Extra Credit #4: Monster

Myers, Walter Dean. Monster. New York: Amistad Harper Teen, 1999. Print.

Annotation:

A teenager on trial, but did he really do it? Steve Harmon lives his life behind bars as a trial wages on to determine his guilt or innocence. Will he get out or will he spend the rest of his youth and most of his adulthood locked away?

Justification for Non- nomination:

Stylistically, this book was great for me to read. It went beyond the actual telling of a story and created a screenplay for the plot. At times, as the reader, I could visualize every aspect of the scenes being depicted in the book. I could readily see this on a television or movie screen in front of me. Besides the screenplay details, Myers also incorporates journal style narration that allows you to get closer to the main character.

The piece itself is very relevant in YA literature in that the main character Steve Harmon has questioned the role he has played in his own life. Outsiders label him a monster for a crime he may not have committed, leaving him questioning who he really is and what he really stands for.

Though the piece was a fluid and fast read, I found the lawyer commentary in the screenplay to be mundane and cliché at times.  On the other hand, I really enjoyed the journal narration that gave you an inside look into the character of Steve Harmon. Though the quest for identity is relevant to YA literature, I didn't think it encompassed much more than that in relation to hallmarks leading me to my decision of non-nomination.

Genre Catalog: Coming of Age, Realistic Novel/Edgy Fiction, Printz Award Winner, Multicultural.

Extra Credit #3: Hard Love

Wittlinger, Ellen. Hard Love. New York: Simon Pulse, 1999. Print.

Annotation:

So much anger bottled up in one confused teenager. John uses zines in order to say what he actually hasn't said before. Through zines, he recreates himself as Gio and happens upon a quirky girl that ignites a spark in him that he has never felt before.

Justification for Non- nomination:

The style of this book is like none I’ve ever come across in any of my readings. Wittlinger incorporates zines throughout the story. By doing this, the plot is given dimension by allowing for other viewpoints and smaller stories to enter the plot. Each story has a larger impact on the main character John, but the zines themselves give the reader an actual inside look at zines, what they represent, and how zines work to tell the story or provide an outlet for the authors of those zines.  

As for the relevance to YA literature, it is apparent that John/Gio is having trouble navigating through life after the divorce of his parents. The trouble he has with the relationship with both of his parents, leads him to question who he is as a person which is a significant hallmark of YA literature in the quest for finding a greater sense of self. John/Gio transcends through many of the hallmarks of young adolescence in highschool through his only friendship, a new love interest, and even the re-development of a relationship with his parents.

Though this book was stylistically appealing and very unique to me as the reader, I did not feel that it encompassed all that was needed for nomination. The character of John/Gio was going through a significantly troubling period in his life but I found his character to be flat and just angry through most of the text. The zines were a very good way to see beyond that clichéd character but it didn’t do enough to hold my interest by way of a good book. I would, however, recommend this book to readers purely for the exposure to zines and the power they hold to tell a very in depth story in a short amount of time.

Genre Catalog: Coming of Age, Realistic Novel/Edgy Fiction, Printz Award Winner.

Extra Credit #2: American Born Chinese

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006. Print.

Annotation:

A Monkey King that can't go to a dinner party?! Jin Yang who likes a girl in his class but doesn't like himself?! And Danny who is so embarassed by his cousinChin Kee, that he often switches school?! Follow the story of three main characters in three separate but parallel stories. Jin Yang, Monkey King, and Danny as they all struggle with race, identity, and self-acceptance.

Justification of Non-nomination:

An exceptionally written graphic novel where Yang builds three stories separately, but they all seemingly twist together in response to the struggles the characters face with their own identity and race. 

American Born Chinese is multidimensional in several ways. One is that it creates a hard look into outward racism through the strong stereotyping of the character of Chin-Kee. Yang does hit home in this strong stereotypical Chinese character to show how the stereotyping of the race is portrayed and thought about.

Yang also builds dimension with the characters of Monkey King and Jin Wang in that they struggle with their internal feelings of self-identity related to their own race. Though the characters have no control of how they were born, each struggle with society’s acceptance of themselves and even others, as we see with the character of Danny in his response to Chin-Kee.

This is a very well written book that shows the dynamics of trying to live in a world where you are considered outside of the norm in relation to culture and race. The struggle of the characters allows the reader to sympathize with the very realistic dilemma of trying to find self-acceptance within two different cultural identities.

Genre Catalog: Graphic Novel, Coming of Age, Realistic/Edgy Novel, Printz Award

The graphic novel itself is easy to follow with strong images for each of the stories. I found it very easy to read and the drawings added depth to the story and the characters themselves.

Extra Credit #1: The House On Mango Street

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. Print.

Annotation:

Ashamed of her home and her name, Esperanza does all she can to stay out of focus. Unwilling to accept herself and where she comes from, Esperanza is forced to grow up and face reality that she no longer wants to hide in the shadows but rather embrace who she is and be a strong, confident young woman.

