anyone at all, Gaia can't experience fear. Born without a gene to allow its being generation by her mind, not to mention speed and reflexes that are also well above average, she spends her free time exacting revenge on criminals that try to attack innocent people. Ed Fargo sees Gaia in the hall, and instantly falls in love, to the point where he begins following her around in his wheel chair. A few nights later, while Gaia is strolling for criminals, Ed mistakes the situation and charges in to "rescue" her. Unable to do anything about it, Gaia is forced to knock out the three criminals, and allow Ed to find out about her physical abilities, albeit not her fearlessness. Unfortunately for Gaia, the situation is about to become even more complicated when her new classmate (Heather) becomes her enemy, and Gaia fails to explain to the other girl that a new group of guys is in the park with a knife, just as Heather starts to enter it. Gaia does tell Heather's friends, who are less than a minute behind the other girl in arriving, but it's too late. Heather is attacked, ends up in ICU, and everyone thinks Gaia allowed Heather to be nearly murdered. Gaia blames herself, believing that because she mentally thought about Heather deserving to be stabbed, that it happened. Heather's boyfriend, the disturbingly handsome, intelligent, and loyal Sam, thinks so too. But Gaia and Sam have met before, the two having played chess, and both experiencing a level of magnetism neither had ever experienced before. Days later, when Gaia goes to the park to bring her chess buddy Zolov a sandwich, Sam is there. She rushes off, but soon after Sam goes in search, and comes back in time to find Zolov being attacked by some of the same guys that had attacked Gaia and Ed. Unable to help Zolov directly, Sam runs to find a pay phone for a 911 call, and Gaia finds Zolov. Seeing Sam running, she accuses him of having committed the crime, only realizing she is wrong after the real perpetrators make a reappearance. Sam and Gaia take the group on, and manage to make it out alive, but Gaia ends up in the hospital just a few rooms down from Heather's new location. Sam and Gaia have another experience like they had over the chess match, but with more sensuality involved, feeling a connection they cannot explain. The nurse enters, and explains that Sam's girlfriend is looking for him, so the two part ways. That night, one of the attackers meets with an older woman he's been meeting with for awhile, one that's been giving him instructions. Her name is Ella, and is married to George, the man Gaia's father sent her to live with. Ella quickly dispatches the inept attacker, and goes home, knowing that Gaia has been released and will be there as well. The novel ends here.
•Critical Evaluation
A clean, fast-paced novel, hard to define in terms of genre. Classified here as Science Fiction, due to the genetic manipulation factors inherent in Gaia's make-up. As a character, she is superhuman, but still possesses factors of vulnerability that make her likable.
•Reader’s Annotation
There are twenty-one books in this series. Unknown if violence, language, and sexual content increase through the series.
•Information about the author
Born in New York, 1938, Francine Pascal graduated from NYU in 1958. While she had been married once before, it was here that she met her second husband, John Pascal. Her three daughters from the previous marriage lived with the couple in Manhattan, until John's death from cancer in 1981. Francine's older daughter, Jamie, died in 2008 from liver disease. She splits her time between New York and France, and has never remarried.
Francine published her first novel in 1977, and several of her books have been made into television movies. She is probably most well known, however, for being the author of the Sweet Valley High series of novels.
•Genre
Science Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
N/A
•Booktalking Ideas
Superheroes, genetic modification
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Unlike most teens, I never read the Sweet Valley High novels, this one intrigued me. I liked the idea of a girl who was unable to feel fear, and was therefore fight crime.
