BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Laurie Halse. 1999. SPEAK. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780142414736
PLOT SUMMARY
After calling 911 at an end-of-summer party, Melinda suffers the heartbreaking result of being hated and becoming an outcast. She refuses to speak about the devastating event that preceded the phone call and her grades, family relationships and friendships suffer throughout the school year. Forced to finally confront the person who was at the root of all her suffering she finds her voice again.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The story is a touching look at a teenage girl's experience with sexual assualt and her unwillingness to speak to anyone about it. She called 911 at the drinking party where the assult occured and consequently suffered the wrath and outright hatred of classmates for her action, without knowing why the call was placed. Her parents are not speaking to each other and she is not speaking to them. All told, the poor girl suffers greatly and yet in the end, somehow, things begin to look up after she confronts her attacker. Throughout the book she has these interesting, witty conversations in her head with those individuals with whom she will not converse. Her first person narrative is captivating and pulls the reader into Melinda's world. Recommended for ages 12 and older.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Horn Book- "An uncannily funny book even as it plumbs the darkness, Speak will hold readers from first word to last."
KIRKUS- " The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget."
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Review of STITCHES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Small, David. 2009. STITCHES, A MEMOIR. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978039333896
PLOT SUMMARY
An unusual memoir, it is in the form of a graphic novel. It starts out in Detroit when the author is a small child, age 6. The book moves through his life, his dreams, his nightmares, and delves deeply into his mother and her behaviors. He ends up with cancer, though his family keeps that truth from him for many years. He lives in a family filled with silence and describes his silence after the surgery, when in the presence of his friends, feeling like "a shadow flickering around the edges of every event." Small offers some insight to his family dynamics at the end of the book. A fresh, bold take on a memoir.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Quite an interesting approach to what can usually be a boring, or rather less interesting type of publication. A graphic novel form that uses very bold artwork to tell a story with minimal text. Extraordinary emotion is evident throughout the book, particularly his frustration in silence.
His crush on Mrs. Dillon and his description of her is amusing. The revelation by his father about his cancer when he was younger was handled in an interesting fashion, that leaves you feeling a great deal of empathy for young David. This particular work is engaging and mature work, not recommended for younger children. His notes at the end of the book about his parents gives readers an insight into David Small's childhood and what ultimately shaped him as an adult.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publisher's Weekly
"Small tells his story with haunting subtlety and power."
KIRKUS Reviews
"Emotionally raw, artistically compelling and psychologically devastating graphic memoir of childhood trauma."
CONNECTIONS
Have students use only art to tell about a childhood memory. Have them share with each other and tell their stories.
Small, David. 2009. STITCHES, A MEMOIR. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company. ISBN 978039333896
PLOT SUMMARY
An unusual memoir, it is in the form of a graphic novel. It starts out in Detroit when the author is a small child, age 6. The book moves through his life, his dreams, his nightmares, and delves deeply into his mother and her behaviors. He ends up with cancer, though his family keeps that truth from him for many years. He lives in a family filled with silence and describes his silence after the surgery, when in the presence of his friends, feeling like "a shadow flickering around the edges of every event." Small offers some insight to his family dynamics at the end of the book. A fresh, bold take on a memoir.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Quite an interesting approach to what can usually be a boring, or rather less interesting type of publication. A graphic novel form that uses very bold artwork to tell a story with minimal text. Extraordinary emotion is evident throughout the book, particularly his frustration in silence.
His crush on Mrs. Dillon and his description of her is amusing. The revelation by his father about his cancer when he was younger was handled in an interesting fashion, that leaves you feeling a great deal of empathy for young David. This particular work is engaging and mature work, not recommended for younger children. His notes at the end of the book about his parents gives readers an insight into David Small's childhood and what ultimately shaped him as an adult.
Review Excerpt(s)
Publisher's Weekly
"Small tells his story with haunting subtlety and power."
KIRKUS Reviews
"Emotionally raw, artistically compelling and psychologically devastating graphic memoir of childhood trauma."
CONNECTIONS
Have students use only art to tell about a childhood memory. Have them share with each other and tell their stories.
Review of The Graveyard Book
Bibliography
Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780060530938
PLOT SUMMARY
After a toddler's family is murdered, he wanders into a graveyard where its inhabitants agree to keep and raise him. He is given the name Nobody Owens, called Bod for short and is really a normal boy except for his unusual upbringing and place of residence. The real dangers to the child lie beyond the gates of the graveyard, not within it. And then there's The Man, Jack, who waits to find him...
CRITICAL ANALYISIS
This book begins with a murder and the first reaction the reader may experience is a sense of grisly action. Macabre is the best way to describe this book. Each chapter chronicling Bod's life reads more like a short story rather than a part of the whole. Bod encounters ghosts who raise him, ghouls, the Indigo Man, the Sleer, and other creatures, including humans, of course. Gaiman's writing is well crafted within each chapter, but the book as a whole feels to have 'holes'. Entertaining, but not a book that I would recommend for a younger child. Perhaps age 10 or older would be a good choice. This book would make a nice read aloud for a fourth grade class or older, during the Halloween season.
Newbery Award Winner.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Booklist:
“This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters."
Horn Book: "...Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family."
CONNECTIONS:
After reading this book to a class have the students create their own fantasy worlds in which they could live.
other books by Gaiman:
Gaiman, Neil. 2003. CORALINE. ISBN 9780380807345
Gaiman, Neil. 2008. STARDUST. ISBN 13: 9780061689246
Gaiman, Neil. 2009. BLUEBERRY GIRL. ISBN 13: 9780060838089
Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780060530938
PLOT SUMMARY
After a toddler's family is murdered, he wanders into a graveyard where its inhabitants agree to keep and raise him. He is given the name Nobody Owens, called Bod for short and is really a normal boy except for his unusual upbringing and place of residence. The real dangers to the child lie beyond the gates of the graveyard, not within it. And then there's The Man, Jack, who waits to find him...
CRITICAL ANALYISIS
This book begins with a murder and the first reaction the reader may experience is a sense of grisly action. Macabre is the best way to describe this book. Each chapter chronicling Bod's life reads more like a short story rather than a part of the whole. Bod encounters ghosts who raise him, ghouls, the Indigo Man, the Sleer, and other creatures, including humans, of course. Gaiman's writing is well crafted within each chapter, but the book as a whole feels to have 'holes'. Entertaining, but not a book that I would recommend for a younger child. Perhaps age 10 or older would be a good choice. This book would make a nice read aloud for a fourth grade class or older, during the Halloween season.
Newbery Award Winner.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Booklist:
“This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters."
Horn Book: "...Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family."
CONNECTIONS:
After reading this book to a class have the students create their own fantasy worlds in which they could live.
other books by Gaiman:
Gaiman, Neil. 2003. CORALINE. ISBN 9780380807345
Gaiman, Neil. 2008. STARDUST. ISBN 13: 9780061689246
Gaiman, Neil. 2009. BLUEBERRY GIRL. ISBN 13: 9780060838089
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)