Reading in the Middle, Junior and Senior High Schools, Spring, 2010

I have really enjoyed reading this book. This book deals with so many issues that teenagers are going through such as weight, sexuality, date rape, islolation, cliques, rebellion,and uninvolved parents just to name a few. This book is an easy read and is really hard to put down. It has witty humor and a good plot and will put you through an array of emotions. I could see myself teaching this in a high school setting and going over the many different (and sometimes controversial) issues. I can see doing essays, journal entries, poetry, music lyrics, and much much more.

Let me begin by stating that this book is so good. I couldn't put it down. I noticed wonderful things in this book that can be used in the classroom. There are so many themes mentioned that are real life situations for many teens. The main character deals with weight issues and her own self-image. High schoolers deal with this everyday. I think this would be a great way to address the problem of weight. I know that the book deals with date rate and sexuality. I think it is written and addressed in a tactful manner that helps girls, especially, feel normal and comfortable with their sexual curiousity. A theme of non-involved parents is a big part of the work. Ginny, the main character, deals with having to cope with very successful parents, the mother being a child psychologist, but not wanting to really be a part of their child's life. I think all these issues are ones that students deal with in the everyday world. I think that reading about them will help our students relate and find comfort in the situations that Ginny faces. I definitely think that this book can be taught in school. I know the main character is sixteen. I think sophmores, juniors, and seniors could really find this book enjoyable. There are many things a teacher can do with this work. Brochures on eating disorders, posters speaking out on date rape, and character body biographies are just some of the things an educator can use with this book. I hope to be able to use this work and include those activities in the unit.

I am really enjoying this book. I wish I knew about it in high school. It is rediculous at how much I can relate to the main character. My family also hassles me about my weight and I feel the same way the main character does. I think this book could be great for helping young teen girls who struggle with weight. The number of obese children in America is extremly high, which is not a good thing, but many girls struggle with weight issues in high school.

I think this book could be great to do in a small group of girls and allow them to discuss issues that are in the book. The issues of weight and high school clicks are very apparent. The fact that Ginny hurts herself after looking in the mirror is also an issue i think girls would only be comfortable discussion in a small group.

I think this book may be harder for guys to relate to but they can still gain a lot from reading it. They could probably offer a lot of insight into the whole Byron date rape situation. They could offer a males perspective on the situation.

Rachel Kalsch, Hap Collier, Trey Clevenger, Megan Shellenberger, Becca Crist

Twisted is a novel written for Young Adults by Laurie Halse Anderson, that revolves around Tyler, a former nerd, who, in a vain attempts to vandalize the school by spraying graffiti on various parts of the building. He is of course caught, because of the random misspelled words, and the fact he left his wallet on the grounds. On top of being caught, and having to do community service, he has to deal with his deteriorating family, and his change in the social scene of the high school.

Expectations

To have everyone post on the blog at least once.
To have everyone actually read the book.
To participate in a thoughtful discussion about the novel, via themes, use in classroom, and the what not.

Time Line
Due to the way everyone reads at their own special pace; to have the book completed by at the very latest, the 19th.

I am so glad we chose this book! I had a really fun time reading it. In high school I felt that in class we only read stories that boys could relate to. I always felt that when we did read a book with a female main character it wasn't really "true" to how girls feel. I believe this book does an amazing job of capturing and relating to the issues young girls deal with. I would really like for students to read this in my high school class room. I feel that some of the issues brought up in the book might be too intense for middle school students. I would feel very comfortable discussing the issues in the book with a high school classroom and having them express their own experiences. The book talks about tough issues, such as date rape, but in a productive manner that students could really learn something from. I think that the author handles the intense scenes in the plot very delicately.
I believe it is important for teachers to try and connect with their students. A great way to do this is to have them read books that are relevant to the interests and issues they deal with on a daily bases. This book is very interesting, and I think that students would really enjoy the characterizations while forming their own emotional connections with the plot. I would also hope that by having students read a book that they like it would encourage them to participate a lot in classroom discussions and activities.

