WEEK 13 Dystopias: "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Harcourt Children's Books, 2006.
Pages [337 p.] [$10.99] ISBN [0152058265]

From Goodreads: "Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world."

At the time that I read this book I was also reading another book of a similar nature, Megan Crewe 's THE WAY WE FALL, and therefore I cannot help but compare the two. Both books were written in a similar format- that of a journal/ diary. While one of my largest complaints in THE WAY WE FALL was that I was unable to relate to much of the book as I found the writing to be quite flat and one-dimensional, that was anything but the case for this. If I had to describe this book in a few words it would be "a roller coaster of emotions"- I cannot even put to words all of the different emotions that I felt while reading it, one minute I was smiling, the next, I was sobbing.

Aside from the emotional-strength of this book, I think that its other biggest strength is its realism. While reading it I kept wondering to myself how my family and me would fare if something of this nature occurred. I don't think that it would be all that far-fetched for future generations to have to experience something of this nature (for instance, look at the flu endemics that much of our world faced this past winter).

All in all, I think that this is one of the best books of this nature that I had read in a far while- nature taking back the reigns of control, pushing mankind into the beginnings of an apocalyptic society- and, as such, I would highly recommend it to young adult patrons. That being said, on a personal note, I do not intend to continue on with this series (something that is almost unheard of for me), as I don't want my love of this book to be potentially altered/tarnished by any sequels (especially knowing that Miranda and her family are not a the forefront of the next book in the series, but a character named Alex).

WEEK 12 Conspicuous Consumption and Teen Markets Readings

Glenn, Wendy. 2008. “Gossiping Girls, Insider Boys, A-List Achievement: Examining and Exposing Young Adult Novels Consumed by Conspicuous Consumption.” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 52(1): 34-42.

After reading Glenn's article I found myself conflicted about a number of things. She writes, "Our possession-centric society tells young people that these fictional kids have acquired all that readers should desire", "Their wealth overcomes the more pathetic aspects of their lives", and that, "They might see themselves or someone they wish to emulate in the characters described on the page" (2008). I personally think that this is the furthest thing from the truth, at least in my instance (having read all of the Gossip Girl, a few books from its various spin-offs, the Au Pair books, and so forth, as a teen). As a teen, despite not perhaps being a "critical reader" (oftentimes only reading for the entertainment value and escapism), I found the aforementioned series to be so over the top and unrealistic that I never once considered that real people might live such lives or that I had to live a similar life (ie. pet monkeys, sleeping ones way into university, love octagons, and so forth). Furthermore, money never once overshadowed the characters/ lives for me- Dan's a chain-smoking/ chain-drinking poet who will most likely develop lung cancer before the age of thirty, Chuck will most likely end up in jail for sexual harassment, while Nate will for illegal substances, and so forth. I think, at times, that she doesn't give teen readers near as much credit as they deserve. 

That being said, I do agree with the four themes found within the literature that Glenn identifies: "1. Entitlement—Wealth leads to entitlement that is recognized and flaunted by those who hold it. 2.  Disparity of class and race—Those who hold this wealth are white or hold inherited title; those who serve the wealthy are members of an ethnic minority or come from nonpatrician family lines. 3.  Empty relationships—Wealth does not guarantee strong relationships with parents or genuine friendships—and that’s OK. Having money is worth these sacrifices. 4.  Conspicuous consumption—Outward displays of money and wealth are desirable, a game of sorts that bestows privilege and glory upon participants who can afford to play" (2008). However, I do believe that the television adaptation of Gossip Girl does help to combat this, to a degree (which would help to supplement those who may both read the series and watch the television show). For instance, in the Gossip Girl novels Cyrus Rose, Blair’s mother’s boyfriend (and eventual stepfather), is characterized as worthless, "He wears “tacky Italian loafers” (p. 7) and “one of those gold Cartier cuff bracelets that you screw on and never take off— very popular in the 1980s and not so popular now...” (2008). However, in the television adaptation he is portrayed as being a very caring individual, more present in Blair's life than her own father, and oftentimes as a source of advice for her. Furthermore, there is much more diversity in the characters than in the novels- with Vanessa being of mixed ethnicity (her mother is black), with Nelly Yuki being of Asian descent, and Penelope being Hispanic (and not just being, "...embodied as nothing more than sexual beings" 2008, as Glenn writes). Furthermore, many of the characters do struggle with finances (Nate especially), however they do not allow it to dictate their lives, rising above it and becoming better people for doing so. 

Problems? Nope, Just Life

Today on her Tumblr, author Malinda Lo (an author who a number of us have discussed during our seminars) posted a reader question which I believe is quite relevant to this past week's discussion of "Problems? Nope, Just Life":

Malinda responded by directing the reader to a number of topics she has written on the topic including
Write from the gut, not from fear of prejudice, On agendas, social issues and real-life awkwardness,
What does “authentic” mean, anyway?, On avoiding the exotic in “Huntress”, Elements of (queer) romance, Writing about race in speculative fiction, Taking the homophobia out of fantasy, and Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes in YA Fiction.

Week 11 Problems? Nope, Just Life: "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

Green, John. Dutton Books, 2012.
Pages [313 p.] [$21.99] ISBN [0525478817]

From Goodreads: "Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind."

While this book has been one of the most acclaimed YA books in recent history, even going so far to be named the Top Fiction Book of 2012, beating out such titles as "The Casual Vacancy", "Where'd You Go, Bernadette", and so forth, I must admit that I do have a number of issues with it. 