ISBN-10: 0671039415
•Plot Summary
Gaia Moore is the new girl in school, and on the surface, looks like any other teenage girl of seventeen. Unlike others her age, or indeed anyone at all, Gaia can't experience fear. Born without a gene to allow its being generation by her mind, not to mention speed and reflexes that are also well above average, she spends her free time exacting revenge on criminals that try to attack innocent people. Ed Fargo sees Gaia in the hall, and instantly falls in love, to the point where he begins following her around in his wheel chair. A few nights later, while Gaia is strolling for criminals, Ed mistakes the situation and charges in to "rescue" her. Unable to do anything about it, Gaia is forced to knock out the three criminals, and allow Ed to find out about her physical abilities, albeit not her fearlessness. Unfortunately for Gaia, the situation is about to become even more complicated when her new classmate (Heather) becomes her enemy, and Gaia fails to explain to the other girl that a new group of guys is in the park with a knife, just as Heather starts to enter it. Gaia does tell Heather's friends, who are less than a minute behind the other girl in arriving, but it's too late. Heather is attacked, ends up in ICU, and everyone thinks Gaia allowed Heather to be nearly murdered. Gaia blames herself, believing that because she mentally thought about Heather deserving to be stabbed, that it happened. Heather's boyfriend, the disturbingly handsome, intelligent, and loyal Sam, thinks so too. But Gaia and Sam have met before, the two having played chess, and both experiencing a level of magnetism neither had ever experienced before. Days later, when Gaia goes to the park to bring her chess buddy Zolov a sandwich, Sam is there. She rushes off, but soon after Sam goes in search, and comes back in time to find Zolov being attacked by some of the same guys that had attacked Gaia and Ed. Unable to help Zolov directly, Sam runs to find a pay phone for a 911 call, and Gaia finds Zolov. Seeing Sam running, she accuses him of having committed the crime, only realizing she is wrong after the real perpetrators make a reappearance. Sam and Gaia take the group on, and manage to make it out alive, but Gaia ends up in the hospital just a few rooms down from Heather's new location. Sam and Gaia have another experience like they had over the chess match, but with more sensuality involved, feeling a connection they cannot explain. The nurse enters, and explains that Sam's girlfriend is looking for him, so the two part ways. That night, one of the attackers meets with an older woman he's been meeting with for awhile, one that's been giving him instructions. Her name is Ella, and is married to George, the man Gaia's father sent her to live with. Ella quickly dispatches the inept attacker, and goes home, knowing that Gaia has been released and will be there as well. The novel ends here.
•Critical Evaluation
A clean, fast-paced novel, hard to define in terms of genre. Classified here as Science Fiction, due to the genetic manipulation factors inherent in Gaia's make-up. As a character, she is superhuman, but still possesses factors of vulnerability that make her likable.
•Reader’s Annotation
There are twenty-one books in this series. Unknown if violence, language, and sexual content increase through the series.
•Information about the author
Born in New York, 1938, Francine Pascal graduated from NYU in 1958. While she had been married once before, it was here that she met her second husband, John Pascal. Her three daughters from the previous marriage lived with the couple in Manhattan, until John's death from cancer in 1981. Francine's older daughter, Jamie, died in 2008 from liver disease. She splits her time between New York and France, and has never remarried.
Francine published her first novel in 1977, and several of her books have been made into television movies. She is probably most well known, however, for being the author of the Sweet Valley High series of novels.
•Genre
Science Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
N/A
•Booktalking Ideas
Superheroes, genetic modification
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12/Ages 14-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Unlike most teens, I never read the Sweet Valley High novels, this one intrigued me. I liked the idea of a girl who was unable to feel fear, and was therefore fight crime.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The Tulip and the Pope
Larsen, D. (2005). The Tulip and the Pope. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
ISBN-10: 0375712909
ISBN-13: 9780375712906
•Plot Summary
