Teen Stuff

I highly recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green. A Printz gold-medal winner and IA High School Book Award choice, this is one of the best novels I've read this year.

For mature teen readers through adults, the story is told by Miles, a new student in a southern boarding school, where he meets a close-knit group of friends, including a wild and mildly cryptic girl named Alaska. The voice of this coming-of-age story, although more contemporary, reminds me somewhat of A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

The characters are relateable and multi-layered, from Miles' roomate, nicknamed  "the Colonel," to the stern headmaster the students try to outsmart with a sure-to-be-legendary senior prank. This is the best kind of novel....it made me laugh out loud at times, reach for the kleenex at others, and continue to think about it long after I finished the last page.

I will likely seek out Green's other books, An Abundance of Katherines, which earned a Prinz silver medal, and Paper Towns, a well-reviewed novel published this year.

I was relieved to  hear that the novel 13 Reasons Why survived a recent censorship scare that was even more disturbing than a typical challenge because there was an effort to circumvent due process and simply remove the book from a central Iowa high school without going through the steps in place.

This book, which I listened to on CD a few months ago (and posted about on this blog), is a mature look at the issue of suicide. As a mother of teens AND someone who cares a great deal about the teens I work with through the library, I admit at times as I listened to this story, it was scary to think of the message teens would hear, especially with the "voice from the grave" narration by Hannah, the character who killed herself before the book even started.

However, the book, overall, makes you think a lot about how each of our actions affects others and can have unintended ripples in others' lives that we may not even realize. I also have faith in teens' abilities to read about all kinds of situations and characters and intermingle their observations with their own values.

I just read through a book with an interesting premise: six word memoirs collected from a variety of writers. It is really intriuging to think about how one would sum up a life in just six words and the results vary from poignant to self-deprecating.

The introduction starts out with an anecdote about Hemingway being challenged to write a story in six words...and the result was "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

With the feel of magnetic poetry, this idea has many possibilities for writers (new and old!) as both an original writing exercise, as well as using the phrases in the books as writing prompts.

The name of the book is Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure and can be found in adult nonfiction, 920.02 Not.

 

The movie for the 2nd in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares is coming out this August. See more info at http://sisterhoodofthetravelingpants2.warnerbros.com/

Check out (or place holds on) any of the four novels in this series at the library, or listen to the books on CD! We also have a companion book: Keep in Touch: letters, notes and more from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

 

 

I just had the great opportunity to see award-winning teen book author Deb Caletti speak...she was awesome. Her whole speech was about how she was "addicted" to reading and books in much of the same way people are addicted to unhealthy things....she was really funny, but also very inspiring when talking about her difficult path to becoming a published author.

I had already read Queen of Everything and am currently finishing Wild Roses. She also wrote Honey Baby Sweetheart,--I bought this for my younger daughter--and her newest book is Nature of Jade, which I had autographed for my older daughter. Our library copy of this new book is currently on order...and should arrive soon.

I'd recommend her books to anyone who likes Sarah Dessen, and also people interested in writing...for some of the vividness of description and very creative use of metaphor.

It was really interesting to hear Rob Merritt's perspective on the Columbine tragedy at his visit on January 25, especially because he really had the inside track, having interviewed and met so many people who were there or affected. The name of the book he co-wrote with former Columbine student Brooks Brown, No Easy Answers is such an appropriate title, because it is so difficult to come up with that factor that could have made the difference in preventing this horrible event.

I really came away with the sense that the strongest means of prevention is human connection...between students themselves, and especially between students and caring adults who are willing to stand up for young people who aren't be treated fairly, as well as connect with kids who are having trouble dealing with intense feelings, whether rage, depression, etc.

So many times, instead, as Rob pointed out, there are "knee jerk" reactions in dealing with prevention where students are treated as "potential shooters" and treated in a very punitive way, that often marginalizes a student who already feels on the fringes in the first place. If we looked at these "red flag" type behaviors with more common sense and compassion, instead of hysteria, maybe we could really make a difference in those kids' lives, as well as prevent rage from growing to this extreme point.

For people who are still looking for answers (and actually many questions, as well) about the whole issue of school violence, I would highly recommend the book Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser, which is a fictional composite that takes factual elements from several real-life school shootings to create a story that examines a lot of the contributing factors. Also, Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates is a great novel that examines the fall-out that many students have had to deal with in our country, based on these aforementioned "knee-jerk" reactions. The main character, Matt, makes a joking comment in the cafeteria which is then maliciously reported out of context and he is plunged into this world of being viewed with suspicion and an outright threat.

A couple of other titles that deal with this issue are The Brimstone Journals by Ron Koertge, The Taking of Room 114 and Who Killed Mr. Chippendale (both told in verse) by Mel Glenn, Rachel's Tears (a nonfiction title about Rachel Scott who was killed in the Columbine massacre) and Making Up Megaboy Virginia Walter.

I would also highly recommend America, a novel by E.R. Frank, an excellent author (who is a social worker in her day job), called America. She tells the story of Amercia, a 15 year old boy who has had a life that leaves him full of rage and pushing people away and the people who reach out to him anyway. We've all seen those people who are so hostile and seem like they hate everybody, but once you get a chance to see what it going on inside this guy's head...the pain he is dealing with, you'll never quite see that kind of behavior the same way.

In reading recent news reports about the two boys recently rescued from their kidnapper, I am reminded of a young adult novel I checked out and read a few years ago, When Jeff Comes Home by Catherine Atkins. Like the real life teen, Jeff was kidnapped and then returns to his family and community years later. The novel is about the aftermath of Jeff's experience and how people treat him when he returns.

When I read this book, I felt like it was so graphic, and so mature, and then I caught myself and realized that I was judging this character's experience differently than I would if Jeff had been a female victim of this same crime...which I think is a reflection of our society's difficulty in handling male victimization.

I find myself thinking of this real teenager, and hoping that people will treat him with the same kindness and care as they would a female in the same situation. I've heard the rumblings of people's reactions blaming and questioning why he didn't leave when it seemed like there were clear opportunities, which I think adds "insult to injury" in this traumatic situation.

Just like in so many situations, I think reading this book and seeing the feelings and circumstances through Jeff's eyes can build empathy in real life situations.