Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario

    This week I read the novel Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. This book was interesting and even more different from what we have read in the past. I thought it was interesting because of everything that has been going on with immigrants in America. I have never read a book that was based on a journalist following the main character around and writing about their story. Though Enrique seemed like a very complex character because of all the hardships that he suffered in his life. The main theme in this novel seemed to be family. I felt it was this because the whole plot of the story was about how Enrique’s mother had gone to America for the benefit f her children and that Enrique felt that he needed to reunite with his mother to become whole once again. Though at the same time in the novel he was creating his own family with his girlfriend who ended up getting pregnant before he left on his journey to find his mother. I felt that the character that developed the most was the main character Enrique. This is because he started out as a kid missing his mom and getting into drugs. Then grew up on his journey to find his mother and got his act together to help get money for his child that his girlfriend was caring for in Honduras. 

     I felt that it included most things that should be brought up in this type of novel. This novel has opened my eyes to what is actually happening with all these immigrants that are coming into the United States secretly. I never truly understood how they got into America and what they had to go through to get here. I also did not know most of the reasoning behind why all of them want to come to America. Though it makes sense since most countries think that everyone in America has it better. One thing that I felt was a stereotype in this novel was the fact that without his mother in his life he rebelled, got into drugs, and got his girlfriend pregnant. This seems like the stereotype of many people in South America ins stories you hear. I get that it is based off a true story and these stories are true, but I just feel that these are stereotypes that you will hear many times in stories similar to this. Though if it is true I guess it belongs in the story. 

     I feel that this text appeals to adolescents because some children reading his can probably relate to the struggles that Enrique goes through when his mom leaves just so she can support her children. A lot of children have single mothers who have to work all day to support their children. They may not be in a different country, but are still rarely seen by their children. I feel that it would also appeal to adolescents because it will help them more understand some of the issues that we are facing in out country and have a better position on it. 

Rating: D

My most excellent year by Steve Kluger

     For this week I read the novel My most excellent year by Steve Kluger. This was a very interesting and somewhat different from the other books that I have been reading in my young adult literature class. Though I kind of loved the diversity of this novel. I felt that the main theme in this novel was family. This is because T.C. addresses his letter to a family member. T.C. addresses his to his mother who passed away when he was 6. It makes it seem as this is his way to somewhat still say connected to his mother who is no longer with him. Though I loved that you find out that around the same time is when he actually met Augie. Augie is like his brother separated at birth, at least that is how they treat each other. They even have bedrooms ate each others houses and the parents treat each as their own child. Augie is the person that has kept him grounded all the years that they have been friends. The character that I felt developed the most was Augies, this is because of everything that he had to go through before he finally realized he was gay. It seems that most men and even women have this struggle when having the inner battle with their sexuality. Though it seems that once he finally realizes that he is gay that everyone around him already knew that he was gay and accept him for who he is. 

     I feel that this text is very thorough and not leaving anyone or anything out. This is because they cover things from race to sexuality. This diversity s what made the story so good. Without this I felt that it would have been a very mediocre and boring novel. The characters personalities also helped make all of the story, especially the bond that T.C. and Augie shared throughout the story. This novel definitely helped break down stereotype barriers about things such as sexuality. I love when authors include things like this because it helps inform me as a reader better on the topic. One of the reasons why I love reading is that while doing so you learn so much that you would have not known previously to reading that particular book. I have learned so much over the years while primarily reading young adult fiction novels. 

     I feel that this text could appeal to any and all adolescents. this is because the novel is so diverse and seems to be attempting to target every group of adolescents. By doing this the author is not being biased to any particular group of adolescents. There are a lot of authors out there who do not do this and are judged by certain readers because they are using the typical stereotypes and this can anger certain readers. So when these stereotype boundaries are broken down more adolescents can relate better and enjoy what they are reading. 