I just finished this book, and I enjoyed it, however it was not what I expected. From the cover and description on the inside jacket, I was not expecting any supernatural themes. It wasn't until about 3/4 of the way through that I finally accepted that the explanation to all Miranda's mysteries were allowed to be supernatural.

So here's my question: did the author intentionally de-emphasize the supernatural element as a way to keep the readers wondering? Because if she had wanted to make it clear, surely either the description on the book cover or something in the first fourth of the novel would have suggested the possiblity of supernatural occurences.

The thing that makes the supernatural seem foreign is while it is rarely mentioned in the beginning of the novel, Miranda shows little surprise when it turns out to be the explanation to all the strange events. She does not question the explanation. It would make more sense if either the supernatural had been an element all along, or if we were able to see the character deal with her realizations about the supernatural world. It would have made the story more believable, given it more depth.

I wanted to offer my criticism first because anytime I read a novel, I want to approach it critically. Sometimes I blindly enjoy media without taking the time to analyze what makes it good, and how it could be improved. I do not want it to sound like I didn't enjoy the novel. Props to Brooke on the pick, I think it was great. The author has a nice writing style, and the story is very accessible. It was a short read, and kept my attention the entire time. I could see how this would be a great book for 5th or 6th graders. I really like how they present and wrestle with the concept of time. That is an interesting concept for anyone to consider, and it is a healthy theme to present to kids at a young age. The book lightly touches on the subject in a way that young readers can understand. It is likely to provoke their own thoughts on the matter.

I did my book jacket on the graphic novel version of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. It's a story that can really be fun to read, but graphic novel form, especially in this graphic novel really made it interesting. Each page that was illustrated brought to light a very unique perspective on the plot of the story. However, on my book jacket, I stuck to what I think people generally get from The Raven. On the front I have the man and the raven front an center. I felt these two pieces of The Raven really represent all the things that are important in the plot. On the back I have the raven with a quote from the book referencing the part in the story where the raven has come in and the man is intrigued at first but then annoyed and eventually scared. This was a fun activity, and I really do think I may use it some day with my students. It's a great way to get kids hands on and doing something other than the traditional written book report, but it takes equal insight, comprehension and research.

The graphic novel I selected is “Cleopatra.” Using the graphic novel format it examines the life of Cleopatra, and the impact she had on Egypt. Her life was defined not only by her contributions to her country but also by the contributions, positive and negative, that Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian had on her life.
I was able to design the spine, flaps, and back cover fairly easy. I used the color black for the spine and back cover to represent a sense of mourning for the death of Cleopatra, and I used a soft brown for the inside flaps to bring to life the desert feel. However, when it came time to design the front cover, I had no idea where to begin. This graphic novel was so full of great information that I was at a lost of what should go on the front. I started with looking at what comes to mind when people think of Egypt. Most would say the pyramids and so this is where I started. Next, I knew that Cleopatra needed to go on the front somewhere, but I did not fully know where or in what context she should be presented. I chose to place her on the left so she could look out at the rest of the cover. Since she faced many battles, I decided to include boats on the Nile River, to look as though they are approaching her land to begin an invasion. Next, I wanted to convey the message of how the Romans wanted her dead, specifically Octavian. The Romans are most noted for their red outfits and silver armor, so I placed them at the bottom, with their arrows pointed up to Cleopatra.
A crucial metaphorical addition to the front cover that I incorporated was Mark Antony. Their love for one another was so great that it drove Cleopatra to kill herself before the Romans killed her. I placed Mark Antony on the top opposite side of Cleopatra, to make it seem as though he is looking down on her. I also created a sword going through his chest, as this is how he died. The last image I added was the cobra coming out of the jar. Cleopatra ordered her aides to bring her two cobras, so that she may end her life before the Romans were able to take it. Ironically, Cleopatra was often noted as having a crown with Cobras outlining it, as well as garments depicting the cobra, and then it was the Cobra that ended her life.
Furthermore, this project taught me not only what a graphic novel is, but also how I can use this book jacket assignment in my future classroom to teach not only about reading and summarizing, but also about history. This assignment helped me realize that a book report can be more than just writing a paper, or giving a speech. A book report can be engaging and creative simply by creating a book jacket.

