Module 15

Module 15:

Go Ask Alice

Summary: This diary tells the story of an unnamed narrator who goes from a lonely, insecure teenager to a young girl hooked on drugs and the consequences that come with those kinds of decisions.

Citation:

Anynomous. (2006). Go ask alice. New York: Simon Pulse.

Impressions:

It was an interesting book to read and it was interesting to read about all of the controversy as to whether or not the diary was real or fictional. Thousands of teenagers go through a similar spiral in their lives everyday and it is good to be aware of such a problem.

Review:

Amazon.com Review

The torture and hell of adolescence has rarely been captured as clearly as it is in this classic diary by an anonymous, addicted teen. Lonely, awkward, and under extreme pressure from her "perfect" parents, "Anonymous" swings madly between optimism and despair. When one of her new friends spikes her drink with LSD, this diarist begins a frightening journey into darkness. The drugs take the edge off her loneliness and self-hate, but they also turn her life into a nightmare of exalting highs and excruciating lows. Although there is still some question as to whether this diary is real or fictional, there is no question that it has made a profound impact on millions of readers during the more than 25 years it has been in print. Despite a few dated references to hippies and some expired slang, Go Ask Alice still offers a jolting chronicle of a teenager's life spinning out of control. (Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Go-Ask-Alice/dp/1416914633/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291958023&sr=1-1)

Suggestions:

Although this book has often been subject to controversy and many have tried to ban it for various reasons, I still believe that it is an excellent book that shows that there are negative consequences for drug use. The book is filled with sex, drug abuse and most parents don’t agree with how the narrator is constantly disobeying their parents.

Module 14

Module 14:
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl

Summary: Each chapter in this book in verse is told in a different perspective of a teenage girl who are all involved with the same boy at one time or another. Josie, Nicolette and Aviva all fall in love with the same boy in school. He seems to be after only one thing and the story tells the tale of the three girls and what they sacrifice for the love of a boy.

Citation:

Stone, T. (2006). A bad boy can be good for a girl. New York: Wendy Lamb.

Impressions:

I thought this was an excellent book and a very quick read. I read the entire book in about an hour because it was such an interesting book. The alternating point of view made it even more interesting and open to different girls of all ages who may find themselves in similar situations.

Review:

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Three girls succumb to the charms of one sexy high school senior and emerge wiser for the experience in this energetic novel in verse. Josie is a self-assured freshman who values her girlfriends over boys until a hot jock focuses his attention on her and her simmering hormones break into a full boil. Confused by her behavior, yet unable to control her desire, she acts out every romantic cliché she has ever disdained, until the boy drops her and she experiences the chill of rejection. It is Judy Blume's Forever that sparks Josie's fire again, and finding a few blank pages at the back of the library's copy, she sends a warning to the girls of her school. Next readers meet Nicolette, a junior who sees her sexuality as power. A loner, she's caught by surprise at her own reaction when this popular boy takes notice of her. Suddenly she thinks she sees the difference between sex and love, and then, just as suddenly, he's gone. Finally, Aviva, a pretty, smart, artsy, and funny senior, is stunned when the jock seems to want her. She gives up her virginity, only to be disappointed in both the sex and the boy. Furious, Aviva heads to the library to check out Forever, now crammed with the words of girls who suffered the same fate at the hands of the same boy. The free verse gives the stories a breathless, natural flow and changes tone with each narrator. The language is realistic and frank, and, while not graphic, it is filled with descriptions of the teens and their sexuality. This is not a book that will sit quietly on any shelf; it will be passed from girl to girl to girl.–Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL (Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Boy-Can-Good-Girl/dp/0553495097/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291957934&sr=8-1)

Suggestions:

This book could be quite controversial for various reasons considering that the majority of book is filled with very mature themes such as mature relationships and sex.

Module 13

Module 13:

Rapunzel’s Revenge

Summary:

This fairy tale with a twist tells the story of the long haired young woman named Rapunzel and the adventure she begins when she discovers the truth of her mother. She, then, goes on a search for a way to save her real mother and the entire kingdom.

Citation:

Hale, S., Hale, D. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Impressions:

I enjoyed reading Rapunzel’s Revenge very much. I love alternate versions of classic fairy tales such as Rapunzel. Rapunzel was a strong, female character who saved herself from the tower instead of the typical “handsome prince.”

