5385-YA Novels
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Alexie, S. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. NY: Little Brown.
Junior (Arnold Spirit, Jr.), a 14-year old Native American boy, describes the difficult life he and his family live on the reservation mostly through humorous and sometimes serious depictive cartoons he draws to express his ideas and feelings. As Junior begins high school, he comes to the realization that the problems of poverty (using the same textbook his mother used thirty years before, and Oscar, his dog dying without being able to help him), alcoholism, and abuse seem to be his future if he stays on the reservation. He decides to attend an all-white high school (Reardan) which leads to his major problem of his identity crises between the "white" world part of him and his Native American culture. Feeling as though he is trapped between the "two worlds", he finally learns self-acceptance through the love and support he receives from his family, new "white" friends, and especially his Native American childhood best friend, Rowdy, with whom he finally reconciles with at the end of the story through the game of basketball. Growing up as a Mexican-American child along the United States and Mexican border, in a small town along the Rio Grande River, I can remember feeling as if my life consisted of "two worlds" as well. Although both of my parents were Americans, my paternal grandmother had been born in Mexico, and she always made sure we didn't forget our Mexican culture. Like Junior, I also struggled with finding acceptance and success in both worlds. Due to the nature of the topics in this story of racism, bullying, alcoholism, violence and death, young adults between the ages of 13-18 years old would be the more appropriate audience. Junior must undergo a lot of changes, not only moral (Kohlberg's Theory), but also intellectual, and especially within his relationships with his parents and peers: Rowdy, Roger, and Penelope (Developmental Stages-Havighurst).Young adults will be able to connect and relate to many of the challenges faced by Junior and his friends, and hopefully, will learn from Junior's perseverance and lessons.
Others YA books by Sherman Alexie: Blasphemy, War Dances, Ten Little Indians, Indian Killer, Reservation Blues
Book trailer: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. NY: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.
Melinda Sordino spends most of her freshman year as a social outcast. When she calls the cops for help at an end-of-summer party after being raped, and the cops break up the party, her friends and classmates hate her. She does not "speak" of her terrifying ordeal to anyone, not even her best friend, Rachel. She spends her time avoiding her classmates, teachers, and most of all her attacker, the "beast". As she navigates through the social and at times "vicious" hierarchy of high school life, she finally gains the courage and confidence to "speak up" at the end. Melinda's experiences in her first year in high school remind me of the confusing and excruciating time this can be for many young adults. I can remember how important social acceptance was for me at this age, and how most of my young adult life was centered around the idea of "fitting in". I know for a fact that adolescence can be a difficult and awkward stage which we must all go through to find our true "inner voice". Due to the subject matter of this book, I believe it is appropriate for young adults between the ages of 13 and 18. Laurie Halse Anderson's choice of dialogue and voice for her characters is one of the major strengths of this story, and a good example of the developmental stages of transition that all young adults must undergo from the innocence of childhood to the reality of adolescence. These are difficult changes as discussed by Havighurst which involve learning to get along with peers and members of the opposite sex.
Garden, N. (2007). Annie on my mind. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Can the truth really set you free? Liza Winthrop, a 17-year-old senior in an exclusive prep school first meets Annie Kenyon, also 17, at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York. As their friendship grows, so does an awareness of the strong feelings each feels for the other. Although Annie becomes more confident about her sexual orientation, Liza finds her path to self-awareness and acceptance a bit more difficult. Liza spends her freshman year in college looking back and remembering all the events that led to their separation (an administrator, Ms. Baxter, from Liza's prep school discovers they are lesbians while the two are house-sitting) as each one embarks on their separate journeys of fulfilling their dreams of becoming an architect and singer. Finally, after a lot of soul-searching, Liza decides to contact Annie to resume their treasured relationship before their first vacation break from college. I am disappointed to say that as I was searching for a copy of this book, I encountered several people who couldn't believe that I was looking for a young adult book about lesbianism. Perhaps, my greatest disappointment was about the negative comments I heard a library aide make about the unnecessary need for "this type of book" for young adults. As I did further research about this book, I learned that it had been placed as a banned book (# 44) on the ALA's 1990 to 1999 banned book list. Although it may be considered controversial, I believe the appropriate audience for this book would be late young adult to new adult, between the ages of 16-30 years old. As stated by the developmental stages by Havighurst, young adults encounter difficult changes in regards to their definition of morals and values and defining appropriate sex roles, especially in a society that may or may not accept non-conforming roles and ideas. To deny young adults the opportunity to read books dealing with controversial subjects, such as lesbianism, is to deny the fact that we live in an ever-changing world where things are not always just black and white.
