The Coming of Age Novel

[Source]

Several months ago a post on Goodreads got me to thinking. It was a simple enough post. The person was asking for a list of coming of age books for boys. I mentioned A Separate Peace as I loved that book as a teenager, I love it still and we teach it to our Sophomores. Sure it's a Classic, but it's a good Classic, one that I can get into and I can get the kids into. I mean really who doesn't have a best friend who they are also jealous of? Who hasn't wanted physical harm to come to someone, but regretted it when it actually does? Who hasn't realized, at least once, that they're the bad guy and they deserve to lose? This book is also set during war with main characters that are too young to fight, but who really want to, with main characters who see their friends going of to war and realize that maybe war isn't really all it's cracked up to be. This was especially poignant in 2002 and is still poignant if I have a student whose older brother or sister or friend has been or is in Iraq or Afghanistan. They get it.

Anyway, so I mentioned A Separate Peace and someone replied that kids don't read that anymore, they find it boring and can't relate. I wanted to know why students could no longer relate, I mean I was/am teaching it to students and they seem to be interested enough (seriously, I find that anything that's assigned will not agree with everyone, but if I can get one kid in my class to hop on the band-wagon, several others follow). I began to wonder what modern coming of age novel appealed to teens today. To be clear, on my search for these books I didn't want trendy books, I wanted genuine Bildungsroman novels that for some reason or another would stand the test of time, and sure, that's going to be slightly subjective. I also feel that no matter what age of a teen book, if you can find the hook, it can relate to any teen. The themes found in any Bildungroman are universal to the teen experience.

At first, I found this article from NPR that seemed to play into what the Goodreads post was saying. Sure, for those of you who don't want to click to read it, The Catcher in the Rye is still be assigned and still on banned book lists, but really it seems to be out of touch with young people today. This article at least points out that Holden Caulfield may not relate to teens today because the majority of teens are not WASP-y (my words not theirs), and those that weren't when the book came out didn't really have a voice to say otherwise.

Nowadays there are tons of voices (GLBT, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Christian, Muslim, inner-city, male, female, tween, rural and I could go on and on and on) and I'm sure each of these voices have different ideas of what might classify as a coming of age novel for the modern teen.

Major traits of a Bildungsroman or Coming of Age Novel (for this I'm using the word interchangeably)

1. "focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood and in which character change is thus extremely important"*
2. the protagonist is looking for answers and experience 
3. a journey to maturity through a major event in the character's life
4. because the above books were both written in the 50s and I'm looking for books for modern teens written, all of the books below were written after the 1950s. I suppose that makes them post-modern, but anyway...

25 Modern Bildungsroman (alphabetized by authors last name)

1. Alexie, Sherman The Absolute True Diary of a Part-time Indian
2. Andersen, Laura Halse Speak
3. Blume, Judy Forever
4. Brashares, Ann Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Books 1)
5. Chbosky, Stephen The Perks of Being A Wallflower
6. Childress, Alice A Hero Ain't Nothin But A Sandwich
7. Cisneros, Sandra The House on Mango Street
8. Crutcher, Chris Chinese Handcuffs
9. Danizger, Paula The Cat Ate My Gymsuit
10. Diaz, Juno Drown
11. Eugenides, Jeffrey The Virgin Suicides
12. Gough, Julian Juno and Juliet
13. Green, John An Abundance of Katherines
14. Guest, Judith Ordinary People
15. Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
16. Murakami, Haruki Norwegian Wood
17. Myracle, Lauren Kissing Kate
18. Hinton, SE The Outsiders
19. Ockler, Sarah Twenty Boy Summer
20. Picoult, Jodi My Sister's Keeper
21. Potok, Chaim Chosen
22. Sebold, Alice The Lovely Bones
23. Vizzini, Ned It's Kind of a Funny Story
24. Woodson, Jacqueline The House You Pass on the Way
25. Zindel, Paul The Amazing and Death-Defying of Eugene Dingman

My knee jerk votes can be found here.

What should I add to the list above?

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

The following review has been pieced together from a conversation about Insurgent on Goodreads. I figured that since all the words were mine, I could do with them what I would.


**spoilers**


I'm having hard time putting a finger on why Tris and this book aren't as good (although they are good) as the first book.


I think it's hard to write a trilogy going into to it knowing that you are going to write a trilogy. You know there are things that you aren't going to reveal until the end and you know that these things have to be alluded to in some faction for your audience to buy it. You're main characters (in this case I'm including only Tris and Dour) have to also change in some fashion from book one to three. And, that change has to be warranted...this has got to be hard to do especially if you are writing in first person.