For my book jacket, I chose to do "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. There was so much action and plot involved in this story, that I had no clue where to begin with the cover of my book jacket. I decided to just do a representation of the most important aspect of the novel, which is that Professor Moriarty desires to own a cavorite to rule the world, but the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen must race against time to stop him and save London from being destroyed. As far the genre of graphic novels is concerned, I can definitely see why people would like to read them as opposed to simply reading a book that only has words. The pictures definitely bring the story to life, and it's almost like reading a movie. At some points, however, it was distracting to have so many images and pictures because I could not focus on what I was supposed to be reading. In terms of the alternative book report, I think this is a great way to get kids thinking in a unique way. Rather than simply standing in front of the class and verbally telling their peers what they read or simply handing in a paper about their novel, kids can visually represent their book and show their classmates how they perceived the book in an artistic way. I am not artistic, so this book report would probably not be something I would choose for myself, but I can certainly see where it would be beneficial for many students.

I have seen a few other young adult books go the same way kind of way as "When You Reach Me" and I have to say that it is an interesting technique. What I'm talking about is having a book that deals with all the familiar adolescent literature issues such as parent relationships, friend relationships, self-finding, etc and the context of a story with extraordinary happenings. The view of time as an ocean rather than a river is becoming more and more popular and this book uses the idea well. This extra aspect to the book makes it in some ways a fantasy, things happen that as far we know are impossible, which works to heighten the interest and appeal of the book. Purely reality based books are becoming rarer in the Y.A. genre, as that becomes a bit too mundane for many readers.

What was skillfully done in this book was the organization of Steid's ideas as the book goes through chapters that seem scattered and random, but end up working together to get the points of this book across, all within the added context of time travel and the mystery it provides. Another good thing about this book is that it can relate to a wide array of people, the protagonist is female, but there are several male characters with well described and varying personalities for boys to relate to, as well as the same for female characters. The book deals with a lot, and is more or less entertaining throughout,, in other words, it's a good Y.A. novel.

For my book jacket I chose the graphic novel V for Vendetta, which is one of my all time favorite books, and it has been so long since I've read it I thought I was due another go. For my book jacket what I really wanted to accomplish was to do something new to represent V and his/her world. It's so easy to have a black cover with a white Fawkes mask and a V somewhere, and that works, but I wanted to give it a different spin. So I decided to represent chiefly the (wishing I could do italics) other characters in the novel, with V making a only a fleeting appearance. I wanted as little text on the jacket as possible, I know they have an economic necessity in terms of pulling in readers, but so often they ruin the ending, at least for experienced readers, so I really wanted to avoid that. There is hardly any text on the back at all, and I tried to be as mysterious as possible on the inside folds.

I want to begin with again that this book is great. One issue that was brought up in a discussion was whether this book would be appropriate for boys. I had not even considered that while reading. I think that this book will definitely click better with girls, but I do not see why boys could not get into it. There are male characters in the book. I think that the book would give boys an insight into how females feel about weight issues and the pressures they feel in dating. It's the same that they feel. Froggy, Byron, and Dad are all male characters that can be learned from. Girls spend a lot of time reading books where the male is the main character and protagonist, I do not see why boys cannot do the same. Another area where I feel all students can benefit from is the issue over clicks in school; the social ladder they must endure. Boys and girls in high school really have to fight to stay popular sometimes. Ginny is really in a hard position because Byron was so popular and good looking, while she is overweight and must eat lunch in the bathroom. I think the book draws attention to the issue without beating over the reader's head. I really enjoyed this book and would love to use it in the classroom. I liked that the book explained some things to the reader that they may not know, for example: places or vocabulary words. I noticed that the book told exactly what they were so the reader does not have to look it up, because lets be honest, the student will not, and the author was teaching the students in a subtle manner. The reader did not feel like they were getting a vocabulary or geography lesson. I totally loved the book and I love the book club assignment too. I hope to use the book club in my classroom also.