Other YA books by Nancy Garden: The Case of the Stole Scarab, The Case of the Vanishing Valuables, The Monster Hunters Series, Prisoner of Vampires
Junior (Arnold Spirit, Jr.), a 14-year old Native American boy, describes the difficult life he and his family live on the reservation mostly through humorous and sometimes serious depictive cartoons he draws to express his ideas and feelings. As Junior begins high school, he comes to the realization that the problems of poverty (using the same textbook his mother used thirty years before, and Oscar, his dog dying without being able to help him), alcoholism, and abuse seem to be his future if he stays on the reservation. He decides to attend an all-white high school (Reardan) which leads to his major problem of his identity crises between the "white" world part of him and his Native American culture. Feeling as though he is trapped between the "two worlds", he finally learns self-acceptance through the love and support he receives from his family, new "white" friends, and especially his Native American childhood best friend, Rowdy, with whom he finally reconciles with at the end of the story through the game of basketball. Growing up as a Mexican-American child along the United States and Mexican border, in a small town along the Rio Grande River, I can remember feeling as if my life consisted of "two worlds" as well. Although both of my parents were Americans, my paternal grandmother had been born in Mexico, and she always made sure we didn't forget our Mexican culture. Like Junior, I also struggled with finding acceptance and success in both worlds. Due to the nature of the topics in this story of racism, bullying, alcoholism, violence and death, young adults between the ages of 13-18 years old would be the more appropriate audience. Junior must undergo a lot of changes, not only moral (Kohlberg's Theory), but also intellectual, and especially within his relationships with his parents and peers: Rowdy, Roger, and Penelope (Developmental Stages-Havighurst).Young adults will be able to connect and relate to many of the challenges faced by Junior and his friends, and hopefully, will learn from Junior's perseverance and lessons.
Others YA books by Sherman Alexie: Blasphemy, War Dances, Ten Little Indians, Indian Killer, Reservation Blues
Speak
Melinda Sordino spends most of her freshman year as a social outcast. When she calls the cops for help at an end-of-summer party after being raped, and the cops break up the party, her friends and classmates hate her. She does not "speak" of her terrifying ordeal to anyone, not even her best friend, Rachel. She spends her time avoiding her classmates, teachers, and most of all her attacker, the "beast". As she navigates through the social and at times "vicious" hierarchy of high school life, she finally gains the courage and confidence to "speak up" at the end. Melinda's experiences in her first year in high school remind me of the confusing and excruciating time this can be for many young adults. I can remember how important social acceptance was for me at this age, and how most of my young adult life was centered around the idea of "fitting in". I know for a fact that adolescence can be a difficult and awkward stage which we must all go through to find our true "inner voice". Due to the subject matter of this book, I believe it is appropriate for young adults between the ages of 13 and 18. Laurie Halse Anderson's choice of dialogue and voice for her characters is one of the major strengths of this story, and a good example of the developmental stages of transition that all young adults must undergo from the innocence of childhood to the reality of adolescence. These are difficult changes as discussed by Havighurst which involve learning to get along with peers and members of the opposite sex.
Others YA books by Laurie Halse Anderson: Twisted, Prom, Catalyst, Wintergirls
Book trailer: Speak
Annie on My Mind
Can the truth really set you free? Liza Winthrop, a 17-year-old senior in an exclusive prep school first meets Annie Kenyon, also 17, at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York. As their friendship grows, so does an awareness of the strong feelings each feels for the other. Although Annie becomes more confident about her sexual orientation, Liza finds her path to self-awareness and acceptance a bit more difficult. Liza spends her freshman year in college looking back and remembering all the events that led to their separation (an administrator, Ms. Baxter, from Liza's prep school discovers they are lesbians while the two are house-sitting) as each one embarks on their separate journeys of fulfilling their dreams of becoming an architect and singer. Finally, after a lot of soul-searching, Liza decides to contact Annie to resume their treasured relationship before their first vacation break from college. I am disappointed to say that as I was searching for a copy of this book, I encountered several people who couldn't believe that I was looking for a young adult book about lesbianism. Perhaps, my greatest disappointment was about the negative comments I heard a library aide make about the unnecessary need for "this type of book" for young adults. As I did further research about this book, I learned that it had been placed as a banned book (# 44) on the ALA's 1990 to 1999 banned book list. Although it may be considered controversial, I believe the appropriate audience for this book would be late young adult to new adult, between the ages of 16-30 years old. As stated by the developmental stages by Havighurst, young adults encounter difficult changes in regards to their definition of morals and values and defining appropriate sex roles, especially in a society that may or may not accept non-conforming roles and ideas. To deny young adults the opportunity to read books dealing with controversial subjects, such as lesbianism, is to deny the fact that we live in an ever-changing world where things are not always just black and white.
Other YA books by Nancy Garden: The Case of the Stole Scarab, The Case of the Vanishing Valuables, The Monster Hunters Series, Prisoner of Vampires
Book trailer: Annie on My Mind
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