Feed

Bibliographic Information: Anderson, M.T. (2002). Feed. [Audiobook]. Baker, D.A. (Narrator). Listening Library. ISBN: 0807217735

Plot Summary: In a dystopian futuristic America, where human brains are connected to the “feed,” Titus decides to go to the moon for spring break with his friends, which turns out to be a pretty “null” affair, until he meets a girl who intrigues him in an unusual way. The beautiful Violet Durn—dressed in old wool instead of plastic, is one of the many people who have their feeds attacked by a hacker at a club. Hospitalized and disconnected from their feeds for the first time since infancy (with the exception of Violet, who didn’t receive the feed until she was 7), Titus and his friends are unable to chat, play games, shop, or intoxicate themselves via intentional malfunction sites. Violet and Titus make a romantic connection during their recovery. When they return to Earth, typical high school life goes on: Titus dates Violet and attends SchoolÔ, a school with holograms for teachers, guiding students in the ways of consumerism.

When Violet decides to act against the feed by creating a purposefully confusing customer profile, she soon learns that her feed was not completely repaired, and she slowly starts to lose function in her body and mind. As Titus tries to cope with the deterioration of his girlfriend, she tries to raise his awareness to the riots and hostility being aimed at the United States from the Global Alliance, but his apathy for anything remotely meaningful, is just a product of a world controlled by corporate greed. With no privacy or original thought among the 73% of Americans who have the feed, they are all blind to the destruction happening all around them. All anyone cares about is stimulation in the form of fun, appearance, trends, shopping, and gaming.

Critical Evaluation: One of the most frightening aspects of this realistic dystopian vision of America, is that Regular school was done away with when the feed made it possible to access any piece of information at any given time via the brain. Corporations now bombard the feed with advertisements that are catered to each individual’s tastes, sights, thoughts, and actions. Products can be purchased and delivered instantly, even clones. Babies are customizable, and people fly around in “upcars” that go on auto-pilot through giant tubes. The oceans of Earth are acidic, the clouds are trademark products of corporations; everywhere, false beauty abounds and nature is squandered. The rich can afford to travel to the moon, but people in the lower class, like Violet and her father who homeschooled her, can’t even afford to connect to the feed. Violet’s dad is a quirky professor who represents any last connection to our current world, and he accesses the feed with a backpack computer and goggles with built-in screens. As a professor of ancient languages, Violet’s father  represents how language has been stripped of its power, beauty, and cadence by forms of texting, chatting and the telepathy offered by the feed.

Overall, Anderson offers a very satirical vision of the future, and it’s amazing that this book is already 11 years old, before social media was as big as it is now. The “feed” is comparable to Facebook, with the exception of screens and tangible computers. This book opens up a dialogue for debate about consumer culture, the future of information technology, and the possible outcomes for human life and Earth itself.

Reader’s Annotation: Titus is one of the 73% of American connected to the feed—a network of human minds all connected via chatting, games, ads, and shopping. He meets Violet on the moon and falls in love.

Author Information: From http://mt-anderson.com/, it states that M. T. Anderson has written stories for adults, picture books for children, adventure novels for young readers, and several books for older readers (both teens and adults). His satirical book Feed was a Finalist for the National Book Award and was the winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize. The first volume of his Octavian Nothing saga won the National Book Award and the Boston Globe / Horn Book Prize. Both the first and second volumes of that two-part series were Printz Honor Books. He has published stories for adults in literary journals like The Northwest Review, The Colorado Review, and Conjunctions.

He writes: "I love writing for younger readers. I love their passion. I love their commitment to stories. I love the way their heads are exploding with all the things they want to say and do. Thanks for reading the things I've written."

Genre: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Dystopian

Subjects: consumerism, communication, advertising, Internet, love

Curriculum Ties: Advertising, Communication, American Culture

Booktalking Ideas: Play a clip from one of the advertisements in the audiobook, setting up the future environment. Ask teens if they would trade in their smart phones to access the Internet from their mind. What would be the pros and cons of such a technology?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to strong language, this material may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     Book selection rationale.

6.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: Feed was a National Book Award finalist and recommended by numerous YA resources.