I don't really want to like Tris...I understood her behaviors incredibly well in the first book and her pouty petulance, defiance and all out rudeness made sense in the context of her life, her relationships and her factions. I bought it all. In this book Tris changes and I'm not sure that we can use her age as a defense , however, since 16 year olds make life changing decisions all of the time and while sophomores are different than seniors, they can still reason and think and listen and are on the path to adulthood. 


I do not like when a positive role-model (especially one for girls, as there are so few) seems to change her stripes and becomes, in fact, like all the other girls in all the other books that have girls as heroes. Can girls only be heroes if they cry/have ill-tempers/make stupid decisions? It would seem that the literary world seems to thinks so. I would even add Hermione Granger into this mix as she couldn't just be defiant she had to be, at times, downright mean and a 5-letter word...you know which one. I hear that Evie in Paranormalcychanges for the not so good, Bella Swan and Katniss Everdeen inTwilight and The Hunger Games, respectively are not girls I see as having virtues and they only gain virtues by finding or loving boys--argh; even girl leads as far back as The Chronicles of Narnia are not girls I want my daughter to emulate in any fashion. Frankly, as I go through these types of books in my mind Forgive My Fins and other mermaid books, The Girl in the Steel Corset (don't even get me started on Wither) et cetera...the girls all seem to exhibit the same traits of whininess, weakness and neediness that are suppose to make them strong.


I don't know what I want to see in a heroine, a YA heroine in particular, I thought that Tris was getting there. I am afraid that she took a few steps backward in this book, which brings me to the point about trilogies...perhaps Tris just needs some room to grow, perhaps as a Divergent she needs to act and think and truly be selfless, maybe book two was all about acting as she learned the hard way that acting without thinking or truly being selfless does not work.  All I could think about while Tris was being so reckless and going into danger when everyone was telling her not to was Bella Swan and her recklessness...the fact that I could connect them (even if for a little bit, as i know the characters are truly different) irritates me.


I am still undecided about Tris. I don't think anyone would question her goals or motivations, although they do seem to contradict in terms of being selfish and selfless (or are they just both at the same time?). She doesn't make me want to punch her in the face, I'm pretty sure I don't want to be her friend. She just isn't what she was in book one. I don't like her at all in this book, even if she does question shooting Will and other of her actions that have not yielded positive results, I liked her loads in the first book when her actions and motivations seemed a little clearer. I'll see about the third.


4 Stars   

The thing is, I did enjoy this book loads. It was easy, fast and fun and it has me thinking, all good signs, especially from so young a writer.  Maybe Veronica Roth is being consistent with her characters and plots and we don't know it because there's a whole book to go. I'm willing to give Tris the opportunity to become the YA heroine I've been dreaming of. 

Teacher Advisories 

Sex 3.5-4/5

There are some really steamy kisses ...hands under shirt, lying down type kisses

Language 1/5

If there's any at all it's few and far between and in the heat of the moment.

Substance Abuses 2/5

Only because there's the initiation process and a truth serum and simulation...not really sure all of this should count, but...some people may not like it.

Violence 5/5

Um, there are fight scenes, a war is beginning. Tris and Four have a verbal fight. Actually, a lot of people and Tris have verbal fights. People get knocked out and murdered. A boy is shot point-blank. A girl gets shot and bleeds to death. A leader of one of the factions is assassinated and her body is put on display.


Touchy Subjects

War is Hell
If Dystopic novels don't tell us this, than what are they good for, however when you lose your parents and your brother is a traitor and your friends are dying that point may be a little hard to handle.

Revenge
See what that looks like if you are smart or brave or honest or caring or selfless...it comes in every package.
Secrets
Tris has to live with the fact that she killed Will. She tells no one until she is forced to do so.
Being True to Yourself
Even if others doubt you, even if you doubt yourself.
Relationships
At some point Tris and Four seem to be no good for one another...it's good for kids to see that relationships need work and sometimes you have to fight to keep them and sometimes you have to let go.



How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option
2] Book Club read

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau

Here is another book for my mermaid challenge.

Just in case you've forgotten it's lovely marvelous details or you want to play along you can find all the information you need by clicking on The 2012 MerBooks Mermaid Book Reading Challenge.

How could you not love a book that starts off with a girl getting her period while trying on swimsuits damaging the one she decides to buy and ends with a recipe for Chocolate Mug Cake (something I'm definitely going to try in the future)? The answer is that there is no possible way that you couldn't.

After Jade reaches puberty, things about her begin to change...a certain boy begins to notice her lovely wavy hair and curvy figure and one day in the bathtub she begins to notice that instead of feet she's sporting a shimmering blue-green tail.

I love the voice of Jade, she's sassy and quick-witted, just how I feel every middle grade school girl should be. She thinks she's too curvy (there's a whole scene with a tankini that is just too real and adorable), she thinks she's not beautiful (without wavy red hair, how could she be anything else?), and she is missing her mother, who drowned a year ago, more than anything.

