A Monster Calls

While not a graphic novel, more than anything the art within the pages gripped me. I really enjoyed this book. It is well written and emotionally charged with uncertainty, fear and trepidation. But without the art strung within the pages, I may have lost sight of some of the impact that the pages possessed.

I also think that the monster within this book characterizes so many demons that we as human beings have within ourselves, trying so desperately to deal with our own problems and issues. As I said, this book grips you into thinking about your life, your demons, your grief and forcing you to look at it in the face. Perhaps what impacted me the most was the honesty. Never trying to hide and shelter the truth, but allowing the truth of situations to be expressive and relevant to the story.

This post is a little less coherent than my usual, but it is really hard to express the impact that this book had on me.

Fever, 1793

Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed this book. I found it compelling and a pretty accurate representation of what happened regarding the yellow fever those many years ago. With that being said, I couldn't help but wonder if I was getting the same experience as I could if it had been written from a different perspective (rather than first person). At times I couldn't help but as 'so what' as she was discussing her day to day life, much like anyone of that age would. (I guess maybe that was the point?) "She was my friend! You must allow me. Why are you so horrid?" As soon as the angry words were out of my mouth, i knew i had gone too far." I mean, really?, you called your mother horrid. This all just seems a bit to trivial to make any large impact on me. 

Secondly, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I felt that Anderson kept us at an arms length from them at all times. Never really being able to build a close connection to them. I think so often we are caught up in the events that sometimes we lose sight of the emotions that are being felt.

The Outsiders

Now, granted it has been quite a while since I have read this book. As with my previous post, I wanted to express my opinions prior to rereading in an attempt to maybe gain some new insight into the novel and analyze how my ideas and my own mind have changed. With that being said, here we go.

I remember The Outsiders as being a captivating read. A mixture of life and bad circumstance. However other than that, I don't remember much other than a fight, a death, a fire and a girl. Now this can mean either A) the book did not have a strong enough impact on me to make a lasting impression, or B) the vagueness of the events that I do remember represent the four most influential moments in the book, possibly even representing four very challenging moments in Hinton's life. While I fear that the end result may be the former, I am going to argue for the latter.

Ponyboy represents a young man who is trying to figure out his place in the world. I think that perhaps Ponyboy represents a foil for S.E. Hinton herself. By remembering the author and the circumstances around who she is (16 years old), it is easy to see how she might interpret herself in much of the same way she portrays Ponyboy. Perhaps a little lost, a little bit of a dreamer, maybe even lonely. I almost feel as though it would be interesting to make a Venn Diagram of S.E. Hinton and her life events in comparison to Ponyboy. I am willing to argue that The Outsider's could be interpreted as a biography of her own life. Removed from the gender differences and literal translation of events.

Just what I was craving.

I wanted to write my posts this week on two books that I have read in the past. The first being The Hunger Games. When I first read this book (close to 2 years ago now) it was at the beginning of the new dystopian craze and this was the first book (to my knowledge) that got me hooked onto the genre. I was coming off of a really big change in my life when I picked up this book. I was immediately hooked by the similarities to the characters. Now, I am not saying that I too struggle with the choice between saving my 'sister' from a fight to the death, or that I am just barely managing to stay alive by the berries and illegal hunting in the woods, but at that time in my life I was vulnerable.

I think it is important to not only see Katniss as a strong character, but as a vulnerable one. Because of her vulnerability, she forced herself to be the strong woman that she is portrayed to be in the book. I think one of the reasons that we find ourselves so drawn to this series, and many of the new dystopian series that are coming about right now, is because we attach ourselves to one or two aspects of the characters and hope for  an outlet for our own fears and vulnerabilities. These characters who have much more difficult lives, who experience things that may in some way be comparable to our own lives, are able to overcome and persevere with all of the odds stacked against them.

I think for me, it isn't nor wasn't about the series of events that Katniss faced. (While entertaining and captivating) It was about her perseverance and her strength. I do look forward to rereading the books in the near future to compare my opinions about the book from when I had read it 2 years ago, compared to now. How will my opinions of the book change? What things will become forefront ideas and concepts that maybe weren't the first time around? Who will Katniss be this time?