My book Jacket uses the dark and mysterious side of the book to give it attraction. The book brings humans and the underworld of the fairies together so I used dark a picture of dark colors of the blue and the main character shadowed to give him the effect that he isn't all good even though the light of the moon, which is a central symbol in the book, illuminating him in the back ground. I also used the characters on the spine to give a future reader the information on what type of characters or theme they would be looking at when they began the book.

I agree with Rachel about Twisted. I really liked the book, even though I have not read anything else by the author. I felt that this book would be very relatable to freshmen in high school. I was even able to relate to it, so I say this could be taught in almost any grade level. The only part of the book I didn't like was how Anderson didn't have Tyler finally date Bethany. I was really hooked on their story and I was really pulling for the, as corny as that sounds.

I wish Dr. Vogel would have assigned this book when I took his adolescent literature class. I feel that books like "Twisted" are the kind of boos adolescents want to read and red to read. So many peoppe of almost any age group can relate to this book and thats why people read literature anyway, isn't it. We love reading because we can relate to the things we are reading.

While I was reading the first section I noticed most about the absent parents. I feel like that will be more and more evident in our children that we teach households. Jobs have taken over lives and outside activities. Parents spend more time trying to make money for the family and trying to support the family than try to support them by being there for them. They believe that children can raise themselves as long as they provide a home and what the child needs to survive. Also she mentions that she believed she was an acident. There will always be those children who were the opps or weren't planned and parents will raise the first ones they planned for but believe they provided a good enough example with the first few that the other one will follow and become perfect.
I felt sorry for Virginia not only because he sister and her best friend are gone but because the only time her parents pay her any attention it's to focus on her weight. While i know that her diet was wrong and what her parents did was wrong or the way the approached it was wrong. I was still wanting to look at it in the way that at least they seemed to care about her health and weight. Maybe just becaus they were opposed about looks but so many people now do not care about health and obeseity it's becoming such a problem that we really need to teach children how to eat and how to excercise. Find a sport or way to get energy out and healthly snacks.

I again feel sorry for Virginia in this book. She is different than the rest of her family and feels like the outcast. Even when her older brother does something that could completely tarnish the family name or make her mother look bad they try to cover it up by sending him away. He is already a Prize son to the family and she is the opps that they don't feel like dealing with and hopes will turn out okay if they can just fix her weight. She looks up to her brother so much that it breaks my heart when he does this and still acts like it's not a big deal. He isn't worried about his future because mom and dad will fix it. She is pushed aside in the ordeal and she has to work out her feelings alone then when she tries to go with her mother somewhere her mother is more embarrassed when she leaves than why she left. I felt most sorry for her when she wasn't allowed to go see her friend for Thanksgiving but they were going to ship her brother off. I am glad she took that into her own hands and seemed to become a stronger person because of what she did.

I decided to read American Born Chinese for my graphic novel. This novel is about three apparently unrelated characters and their lives. The three characters are: Jin Wang, Jin-Kee, and the powerful Monkey King. Each character goes rough trials and tribulations throughout the book. At the end, the reader finds out that all three characters are related in some way; I won't spoil the ending too much.

I really enjoyed this assignment because it really allowed me to be creative and express whom I really am and I think that's important. I plan to use this assignment when I teach and I think iw I'll get a great response back from my students because they will have a lot of autonomy with the assignment.

I created a book jacket for the book Sloth by Gilbert Hernandez. A little twisted of a story, but I liked it. This is the first graphic novel I have ever read! I've just never been interested in them. But I like thie one. I get the impression that graphic novels as a genre tend to twist and dement reality. I can into that perspective.

As far as the project goes, I didn't love making a book jacket. I'm not into crafty things. It was pretty easy, I really did not have trouble summarizing the book at all. I found the word limit comforting, not confining.

For my graphic novel, I chose to read Cinderella, by Beth Bracken and illustrated by Jeffrey Stewart Timmons. It retold the story of Cinderella comic-book style. The pictures of the different characters were different than I had always imagined. The evil stepmother and stepsisters were extremely ugly while Cinderella and the prince looked more ordinary. The story was very similar to the original, with a few changes in minor details. I really enjoyed reading this version because I have not been exposed to graphic novels before. The pictures made the story more visual and added a lot more to the story than just the conversation between the characters. In this graphic novel, the pictures were just as important, if not more important, than the actual text.