But, is her mother really dead or is that her mother she hears calling her? Can she stand being part mermaid? Trying to find these answers means that she has to keep telling big lies to her best friend and it means that she could be putting herself into more danger than she realized.

The best part of this book is the fact that the mermaid stuff seems to be par for the course in Port Toulouse and the story isn't really about keeping the secret or finding her true love or identity, but in finding out what really happened to her mother.

What can I say? This book is cute and fun and light and fluffy. A perfect summer read for any girl age 9 to, um, 36.

Oh and book two just came out...yippers!


4 Stars   

Teacher Advisories
Sex 1/5 
I think there may be long look or two and a "kiss made of awesome"...seriously, I feel like a prude even giving this a one. A boy takes off his shoe to show a girl his webbed toes...Jade spends the first chapter talking about getting her period for the first time, no inappropriate words are used.
Language 0/5 
This book makes a point of making sure that 13 year old girls shouldn't even be saying the work "crap" and they really shouldn't should they.
Substance Abuses 0/5
Um, yep, I got nothin'...unless you count a crazy addiction to chocolate.
Violence 1/5
Jade's mother is kidnapped by some 'freshies' and forced to live in the area where the fresh and salt water mixes (what's that called? I can't remember from 4th grade geography...) everybody thinks she drowned. Jade rescues her and her captors chase them around, there's some fighting and some high-pitched merwords.

Touchy Subjects
Getting your period or as I like to call it "Special Monthly Time"
Some parents may not be comfortable having a girl who is part mermaid talk to their children about the embarrassment of getting your period. I found the scene in the book mortifying and realistic.
Telling lies
The twist on this book is that Jade's parents know she may be a mermaid. Jade lies to her best friend a lot. Eventually everyone ask for and gets forgiveness.
The First Kiss
I'm guessing most kids who are reading this book for the first time have never been kissed. That's a good thing and they should know that.

How this book is used in the classroom
1] Independent Read option (not for honors students...reading level is too darned easy, unless, of course, they read it for their independent summer read and for that I have a guide...a guide I should post on this website...hmmm...)

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Hmmm...since I'm reading Insurgent, I suppose it's time that I write a review for Divergent.

I feel that you can't talk about this book without first talking about it's author, as it's author is truly every aspect of this book. I began reading her blog a little before Divergent came out and fell in love with her voice, I liked it so much that I found myself wishing that she could have been in one of my classes so we could have spent time talking about books and the world. If you read her blog you will find that she is truly all of her 24 years humble, to the point of self-deprecation, witty, smart, funny and gosh darned brilliant.

All of these traits spill over into the characters in her debut novel, so much so that I found it really hard to dislike a single one, even those that are terrifying and horrible, like Eric.

This book is set in a dystopic Chicago (squee) were people been divided up into 5 factions (Amity, Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite), during your choosing ceremony you go through tests that determine the faction that best fits you. If that faction doesn't work or you don't fall in line you then become factionless and live in the wasteland (a place we know is probably better). Each faction then trains their initiates...and, by trains I mean brainwashes...into the ways of the faction. And, as with any dystopic universe this works only if there's tons of control, people who blindly believe whatever is put in front of them and people who naively believe that what is being done is right and just. Of course, they believe that because they don't know all the answers.

Both Tris and Four, in some way, fall into the latter category. As each begins to find out who they really are, they, of course, find one another. They must then learn to lean on one another when they find out that their perfect world of factions and exact rules is falling apart.

And, while Tris is the narrator, Four is the one to watch and Four, with his light eyes and dark hair and tattoos and muscles, teaches Tris about family and true selflessness.

I understand that there are people out there who have had their fill of all things dystopic. To those, I said add this to your list, I promise it will rejuvenate you and show you that there is hope for dystopia.  There are also many out there who compare this series to The Hunger Games. I don't disagree with them (and, in some ways I think this series is better...of course, this series is not for those in the middle grades) I do, however say "Who the flip cares?". In Divergent, Veronica Roth, has given us a strong female lead who is fiery and fierce and who knows that she is flawed, who makes mistakes, a girl who I imagine is a bit more like the author than most think and therefore a bit more real than the rest of the YA heroines out nowadays.

Once you finish the book, go find a copy of "Free Four: Tobias Tells The Story", it's a little short story of the initial meeting of the transfers and Eric and Four. I like that from that story we get a sense that Four is truly sensitive and compassionate. I also like how it subtly gives us background we need for Insurgent. Four really is my favorite character...

Oh and just in case you don't have time to read Ms. Roth's back catalog of awesome blog post, here are a few of my favorites:

Prince Charming, Meet Wal-Mart
Divergent Playlist
Likeable Schmikable
Writing Out of Order
The Mistakes Writers Make

Now, back to Insurgent, I'm right in the middle!