Boy Meets Boy

Bibliographic Information: Levithan, D. (2003). Boy meets boy. New York: Knopf. ISBN: 978-0375832994

Plot Summary: In a small utopian town where all sexual orientations are accepted and embraced, Paul, a gay teen who was outed by his Kindergarten teacher, has mostly lived a comfortable and perfect life. His parents and older brother embrace his homosexuality, and even his school is a fantastical community where cheerleaders can ride motorcycles and the football quarterback can also be homecoming queen. Paul’s world is juxtaposed with his friend Tony. Tony lives in an adjacent town, and his parents are religious conservatives who believe they can stamp out his homosexuality. Paul and Tony’s mutual friend Joni, hang out at a bookstore concert one night, where Paul meets Noah, his new love interest. Paul finds out that they attend the same school, and soon they start to date each other. Everything is peachy until Paul’s ex, Kyle, comes back into the picture. Kyle broke up with Paul because he was unsure of his sexual identity, feeling bisexual and “on the fence” about who he was. When Kyle realizes his mistake, he confesses his true feelings for Paul, and Paul kisses him. Naturally, Noah finds out, and Paul must mend all of his mistakes, while helping his friend Tony fight depression, and Joni’s bad relationship choices to boot.

Critical Evaluation: This book breaks away from the usual LGBQT themes of struggling for acceptance in a hostile world of bullying and ridicule. Instead, Levithan provides LGBQT teens with a fictional safe haven, where the important things can shine: love, friendship, and finding your identity. Granted, his utopian vision is farfetched, and unfortunately a far cry from the true plight of most gay teens, but at the same time, Levithan is pushing forth an important question: what if? What if everyone was free to be himself or herself? What would such an accepting place look like? Underneath all the positive speculation though, lies just another formulaic teen love story, but with a gay twist: boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy wins back boy. What keeps readers glued to the pages isn’t the predictability of the plot, however. Its Levithan’s grasp of language and pacing; never does the story fall flat, every scene is charged with drama, emotion, or reflections on coming-of-age. Overall, Boy Meets Boy is a breath of fresh air, in a world of YA lit that can often be depressing and bleak.

Reader’s Annotation: Paul meets Noah, a cool artist who wears blue suede shoes. They fall in love, but Paul’s past follows him like a shadow. The boys are unsure of how to trust each other, considering they’ve both been heartbroken before.  

Author Information: Gale’s Contemporary Authors Online states, “David Levithan has written numerous novels for teens and young adults, as well as novelizations of movies and television-show tie-ins. Several of his novels actually began as short stories written as Valentine's Day gifts for friends, a tradition he began many years ago; his novels Boy Meets Boy, The Realm of Possibility, and Are We There Yet? all got their start this way. Along with his work as a writer, Levithan works as editorial director and executive editor at Scholastic, where his responsibilities include editing the entire Push imprint. A line focusing on new voices and new authors in young adult literature, Push led to Levithan's editorship of the anthology You Are Here, This Is Now: The Best Young Writers and Artists in America: A Push Anthology, which was the first book-length work to feature his name on its cover. When asked by an interviewer on the Barnes & Noble Web site to give his advice for writers waiting to be discovered, Levithan commented: ‘Don't write to be published. Write because it's something you want (or have) to write.’”

Genre: Fiction

Subjects: LGBQT, homosexuality, friendship, love, relationships, high school

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Read from the passage where Paul and Noah meet in the book store.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to LGBTQ themes, this book may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     Book selection rationale.

6.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: This is one of the sweetest LGBTQ books I have ever read and has won numerous awards and honors.

Hattie Big Sky

Bibliographic Information: Larson, K. (2007), Hattie big sky. New York: Yearling. ISBN: 978-0385735957

Plot Summary: Sixteen-year old Hattie “here-and-there” is an orphan who’s been ushered around from one relative to the next (hence her nickname) and currently resides with her self-righteous Aunt Ivy and Uncle Holt in 1917 Iowa. She writes often to her school friend (and love interest) Charlie, who is off fighting the Kaiser in Germany. On the same day that Aunt Ivy hints at sending Hattie to work in a boarding house, she receives a mysterious letter from her late Uncle Chester—offering an opportunity at a brand new life. In the letter, he offers her the chance to claim his land and house in Montana, as well as one horse and cow. With a little nudging from Uncle Holt, and much to Aunt Ivy’s dismay, Hattie gets on a train headed west.