I made a book jacket to depict the main ideas and story line of the book. I drew a picture of Cinderella, the Prince, and the fairy godmother on the front of the cover because these were the three main characters. On the back, I drew a castle in the background with a horse-drawn carriage pulling Cinderella to the ball. I also drew the Prince and Cinderella dancing and the Prince holding her purple glass slipper as the clock was gonging at midnight. These were the main things that happened in the story and the parts of the story that was most emphasized in the book.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this project. I read “Into the Volcano” by Don Wood. I was worried that I would not be interested in graphic novels but then I realized they may be the best suited book for me. I often end up reading books only for dialogue and skipping descriptive paragraph. I figure my imagination can fill in the holes. Graphic novels rely heavily, if not solely, on dialogue to move the story along. I didn’t have to skip over paragraphs because there are not many in the graphic novel I read. I often have trouble following dialogue in books. I get lost or confused and forget who said what. Graphic novels always point out who is talking. I understood who was saying what at all times.
I also looked into some of Shakespeare’s plays that have been converted into graphic novels. I did not occur to me that his plays are perfectly suited for the graphic novel format. He gave very little stage direction, but his exquisite dialogue makes up for that fact. Most of the graphic novels are written in modern English also making it easier for students to understand and appreciate his work.
I like how this project can help students learn about writing for a specific audience. The front cover gives them freedom to go crazy with pictures or drawing but the others flaps force them to channel their thinking. The back flap encourages them to write a biography about the author of the novel. They have to give information to the readers and make the author sound appealing. The back cover allows them to act like critics who praise the book. These have to be creative as well or people would not believe the book is worth their time. Writing to a consumer type audience forces the students to take their passion for the book and sell it. They have to twist their love of the novel into a sales pitch so others will read the book as well.

Since we may have misjudged when we planned out our book club meeting this will be my last entry. It seems appropriate since we all finished the book this week anyway. The way the author handled the date rape situation was possibly the most realistic and appropriate way she could. Many girls would not want to press charges due to fear and embaressment. We also do not know if this is the way the author truly wanted to portray the incident. She may have been advised by an editor to change certain parts or aspects. I think we would find fault no matter how she ended up writing the scene because there is no good way to portray a date rape scene. I like the fact that it was addressed in a young adult novel though.

This novel has some good conflicts that young readers could relate to. Many girls have trouble with their mothers because of weight or other issues. Many girls lose a close relationship with their fathers as well, and sometimes girls have trouble dealing with this fact in the same way Ginny did. The conflict between Ginny and her brother is also a common one among siblings that I think young readers could connect to.

This book is a bit intense when addressing issues like weight and date rape but I think it could easily replace one of the classics in the classroom. Classics can be intense as well but they are never questioned because they are written by dead white guys. Shakespeare's plays are full of violence but they are never questioned if they are appropriate for a high school classroom. I think this book is appropriate for a classroom and students would be able to relate better to it than a classic.

I enjoyed our book club. Everyone read the book and contributed to discussions. I would love to use this idea in my future classroom.

For my book jacket project, I read Around the World in 80 Days. It was good. Reading a graphic novel went better than I thought it would. I put together my book jacket using printer paper. I knew that I wanted a picture of a globe on my book jacket to represent going around the world. I found a picture of a globe that said the title on it so I used that. For the rest of my pictures, I tried to think of something that would follow the story line but the only thing I could think of was the different modes of transportation that the main characters of my story used. I printed out pictures of trains because when they traveled across Europe and America, they rode on a train. I used pictures of elephants because in Asia they traveled on elephants. I used pictures of ships because when traveling across oceans, the characters of my book took ships. I used pictures of horses because when the characters were traveling on a train in America, they got attacked by Native Americans and one of the main characters was kidnapped. The other characters rode on a horse to go and rescue him. I put a picture of a suite case on my book jacket to represent traveling. I summarized the author biographies that were in the book to tell about Jules Verne and Rod Espinosa on my book jacket. The book I read had a detailed description of both the original author and the person who adapted the story into graphic novel form. I wrote the summary like I would find on a real book jacket. I tried to summarize the story without giving away important details but still catch the interest of the reader.