At nineteen years of age, Deborah Larsen was in a taxi on the way to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary to become a nun. She was smoking her final two cigarettes, and along with her friends, Tessa and Kathy, gave the last of her money to the driver as a tip. Born and raised Catholic, though of German and French descent, not Irish like most of her friends, Deborah has been thinking about this moment for a long time. She has always been fond of attending mass, and going through the rituals of her Church, especially alongside her mother. She has read, or acted in a play about, every nun on which there is a story based. Her favorite, is The Nun's Story, and it is to Sister Luke that she constantly compares herself throughout this memoir. When in times of doubt, concern or confusion, she wonders to herself what Sister Luke would do, and tries to replicate that behavior. Her references, however, are highly romanticized. As a child, she had played at Mass, although she was usually cast at an altar boy. Withdrawals from cigarettes begin to bother her, but she manages to get through this because of her allergy medication, although that makes her consistently sleepy. When she and her fellow postulants receive their list of required clothing, and then their new capes, she tells of how Gabrielle in The Nun's Story had the same sort of cloak. It was a story she would never read again, because private novels had to be left at home, and she says she thought nothing of it. Or that she thought, she thought nothing of it. Much of the rest of the autobiography is similar in the ways doubt or questioning sneaks into the obedient behavior she begins to view as a competition, although she will not admit to it being due to pride, since nuns are not supposed to feel that way. Her feelings creep in though, needs, and wants. She covets the time when she can wear the green sweater in the ice room, because it's not the black or white crispness like everyone else wears. When given the directions for positions to be taken during prayer, dinner, etc, she wonders, if any one is wondering to themselves, "When is this class going to be over?" or "Isn't it time to go home now?" Every element of her dress is described, and how basins and cups are taken to the bathrooms for brushing teeth, of nightcaps that aren't actually slept in (just used to cover short hair the stylish BVMs might not want to think about). As Christmas, she is pleased to see that not only are the nun's rooms stylish in the non medieval simplicity, but the chapel is decorated with just the right number of poinsettia plants. Sister Mary Deborah, now a novice, is convinced taking a vow of poverty will be easy, because everything was provided by the community. Obedience would also "be a snap" because the Pope was infallible, and one did what the Church proscribed. Finally, chastity would be easy, because what man could compare with Jesus, what woman could hope for a better man as a husband than the one of whom they could only touch a hem of his robes, because he had not yet ascended? Still, doubts begin to set in, especially about her own behavior and worth. After taking on the Black Veil, Deborah is sent to a two-year college in cohort with the convent to earn an education, and goes on to work in Chicago her four-year teaching degree. She is exposed to the outside, for the first time in almost five years. Her mother passes away due to cancer, she is the only woman amid six men in her teaching program, exposed to an unethical Catholic professor who calls her at the convent, and an ethical atheist professor who simply likes her writing without attempting to make unseemly personal contact. Finally, after wrestling with her conscious, trying to reconcile herself to the facts of the new laws in the Catholic faith, and just days before entering the BVMs permanently, Deborah chooses to return to the layman's life. Deborah has begun to wonder what it would be like to fall in love, to be kissed, to have sex, and to have children. She is taking by a fellow Sister to buy clothing, and even lipstick, taking a train with a fellow former-sister. Moving back in with her father, she has to learn again how to be on the outside, and purchases a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover, which she finds amusing in some respects, and illuminating in others. She remembers the large tulip growing in her neighbors yard that was so sizable that her head could fit just inside its petals. She writes a poem about a woman returning her ring to the Pope, as he kneels, because the "tulip shrugged off the catechism". It extended itself, and Presence was felt, and it nothing to do with positions, or being too holy.
•Critical Evaluation
Sometimes amusing, and other times bittersweet, account of a young woman still only just beginning to understand what that means. She is proud without realizing it, romantic without having a solid basis for her fancies, and must learn what really being obedient, virtuous, and humble are all about, on her own.
•Reader’s Annotation
Lovely, full of information on Catholic rites and instruction.
•Information about the author
Today, Deborah Larsen is married to David Cowan, and the couple have two children. They live outside Gettysburg, PA., and Deborah at the nearby college. She had written two other books, The White (a novel), and Stitching Porcelain: After Matteo Ricci in Sixteenth-Century China.
•Genre
Autobiography
•Curriculum Ties
History
Social Science
Religion
•Booktalking Ideas
Catholicism, convents
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
When I was very young, I wanted to be a priest. Of course, I wasn't male and my family wasn't Catholic, so this was out of the question. The Catholic religion, and its rites, have always fascinate me, as has the idea of entering a convent. As the memoir is by a fellow Deborah, I thought this might be an interesting read, and it was. It was also informative, and comfortable in a way I can't really describe.