Rating: A

Almost Perfect Part 1

***For some reason this didn't post last Thursday. Sorry!!

     This week I was able to choose a book from a a list of five different books. I chose to read Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher which is about someone who is transgender and trying to make the transition from a man to a woman. The theme of this book was definitely LGBTQ (if that can be counted as a theme). Throughout the first half of the novel that I have read once you find out Sage is a transgender you get to more know some of the background. It helps gives more insight into exactly what a transgender is and what exactly leads them to this point. Personally I was not very informed about transgenders. All I knew was what I had head about Caitlyn Jenner and a friend of my dads that has recently decided to make the transition. I did not know many of the details of the decision making process and how the person making the transition actually feels. I feel that it is a very serious issue that does not get as much attention as it needs, people will judge them without first knowing their reasoning. The character that has developed the most throughout the first half of the novel was Logan. When he first discovered that Sage was a transgender he acted harshly and wanted to never see her again. Though once he actually realizes that was a rash decision on his end when Sage tried to stay away from seeing him other than just a friend, he was trying to push the romantic parts of the relationship on her. Once he does this it can be seen that he is actually trying to be a good friend to her and help in other aspects pf her life. He attempts to encourage both her parents to give her more social freedom. An example of this is when her mom will not even let her visit the Mizzou campus which is where she wishes to attend college in the fall. Then Logan talks to her mom about a program to visit for the weekend while chaperoned and her mom starts to sway towards letting her go. So, he attempts to be the best friend he can be after acting harshly about the news of her gender identity. 

     This novel reveals a lot about gender. Honestly most people are not informed about other genders besides themselves. Recently things such as trans gender have somewhat come into the light of social media, but this is only because of Caitlyn Jenner and the two transgender shows on TLC. Without these we would be just as much in the dark as we were a year ago. I think that the younger generations should be informed more about these situations at a younger time in their life. If we had this we would not be so surprised when someone reveals information such as this and would be more prepared and actually know what is being talked about.

     This text positions adolescents such as Logan bad because of the way he reacts when he first finds out that Sage is actually transgender. People reading this would think he is mean and rude to her even though she did nothing wrong. I feel that this would appeal to adolescents since most of the are very misinformed about any sexuality besides the general one which is straight. It should be included in sexual education when people are younger. At least there are books such as this to help them better understand things such as transgender. 

Rating: A

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

     The book that I read this week was Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This was a very interesting read and much different from the young adult novels that I typically read, which are science fiction. This novel focuses on girls who decide to compete on who can become the skinniest of the two. One of the main themes in this novel was the idea of friendship. This is particularly taking into account the two main girls, Lia and Cassie, that make the pact to become the skinniest girls. The book starts with the pact between the two girls and right off the bat you realize that this is not a normal friendship, but a messed up one that is focused on the outward appearance of each other. True friends would not care what each other look like, but think that the other is beautiful no matter what other people think. So it can be seen that these two girls ideas of friendship has been blurred by societal standards and how things such as magazines represent girls. Also the fact that they entered in a competition (pact) to who could becomes skinnier just shows that they don’t even ponder how this could effect the opposites health in the long run. 

     The character who showed the most development throughout the novel was Lia. She started out as someone who in a way encouraged her friend Cassie to stay bulimic until the point of no return leading to her death. There is also a possibility that her friend would not have died if Lia had answered just one of the 33 calls that she received from Cassie before her death. When she starts seeing Cassie’s ghost she seems to go to an even deeper place eventually leading to her to almost bleeding out. Though when she was in the motel and on the brink of death she decided that the reasons to live far out weighed why she was wanting to die. One of the major reasons was that she needed to stay alive for her little sister Emma who looked up to her. She looked up to her so much that she also rarely ate, so she decided for the betterment of Emma’s health that she needed to slowly recover from the long rode of anorexia that she had lived on for a very long time. 

     I feel that it could have included some perspectives of eating disorders from a male perspective. It seems that everyone thinks that eating disorders only pertain the females. Though in reality this could effect both genders. I feel that this novel shows one side of young adults that most authors would never think about addressing because it can be a touchy subject. If no author ever writes on this subject young adults would never be educated enough to know exactly what they are doing to their lives. I feel that this text would appeal highly to many high school students that have gone through what these characters do with their lives or even thought about doing these things. This book would help them become more educated on what exactly the repercussion of the actions are on young adults. 