5 Stars

Four, Four, Four...oh, and there's a plot too! :D

Teacher Advisories 

Sex 3.5-4/5

There are some really steamy kisses that kind of made me wish I could leave the room or turn my head or something...but, I couldn't help reading them...pretty hot stuff. There's one kiss in a bedroom against a wall or bedpost or whatever that...whew...

Language 1/5

If there's any at all it's few and far between and in the heat of the moment.

Substance Abuses 2/5

Only because there's the initiation process and a truth serum and simulation...not really sure all of this should count, but...some people may not like it.

Violence 5/5

Um, there are fight scenes to advance to the next levels in Dauntless. A child falls to their death off of a train, although it's mentioned no one seems to care. A boy commits suicide. A boy attacks a girl. A boy pokes another boys eye out with a butter knife...um...a girl shoots a boy in the head at point blank range...er...parents die. A father abuses his son by whipping him with his belt. Pretty intense stuff.


Touchy Subjects

When its OK to stand up to your parents
One boy chooses a different faction just to stay away from his father and then must confront his father. Tris chooses a faction that goes against how she was raised.

Revenge
See what that looks like if you are smart or brave or honest or caring or selfless...it comes in every package.
Family Secrets
No one really know who Four is and he tells no one. Tris's parents have their own secrets to hide.

Being True to Yourself
Even if others doubt you, even if you doubt yourself



How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option
2] Book Club read

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

When I was younger my life's goal was to go to/live in London, England.

This goal was so prominent in my mind that during my Home-Ec class when other girls were making those big wedding plans (a project I'm soooooo glad has been deemed sexist and inappropriate) I planned my trip to London--no, really, I told my teacher I wasn't planning on getting married and that if I did I would do so in Vegas. She told me I should plan my honeymoon instead and my trip (not honeymoon) was a go.

My friends used to help me dream about my life in England.

I'd meet a boy named Nigel "Something"(I don't remember his last name)worth the Third and he'd be handsome and rich and have lovely gardens we'd stroll around. I'd meet the Queen (or is it The Queen?) and she'd be so taken with how polite I was that I'd be offered a job and a place in the palace. I'd own a dog. I'd go to pubs. I'd become an archaeologist and figure out what happened to those boys in the Tower. I'd eat lots of fish and chips. I wish I would have kept all the papers on which we doodled my life plan.

And, then it happened. Everything worked out so I could go to London, England...not just a week or a month, but a whole semester...sigh.

I became a part of the Missouri London Program.

I became an exchange student.

It was awesome.

I'd forgotten how much so until I read Anna and the French Kiss, a wonderfully written, light, but in no way breezy, young adult novel by Stephanie Perkins.

This book would just be another typical teen fish out of water tale if it wasn't for the amazing dialogue. I fell in love with Anna the first moment she was introduced. Actually, Perkins has quite a lovely grasp on dialogue and characters and I fell in love with and related to them all. Each character exhibited traits of people I know and cherish. There's the boy who everyone knows is in the wrong relationship, but he doesn't have the backbone to end it. There's the girl who has had a major crush on said boy, but understands that she is not the one. There's the jealous, over-the-top girlfriend. The boy, who is this case happens to be named Etienne (sigh), has his own wonderful set of quirky guy friends. And, there's all the romance of being in a foreign country sans adults. Something about the way these seniors acting seemed totally believable. This may be the first time I've read a book where a girl or two cries alone or accidentally in front of someone and I didn't want to bash my head, or hers, into a brick wall. I even had some of the same culture shock moments ("What the world I left went on without me while I was having a life overseas?"). This book was soooo good that I couldn't put it down and had to finish it, while my friends waited, sitting on a bed in a lovely Los Angeles hotel an amazing view of the Hollywood sign behind me.

So study abroad. If you're lucky you'll meet people half as cool as these people and you'll have wonderful adventures with or without all the romance. If you can't study abroad right away at least read this book and remember your first love, your first time away from home and live overseas vicariously through them.

Reading this book made me get out the 'ole scrapbooks. Memory lane never felt so good.


5 Stars

The only thing that would have made this book better is if it would have been set in London, no really, I mean that...maybe Stephanie Perkins will do that someday.

Teacher Advisories 

Sex 2/5

There's some kissing...OK, there's lots of kissing there for a minute, whew! A boy alludes to sleeping with a girl, although we never read about it. It is also alluded to the fact the Etienne and his girlfriend sleep together. Anna and Etienne spend a week spooning on a dorm room bed nightly.