I agree that we should read more adolescent literature; it is the literature that our students will be reading. I enjoyed the book. Anderson's voice is very funny and relatable, even as she's writing from a male's perspective. As a girl, I can't say that I know what the male high school experience was like, but Anderson really seemed to make sense as a woman writing in the perspective of a male adolescent. I was surprised.

I do think that there are some teachable moments, though I don't know if parents would be on board with their kids reading this. Anderson touches on some heavy issues: bullying, suicide, pornography, and speaks somewhat crassly of raging hormones. With that noted, the book would be worthless without these issues. There are some pretty broad themes that I believe would spark student conversation. I would love to see what students thought about the party scene in which Bethany subjects herself to inebriation and the subsequent nude photographs taken of her.

I would also like to discuss character development. While this is limited, I do think that, for a freshman classroom, the characterization should be noted. Tyler finally stands up for himself at the end of the novel and grows up. It's important to note the ever-present theme of the video game that Tyler plays throughout the novel, Tophet. In this game, Tyler is trying to get through the circles of Hell to become the new Lord of Darkness. This parallels his life immensely (like a slap in the face almost), and maybe too apparent. Nonetheless, I would discuss it in the classroom. Along these lines, I would maybe make the connection, for an extension maybe, with Dante's Inferno, regarding his mission to get on the right track or face the tribulations of Hell. Just a thought; it might raise the level of scholarly learning to the classroom.

I really enjoyed this book and felt that it would be really good read for girls who are trying to find their place in their family, society, school and friends. Also even though this book might not be the most fun for boys to read i believe it is good for them to read because it does touch on a boy who date raped a girl and seems to not care. The part I was most concerned about was that the girl didn't seem to be really that upset because I feel she should have not just gone to the campus police. I thought she blew off the the rape and just acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. That concerned me I would have rather seen a girl who tired to really stand up against what had happened than a girl who said it didn't ruin her life.

This week in class our group discussed Virginia's characterization in the novel. We all agreed that she would be a strong role model for students in our classroom. In the novel Virginia has to deal with some very difficult issues such as date rape, but she handles it in a very mature fashion. She does tell people and tries to get help. She is such a strong character though, that at times she does not seem like a reliable narrator or realistic character. I believe girls would be a lot more troubled and "messed" up over experiencing some of the things she did. She is a great role model for students, and that is what I would want to focus on in the classroom, but she does at times seem a bit stronger and wiser than her age. I believe students will be able to relate to her, and hopefully they will use her as a guiding character of what to do if something like this were to happen to them. I hope that after reading this novel students students will have more confidence and security in their own values and expressing them to others. Virginia is a character that shows a lot of courage and perseverance for her age. This novel would be interesting to students, and it is our job as teachers to expose students to various forms and styles of novels.

I think that with this book having students discuss the difficult issues in small groups would be very beneficial. I believe that students would feel more comfortable discussing some of the sensitive topics of the book in smaller groups. This book is a great tool for helping teachers encourage students to participate and contribute to detailed classroom discussions. The novel is overall a very easy read for students, and I would feel very comfortable as a teacher assigning to book as an out of class reading assignment. Students would come together in class to discuss it, but their actual reading of the text would be individual. I would want students to read the novel because of the topics is covers and not so much because of the literary elements it encompasses.

I am so glad our book club picked this book. I have had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud so as not to wake up my roomies. I like how throughout the novel she finally starts to realize that it is okay to be herself and her body type that even those who may seem to have it together and have it all, really don't. I think that this would be a quick, easy, and fun read for my students. I could see them doing a project where they write a letter to someone in the novel to tell whatever they felt like needed to be told, the way that the main character Virgina eventually writes to her sister. I think it might be a neat idea to have some kind of assignment or discussion where the students gather information of where people in a rape situation can turn to, whether it be the police, an organization, a doctor, family, or whatever.