Rating:B

unwind by Neal Shusterman

     This week I read the book Unwind by Neal Shusterman. The concept of this book was very interesting. The idea that abortions would not be aloud, but between the ages of 13 to 18 you could unwind your child’s body is mind blowing. How could you ever sign away your child to be torn apart and given out to various people. I mean at least people’s lives are being saved. Though when you think about it they are just taking away one life to save another. Is that really any better? The main theme is this novel is the idea of pro life and pro choice. This is show since the parents are given the option to unwind their children to help save lives. Some people even have kids for the sole purpose of being unwound once they turn 13. This is seen in the character Lev, he was the tenth child in his family and was born just to be unwound. Though his parents did not keep the fact that he would be unwound a secret, because of this Lev made it seem as if it was an honor that he was going to be unwound and was gladly going to go. 

     I felt all of the character developed in their own ways throughout the novel. Connor developed because he started out as somewhat of a problem child because he was getting into fights and because of this was signed off to be unwound. Then on his journey of running away from being unwound he found his true purpose, this was to help those that were like him and become the admiral for the graveyard (where those who were going to be unwound stayed until they were 18). Risa developed from a girl that was always trying hard enough to be the bottom bunch of children so that she would not be given up to be unwound. After her journey she also found her purpose at the graveyard and also refused to be given new body parts when she became paralyzed because she stuck up for what she believed in. Lev developed from being expected to be unwound to turning into someone with explosive fluid in him thus not allowing him to be unwound. The brain washing that his parents had thrust upon him slowly leaves him. 

     This can reveal that in the future the world can take a weird turn that could never be expected. If this became a reality no one would be safe until they were 18, making everyone trying to act on their best behavior then going crazy and revealing their true selves once they turned 18. Though the idea that a parent would sign away their child’s life seems unthinkable. 

     This appeals to adolescents since it targets their age group. Thinking that their parents could sign away their life after one fight they had is a game changer. They would literally be in control of your life and if you would go on living this way or in multiple people. I feel that this would appeal to them since it is a serious issue that is an alternative to abortion and this is the age group where you start thinking about these issues.

Rating: B+

Feed by M.T. Anderson

     I read the book Feed by M.T. Anderson and I just want to start by saying this is by far one of the weirder of all the dystopian young adult novels that I have read over the years. One of the most confusing things can be the language that the kids use in the novel. Though this is to be expected in a novel based in the future because even since the 1980’s our slang has drastically changed. I mean it’s not everyday that you will hear someone say “gag me with a spoon.” A main theme in this novel is technology because technology has a large impact on the world then and even current day. Feed is a form of technology that is put into a human when they are born. It is the newest technology and like things such as an iPhone if you don’t have one then you are seen as a social pariah. Though not everyone can afford to have the feed put into their children when they are born. This is what happened with Violet and because of her parents not having a lot of money when she did get a feed it wasn’t the best one you could get and had problems. 

     The character who developed the most was Titus, this is because he started as a stuck up guy who dated a lot of girls and was very rich. His family was wealthy and you could see this through is top line feed, trips whenever and wherever he wanted, and his multiple up-cars. Though he meets violet the rebel of the story who is all against things pertaining to the feed and government in general. She opens his eyes to what is truly going on in the world. The fact that she is different mesmerizes him and he falls for her. They later get into a fight and he doesn’t talk to her again until she is almost dead and this is where you can see that he truly a changed person from the beginning of the book. I feel that besides Violet the females in this book are not portrayed how they should be. In the beginning Titus seems to talk about all the women he has been with and in a way he makes them sound more as objects than as girlfriends. Making it sound as if there is always a new one around the corner if needed. Then the girls that travel with him don’t make the situation any better because they are the stereotypical girls. 

     The text positions adolescents as being buried deep in the current technology. There are many adolescents like that today, but there are also those who come from very traditionalist families. Though I feel that we don’t judge as much by what technology you don’t have as much as they judge in the book if you didn’t have a feed. I feel that this text would mainly appeal to adolescents who prefer science fiction novels. This is because it focuses on the technology named feed and the background that goes with the feed.