Review:

From Booklist

This graphic novel retelling of the fairy-tale classic, set in a swashbuckling Wild West, puts action first and features some serious girl power in its spunky and strong heroine. Young Rapunzel lives a lonely life, never knowing what lies beyond the high garden walls of her mother’s royal villa until one day she climbs the wall to see what’s on the other side. When she finds that the world outside is a dark place oppressed by her mother’s greed for power and uncovers the real secret of her own birth, she is imprisoned in a magic tree tower. In her years of captivity, she learns a lot about self-reliance and care for her exceptionally long hair, and eventually she is able to escape, vowing to bring down her mother’s cruel empire. Hale’s art matches the story well, yielding expressive characters and lending a wonderful sense of place to the fantasy landscape. Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers. Grades 5-8. --Tina Coleman, 2008. (Retrieved from http://catalog.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=965&initialsearch=true&count=10&finish=search_page.jsp&mode=manual&terms=rapunzel+revenge&index=w)

Suggestions:

We’ve had storytimes where we’ve compared different fairy tales. So many young girls, including my niece, growing up thinking that girls are princesses and that all princesses only fit certain characteristics. I love reading about different princes and princesses and showing that you are be different than your “typical’ princess and still be a princess.

Module 12

Module 12:

The Burn Journals

Summary:

This young adult book is a real life memoir of Brent Runyon’s suicide attempt when he was 14 years old. The book tells the story of his rehabilitation and the impact on him and his family.

Citation:

Runyon, B. (2004). The burn journals. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Impressions:

This was a very moving book about teenage depression and suicide attempts. Runyon went through hell after setting himself on fire in his bathroom shower. Runyon goes stronger during his recovery and attempts to find the cause of his depression.

Review:

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 8-12. On the sixteenth page of this incisive memoir, eighth-grader Brent Runyon drenches his bathrobe with gasoline and ("Should I do it? Yes.") sets himself on fire. The burns cover 85 percent of his body and require six months of painful skin grafts and equally invasive mental-health rehabilitation. From the beginning, readers are immersed in the mind of 14-year-old Brent as he struggles to heal body and mind, his experiences given devastating immediacy in a first-person, present-tense voice that judders from uncensored teenage attitude and poignant anxiety (he worries about getting hard-ons during physical therapy) to little-boy sweetness. And throughout is anguish over his suicide attempt and its impact on his family: "I have this guilt feeling all over me, like oil on one of those birds in Alaska." Runyon has, perhaps, written the defining book of a new genre, one that gazes as unflinchingly at boys on the emotional edge as Zibby O'Neal's The Language of Goldfish (1980) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999) do at girls. Some excruciatingly painful moments notwithstanding, this can and should be read by young adults, as much for its literary merit as for its authentic perspective on what it means to attempt suicide, and, despite the resulting scars, be unable to remember why. Jennifer Mattson  (Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Burn-Journals-Brent-Runyon/dp/1400096421/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291957398&sr=1-1)

Suggestions:

This book would probably be geared toward an older audience. The entire book is centered on suicide and depression with a few sexual references. This may be a tougher read for some but I think it may help some students see that a person can overcome such serious issues such as depression and suicide.

Module 11

Module 11:

Leonardo’s Horse by Jean  Fritz

Summary:

Leonardo’s Horse is about Da Vinci’s lifelong goal to produce a giant horse for the Milan and how he died without completing his personal goal. The story continues well into the 21^st century as fans of Da Vinci try to complete Da Vinci’s dream.

Citation:

Fritz, J. (2001). Leonardo's Horse. New York: Putnam.

Impressions:

This book was not only a great biography of Da Vinci life for all ages but it also does a fantastic job of showing how his dream came to life.