Language 4/5

I don't remember there being any cussing in English or in French...gonna go look that up right now...ah, the power of the eReader...OK, so I lied BIG TIME...this book says the F-word like 5, literally, 5 times! Shit also gets thrown around a bit carelessly. I feel bad I have to give this book a 4 on this, but 5 times is a bit much for a teen romance novel!

Substance Abuses 2/5

Um, these are 18 year-old American students in a foreign country that allows you to drink at 18...totally believable situations and frankly, these kids don't act like typical American teens drunk, they act like college students.

Violence 1/5

Drinking and jealous never end up well.


Touchy Subjects

Social Class
Anna goes to school in France because her father has made it big as an author and he wants to impress people. Yeah, you read that right, Anna intially goes to go in France because her father thinks it will look good on his resume.

Love
I love, love, love, love first love books. Be prepared for broken hearts, misunderstandings, lead-ons and the other things that come with it.

The Mores and Folkways of a Foreign Country

Students may want to talk about foreign customs, traditions, home life et cetera.

Couples who are separated
Etienne's parents are separated, but his father still controls much of their lives. For instance, he isn't allowed to see his mother, who has cancer and may be dying, until a scheduled break in the school year.

When it's OK to stand up to your parents
Etienne and his father have a huge fight in which Etienne says some pretty harsh things that further alienate his relationship with his father. When, if ever, is it OK to talk to your parents in this manner? I think that Perkins would have you believe that sometimes this kind of frankness must happen, especially when the parent is verbally, emotionally or physically abusive.

Parents living their lives vicariously through their children
Definitely some lessons to be learned here, as all these kids seem to be privileged in some manner... 

How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

I remember one day when I was about 11 years old. I was sitting on the floor of my friends living room and she and I were just bashing the dickens out of gay people and her mother, who is still one of the wisest women I know, said, "Would God really want us to harm any of his children or treat them the way that you've been talking?" Of course, we answered very meekly, "No." And, thus began my struggle, balancing the blindly conservative Christian in me with what I knew must be true.

During this same time period and for the next fifteen years I re-educated myself using the media and literature to do it. Rock Hudson came 'out of the closet' when he found out he had AIDS (people my mom's age and older were just mind-blown) and when he died the world mourned, Ryan White (who was just a few years older than me) got AIDS from a blood transfusion, Magic Johnson got HIV and still played basketball, and Matthew Shepard, who was my age, got beaten to death in Wyoming for being gay. I watched and read And, The Band Played On and all those series on HBO like If These Walls Could Talk and Queer As Folk. I read all sorts of young adult fiction about boys who were gay (there really didn't seem to be a lot about girls) like Night Kites, one I especially remember is The Drowning of Stephan Jones. I remember so identifying with the girl in that book because she too had a hard time saying what she knew to be true and what she believed as defending Stephen and his boyfriend meant going against how she was raised. I suppose I was looking for answers and trying to figure out what it all meant...did I mention that's hard to do in a small town in the Midwest?

In my high school there was only one boy who actually told everyone he was gay and he was also my neighbor. I didn't care that he was gay, I just liked that he taught us how to dance (he went to real dance classes in the city) and dressed cool because he was from fashion forward California. I felt that he and I weren't so different; as a person of color and a gay person we were treated badly by some because of something that we could not and did not want to control.

All this background knowledge really did come in handy when I started teaching and it seemed that my quiet open-mindedness attracted and still attracts those students who know that I will listen without judgment. This has made me quite the connoisseur of controversial young adult novels. (Isn't it strange that books that actually help students deal with loss or pain or being themselves are always controversial?)

Anyway, I say all of this so you understand the foundation of being I had when reading Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle.

This seriously is one of the best books that I have ever read about teen confusion concerning sexual orientation. One night at a party Kate kisses, Lissa, her best friend and although Kate wants to pretend it never happened Lissa can't. This, of course, means that they are no longer best friends and as Lissa branches out she wonders if Kate was ever truly her friend at all. Through other friendships and several confrontations with Kate, Lissa learns to be her powerful self. This is a great coming-of-age novel and anyone who has had a hard time reconciling with the core of who they are will identify with Lissa as she totally turns her world upside in the search for her self.

I like that in the end Lissa has friends she can trust and she's confronted Kate, but she is still thinking about and learning about who she is. I could see how this book might help several teenagers realize that they are not alone and that their struggles don't have to be completed in silence.

4 Stars   

This book is a little disjointed in parts and the ending kind of drags on. In some ways there's so much going on in such a small book. 

Teacher Advisories 

Sex 2/5

The kiss between Kate and Lissa happens before the book begins and there's one encounter with Lissa and Kate again, it's sexy, but not over the top, and there isn't another kiss.

Language 1/5

There may have been a word or two. Kate calls Lissa a dyke.

Substance Abuses 1/5

Kate and Lissa kiss at a party while Kate is intoxicated, there's another party with alcohol.