Rating:D

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Part 2

     The second half of this book was kind of odd in my opinion. I feel this way because it seemed to focus a lot on death and basketball. So a large theme in this section was death. Some of the people that died were grandmother Spirit, Eugene (Junior’s fathers best friend), and Junior’s sister. The odd thing was that none of the deaths, even the grandmothers, was because of natural causes. They instead were a drunk driver, shot in the face in a 7-eleven parking lot, and a fire (didn’t wake up because she was so drunk). It seems that in most young adult novels the authors will try not to have such morbid causes of death due to the targeted audience, which is usually 13-18. The character that developed the most throughout the whole book was definitely Junior (or Arnold) because he tried very hard to make his life better and not just fall into the societal normalizations of everyone else that lives on the reservation. He ends up accomplishing this, even though he goes through obstacles such as not being able to find a ride to school and back. Through all of this he becomes a basketball star, has a girlfriend, and maintains A’s and B’ in all his classes. He achieved all of these things even though he was being discouraged by everyone on the reservation and even by someone who he has thought to be his best friend, but leaves him when he decides to switch schools to try and obtain a better life.

     I feel that in the second half that the author should have focused a little more on the idea of school and the struggles eh was facing. He could of added this and focused less on all of the basketball he was constantly playing. I also think there should have been a little more information about what was going on at the reservation when he was there and not just how they treated him the two basketball games that he played there. This novel definitely reveals all the cultural stereotypes that everyone expresses towards native americans. I never realized how horribly that these native americans can be treated by some people. 

     I feel that this text will particularly appeal to adolescents that feel discriminated in school. It may not even be discrimination of race but also because of poverty and even cliques. This book can help show that you can restart and build your own life. Junior was both native american and poor, but managed to make many friends and become well known by many people in his new school. 

     I would have to give this text a B because it is not my favorite format of all the books we have read so far. It kind of irritates me that it is in between a graphic novel and a regular novel> I would prefer it to be one or another and not a mixture of the two.

Rating: B

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Part 1

     My initial thought when reading the description before actually starting the book was the amazement that the book was centered on a Spokane Indian reservation. I found this fascinating because this is actually the town that I grew up in and have never read a book that has been in it or even near it. One thing that I love so far about this book is that there are occasionally illustrations because the speaker likes to draw cartoons, but it is not quite a graphic novel. A reoccurring theme in the first half of this novel seems to be the idea of poverty. Since the main character comes from a family who does not make much money and does not even eat some nights because they can’t afford it, he is constantly comparing how his life is more difficult than other. He is typically comparing himself to those that live in Reardon, which is the location of his new school. An example of this can be when he was talking to Penelope about collecting money for the homeless and is thinking about the fact that he would not raise nearly as much on the reservation as she would collecting in Reardon. Character development can be seen in Junior. The main development that he made was making the life changing decision to leave the reservation school and go to Reardon High School after talking to Mr. P. This is a hard decision that he felt needed to be made if he wanted to get a real education because on the reservation they didn’t learn nearly as much and were even using the same textbooks that their parents had used. 

     I feel that while reading this novel it specifically talks about Caucasians and Native Americans, but does not touch on any other races. It seems that at the high school he transfers to there would surely be another ethnicity besides Caucasians, but the main character makes it seem as though that is all that is present at the school. Though Reading this has really opened my eyes to how Native American can actually be treated and how the reservations can be. I grew up in Spokane, but never actually went to the reservation.

     This novel shows adolescents at their most vulnerable state, which is when they are in high school. This is when the most insecurities present themselves and when students will bully their fellow students whether this be physical or verbally. In the case of Junior he was verbally abused by the Caucasian boys that he attended his new school with. I think that this text would appeal to adolescents since it is focused on issues that present themselves everyday in most high schools in America. 