            When she arrives, a man on the train criticize her for getting off where there’s “a whole lotta nothin’,” but this doesn’t deter Hattie, as she soon meets her friendly neighbors, the Muellers. Perilee, mother to three and expecting a fourth, offers Hattie a warm welcome and gets her acquainted to he homestead life. Even the children offer her sound advice, like fetching water for her morning coffee the night before—that way she won’t have to face the bitter cold as soon as she wakes up. And cold it is. Over the course of a year, Hattie deals with blizzards, wolves, a stubborn cow, and exhausting physical labor and she tends to the land and struggles to survive the harsh weather. Still, the vast beauty and “big sky” that surrounds her is a welcome embrace compared to the rejection she as faced time and time again.                        

            Conflicts rise as local residents become suspicious of German immigrants (Perilee’s husband Karl is German) and the villainous Traft Martin tries to oust him. Hattie tries to defend this loving family she has come to know, insisting that they are patriotic and harmless, but with WWI looming overseas, paranoia rises and prejudice is rampant. Now, on top of her physical stress, Hattie is pressured with the duty of patriotism, and is persuaded to buy liberty bonds that turn her prospects into poverty. Then the Muellers are struck with the Spanish influenza, and Hattie is pushed to her limit. As it turns out, a teenage girl’s hard work and determination can only get her so far.

Critical Evaluation: This tale of American turn-of-the-century farm life is told through the unique perspective of the strong-willed, good-natured, Hattie, who is wise for her age, but has room to grow. She interacts with her neighbors and the community (even the despicable characters) with grace and keen moral judgment—a skill she’s picked up from having been put down all of her life. Through her trials, Hattie represents the complex nature of growing up: one has to not only adapt to new surroundings, but work hard, and defend what’s right in a world full of wrong. Her disgust at the prejudice against Germans opens her eyes to the real world, and makes her all the stronger.

Reader’s Annotation: Hattie proves up her Uncle’s claim to tend a homestead and 320 acres of land in Montana, with nothing but her valise and Mr. Whiskers, her cat.

Author Information: Gale’s Contemporary Authors Online states, “Kirby Larson began her writing career penning chapter books while seated at her kitchen table, setting aside her work to serve up her family's meals. Never a prolific writer, she has nonetheless gained critical praise for creating good-humored stories that accurately reflect the problems and concerns of children in the early elementary grades. Larson focused on plot and character development in her chapter books Second-Grade Pig Pals and Cody and Quinn, Sitting in a Tree, as well as in her picture book The Magic Kerchief. Her focus on such details paid off when she turned to older readers in her young-adult novel Hattie Big Sky. The sixth book written by Larson over a span of a dozen years, Hattie Blue Sky earned the Washington State author a prestigious Newbery Honor designation from the American Library Association following its 2006 publication.

Larson's first two chapter books, Second-Grade Pig Pals and Cody and Quinn, Sitting in a Tree, introduce a second grader named Quinn. In addition to worries about celebrating a holiday devoted to swine in Second-Grade Pig Day, Quinn finds herself with friend problems when her efforts to befriend Manuela, a new student, are foiled by more-aggressive classmate Annie May. The class bully, with his relentless taunting, tries to ruin Quinn's friendship with a boy in Cody and Quinn, Sitting in a Tree. Susan Dove Lempke, reviewing Larson's first book in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, predicted that young readers will enjoy following Quinn's "travails as she agonizes, in true-to-life second-grade fashion, over the pigs and Manuela." Quinn's solution to her dilemma, which involves the girls working together to compose a limerick about pigs, gives the book a "whole-hoggedly satisfying ending," in the opinion of School Library Journal contributor Janet M. Bair. In Cody and Quinn, Sitting in a Tree Quinn and company "act out this typical school story with a generous measure of humor and sensitivity," concluded Pat Mathews in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and Kay Weisman declared in Booklist that "Larson has an accurate sense of seven-year-olds' preoccupations and a good ear for dialogue" in the title.”