Violence 1/5

There are some intense arguments used with harsh language.


Touchy Subjects

Family
Lissa lives with her uncle and little brother. They don't really know a lot about her.

GLBT
What does it mean to come out to others? What does it mean to be gay? Lissa has a wonderful conversation with a lesbian couple about the hardships and truths about being gay.

Misfits

Lissa is learning to be herself. Her friend at work, Ariel, is a spunky go-getter who doesn't fit in. Ariel's friend has a handicap, but he is a positive and strong male character. Kate doesn't even know how to be herself and doesn't mind lying to herself or others.

How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Mermaids and werewolves and vampires and faeries and hags and shape-shifters and waterspirits, if you can name a paranormal, I'm sure they are at least mentioned in Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

This book rocked my socks off! It's soooo very awesome! It's so awesome, in fact, that I'm sorry it took me two years to read it, so awesome in fact that I'm sorry I don't have the second book right now!

This is one of those cool books that on the surface seems like a cute romp into paranormal land, but is actually a commentary on discrimination, service and relationships.

Evie is seriously that perfect female heroine that I've been looking for when I read teen SF books. She's so girly (pink and animal print are incorporated into everything she wears), but she can also kick major butt using her pink rhinestone encrusted taser, nicknamed Tasy, of course. She falls for a shape-shifter and has doubts, but not the whiny (sorry, I'm about to compare her to two teen girls who annoy the dickens out of me) "I can't live without you" doubts of Bella Swan or "the too tough too touch me blocked-headedness" of Katniss Everdeen. Evie is the rock-star of these girls.

While the plot of this book is not new, the approach is. And, don't let the cover fool you, this book isn't at all fluffy and girly (unless you want to count Evie's pink heeled boots). In the world of Paranormalcy there are humans who know that paranormals exist these humans have taken it upon themselves to defend the world against these creatures and have created an agency to do this. Evie is part of this agency. After she meets a shape-shifting teenage boy, much like herself, she begins to wonder where she fits into the whole thing. Is she trapped? Is she a pawn? Is she an asset? And, most importantly, what does she want?

This book is told with enough humor and seriousness that I found myself laughing seconds after a sad event and I found myself sharing bits of this book to my student in the hallways and at lunch.

It's another one of those books that makes me wish I could have read it when I was 14 and it's another one of those books that I can't wait for my daughter to find.


5 Stars

Teacher Advisories

Sex 1/5 

There are also some nice steamy kisses, embraces and long kiss scenes. Really teen books have the best kissing scenes! A faerie named Reth inappropriately touches Evie all the time, even after you figure out it's still kind of creepy and a little bit pervy.

Language 1/5

I love, love, love when an author uses a fake word in the place of an expletive. Norman Mailer did it with the word 'fug' and Kiersten White does it with *bleep*, it's funny, your kids will love it...I found myself doing it at home. It sure beats cussing!!!

Substance Abuses 0/5

Unless you count getting totally intoxicated on someone's soul...than I bump it up to a 1/5.

Violence 2/5

So, the IPCA fights paranormals. One vamp decides he'd rather die than be confined. A strange creature is going around killing paranormals lots of werewolves and vampires die. A hag dies, a mermaid dies, a werewolf dies, some of the creatures that die we get to know and that's sad...there's lots of violent death.

Touchy Subjects

Slavery and Indentured Servitude
While this is truly a fun teen paranormal romp there are several grown-up and timely themes. IPCA decides who's bad, IPCA locks up and classifies those who are bad, Evie must then decide if who's right. While Evie is deciding if she's actually just a pawn in a game where every side sucks the life out of the other, we must also decide what it means to be truly free. Paranormals are neutered, neutralized and locked up. They are let out only to serve IPCA.

Family
Evie comes from foster homes and has no parents. Raquel takes care of her, but she isn't really a mother per se. Lend's family is everything she desires, but they still have their flaws. Vivian has a family, but have they taught her to be what she is.
Normality
What does it mean to be normal? And, doesn't normal come in many different forms.

Inter (racial ?) relationships
Paranormals date, marry and have children with mortals sometimes to the chagrin and disappoint of their family and friends. These relationships can be seen as allegorical to interracial relationships, and we can see the wonderfulness, but also the troubles that people have when they are in relationships that are defined by society.

How this book is used in the classroom

1] Independent Read option

2] Websites

Author's website


Questions for Discussion (from here)

1. It has been said that the book speaks in metaphors regarding issues such as animal rights,  human rights and slavery. Would you agree with this and why? Support your answer using details from the book.

2. Evie’s relationship with Raquel is similar to a mother/daughter relationship. Would you have liked to see their relationship end differently than the way it did? Explain your answer.