Rating: B

America Born Chinese

     I recently finished reading American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. It was very different from what I typically read because I have never read a graphic novel before, in fact I have never read a novel with any pictures in it. It was a nice having a different form of a novel to read to switch things up. I found that having pictures already there really helps a reader understand the setting because you don’t have to attempt to picture everything in your head since it’s already right in front of you. A theme that can be seen in this graphic novel is betrayal in a couple forms. The first betrayal is that of Jin’s best friend Wei-Chen when Jin decides to try and attempt to kiss Wei-Chen’s girlfriend. It seemed that he thought he would fix the situation of her explaining her problems by kissing her (maybe for comfort). Though this is the opposite of what he should have done, especially if the boyfriend in question was his supposed best friend. Another betrayal is when Jin betrays himself by transforming into something that he has always dreamed to be, he obtains what he believed his true calling was as a young child. He became the stereotypical white male with blue eyes and blonde hair. Though this is not who he was born to be so he was betraying himself and his family because he goes from being a Chinese-American to pure American. 

     The character that developed the most was definitely Jin in my opinion. Though he went bad before he could eventually return to the person that he was truly destined to be. A hint of this can be seen when he at first declines Wei-Chen’s friendship, but almost immediately after agrees and they become friends. Though he later transforms into something that he always wished to be so that he would not be teased by other students. Then in the end of the novel he sees the wrongs that he has done in life and should return to the original him.When doing this he ends up finding Wein-Chen (transformed) and asks to talk with him and he apologizes over a nice cup of bubble tea and their friendship picks up where they once left off. 

     Instead of gender stereotypes in this graphic novel there are culture stereotypes. An example of this is seen when Wei-Chen, Jin, and Suzy are sitting together and a boy said he was getting “Gook Bumps.” If you did not know this term previously it is a racial slur used on people from asian countries. They also make references to Chinese eating dog and say that there is dog in Jin’s dumpling to stay away from this. This bullying thus caused Jin from making any friends until Wei-Chen asked to be his friend. 

     It positions adolescents as wanting to appeal to societal standards and do anything to fit in. Many adolescents struggle with the idea of being liked by everyone at school and specificalyy making friends when going to a new school. Even I experienced this in the fourth grade when I switched schools. I feel that it would appeal to adolescents since they can relate to the situation Jin is out in (minus transforming bodies). This would especially appeal to adolescent boys since they typically prefer comics. 

Rating: B

     I recently read 13 Reasons Why and was a very intense book. Though it was a book that I could not put down because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. For me I wanted to keep reading because I wanted the ending to be something unpredictable. I was hoping that the person who recorded these tapes was actually alive and that she just fooled everyone. Whenever reading a book with a concept such as this you hope for the best. Even though she wasn’t alive in the end it was still a very good book. The main theme here was definitely Guilt and Blame since this tape is going around to everybody who was one of the thirteen reason why she committed suicide. No one wants to know that they were an actual cause of the ending of someones life. This just shows that if you bully someone it can lead them to ending their own life because of your actions. I feel that the character that developed the most was the one listening to the tapes, which was Clay. When he first got the tapes he had no idea of the horrible things these people did and he was one who believed the rumors that were spread about Hannah. Though as the tapes progress he better understands Hannah and misses her more. He is probably the one who least needed to be on the tapes, but needed to here everything said. 

     It was a good text to write for adolescents because suicide is a serious topic for that age group, but is rarely talked about. It was even found in 2013 that suicide was the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24. Most people do not want to talk about it because they think that no one ever considers things such as suicide at a young age. They are wrong because a large majority of adolescents think about this and are not informed of everything about it. If they were better informed they might not even consider the idea of suicide. I think this text would appeal to adolescents, especially those who have considered suicide in the past. Also to teens who have never been informed about suicide and now would know the signs and how to support people they feel could be thinking about suicide. SO it would help all adolescents in one way or another.

     Overall I feel that this text was written in a very intriguing way. I just wanted to keep reading until I was finished. I also felt that the book was very informative because I wasn’t very aware of suicide since I never thought about anything like this at any point in my life. 