Genre: Historical Fiction

Subjects: orphans, World War I, racism, patriotism, farms, Montana,

Curriculum Ties: World War I, Race and Society

Booktalking Ideas: How does Hattie’s story parallel the opportunities for women today?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+

Challenge Issues/Defense: N/A

Reason for Selection: This was a Newbury Honor book as well as an ALA Best Book for YA’s. No library collection would be complete without a warm-hearted historical prairie type novel.

Tender Morsels

Bibliographic Information: Lanagan, M. (2008). Tender morsels. New York: Knopf. ISBN: 978-0375848117

Plot Summary: Liga Longfield endures brutal and traumatic abuse from her widowed father which results in a child, and similar trauma from a group of village boys results in another pregnancy. Just when Liga is convinced that death may be her only escape from her horrific experience, she is granted safety and security in the form of a separate world, akin to her own personal heaven, where she is free from harm, and able to raise her two girls in a cottage in the woods. The daughters, gentle Branza and sprightly Urrda, couldn’t be more different, both in appearance and manner. In this paradise, where even the townspeople are all friendly and helpful, Liga slowly heals from her emotional wounds, but after years of solitude, feels a complicated kind of loneliness. The void is filled when one day a friendly bear appears in their world, and they grow fond of his comforting, gentle company. Little do they know, that the bear is a boy who has crossed the threshold from the real world, and other, more dangerous types are soon to follow. Meanwhile, Urrda’s strong will and spirit urges her to explore the unknown, and she mistakenly returns to the real world. While time moves at a slower pace in reality, Liga and Branza grow ever older in their paradise, convinced that Urrda has disappeared forever.  As more bears break the border between worlds, Liga learns she must learn to face reality once again, where there lies both good and evil.

Critical Evaluation: This story starts off on a very bad note, and trudges through some very difficult material to experience, let alone read about. But Lanagan is careful which details to include, never lingering on harsh moments for long, instead focusing on the depth of emotion and reflection that occurs afterwards, revealing the slow process of healing. Liga is but a maiden throughout her traumas, and so we get to see through her young perspective, how she slowly gains an understanding of what is happening to her, and what it means for her future. Her sheer sensitivity and calculated methods for saving herself and her children are deep and utterly human, to the point that she is willing to fling herself and her child from a cliff. Her salvation comes in the form of magic, but it only lasts for so long. Underlying the safety of her new life, is the harsh reality: she must eventually learn to face her fears again, and her daughters help give her the strength, as they too try to piece together their world and their identities. The language is intense, gritty and whimsical all at once, mirroring the clash of tone in this corporeal fairytale. This is a true feminist piece, full of dynamic female characters that takes the Grimms Brother’s “Snow-White and Rose-Red” tale, and fills in all the details in a poetic and gripping way.

Reader’s Annotation: Liga creates a magical world where dangerous men don't exist, and she and her daughters can live a comfortable and safe life. But the magic that separates her world from reality is waining, and bears and dwarfs are crossing the threshold, endangering her paradise.

Author Information: Gale’s Contemporary Authors Online states, “In addition to writing for children, author Margo Lanagan has worked as a freelance book editor as well as a technical writer. Growing up in the Hunter Valley and in Melbourne, Australia, she traveled extensively, in addition to studying history at universities in both Perth and Sydney. The insight and experiences gained from both her travels and her education have provided the inspiration for Lanagan's middle-grade and young-adult novels as well as for short-story collections such as White Time, Black Juice, and Red Spikes.”

  

Genre: Fantasy

Subjects: fairy tales, sexual abuse

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Introduce the original fairy tale of “Snow-White and Rose-Red” as the back drop for a discussion on the relationship between mothers and daughters.

Reveal how men are presented as bears in Liga’s world, and what benefits and/or dangers this could be towards the females in the novel. Why bears?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 16+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to descriptions of sexual abuse, this material may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: This book tackles heavy issues in a creative way, and has won numerous awards and honors.