Justification for Nomination:

Cisneros takes a very unique approach to this story by writing it in a very poetic fashion that allows the book itself to be a very quick read. The style alone sheds light on the importance of writing and poetry for Cisneros and the character of Esperanza.

Developmentally, this book is wonderfully written to show how Esperanza, though resistant to growing up for fear of what that means for her life, gradually moves through various stages of her life allowing her to embrace herself and to open her mind at the acceptance of her past and where she comes from.

This book is wonderfully written. Cisneros allows Esperanza and other characters in the story to seem life-like thus allowing the reader to understand and relate to the characters and the life of Esperanza on a more in depth level.

Genre Catalog: Coming of Age, Realistic Novel/Edgy Fiction, Multicultural Fiction

#10: Audiobook: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Heller, Johnny, narr. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. By Stephen Chbosky, 1999. Recorded Books, LLC, 2005. CD.

Annotation:

Though brilliant, Charlie is a freak. Or at least other kids think he is. Unable to make friends easily, Charlie struggles as a freshman in high school. After losing his best friend Michael to suicide, Charlie makes friends with two senior students that take him under their wings and show him a life far different from the youthful one he’s been living until now.

Justification for Nomination:

Chbosky uses The Perks of Being a Wallflower to show the significant changes and coming of age experiences through the voice of Charlie as he moves out of his youthful childhood and into the young adult life of a high school student trying to determine his place in the world while navigating through his past.

This is an amazing journey of a boy growing up that is told through his journal entries to an anonymous person. This stylistic approach is a captivating way to understand Charlie himself and the experiences he encounters as he journeys through high school.

Not only is Chbosky’s story beautifully written, the audio narration of this book adds to the depth of Charlie as an individual, but also adds to the depth of the story allowing for the listener to experience Charlie’s world from another perspective that might be significantly different than just being a reader.

Genre Catalog: Coming of Age, Realistic/Problem Novel/Edgy Fiction

#9: Alex Award Winner: Water For Elephants

Gruen, Sara. Water For Elephants. New York: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006. Print.

Annotation:  

Faced with the sudden death of his parents, college student Jacob, returns home to find that he has nothing left, no family and no home. Not knowing how to move forward, Jacob unknowingly jumps aboard a circus train in the middle of the night thus beginning a life far different from the one he had envisioned for himself.

Justification for Nomination:

This is an intriguing dualistic story of identity told from two perspectives: one from the perspective of Jacob as a young man trying to navigate through the traumatic experience of the loss of his parents with no where to turn and the other also through the perspective of Jacob but this time as a man who has lived life and has no idea what to do with himself now that he is 90 or is it 93?

This book encompasses the question of “Who am I” on two very different levels. One level trying to find out who he is as he journeys through life as a young man trying to fulfill his responsibilities as an adult that can no longer can rely on his parents. The other is trying to find out who he is now that he is older, and in fact, can’t even remember how old he actually is and no longer has his independence.

Gruen does an outstanding job keeping this story a page turner and allows the reader the opportunity to glimpse a life from two perspectives. The research she put into this book is evident and truly makes you feel apart of a time that no longer can be personally experienced. She also incorporates wonderful real pictures of circus life that really bring added depth and realism to the story she is telling.

Genre Catalog: Alex Award Winner, Coming of Age, Realistic Novel, Historical Fiction, Romance

#8: Censored or Challenged: A Day No Pigs Would Die

Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die. New York: Random House, Inc, 1972. Print.

Annotation:

Robert, a well-mannered young boy growing up on the farm journeys through young adolescence and into adulthood through the experiences he encounters as well as the death of his father. Robert must fill the large shoes his father leaves behind and give up his adolescence to become a man.

Justification of Nomination:

Deemed a classic, I can whole-heartedly understand why. This is a wonderful story that takes place on a farm where life is tough and some of the experiences are even tougher. Written as a semi-autobiographical novel from Peck’s own life, it is easy for the reader to understand the complexities of adolescence and relate to the main character on several levels.

This work highlights the coming of age story of a boy maneuvering through his life initially as an innocent boy and transcending into manhood. I’m convinced that every detail that author Robert Peck put in this book is intentional in order to show the very remarkable and very painful journey that the main character experiences. By doing so, Peck makes this story incredibly relatable to many of its readers even though the setting and certain aspects may not be. For example, living on a farm may not be relatable, but losing someone or something very close to you is. 

This book is on the censored/challenged list for a number of reasons. Many are based around the main character’s pet pig and the experiences that the pig endures. Peck astutely ties Robert’s own life directly together with the pig’s life. Though told from the perspective of Robert, both he and his pig move through the channels of innocence into maturity and eventually come together in a way that shows the necessity of each of their experiences and the impact it has on Robert himself.

Genre Catalog: Pre-1980s Classics, Coming of Age, Realistic Novel