Nelson, R. (2005). Teach Me. New York, NY: Razor Bill.
ISBN-13: 9781595140852
•Plot Summary
"Nine" Carolina is a focused young woman, months away from her high school graduation, whose life has always revolved around astronomy and her best friend, Schuyler. But the day she meets her new English teacher, Mr.Mann, all that begins to change. What starts as conversations about Emily Dickenson, becomes a heated love affair with discussions of marriage and children. Switching between her present plans, and memories about their time together, the reader travels with Nine along the bitter path of being dumped for no apparent reason, finding out later that Mr.Mann has married a young woman in her third year of college because she is pregnant, and he is a coward. In a startling scene where Nine smuggles a gun into Mr.Mann's poetry reading, the reader will hold their breath, only letting it out again when they realize the gun is for paint ball. Things are not relaxed for long, however, and Nine has literally dragged her best friend underwater with her when she trails Mr.Mann in her car and skids off the road. The ending is not necessarily a happy one, but it's the best one, with a sense of poetic justice in the life Mr.Mann is left to live while Nine goes on with hers.
•Critical Evaluation
Racy account of a young woman's love affair, but the emotions are perfectly orchestrated, and not shedding a few tears over Nine's dilemma is almost impossible. A good book for anyone who has ever had a crush on that one brilliant teacher, who may not be so brilliant after all. For a male author, Nelson has convincingly framed out the feelings of a teenage girl in love.
•Reader’s Annotation
Not suitable for younger teens due to language, and sexual content. Nine may be led down the wrong road for awhile, and while her feelings are raw, her comeback is worthy of attention.
•Information about the author
Like Nine, author R.A. Nelson has attachments to Mark Twain, and was born in Alabama. As a child, he wanted to be an astronaut, then a time traveler, and possible a pioneer in colonial America. He enjoys reading, travel, spending time with his family, and studying quantum physics.
Currently, Nelson has written three novels. Teach Me and Breathe My Name were both nominated for the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults list. Teach Me was on Teenreads.com Best Of list for 2005. Nelson was chosen as a Horn Book Newcomer in 2005, and his books have been recognized by the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list and the Booksense Kid Picks. His third novel, Days of Little Texas, comes out in July. His fourth, Throat, is scheduled for publication in the fall.
•Genre
Realistic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Astronomy
Social Science
•Booktalking Ideas
Current events, student/teacher relationships, crushes, astronomy
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-19
•Challenge Issues
Obvious points of tension with parents and school districts, but I would point out that sometimes these relationships do exist, and Nine makes a recovery after learning of her teacher's cowardice.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Initially, I was just intrigued by the plot. I never had one of those crushes on a handsome older teacher, but the idea was interesting. In the end, there were quite a few parallels between myself and Nine, from the skidding off the road into water deep enough to drown, to living in the South, to being dumped by someone out of the blue.