Rating: A

Between Shades of Gray

     As many people know World War II was a very difficult and traumatizing war. This book is focused on a family going through the hardships of the war and being suddenly forced onto a train by the Soviet Union and having to work in a labor camp. A main theme that you can see in this book is survival. If you know anything about World War II then you will likely know that the concentration camps that people were forced into had horrible conditions. They barely fed them, made them work all day, and killed them if they weren’t complying. Typically the concentration camps are more connected to Hitler and the Jews, but Stalin was equally as ruthless as him. I love the fact that this takes place on the Stalin side of things rather than Hitler because in school you never go into deep detail about how bad Stalin was. The character that I feel developed significantly is the main character Lina. This is because in the beginning she is very oblivious to all the signs there were there before being taken. Though once being taken abruptly she learns to suck it up and fight for what she thinks is right and ultimately save her family and those around her who have become her friends. Gender is a theme that can also be seen in this book. It is quite obvious in the beginning of the book when they separate all of the men from the women and children. A main reason they would do this is because the men were stronger so they would send them to concentration camps with more difficult work, if they did not kill them. 

     I feel that this shows adolescents being very oblivious to the things happening around them on a day to day basis. In the book Lina is constantly being given signs about what is going to happen (foreshadowing in a sense) before the NKVD actually show up to their house. It makes it seem as though adolescents aren’t ready to take on real issues, such as a dictator getting ready to take over the country you are living in. If her parents would have included her in the discussions about what was going on she may have helped them prepare for what was coming and might have been able to escape in time. This text helps show adolescents why they need to keep up with things in the world such as politics and world matters. This news may seem boring until you are in the middle of it. It suddenly becomes the most important and only thing that your life is centered around. 

     Overall I felt that this text was very interesting. The fact that it centered around a historical moment in history was fascinating. Most everything that the author used actually happened because she went to Lithuania and talked to people who actually went through this. I have always been very interested in World War II and all the details about it and found this book very informative

Rating: A

Eleanor and Park

     I finished the book Eleanor & Park last night. Which I found to be quite intriguing. I will start this off with an analysis of this book. I thought that the two main themes to be noticed were love and family. Love was very apparent in the relationship that developed between Eleanor and Park. Many times throughout the book Park would confess his love towards Eleanor and she seemed almost afraid to admit that she had such deep and unstoppable feeling for him. Though in the end when she writes a post card to him it says, “Just three words long” (Rowell 325). We can all assume that those three words were her finally confessing her love to Park. Family is seen with both Eleanor and Park, though they both had very different family lives. Eleanor had an abusive and controlling stepfather that no one was brave enough to stand up to because of this she never wanted to leave her bedroom and face him. Her stepfather in a way pushed her from having a relationship with her mother. On the other hand Park had the opposite type of relationship with his parents. His parents were very loving and caring towards him, his relationship was the type that Eleanor dreamed she could have with her family. I felt that the character that most developed throughout the book was Park. At first he seemed slightly embarrassed to be friends with Eleanor, but as time went on he openly let everyone know that they were dating. He just had to let down the barriers of caring about what other people thought, in the end he realized it only mattered what he thought of Eleanor. Gender was definitely present throughout this whole book. It is shown when Park thinks he is girly and was doubting liking girls (until Eleanor), Eleanor wearing mens shirts, and even when Park wears makeup to school to entertain Eleanor. The fact that neither ever thought something about them was different because they were more feminine or masculine than normal is not right. They should feel fine in their own bodies without worrying about how others dress and even act. The most stereotypical character when it came to gender was Tina because she was the typical popular girl who everyone looked up to and wanted to be like. She wore makeup and dressed very girly, the total opposite of Eleanor who felt like she was hiding if she wore makeup. 

     The appeal that this book has towards adolescents is the age of the characters, falling in love, and being weird. Anytime that the age of the characters is close to the reader they will typically feel like they can relate since they are the same age. Falling in love is something that is typically included in young adult novels, especially when they are around the age of 16. This is because this is the age where adolescents start to feel that they are falling in love and a majority of them are getting into relationships. Adolescents that read this may relate to the characters because they are weird and don’t conform to societal standards for adolescents their age. I feel that the position this book gives on adolescents is both good and bad depending on what characters are being referred to. When referring to Eleanor and Park it is good, but characters such as Tina and Steve gives adolescents a bad name. They have a negative connotation towards adolescents because they are the typical stereotypical teenagers and do thing such as drinking and smoking. 

Rating: A!!

First off I give it an A because it is a book I have been meaning to read for a while, but also because it was one of those books that you couldn’t put down until you finished. Overall I absolutely loved this book