3. If you could meet any type of paranormal from the book which would you choose? Why?

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

I don't know how long this will last, but you can buy this for your eReader for 99 cents...

Anyway, I bought 10 Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) while waiting in the car for my mother to get finished with her shopping in BN. We were taking turns because the kiddo was asleep in the back seat; in her defense it was naptime. In our defense, one time we took her out when she wasn't fully awake yet...doing that with a baby (easy), doing that with a 12-month old (with a stroller=easy), doing that with a two-year old (stroller or not...hard as H-E-double hockey sticks!).

So, I waited, coffee in hand and surfed through the BN deals on my new Nook Tablet (Merry Christmas to me, from Christopher=husbands can be so sweet)...I ended up buying 4 YA novels each for less than a buck, one of which was this book; a book I wanted to read, but wasn't really in the mood to pay $10 for, a book I would have borrowed from a student, only I saw no student with it...

Anyway, I would have started it then and there, but the tiny person woke up and we went into the store to look at books and wait...

I started it yesterday morning and with all that was going on yesterday (2nd family, or was it 3rd?, family Christmas) I finished it yesterday evening.

Sadly, because I teach high school, I believed every word. I believed that lots of really nice girls who make good grades drink and party (I've had said nice girls in class and some of the stories I've overheard make me never want to have a teenage daughter), I also believe that teens no longer see sex as a stigma (it isn't only party girls that have sex)...I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but it is, I believe that teens understand the proper use of birth control, but not how they can still contract an STD and I believe that parents busy with living their second lives (ie. life after a divorce) don't notice the teen in the room who is screaming for them to lay down some rules and laws.

I like to think of these kinds of books, these modern day YA novels that have a teen girl protagonist, as lessons for me in how to raise a teenage girl...10 lessons I learned from this book:

1] Holy WOW! teach your kids about sex. I'll be teaching my daughter that she shouldn't have sex until she's older and mature and, hopefully, married, but I will also teach her about sex and STDs et cetera, if I don't she will learn from her friends, her teachers and life...and, I will look ill-prepared and naive.

2] I will not overshare my sex life with my teenage daughter (ick!) that's why parents have friends...

3] I will talk to my daughter like she is a person, I will ask her to tell me when she thinks she is ready to have sex, so we can talk...I will do this when she is 12, although in my head that seems a little young.

4] She will know she is loved, I will tell her often. She will know she is loved even if she does things that I do not like.

5] I will never take a job that requires me to leave her without adult supervision...even if that means I put my dreams on the back burner.

6] I will not move her away from her high school and her friends, even if that means I have to turn down a job (I have always firmly believed this!), however, if for some strange reason we have to move...she, kicking and screaming and pouting and moping, is coming with us.

7] I will trust my kid, but will actually meet parents face to face. I will not trust text, emails, running showers...

8] I will not impose year long punishments.

9] I will never get rid of my daughter's pet, even if we move overseas and said pet has to be in quarantine for 6 months.

10] I will give my daughter an allowance and have her tally up how she spent said allowance at the end of every month...what a good way to learn to budget, something I never learned...

OK, so I loved this book cussing, drinking, sex and all and heck, I'd let my daughter read it. I know I would have read it when I was a 9th grader...I read Forever by Judy Blume at that age.

If you've read this book what lessons did you learn? At what age do you think it's appropriate for kids to read?

Teacher Advisories

Sex 4/5 

One girl decides she wants to have sex with her best friend because she just wants to get it over with. She realizes that she may like him a little more than she realized. The main character has sex with her boyfriend and while it isn't describe in any detail whatsoever, they do have sex often. When the girls aren't having sex they're talking about sex, sharing innuendos, talking about males and their body parts. The girl who has sex with her boyfriend contracts an STD. Her friends are upset with her because she had unprotected sex. She protest because she had sex with her boyfriend who she believed hadn't had sex with anyone else. Many myths about sex and STDs are explored (no you cannot contract an STD from a hot tub). 

Language 4/5 

A boy calls a girl a slut because she's flirting with a guy who is not her boyfriend, in this scene the F-word is also used twice. Until this scene there isn't any profanity just innuendo.

Substance Abuses 4/5

Drinking, lots of drinking, lots of unsupervised parties. The book opens with the aftermath of a birthday bash (think the opening of 'The Hangover'; I did), in which the girls sold alcohol to raise money to pay off a cat operation.