A Clockwork Orange

Bibliographic Information: Burgess, A. (1962). A clockwork orange. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN: 9780393312836.

Plot Summary: Alex is fifteen-year-old “droog,” who is obsessed with Beethoven and lives in a future dystopian city that is overrun with violent adolescents at night. He leads a gang that speaks in their own made-up slang, “Nadsat,” and wears a costume of armor fit for beating people. The story starts in a milk bar, where the guys get pumped up on the latest drugs before beginning their evening of debauchery and mayhem. Their night goes a little something this: mugging, robbing, fighting with another gang, auto theft, breaking and entering, rape. On Alex’s second night of crime, a woman calls the cops, and due to tension with his “brothers” he is abandoned and arrested.

            In prison, Alex becomes obsessed with the Bible, experiences some of the crimes he dealt from a whole new perspective, and is selected to participate in an experiment to rid him of his violent tendencies. The treatment is so successful, that the doctors even make him associate his beloved Beethoven with nausea. When Alex is released, he is broken and defenseless against his old peers, who have now become cops. They drag him into the country, beat him to a pulp, and leave him to die in the rain. By sheer willpower, Alex drags himself to a nearby house. The man takes him in, feeds him, and lets him rest their, but neither Alex nor the owner of the house realize that this is the very house where the rape took place—resulting in the death of the man’s wife. After hearing Alex’s story, the man recognizes Alex’s slang and associates it with his traumatic experience. He locks Alex in the attic, blasting Beethoven until he jumps out of the window to die.

            But, he lives and is taken to a hospital where the treatment is reversed, and Alex is back to his normal self. After starting up a new gang, he realizes that he doesn’t care for violence anymore, and would rather have a family and live happily.

Critical Evaluation: One of the most prominent themes in this novel, is choice. Since the protagonist is a violent monster and unquestionably evil in the beginning of the book, readers will naturally hope for his redemption, because we can only see through his eyes. By choosing to be wicked, Alex is proving his free-will to the government that wishes to eradicate all evil (and in-turn, create a meaningless world). Burgess seems to be implying that good can’t exist without evil. But, when Alex undergoes treatment, his ability to choose is stripped away, and he becomes a helpless animal. By the end, Alex is given his free will back, and it doesn’t take long for him to choose to be good.

            At the same time, the author seems to be making a commentary on the power of government. How much of our freedom are we willing to forfeit for “the larger good?” This book still applies today, as we face moral decisions about gun laws.

Reader’s Annotation: In this story you can “viddy” some real horrowshow depictions of a dystopian world run by gangs and “droogs”, Oh my Brothers.

Author Information: Gale’s Contemporary Author’s Online states, “John Burgess Wilson, better known to the reading public as Anthony Burgess, was regularly lauded by critics and peers for his imagination, his humor, his varied knowledge, and his sheer productivity. He was described by Washington Post Book World reviewer Michael Dirda as "the most consummate professional writer now alive. His knowledge of literary, linguistic and musical arcana rivals that of any Oxford don; he writes with a lyrical verve; and he seems willing to turn his hand to anything whatever." Though he was most often known as the author of A Clockwork Orange (a work from whose shadow, he often lamented, he could not seem to escape), Burgess' output also included textbooks; essays; scripts for stage, screen and television; translations of dramatic and literary masterpieces; and numerous reviews of books, plays, and music. "Burgess, one would swear, has it all," proclaimed American Spectator's Reid Buckley. "He is fecund and prolific (dear God, is he!) and a master of language. There seems to be almost nothing that he cannot say, and so say it that it sticks to the tastebuds deliciously long after." Gore Vidal, writing in the New York Review of Books, concurred: "He is easily the most interesting English writer of the last half century."

While in college at the University of Manchester, Burgess had hoped to study his first love--music--but was discouraged by the copious math courses required for such a degree; he instead finished his degree in English literature and linguistics. After a stint with the British Army he worked at some odd jobs in and around London, including teaching grammar school. In 1954 he and his wife, Lynne, moved to Malaya, where Burgess had accepted a position as an instructor of English literature for the British Colonial Service. Though his experiences in Malaya served as the basis for a trio of novels-- Time for a Tiger, The Enemy in the Blanket, and Beds in the East--Burgess still considered writing to be little more than a "gentleman's hobby."

