Stork, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World. Arthur A.Levine, 2009. 978-0545054744 (hardcover)
I have heard a few of my classmates saying how much they struggled to get this book read because they didn’t enjoy it. I was really surprised, because I felt like I was sucked into the mind of Marcello and lost myself while reading this book because I was so caught up in seeing the world from his point of view. It was a very easy read once I let go of my world and joined his…
I must admit that I was hesitant when I first began this book and realized that the author was attempting to write as a young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, because it is a fine line between it being an earnest attempt at portraying the life and challenges faced by a group of people through a character and creating an offensive caricature of that same group. However, I think Stork was very successful in creating Marcello to reflect both the unique worldview and thought process he had and show the ignorance of many people in society of the exact nature of his “differences.”
I was amazed by the duality that was presented by the incredible simplicity in which he approached (and sometime just ignored) some of society’s system of complex social interactions, while creating the most intricately organized systems for accomplishing his daily scheduled tasks and his ability to deeply analyze comments for any unclear implied meanings in such an elaborate, yet methodical, manner. Many of the things in life that are natural to me, would require a lot of hard work and practiced preparation for him to achieve an appearance of normalcy to those around him. However, the book also leaves you wondering how many of the things that he found success through would be areas that the reader wouldn’t be capable of handling.
I think that high school students would benefit greatly from reading this book and realizing that “different” in no way is equal to “stupid.” Each of us have our strengths and weaknesses, and it would be a smart idea to look for the strengths in each other instead of assuming the worst based on any weaknesses (or merely differences) that we might see in others.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
American Born Chinese - Gene Luen Yang
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. First Second, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0312384487 (Square Fish reprint)
I had a hard time shaking the feeling that I would find this book very offensive if it weren't written by a cultural insider. My "warning alarms" kept sounding at points where racial issues were addressed. The cousin was clearly a caricature, but I would cringe as he acted them out (and not just out of empathy with Danny embarrassment at being associated with him.) I also fear that some "less enlightened" students might use this as a tutorial for new stereotypes to use while ridiculing any Asian students...
I was able to slowly let go of that (possibly because I was struggling to figure out which direction the 3-way story was going), and I found that I really enjoyed reading this format of book. Graphic novels are not available in my media center, so I was surprised at the depth of the complex internal and external conflicts this medium was able to portray. I would be very interested in finding more of these for my library.
The kissing scene was a point of confusion for me. There may be a cultural or Manga-related significance that I just wouldn’t get, but I was able to work out at least a potential theory as to why things happened like they did… I think that following his dismissal by the white culture as they pointed out his fate of being “forever the outsider”, he abruptly tries to run away and return to the only Asian culture he knows. However, due to the emotional (as well as hormonal) turmoil he's just gone through, he makes a rather stupidly impulsive choice which leaves him abandoned by everyone.
I also wonder if the cousin’s role wasn't meant to be a metaphor for Danny’s own disgust with his heritage (that he might see as having left him isolated) and to highlight his total avoidance of anything that seemed Asian, especially if he thought it might cause him to be ridiculed by his "new friends."
I had a hard time shaking the feeling that I would find this book very offensive if it weren't written by a cultural insider. My "warning alarms" kept sounding at points where racial issues were addressed. The cousin was clearly a caricature, but I would cringe as he acted them out (and not just out of empathy with Danny embarrassment at being associated with him.) I also fear that some "less enlightened" students might use this as a tutorial for new stereotypes to use while ridiculing any Asian students...
I was able to slowly let go of that (possibly because I was struggling to figure out which direction the 3-way story was going), and I found that I really enjoyed reading this format of book. Graphic novels are not available in my media center, so I was surprised at the depth of the complex internal and external conflicts this medium was able to portray. I would be very interested in finding more of these for my library.
The kissing scene was a point of confusion for me. There may be a cultural or Manga-related significance that I just wouldn’t get, but I was able to work out at least a potential theory as to why things happened like they did… I think that following his dismissal by the white culture as they pointed out his fate of being “forever the outsider”, he abruptly tries to run away and return to the only Asian culture he knows. However, due to the emotional (as well as hormonal) turmoil he's just gone through, he makes a rather stupidly impulsive choice which leaves him abandoned by everyone.
I also wonder if the cousin’s role wasn't meant to be a metaphor for Danny’s own disgust with his heritage (that he might see as having left him isolated) and to highlight his total avoidance of anything that seemed Asian, especially if he thought it might cause him to be ridiculed by his "new friends."
Crossing Stones - Helen Frost
Frost, Helen. Crossing Stones. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.