Violence 1/5

Boy/girl verbal fights, girl/girl verbal fights

Touchy Subjects

STDs
This topic is handled with humor and candor. The girl who contracts chlamydia is willing to believe the boyfriend who tells her that it's her fault and is also willing to believe that she may have contracted it from a toilet seat or a hot tub although she knows these things to be untrue. She cries, she laughs, she's embarrassed, but she has friends who help her, while berating her for not using protection in the first place.
Divorce
Both parents in the divorce have gone a little crazy and are thinking of themselves before their two kids. One parent moves to France another moves closer to his new wife's parents leaving behind his teenage daughter. When she ask to move back his initial reaction is that he'll have to think about it, as they turned her room into an office and gotten rid of her bed. Both of the main characters in the book are a little messed up because of this fact, one refuses to love or get close to anyone, the other thinks she's more adult than she is.
Parental Supervision
There isn't any...one parent is too free and let's her daughter do whatever, the other totally trust his daughter to make proper choices, another lives across the ocean and can't really supervise like she would like because she feels guilty about leaving and about the affairs that ended her marriage...Both of the main characters show that what they really are parents who treat them like kids not like peers.
Lies
The girls lie to their parents (heck, they live alone for a semester without adult supervision, there has to be lots of lying going on), they lie to the school, a boyfriend lies to his girlfriend more than once and the girls lie to themselves at times.
Compulsive Exercising
To stay in control of the situation one girl over exercises, at all times (including in the middle of the night)...I've never read a book that tackles this issue, but have known people who do this and wondered how to help them.
Birth Control
The girls skip school and go to Planned Parenthood to get on birth control. While I have never been to Planned Parenthood it is interesting that teens can go there without parental contact, can get the pill or even get checked out for an STD.


How this book is used in the classroom
1] Independent Read option: it's full of too much stuff for me to consider it for anything else.
2] Websites

Sarah Mlynowski
FB page for the book
Review I like from the Ninja Librarian

5 Stars

Seriously, the best kind of book is a book that just seems fun and pointless, but then you realize that you learned something from it, this is one of those books.

The Heart of the Spring by Laura L. Valenti

          OK, so you guys know how I feel about the wonders that are Missouri. This book is definitely one of those reasons. Reading a book detailing this area of Missouri and reading all about Becky and her family, who 90 years ago lived just down the way in the land of trout and bass fishing, was cool. It has just enough romance and heart to make in lovable and just enough plot to make it interesting and compelling, but it's the history that makes this book unforgettable. I love that this story is about that age-old problem of having roots and wings too. Becky is a character that we can all understand and just incase you think she's too girlie, you've got Miz Josie, a woman who takes nothing from no one and is still loved and respected by all. I am so glad that there is a modern author willing to write about the wonders of Missouri and the joys of what it means to be a Missourian bootlegging and all.

Memorable Quote: “The great Bennett Spring, ever true to the beat of life for generations, past and present, continued its languid passage behind them. A sudden breeze swirled green and golden leaves in a tiny whirlwind and scattered them across the sparkling waters in the late afternoon sunlight. The sheltering sycamores stretched their great white arms skyward in an ever-protective arch above the cool blue-green waters. The heart of the spring continued its faithful rhythm as yet another generation prepared to begin its journey in life.”

From the back cover:

Eighteen year old Becky Darling is thrilled with her first job at the Brice Inn in 1924, especially when she learns that Bennett Spring may become Missouri's first state park. It sounds like real progress until she discovers her beloved father is working hard against the idea. Life during that Prohibition summer is further complicated by her older brother's involvement in illegal moonshine, the impending birth of a new brother or sister and the surprise arrival of a state senator and his handsome aide. Becky can't help but wonder if life at Bennett Spring will ever be carefree again?

This book is historical fiction (Valenti did all of her own research by the way) and for young adults, young adults who, nowadays, don't care enough to know anything about the area in which they live.
           I am amazed at how many wonderfully talented writers there are in the state of Missouri and am looking forward to reading this book that Ellen Gray Massey said is about "fishing, moonshining, distrust of outsiders, beauty of nature, importance of family and a romance."

4 Stars  
I love this book, but would not give up my first born for it...you should read it though :)

Teacher Advisories

Sex 0/5 

Um, there may be some hand-holding and a very chaste smooch.

Language 0/5 

None. There are some Ozark Hills colloquialisms, but that's about it.

Substance Abuses 1/5

Becky's brother makes and drinks moonshine, she has to take him home one day because he's too drunk to drive. People do not condone this behavior and he does she the error of his ways in the end.

Violence 1/5

There's an explosion in the moonshine mills. There's an intense argument in a bar. Becky's brother is called on by the cops.

Touchy Subjects

Drinking
There isn't any underage drinking, however, you may have to talk with your students about Moonshining.
Politicans who lie
Becky realizes that sometimes people are fake and say what they want to get elected. She finds out the truth, but you might have to talk to kids about that.

How this book is used in the classroom
1] Independent Read option
2] Websites
www.betweenthestarandthecross.com
Interview with Laura L. Valenti from my other blog The Conscientious Reader