Genre: Science Fiction

Subjects: satire, violence, gangs, crime, British

Curriculum Ties: Science Experiments, Criminal Law

Booktalking Ideas: Does the author present good and evil as a human choice, or are humans born one way are the other?

What function does the language serve in this novel?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 16+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to depictions of violent and sexual crimes, this book may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     Book selection rationale.

6.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: This is one of the most frightening dystopias visions ever to enter the canon of Science Fiction, and it raises from very important moral questions. As a teen, I loved the language of this book, and the movie definitely turned it into a cult phenomenon. I feel like this book will always resonate with teens, as they can both identity with Alex’s frustrations about adults and government, and despise his evil nature.

Th1rteen R3asons Why

Bibliographic Information: Asher, J. (2007). Thirteen reasons why. New York: Razorbill. ISBN: 978-1-59514-171-2

Plot Summary: Clay Jensen returns from school one day to find an anonymous package addressed to him. Inside is a shoebox is full of cassette tapes numbered with blue nail polish. Curious, Clay hurries to his dad’s old cassette player in the garage and inserts tape one, only to here the voice of his crush and recent suicide victim: Hannah Baker. She has left seven tapes, to thirteen people, giving thirteen reasons why she killed herself, and Clay has no idea how he could be on her list. He is instructed to listen to the tapes, and to send them off to the next person—if he fails to do so, a second set of tapes will be released to the public and shame all of the accused on her list. Hannah tells secrets about everyone that they wouldn’t want to be known; secrets that could put them in jail.

Her story is told through Clay’s listening and reflecting upon the tapes, almost to the point of obsession. He doesn’t sleep, steals a portable cassette player from his friend, and lies to his parents in order to sneak away and follow the scavenger hunt she has left, marking important points throughout town that lead to her demise. In her story Clay learns how she was new to town, but immediately tagged as being promiscuous through a dirty rumor and inclusion on a list of girls with certain “best” attributes. From there, the reasons snowball, as she reveals the behavior of her friends and classmates: voyeurism, stalking, harassment, and rape. But Clay is a decent person, and learns that his part in her story is different.

Critical Evaluation: Though the premise of this story is compelling enough to make an involved and quick read, adults may find Hannah’s “reasons” a tad melodramatic and superficial. Teens, on the other hand, are more in tune to all of the nuances of the high school social landscape, and may find a bit more from this haunting book. Depression is understood to be serious mental illness, and While Hannah offers realistic accounts of cruel behavior that would hurt anyone, like being bullied or spied on by a voyeuristic school mate, her chain-letter of audiotapes come across as more of a vain and vindictive slap in the face to people who were, for the most part, just making mistakes that could have been addressed, dealt with, and learned from through other means. But the real power is felt through the narrator, Clay—who reacts to each detail of Hannah’s story as if it were his own painful onslaught of experiences. He feels angry, frustrated, sad, and eventually enlightened. And it is not until the end of the book, when Clay reaches out to another shy and quiet looking girl, that we finally feel the blow. Asher conveys a powerful message in a cleverly written way, with suspense and emotion that beg readers to ask themselves: Do I know someone who could use a friend? As Clay learns, a little kindness can go a long way. Thirteen Reason Why aks of its readers not to overlook someone's emotions, because no matter how vain or trivial they may seem out of context, the person feeling them may be drowning and asking for help.

Readers Annotation: Clay’s high school crush Hannah, has left a mysterious package on his porch, filled with audiotapes revealing thirteen reasons for her suicide.

Author Information: Wikipedia states that “Jay Asher was born in Arcadia, California on September 30, 1975. He grew up in a family that encouraged all of his interests, from playing the guitar to his writing. He attended College right after graduating from San Luis Obispo High School. It was here where he wrote his first two children’s books for a class called Children’s Literature Appreciation. After high school, he decided he wanted to become an elementary school teacher. He then transferred to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo where he left his senior year in order to pursue his career as a serious writer. He is married. Throughout his life he worked in various establishments, including as a salesman in a shoe store and in libraries and bookstores. Many of his work experiences had an impact on some aspect of his writing.”