I am not a reader that typically rereads and analyzes time and time again, but I am eager to use this opportunity to maybe find something new to grab onto.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

What really struck me in this book was the attorney's demeanor toward Steve.Very early on in the book Steve's attorney said that she wants to make Steve appear "a human being in the eyes of the jury." I was really taken back when she said this. At this point in the novel, we had not learned very much about the case.  Therefore in my head, I imagined the best intentions.

I think one of the reasons this took my by surprise was because in our society today, or at least in my little world, everyone is treated fairly, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and EVERYONE is a human being altered by their circumstances. In my naive world, life is just much more simple. So then I went on to consider why would Myers accentuate this in his novel. Other than the fact that it is the premise of his entire novel?

I wonder if he ironically wanted us to remember that we are all human beings and we are all living life thrown into circumstances out of our control. Where does the acceptance of other cultures really begin? In such an advanced society, why can't we all just accept the differences among us, without judgment?

Perception as seen in Thirteen Reasons Why

As I was working on my Lesson Action Plan for class, I couldn't help but stumble over the idea of perception in Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. What is perception and how does perception change from the narrator's point of view, the reader's point of view and how would the outcome have changed had Hannah, the subject of the story, perceived the actions and events around her differently?

Of course it is obvious to see that in this story two main themes include 'actions have consequences' and 'be kind to everyone for you may never know what they are going through.' But the less discussed is that of perception. Hannah goes through the book discussing the actions that these 13 character's had in her ultimate death. She perceives one girl as being nice to everyone for only her own purposes. She perceives a boy as too shy to talk to her. Another boy as only going out with her as a joke. But what if all of these perceptions are the result of a girl who is depressed? A girl who believes that everyone is out to get her? High school is not easy for anyone. The actions and events, as presented by Hannah, are not the nicest and can in fact be painful. But if we take a step back and perceive these actions as individual and juvenile, which they were, can't it be said that perhaps Hannah was being overly sensitive?

I am not by any means saying that students shouldn't take this book and read it for what it is. A story that teaches about actions having consequences. A story about how the tiniest events can have a huge impact for others. A story about how you never really know what is going on in someones life. But what I am saying is this story offers insight into how the perception of this story can be different for every character involved. I am not really sure where I am going with this 'rambling' post, but it is just something that was on my mind.

Let me know what you think!

The Girl of Fire and Thorns: Rae Carson

Since I am kind of already on a roll and I have read more than one of the books already, I figured I might as well make post number two right away! For your reading pleasure, of course!

So, with that being said, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, presents a lot of great concepts and ideas. But what I would like to do, rather than boast about all of the great things, is discuss some of the things that had me questioning the book.

1) The issue of religion: Let me preface by saying that I am a Catholic and I do not, in any way, feel that writing religion into a novel is a bad thing. In fact, I feel that presenting religion in the faset that Carson did allows for a non-confrontational view and borders on the theme of coexisting in a world of all different types of religions. However, my concern here is related to the accuracy of the story-telling. Unless I am mistaken, a clear picture of setting is never explicitly stated.  Therefore from my own deduction and the clues presented in the book, I can only assume that the story is based in a country somewhere along the lines of Saudi Arabia or Israel (given the description of lots of sand). Therefore, I question why Carson presented a front of Christianity (given the bible quotes) when the primary religion in these parts is Muslim. I wonder, if with a book so focused on the journey and on the religion, why she would contradict the two with differing settings. Any thoughts people might have on this, I would love to here it.

2) While I am always a sucker for the heroin who is reluctant to do something she was born to do, I kind of get tired of feeling out the same old plot line. Girl is destined. Girl is reluctant to take her place. Girl falls into the hands of 'evil'. Girl saves the day. The story just seems a bit tired to me. I am not saying that the story was not captivating and that it didn't keep my attention. In fact, there were several points within the plot where things happened in which I was not expecting, but I wonder when or even why we don't see someone who fights valiantly, but fails. Or someone who refuses to accept their destiny, just something different.