Hardback or paperback? hardback
Synopsis Samantha, a popular girl, is killed in a car accident--and then relives the last day of her life 7 times.
Evaluation Beautiful writing and definitely thought-provoking.
Universal Themes death, friendship, love, responsibility
Edginess Factor Teen drinking, smoking, drug use, and sex, plus language.
Bonus Factors Should make teens think about how their actions affect others, and how thoughtless cruelty is still cruelty. Raises some class issues. While the anti-bullying message is pretty clear, it's drawn in shades of grey, allowing characters to be complex.
Anti-Bonus Factors All main characters are white. In fact, all minor characters are white, too.
Will They Like It? Girls will; I doubt guys would. It's a fast and fascinating read, and it's very interesting watching how Samantha's altered actions on each of the seven days change--or don't change--the people around her.
Recommendation Not suitable for age group. I think this would be a terrific choice for book clubs for older kids--maybe 10th grade.
Showing posts with label crf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crf. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Hardback or Paperback Paperback
Synopsis Valerie is finding it hard to return to her high school for her senior year. At the end of her junior year, a school shooting traumatized the school. And Valerie's boyfriend was the perpetrator. And many of the victims were on Valerie's hate list.
Evaluation Valerie is a sympathetic first person narrator. The school shooting, which happened before the narrative begins, is told through a series of flashbacks and newspaper accounts, so the whole story--and Valerie's degree of culpability--is revealed only gradually. I found this book very hard to put down. I like that it treats the aftermath of a school shooting from the point of view of someone who is responsible to at least some degree.
Universal Themes responsibility, secrets, coming of age, guilt and innocence
Edginess flashbacks of the school shooting are graphic in parts; teen drinking; language (I think the dad drops the F-bomb); the dad is having an affair; and there may be more that I don't remember.
Bonus Factors Deals with class issues; while it deals with the why of a school shooting, it does not try to excuse the perpetrator; guilt and innocence are not black and white, and even the most horrible characters are presented as being complex human beings.
Anti-bonus factors As far as I can remember, everyone in the book is white.
Will they like it? Yes, I really think so. This is a long book but it's a fast read, and I think that even though it's a first person female narrator, that some boy readers might get into it, too. I think students will be drawn in by the gradual revelation of the story of the school shooting. There's certainly a lot to talk about during a meeting.
Recommendation Recommended with reservations, since I don't really remember how edgy it is. Definitely a good choice for a classroom library.
Synopsis Valerie is finding it hard to return to her high school for her senior year. At the end of her junior year, a school shooting traumatized the school. And Valerie's boyfriend was the perpetrator. And many of the victims were on Valerie's hate list.
Evaluation Valerie is a sympathetic first person narrator. The school shooting, which happened before the narrative begins, is told through a series of flashbacks and newspaper accounts, so the whole story--and Valerie's degree of culpability--is revealed only gradually. I found this book very hard to put down. I like that it treats the aftermath of a school shooting from the point of view of someone who is responsible to at least some degree.
Universal Themes responsibility, secrets, coming of age, guilt and innocence
Edginess flashbacks of the school shooting are graphic in parts; teen drinking; language (I think the dad drops the F-bomb); the dad is having an affair; and there may be more that I don't remember.
Bonus Factors Deals with class issues; while it deals with the why of a school shooting, it does not try to excuse the perpetrator; guilt and innocence are not black and white, and even the most horrible characters are presented as being complex human beings.
Anti-bonus factors As far as I can remember, everyone in the book is white.
Will they like it? Yes, I really think so. This is a long book but it's a fast read, and I think that even though it's a first person female narrator, that some boy readers might get into it, too. I think students will be drawn in by the gradual revelation of the story of the school shooting. There's certainly a lot to talk about during a meeting.
Recommendation Recommended with reservations, since I don't really remember how edgy it is. Definitely a good choice for a classroom library.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Hardback or paperback? Hardback
Synopsis Alex is a skilled musician attending a boarding school for gifted students of all kinds—a school where the faculty turns a blind eye to student misconduct. In the aftermath of being date raped her junior year, Alex turns to the Mockingbirds, a semi-secret student society that metes out justice when the faculty won’t.
Evaluation This is a grab-you-right-away kind of book. It starts with Alex waking up naked in a boy’s bed, and she’s not 100% sure who he is and what happened. The author was date-raped as a freshman at Brown, and Alex’s reactions—fear, shame, avoiding the perpetrator, reluctance to seek help—reflect her own experience. The writing is transparent and the topic is important.
Edginess Factor Date rape—and it’s pretty graphic. F-bomb at least twice—although not used gratuitously. There is other swearing, although pretty rare. Alex is date-raped as a result of excessive drinking.
Bonus Factors Allusions all over the place to To Kill a Mockingbird. Very strong anti-bullying message, along with the message that teens need to stand up for each other as well as for themselves.
Universal Themes Coming of age, overcoming adversity
Anti-Bonus Factors Although there is a sort-of nod to diversity—one character is from Singapore and another seems to be Indian American—the cast is overwhelmingly white and privileged.
Will they like it? Girls especially will like The Mockingbirds. Alex learns to stand up for herself; there’s a romance included; there’s a student secret society; music is an important part of it. Most importantly, the book moves quickly.
Recommendation I think the date-rape flashbacks are too graphic for me to want to have this for book club at the middle school level. I think it’s a good and important book, though, and may recommend it to select students. I think it’s a must-read for girls (especially) at the high school level. Why? Raise your hand if you don’t know someone who was date raped in college. Yep. That’s what I thought.
Synopsis Alex is a skilled musician attending a boarding school for gifted students of all kinds—a school where the faculty turns a blind eye to student misconduct. In the aftermath of being date raped her junior year, Alex turns to the Mockingbirds, a semi-secret student society that metes out justice when the faculty won’t.
Evaluation This is a grab-you-right-away kind of book. It starts with Alex waking up naked in a boy’s bed, and she’s not 100% sure who he is and what happened. The author was date-raped as a freshman at Brown, and Alex’s reactions—fear, shame, avoiding the perpetrator, reluctance to seek help—reflect her own experience. The writing is transparent and the topic is important.
Edginess Factor Date rape—and it’s pretty graphic. F-bomb at least twice—although not used gratuitously. There is other swearing, although pretty rare. Alex is date-raped as a result of excessive drinking.
Bonus Factors Allusions all over the place to To Kill a Mockingbird. Very strong anti-bullying message, along with the message that teens need to stand up for each other as well as for themselves.
Universal Themes Coming of age, overcoming adversity
Anti-Bonus Factors Although there is a sort-of nod to diversity—one character is from Singapore and another seems to be Indian American—the cast is overwhelmingly white and privileged.
Will they like it? Girls especially will like The Mockingbirds. Alex learns to stand up for herself; there’s a romance included; there’s a student secret society; music is an important part of it. Most importantly, the book moves quickly.
Recommendation I think the date-rape flashbacks are too graphic for me to want to have this for book club at the middle school level. I think it’s a good and important book, though, and may recommend it to select students. I think it’s a must-read for girls (especially) at the high school level. Why? Raise your hand if you don’t know someone who was date raped in college. Yep. That’s what I thought.
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