I got the feeling that the message Frost was wanting to get portray with Crossing Stones was a lot more about the sufferings of those in the Women’s Suffrage movement than that of the men at war. As I finished the book my experience from taking multiple women’s studies classes at Appalachian was in the forefront of my mind. It would be easy for me to slip back into the mindset of focusing on how women having been oppressed and silenced throughout history and start praising Muriel as the real star in the book for stepping up and breaking the mold. However, I think that the entire book comes together and does a good job showing all sides of the horrors of war and oppression. Each character responded to events based on their own personal views and made deliberate decisions that reflected those views. I don’t think that any of them were downplayed or ridiculed in the text due to those choices either, which reflects a very open and accepting mindset by the author. She clearly liked Muriel the best, and possibly influences some readers to do the same, but I don’t think she demands the reader to agree with her views at any point.
Regardless of the political and social implications within this book, I think that it is an amazing work of poetic art. The hidden rhyme schemes of the poetry were like a buried gem in an already powerful story. It was amazing how natural the story was able to flow as if it were prose merely restricted by the shapes formed by the variations in the margins for each line depending on the voice speaking. The effort that must have gone into balancing the rhyming words without affecting the readability of the final piece, must have been enormous. It almost seems like a shame that it wasn’t mentioned at the beginning so that the reader could admire this lyrical feat throughout the book. Sure, it would have likely gotten in the way of the initial message and story that I took from the book, but I feel like I was made to stare at an elegant painting to attempt to decipher the author’s intent in their work only to be later told that I’d been staring at it upside down the whole time…
I got the feeling that the message Frost was wanting to get portray with Crossing Stones was a lot more about the sufferings of those in the Women’s Suffrage movement than that of the men at war. As I finished the book my experience from taking multiple women’s studies classes at Appalachian was in the forefront of my mind. It would be easy for me to slip back into the mindset of focusing on how women having been oppressed and silenced throughout history and start praising Muriel as the real star in the book for stepping up and breaking the mold. However, I think that the entire book comes together and does a good job showing all sides of the horrors of war and oppression. Each character responded to events based on their own personal views and made deliberate decisions that reflected those views. I don’t think that any of them were downplayed or ridiculed in the text due to those choices either, which reflects a very open and accepting mindset by the author. She clearly liked Muriel the best, and possibly influences some readers to do the same, but I don’t think she demands the reader to agree with her views at any point.
Regardless of the political and social implications within this book, I think that it is an amazing work of poetic art. The hidden rhyme schemes of the poetry were like a buried gem in an already powerful story. It was amazing how natural the story was able to flow as if it were prose merely restricted by the shapes formed by the variations in the margins for each line depending on the voice speaking. The effort that must have gone into balancing the rhyming words without affecting the readability of the final piece, must have been enormous. It almost seems like a shame that it wasn’t mentioned at the beginning so that the reader could admire this lyrical feat throughout the book. Sure, it would have likely gotten in the way of the initial message and story that I took from the book, but I feel like I was made to stare at an elegant painting to attempt to decipher the author’s intent in their work only to be later told that I’d been staring at it upside down the whole time…
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Elephant Run - Roland Smith
Smith, Roland. Elephant Run. Hyperion, 2009. 978-1423104018
I think this book had all the right ingredients to make it a favorite of young boys. There are secret passageways, elephant attacks, bombings, faked deaths, and war prisoners. I was completely immersed in the Burmese culture and discovering a new appreciation for the history of World War II in Southeast Asia. I guess all that allowed me to give Roland Smith freedom with his literary license to fill in this historical setting with his fiction.
I didn’t notice how both the two main characters were white men. I didn’t notice that the story was resolved by another powerful white man riding in to save the day. I didn’t notice the whole last part was essentially “and they lived happily ever after.” I just enjoyed the massive amount of information that I distilled from this novel, and the subsequent curiosity it left in me for more information about this part of the world during that period of history.
I think that my individual response (before the class discussion) is important to remember when considering whether this tale is too Anglo-centric to be authentic or even plausible considering the knowledge that they would have in making the decision for him to move into a remote foreign land that was already being invaded by Japan. This book opens a door to a whole range of topics that move away from the typical Anglo-centric view of WWII being about Germany vs. Europe (with a surprise appearance of the USA at the end!) Maybe this is a way to approach topics that would otherwise seem distant and unfamiliar, and help an Anglo-centric audience make a connection with that time and culture. Maybe that takes something away from experiencing the effects of the war on the Burmese people, but I think the amount of interest it could spark in a YA reader for more knowledge would eventually tilt the scales in the book’s favor.
