#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

#7: Science Fiction or Fantasy: Black Juice



Lanagan, Margo. Black Juice. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004. Print.

Annotation:

A series of strange and mythical short stories that take the reader into a very unfamiliar world that can either be embraced or leave you in the dark.

Justification for Non-Nomination:

Where to start? I absolutely loved the very first story in Margo Lanagan’s book, “Singing My Sister Down.”  I was completely enthralled in the mysterious storyline of a girl being executed for her actions by standing her on hot tar that acted like quicksand. Amazingly and beautifully written through the voice of the sibling of the girl being executed, Lanagan had me hooked as I turned each page. That changed however as I progressed through the rest of the book.

I was initially hoping that the first story would continue throughout the remainder of the book. I did not initially realize it was a series of short stories until I was midway through the second story and had found no connection to the previous. 

Confusion and the inability to make sense of characters, word usage, spelling, and storylines of several of the short stories left me feeling frustrated and baffled. When I thought I figured out an aspect of the work, it took a sharp turn and left me standing in the dark again.

Enough of the challenging aspects of this read and onto the wonderful side. This book is the first I have come across in our Mock Printz assignment that was a collection of short stories rather than one complete novel. It was beautifully written by Lanagan that takes the reader into a completely unknown world that is no longer confined to reality and logic. Though it is a hard read, I find myself thinking about some of the stories, still trying to sift through them and make sense of them. It’s likely that a reread and an openminded outlook will make the book itself more enjoyable.

This collection of short stories houses some of the components of Science Fiction and Fantasy in that it often contains a battle of good versus evil in a unique and unknown world  that works to highlight human nature and challenge the mind.

Genre Catalog: Science Fiction and Fantasy, Thriller, Printz Award Winner, Supernatural, Coming of Age

#6: Supernatural, Horror, or Vampire: Twilight

Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. New York: Time Warner Book Group, 2005. Print.

Annotation:

After deciding to move in with her dad, Bella starts her new life in a new town and a new high school. During her first day of school, she meets a boy that she is instantly drawn to. As the two form an unlikely relationship, it becomes evident to Bella that she is encountering a whole new world that she can barely fathom, but the bigger question remains, can she survive in it?

Justification for non-nomination:

Look beyond the Twilight phenomenon that entails the movies and the movie star characters so that you can focus on the actual book and the writing itself. This book encompasses so much of what it takes to hold the YA audience and its attention both stylistically as well as the deeper context of teenage issues, quests for identity, and belonging.

Stephanie Meyer does a great job introducing the awkwardly clumsy Bella into the new world of belonging both in terms of her new town and school but also to the gripping world of the supernatural. This is a fast-paced story that moves quickly through the relatable, uncomfortable first days at a new school and moves onto the beginning stages of love and romance, with a twist, the human girl falls for a not-so-human boy.

Even if you look at this as an entertainment novel that holds no value to the reader, it has to be admitted that Meyer uses this supernatural tale to show the very concepts of adolescent identity at work throughout the story. Take for example Bella, unable to fit in, struggling to understand who she is, is able to find the unconditional love of someone she still can’t believe would be interested in her; its all relatable to the YA audience as they too, move through the awkward stages of adolescence into adulthood.

This book is a fun read. It introduces the reader into a different reality that can work metaphorically as a tool to deal with adolescent issues as seen through a good versus evil supernatural storyline. I think Twilight itself receives a lot of criticism based on the widespread popularity that made it into well known blockbuster movie phenomenon. It may not be deemed a classic piece of literature, but something has to be said for its overall popularity and loyal fans and readership. It is the writing that made it popular initially, not the movie itself.

Genre Catalog: Supernatural, Horror, or Vampire, Thriller, Fantasy, Romance, Coming of Age