ISBN-10: 0375712909
ISBN-13: 9780375712906
•Plot Summary
At nineteen years of age, Deborah Larsen was in a taxi on the way to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary to become a nun. She was smoking her final two cigarettes, and along with her friends, Tessa and Kathy, gave the last of her money to the driver as a tip. Born and raised Catholic, though of German and French descent, not Irish like most of her friends, Deborah has been thinking about this moment for a long time. She has always been fond of attending mass, and going through the rituals of her Church, especially alongside her mother. She has read, or acted in a play about, every nun on which there is a story based. Her favorite, is The Nun's Story, and it is to Sister Luke that she constantly compares herself throughout this memoir. When in times of doubt, concern or confusion, she wonders to herself what Sister Luke would do, and tries to replicate that behavior. Her references, however, are highly romanticized. As a child, she had played at Mass, although she was usually cast at an altar boy. Withdrawals from cigarettes begin to bother her, but she manages to get through this because of her allergy medication, although that makes her consistently sleepy. When she and her fellow postulants receive their list of required clothing, and then their new capes, she tells of how Gabrielle in The Nun's Story had the same sort of cloak. It was a story she would never read again, because private novels had to be left at home, and she says she thought nothing of it. Or that she thought, she thought nothing of it. Much of the rest of the autobiography is similar in the ways doubt or questioning sneaks into the obedient behavior she begins to view as a competition, although she will not admit to it being due to pride, since nuns are not supposed to feel that way. Her feelings creep in though, needs, and wants. She covets the time when she can wear the green sweater in the ice room, because it's not the black or white crispness like everyone else wears. When given the directions for positions to be taken during prayer, dinner, etc, she wonders, if any one is wondering to themselves, "When is this class going to be over?" or "Isn't it time to go home now?" Every element of her dress is described, and how basins and cups are taken to the bathrooms for brushing teeth, of nightcaps that aren't actually slept in (just used to cover short hair the stylish BVMs might not want to think about). As Christmas, she is pleased to see that not only are the nun's rooms stylish in the non medieval simplicity, but the chapel is decorated with just the right number of poinsettia plants. Sister Mary Deborah, now a novice, is convinced taking a vow of poverty will be easy, because everything was provided by the community. Obedience would also "be a snap" because the Pope was infallible, and one did what the Church proscribed. Finally, chastity would be easy, because what man could compare with Jesus, what woman could hope for a better man as a husband than the one of whom they could only touch a hem of his robes, because he had not yet ascended? Still, doubts begin to set in, especially about her own behavior and worth. After taking on the Black Veil, Deborah is sent to a two-year college in cohort with the convent to earn an education, and goes on to work in Chicago her four-year teaching degree. She is exposed to the outside, for the first time in almost five years. Her mother passes away due to cancer, she is the only woman amid six men in her teaching program, exposed to an unethical Catholic professor who calls her at the convent, and an ethical atheist professor who simply likes her writing without attempting to make unseemly personal contact. Finally, after wrestling with her conscious, trying to reconcile herself to the facts of the new laws in the Catholic faith, and just days before entering the BVMs permanently, Deborah chooses to return to the layman's life. Deborah has begun to wonder what it would be like to fall in love, to be kissed, to have sex, and to have children. She is taking by a fellow Sister to buy clothing, and even lipstick, taking a train with a fellow former-sister. Moving back in with her father, she has to learn again how to be on the outside, and purchases a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover, which she finds amusing in some respects, and illuminating in others. She remembers the large tulip growing in her neighbors yard that was so sizable that her head could fit just inside its petals. She writes a poem about a woman returning her ring to the Pope, as he kneels, because the "tulip shrugged off the catechism". It extended itself, and Presence was felt, and it nothing to do with positions, or being too holy.
•Critical Evaluation
Sometimes amusing, and other times bittersweet, account of a young woman still only just beginning to understand what that means. She is proud without realizing it, romantic without having a solid basis for her fancies, and must learn what really being obedient, virtuous, and humble are all about, on her own.
•Reader’s Annotation
Lovely, full of information on Catholic rites and instruction.
•Information about the author
Today, Deborah Larsen is married to David Cowan, and the couple have two children. They live outside Gettysburg, PA., and Deborah at the nearby college. She had written two other books, The White (a novel), and Stitching Porcelain: After Matteo Ricci in Sixteenth-Century China.
•Genre
Autobiography
•Curriculum Ties
History
Social Science
Religion
•Booktalking Ideas
Catholicism, convents
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
When I was very young, I wanted to be a priest. Of course, I wasn't male and my family wasn't Catholic, so this was out of the question. The Catholic religion, and its rites, have always fascinate me, as has the idea of entering a convent. As the memoir is by a fellow Deborah, I thought this might be an interesting read, and it was. It was also informative, and comfortable in a way I can't really describe.
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