I think this book had all the right ingredients to make it a favorite of young boys. There are secret passageways, elephant attacks, bombings, faked deaths, and war prisoners. I was completely immersed in the Burmese culture and discovering a new appreciation for the history of World War II in Southeast Asia. I guess all that allowed me to give Roland Smith freedom with his literary license to fill in this historical setting with his fiction.
I didn’t notice how both the two main characters were white men. I didn’t notice that the story was resolved by another powerful white man riding in to save the day. I didn’t notice the whole last part was essentially “and they lived happily ever after.” I just enjoyed the massive amount of information that I distilled from this novel, and the subsequent curiosity it left in me for more information about this part of the world during that period of history.
I think that my individual response (before the class discussion) is important to remember when considering whether this tale is too Anglo-centric to be authentic or even plausible considering the knowledge that they would have in making the decision for him to move into a remote foreign land that was already being invaded by Japan. This book opens a door to a whole range of topics that move away from the typical Anglo-centric view of WWII being about Germany vs. Europe (with a surprise appearance of the USA at the end!) Maybe this is a way to approach topics that would otherwise seem distant and unfamiliar, and help an Anglo-centric audience make a connection with that time and culture. Maybe that takes something away from experiencing the effects of the war on the Burmese people, but I think the amount of interest it could spark in a YA reader for more knowledge would eventually tilt the scales in the book’s favor.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic. 2008. 978-0-439-02348-1
Hunger Games is a story about survival. No matter how far Katniss is pushed, she can’t let go of that basic instinct to stay alive. I love watching a character that not only perseveres, but even while she openly struggles emotionally at times when the odds seem impossibly stacked against her, but refuses to give up that last bit of hope. Sometimes she seemed motivated by self-preservation and at other times she was working to protect others, but through it all her actions always seemed to have a purpose when anything important was at stake. She demonstrates almost every normal human weakness throughout the book series, but still manages to come out seeming almost super-human!
I’m not generally a fan of reality television shows, but I think this series feeds off of our national obsession with them while simultaneously ridiculing that same audience for gaining pleasure from watching others struggle against each other. Survivor episodes seem pretty simplistic when you consider how they would be different if there were weapons involved. All of the same deception, betrayal, fleeting loyalties, and interpersonal drama would still be there, but it only seems to be acceptable if you limit the ambushes and competitions to passive-aggressive actions, dirty politics, and indirect demonstrations of power, intelligence, and strength. It’s not hard to see how thin that line is between what we subject people to currently, and the games in the book. I wonder if people wouldn’t willingly volunteer (like the careers in the book) if the game was not required as punishment for an ancient rebellion. The prize would have to be significant, but I wonder how close the format could remain before people would be willing to risk everything for the reward and glory that comes with winning The Hunger Games?
Would the game be the same without the unwilling participants being thrust into the mix? How far could the Gamemakers go with their twists to influence the audience’s interest level and build toward a semblance of plot and storyline? Who would be willing to risk their lives to enter in a savage and dangerous arena to fight to the last true survivor is crowned? Or more likely, how much would it take? And which network would be brazen enough to offer it?
Hunger Games is a story about survival. No matter how far Katniss is pushed, she can’t let go of that basic instinct to stay alive. I love watching a character that not only perseveres, but even while she openly struggles emotionally at times when the odds seem impossibly stacked against her, but refuses to give up that last bit of hope. Sometimes she seemed motivated by self-preservation and at other times she was working to protect others, but through it all her actions always seemed to have a purpose when anything important was at stake. She demonstrates almost every normal human weakness throughout the book series, but still manages to come out seeming almost super-human!
I’m not generally a fan of reality television shows, but I think this series feeds off of our national obsession with them while simultaneously ridiculing that same audience for gaining pleasure from watching others struggle against each other. Survivor episodes seem pretty simplistic when you consider how they would be different if there were weapons involved. All of the same deception, betrayal, fleeting loyalties, and interpersonal drama would still be there, but it only seems to be acceptable if you limit the ambushes and competitions to passive-aggressive actions, dirty politics, and indirect demonstrations of power, intelligence, and strength. It’s not hard to see how thin that line is between what we subject people to currently, and the games in the book. I wonder if people wouldn’t willingly volunteer (like the careers in the book) if the game was not required as punishment for an ancient rebellion. The prize would have to be significant, but I wonder how close the format could remain before people would be willing to risk everything for the reward and glory that comes with winning The Hunger Games?
Would the game be the same without the unwilling participants being thrust into the mix? How far could the Gamemakers go with their twists to influence the audience’s interest level and build toward a semblance of plot and storyline? Who would be willing to risk their lives to enter in a savage and dangerous arena to fight to the last true survivor is crowned? Or more likely, how much would it take? And which network would be brazen enough to offer it?
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