Review:

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-At times sad, silly, and telling, this is a wholly entertaining book. Not only a biography of Leonardo da Vinci, it also introduces another artist/dreamer-Charlie Dent. Although separated by centuries, the two men had a common dream-to create a giant horse for Milan. War and rain helped to ruin Leonardo's original clay work, and he died mourning what might have been. By the 1990s, Dent's efforts to create the horse paid off and the statue, a huge wonder, was presented to Italy. Biographical details of Leonardo's life are mentioned and much of his work is shown throughout the volume, including sketches of the statue. Talbott's mixed-media artwork enhances the engaging text. The Duke of Milan is portrayed gaping at Leonardo's clay model, scarcely able to believe the greatness of it, and there is an informative page of pictures detailing the creation of the statue in eight steps. In one illustration, the artist appears in the center of his Last Supper, attempting to draw Judas, while humorous caricatures fill the bottom of the page. Although there are quite a few books about Leonardo, none delve so deeply into the history of the statue. Even the design of the book is unique. A title that is sure to create a lot of interest among young art, history, and horse lovers.

Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI.  2001 (Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Leonardos-Horse-H-Jean-Fritz/dp/0399235760/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291957274&sr=1-1)

Suggestions:

Leonardo’s Horse is a great book to introduce the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci to any age group. Most people don’t know about Da Vinci’s life long goal of a giant horse for the people of Milan and would be a new and interesting fact to explore with students.

Module 10

Module 10:

Here Lies the Librarian

Summary:

 Here Lies the Librarian is about a young girl named PeeWee and her brother Jake trying to make it in a dead-end town in Indiana. Everything changes when four young librarians show up in the one horse town and revive the neighborhood library.

Citation:

Peck, R. (2006). Here lies the librarian. New York: Dial Books.

Impressions:

I enjoyed reading this book for the simple reason that it is about four strong female librarian characters. The book portrays women as strong and fantastic role models for Peewee (Eleanor) McGrath. It was a great story for especially young girls.

Review:

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Stubborn, fearless, and loyal, 14-year-old Peewee (Eleanor) McGrath, who dresses like a boy, lives with her brother, Jake, in Indiana, "way out in the weeds." Together, they run a struggling garage, where Jake is building a racecar. It's 1914, and the electric self-starter has made automobiles more accessible to women. One day, four female drivers, library students all, arrive in a Stoddard-Dayton in need of repair; later, they return to reopen the town library. With these young women as role models, Peewee comes to realize that being female and being independent aren't mutually exclusive. Peck's one-liners, colorful physical comedy, and country dialect, prominent in most of his recent novels, are great as usual. And his characters, if not fully developed, are wonderfully quirky. Yet even with some exciting scenes of old-time dirt-track racing, the pace lags, and the story is choppy. Young fans of Danica Patrick, today's "Queen of the Road," may want to read this, but it will probably be librarians who'll have the most fun. Peck recounts an incident in an endnote in which one of the characters appears at the Indianapolis 500 with Janet Guthrie; unfortunately, there's not enough explanation to know whether or not it's all true. Stephanie Zvirin 2006. (Retrieved from http://catalog.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/FullRecord?databaseID=965&record=2&controlNumber=2007688)

Suggestions:

This book is a great example of historical fiction and such novels are always helpful during history lessons. I believe that historical can sometimes bring history alive.

Module 9

Module 9:

What happened to Cass McBride?

Summary:

Cass McBride is kidnapped and the main detective on the case is one of the alternating points of view. The story is told piece by piece as we (the readers) try to figure out what happened and how the characters got to where they are when the story begins.

Citation:

Giles, G. (2007). What happened to cass mcbride? Boston: Little, Brown.

Impressions:

I thought this was a great book. It was absolutely tragic book but it is good to show readers the severity of bullying and the violence that occur as a cause of it.

Review:

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Cass is that girl in high school who does whatever it takes to be popular-which means stomping all over everyone else. David is that awkward boy who painfully lurks on the outside of all of the social groups. When he commits suicide, his older brother is out for revenge against the girl whom he believes is responsible for David's death. Giles's characters are frighteningly believable. The story is part mystery, part psychological drama that involves dysfunctional families and abuse, and part crime investigation. It is told by Cass, her captor, and the police investigating her disappearance. Slowly, through these narrations, readers see what caused David's suicide and Kyle's anger and are given insight as to why Cass behaves as she does. This book will disturb readers, frighten them, and make them feel as though they are trapped like the characters. It is a thrilling, one-sitting read that they won't be able to put down.—Sherry Quinones Frederick County Public Libraries,  2010 (Retrieved from http://catalog.lapl.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=965&count=10&terms=what+happened+to+cass+mcbride&index=w)

Suggestions:

This would be a fantastic book on bullying and the seriousness that can occur at times.