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Subjects: Suicide, interpersonal relations, high school

Curriculum Ties: Warning signs of suicide and depression

Booktalking Ideas: Use the audio book to play the first sequence of Hannah’s story. Open up discussion about possible reasons for suicide, and suggest ways teens can help each other.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to sexual and suicidal content, this material may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: The story is so cleverly told, and recommended by many YA resources.

Speak

Bibliographic Information: Anderson, L.H. (1999). Speak. New York: Square Fish. ISBN: 978-0312674397

Plot Summary: Melinda Sordino became a social outcast the moment she called the cops at a party. She even lost her best friend Rachel. Her last remaining friendship with new girl Heather dangles by a thread, as she becomes more detached from life, and Heather becomes more drawn to the popular, overachieving “Marthas.” Melinda is mute in public, slowly loses interest in everything, including good grades, and she isolates herself even from her parents, often finding solace in the confines of her closet. Her inability to speak causes others to think she is a weird delinquent, when really, she is concealing a dark secret: she was raped at the party. And what’s worse, she has to face the guy at school everyday, where he continues to flaunt his power of her.

            Only when her art teacher takes a keen interest in her, does Melinda start to heal. Her art becomes her therapy, as she slowly and succinctly speaks through her sketches and projects revolving around trees. Her growth is depicted in the branches she draws, as she wades through her inner monologues, and eventually learns to speak up about her trauma, swinging the axe of justice in a satisfying conclusion.

Critical Evaluation: This is a coming-of-age tale about finding one’s voice and identity in the already rocky journey that is the freshman year of high school, but with the added dimension of coping with sexual trauma and social rejection. The early allusion to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, casts Melinda as a Hester Prynn figure, ostracized for being a victim, and finding shelter and safety in isolation from the world. Her silence and introversion is juxtaposed with the outspoken, witty, and forward student, David Petrakis, who gets in trouble in class for raising debates with their history teacher. His ability to speak his mind inspires Melinda, but she struggles with ways to communicate to her peers, teachers, and parents, exactly what has happened to cause such a huge change in her disposition. Luckily, with a little push from her art teacher, Melinda finds ways to express her torment and her silence, particularly in the mixed media collage that shows a Barbie doll with tape over her mouth. The choppy narration and page breaks emphasize her shattered self.

Reader’s Annotation: One horrific act at an end-of-the-summer party becomes the catalyst for trauma and rejection to the once-popular, Melinda Sordino, as she calls the cops, and stricken with silence, loses her identity—just as she is about to start her first year of high school.

Author Information: Gale Contemporary Author’s Online states that, “Laurie Halse Anderson writes for children and young adults in works that range from lighthearted folktales, such as Ndito Runs, to earnest morality tales for the "American Girl" series, to taut dramas for older teens, such as Speak and the historical thriller Fever, 1793. Noting the variety of genres in which Anderson works, Cynthia Leitich Smith wrote on Cynsations online that the author is ‘always taking chances--writing books that are very different from one another--and still hitting it out of the literary ballpark.’ Speak, a first-person narrative written in the voice of a young rape victim, was a Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book the first year the prize was awarded. In her acceptance speech, as reprinted in Booklist, Anderson spoke of her admiration for her adolescent audience: ‘I love teenagers because they are honest. I love teenagers because they are raw and passionate. They think in black and white and are willing to go to extremes to defend their beliefs. ... I love teenagers because they challenge me, and because they frustrate me. They give me hope. They give me nightmares. They are our children, and they deserve the best books we can write.’

Anderson knew she wanted to be an author from a young age. She once explained that after her second-grade teacher introduced her to writing poetry, she ‘spent hours and hours and hours reading every book in my school library. The books took me everywhere--ripping through time barriers, across cultures, experiencing all the magic an elementary school library can hold.’"

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Subjects: High Schools, Emotional Problems, Rape

Curriculum Ties: Can be paired with The Scarlet Letter for discussions about voice and identity.

Booktalking Ideas: Reveal a doll with tape on the mouth, and lead a discussion on secrets, silence, and expression.