The first issue that I have with it is it's unofficial tagline, "Not another cancer book." Growing up I read more books about children/ teens with cancer than I can recount ("Breathless", "Six Months to Live", "As Long As We Both Shall Live", to name a few) and I must admit that I personally don't think that this book is all that different from those other titles. The characters all go through similar situations, experience the same thoughts, have the same outcomes, and so forth. 

Another issue that I have is on a number of occasions John Green has stated that he likes to, "Write about/ for smart people." Even in my twenties (outside of the target audience) while reading this book I struggled, at times, to determine exactly what the characters (Hazel and Gus, especially) were saying during their monologues, of sorts, discussions of existentialism, and so forth. I think that as a teen (the targeted audience) I would have been even more so confused by the concepts/ language used in this book and that learning that Green writes for/ about "smart people" would have lead me to believe that I wasn't "smart" because I didn't understand it 100% (something that I think that no teenager should ever feel like/ question, with all of the other stressors, emotions, etc. going on in their life during that time). Furthermore, as such, I think that as a teen I never would have been able to relate to Hazel and Gus, something that was (and still is) extremely important to me as a reader. 

Complaints aside, I did love the relationships in this book (between Hazel and Gus, between them and their parents, and so forth) and I did love when Hazel and Gus dropped the walls around them and just let themselves be teenagers. For instance, during this scene:

"He's not that smart," I said to Julie.
"She's right. It's just that most really good-looking people are stupid, so I exceed expectations."
"Right, it's primarily his hotness," I said.
"It can be sort of blinding," he said.
"It actually did blind our friend Isaac," I said.
"Terrible tragedy, that. But can I help my own deadly beauty?"
"You cannot."
"It is my burden, this beautiful face."
"Not to mention your body."
"Seriously, don't get me started on my hot bod. You don't want to see me naked, Dave. Seeing me naked actually took Hazel Grace's breath away," he said, nodding toward the oxygen tank.' (pg. 251).

Personal feelings aside, from a librarian point of view, I would still recommend this book to YA patrons as I do think that it is quite different from what is currently on the YA market (paranormal, dystopian, etc.), it introduces them to situations they may be unfamiliar with (disease and death), and so forth. 

Week 8 Sex in YA Lit: "Anatomy of a Boyfriend" by Daria Snadowsky

Snadowsky, Daria. Delacorte, 2007. 

Pages [272p.][$9.99] ISBN [0385733208]

From Goodreads: "Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.

And then came the fall."

As a teenager I can recall reading this book (around it's release date, when I was 17 years of age). At the time I really did quite enjoy it as I was on a "Rom-Com kick" (primarily those romantic comedies written in Simon & Schuster's Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies imprint). That being said, reading it some 5 years later I must admit that I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first time around (for a number of different reasons, one being that I can no longer relate to the high school-aged characters like I once could, another that I have read so many books of this nature since then that I can't help but compare them, and so forth). My personal opinions of the novel aside, I do appreciate the book quite a bit, namely due to it being such an instrumental book in the history of YA- introducing sex to young readers. 

At the time that I read this book I knew very little about the realm of sex, aside from what I had learned in school during sex ed. classes. Therefore, this book taught me a number of things, perhaps more than any of those classes did, for instance, not only about safe sex practices (Snadowsky makes explicit mention of what form of birth control is being used, and discusses those options which aren't being used, such as diaphragms), but also about the human body (Snadowsky also doesn't follow the trend in YA of authors "dumbing down" their content, namely in the form of medical jargon, Dom references her GRAY'S ANATOMY a number of times during the text) and sexuality. 

That being said, as we made mention of last class during our graphic novel discussion I know that the question as to whether or not you would recommend this book to a YA may come up- some believing that it has questionable content. Personally, I was never monitored/ censored in what I read as a child and teenager and therefore I do not see myself ever posing those limits on someone.

WEEK 9: "Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins Booktalk

WEEK 7 Reading Across Media and Formats: "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier

Telgemeier, Raina. GRAPHIX, 2010.
Pages [232p.] [$9.95] ISBN [0545132053]

From Goodreads: "From the artist of BSC Graphix comes this humorous coming-of-age true story about the dental drama that ensues after a trip-and-fall mishap.

Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there's still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly."

Raina Telgemeier is the author of a number of BSC GRAPHIX graphic novels including, but not limited to, SMILE, DRAMA, KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA, and AGNES QUILL: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MYSTERY. SMILE is a standalone, based upon Telgemeier's childhood. As Telgemeier writes, "It's all true. I was in sixth grade when I fell and knocked out my teeth, and I have been dealing with the consequences ever since. I had braces, a lot of surgery, and a lot of awkward smiles as a result. The comic SMILE was born out of a need to get the whole experience down on paper, since I spent so much time telling people about it" (Source). Smile was a 2010 New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2010, a 2011 ALA Notable Children's Book, a 2011 YALSA Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens pick, and a Children's Choice Book Award Finalist (Source).

Admittedly I had never thought that I would read a graphic novel, however, after having finished this I am kicking myself for having waited so long to do so. I believe that, while quite humorous, the content of the story is one in which many readers can relate to (I personally can having experienced a similar situation to Raina when I was also in grade six). I wish that I had had this novel at that time to reassure me that I was not alone during such a difficult and awkward time in my life.

I believe that this novel will appeal to readers of all ages with all that it has to offer- enchanting and appealing illustrations, the narrative which flows easily, relateable characters and situations, humor, and so forth.