Ask teens to draw, sculpt, or act out “silence.”

Reading Level/Interest Age: 13+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to depictions of sexual abuse and underage drinking, this material may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for selection: This is an ALA Best Book, National Book Award Finalist, and Printz Honor book, just to name a few of its endless list of accolades. 

Anya's Ghost

Bibliographic Information: Brosgol, V. (2011). Anya’s ghost. New York: First Second. ISBN: 978-1-59643-713-5

Plot Summary: Anya is the daughter of a single, overbearing, Russian immigrant mother who uses child support to pay for Anya’s attendance at a not-so-prestigious private school, but Anya doesn’t appreciate this, or her culture, especially the greasy beef cutlets, or “kotletli”, that her rotund mother and little brother seem to enjoy so much. Anya prefers salads and nonfat yogurt, cigarettes, and has successfully suppressed her accent as a means to assimilate to American life. Though she has stripped off her nerdy immigrant identity for a fresher, more stylistic appearance, she still pines for the unattainable football star, boyfriend to none other than the popular blonde. After an argument with her only friend, Anya storms off into the woods where she falls into a well and discovers the ghost of girl who saves Anya from a similar fate. When she is finally rescued after two days, the ghost, Emily, follows her, and they soon become friends. Anya promises to avenge Emily’s murder and give the girl a proper burial, until Anya finds out about a dark secret. Now Anya not only has to deal with avoiding gym class and going to parties,  but she has to avoid a similar fate as the ghost who haunts her.

Critical Evaluation: Although Brosgol’s debut graphic novel falls into the supernatural realm, Anya’s Ghost is a contemporary and rather realistic story of a teenage girl struggling with her identity.  Anya’s attempt to fit in with her peers by dressing like them and even working fervently to lose her Russian accent brings conformity to the forefront—a theme that will resonate with teens. Questions of love and especially the dangers of infatuation are raised by the truth behind Emily’s death.

The illustrations are boldly inked in grayscale and evoke an ethereal, B-movie quality. Readers will gain insight into the value of culture, and especially friendship. “Hanging with the right crowd,” is a theme emphasized as Anya constantly misconstrues the character of her peers—especially Emily and her crush. Anya eventually learns to value the other Russian immigrant student, Dima, who is ostracized for his nerdy, immigrant ways, but proves a useful resource in times of need. Teens will love the supernatural elements infused with humor and witty dialogue.

Reader’s Annotation: Anya’s new best friend helps her with fashion, cheating on tests, and pursuing her love interest, but her friend is also a ghost that ends up haunting her. Anya learns the hard way what it means to be friends forever.

Author Information: Gale’s Contemporary Authors Online states that “Vera Brosgol was born in Moscow, in the former Soviet Union, and is based in Portland, Oregon. When she was five years old, she moved to the United States. Brosgol is an illustrator at Laika Entertainment House. Her work has been included in anthologies released by Flight Comics, and she wrote a Web-based comic titled Return to Sender, which was active from 2002 to 2005. Her film Snow-bo won the Best Animated Film by a Northwestern Filmmaker from the Film Society of Portland and the "Podcast Darkly" award at the Channel Frederator Awards. Her first graphic novel, Anya's Ghost, was released in 2011.”

Genre: Fiction

Subjects: Friendship, immigrants, assimilation, ghosts

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalking Ideas: Draw a well on poster paper, stand behind it, and call for help to the teens. Introduce Anya’s character and her struggle with fitting in.

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+

Challenge Issues/Defense: Due to mild sexual content, depictions of the paranormal, and underage cigarette-use, this material may be challenged. If so, refer to:

1.     The San Francisco Public Library Collection Development Policy, Selection Criteria, and Teen Collection documents.

2.     The California Department of Education District Selection Policies, Reading Lists, and Resources for Recommended Literature: Pre-K-12.

3.     A hard copy of the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights.

4.     Mixed book reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly.

5.     If necessary, The San Francisco Public Library’s Request for Reconsideration of Library Materials Form.

Reason for Selection: It's beautiful to look at, charming to read, and has won numerous honors.