Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Th1rteen R3asons Why - Jay Asher
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| http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Thirteen-Reasons-Why/Jay-Asher/e/9781595141712/?itm=1&USRI=jay+asher |
In Jay Asher's first young adult work, Th1rteen R3asons Why, Asher delivers a relevant, poignant YA novel that addresses the concepts of bullying, self-image, peer-pressure and first-and-foremost teenage SUICIDE.
According to Lexile.com, the book comes in at a readability of 550L, or ages 12 and up, but due to the suicide component and related content/context such as underage drinking, rape, sex, etc. I would definitely reserve it for 14 year olds, or high school freshmen and above. For that age-group I think it would be a wonderfully appropriate, interesting piece as it adbecause it addresses bullying, the emotional and psychological development of teenagers, and feeling like anyone "gets" you or cares-- something every teenager can relate to.
Jay has a wonderful website - he monitors his his blog at http://www.jayasher.blogspot.com/ in order to keep in touch with readers.
HANNAH HAS A BLOG OF HER OWN TOO! http://hannahsreasons.blogspot.com/ This is a really amazing unique idea. How many main characters, especially dead ones have their own blog to keep in touch with their loyal readers!?!?! Imagine if Katniss from Hunger Games or Bella from Twilight had her own blog to share their innermost thoughts with their fans!
The format of this story is unique as well, inspired by the idea of tape-guided museum tours and a friend of Asher's who attempted suicide when they were young. Before Hannah's suicide, she recorded a series of connected cassette tapes - 1 through 13, the significance of "th1rteen r3asons." The box of tapes are mailed, from one person to another as they are connected by the story - sort of like in order of appearance. In these tapes, Hannah reveals her inner-most thoughts, the things that have affected her and ultimately drove her to the decision to end her life. She also reveals how each person contributed to her decision - starting rumors about her, raping her, a car accident that led to the a deadly car accident, etc.
The story is told through Hannah's tapes and "narrated" through the thoughts/actions/dialogue/reactions of Clay, the latest to receive Hannah's tapes. Unlike anyone else, Clay didnt have a specifically negative impact on Hannah - he cared, and she knew it, but he was too shy and uncertain to speak his mind and to intervene in her downward spiral. When he did try to get close she pushed him away and unfortunately he failed to persist in his persuit of Hannah. His tearful, heart-broken reaction is full of what-ifs, regret, and woulda/coulda/should-as. Clay is a sympathetic character; Asher's readers are not meant to dislike him, in fact Hannah reveals that she has never ever found anything deficient in Clay. He "doesnt belong" in this.
According to the book's website, Universal Pictures has purchased the rights to this book and has recently cast Selena Gomez in the lead role. Even if it takes a main stream movie to do it, I think this subject material is that important that we need to make sure teens get the message by whatever means necessary.
Additional YA novels that would be appropriate for this subject matter are:
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I would love to connect this in a humanities, freshman english or freshman seminar course. I think that students would find it relevant and by asking them to open up and to share their feelings on the subject matter, I think a teacher could also address issues like bullying, self-esteem, confidence, communication, etc.
"Change the voice in your head, make them like you instead" -- that's a lyric from "Pretty Pretty Please," a song by Pink. Some of the lyrics are appropriate, some I would have LOVED for Hannah to have heard, some I think should/could have come from Clay...give it a listen, it's on the radio but I think it fits; it definitely reminded me of the book when I heard it after I had read the book - http://youtu.be/B7x85fv6BaY
Sunday, April 3, 2011
"Same kind of different as me" due 4/5
Same kind of different as me
By Ron Hall & Denver Moore
By Ron Hall & Denver Moore
Denver Moore, R. H. (2008). Same kind of different as me. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
How much do you think you could learn from a homeless black man? What about a 1960 Louisiana sharecropper, who never owned “nothin,” doesn’t have a bank account and didn’t contemplate getting a driver’s license until well into his `50s?
What about a millionaire art dealer, earning his keep supplying the rich with new and beautiful ways to display their affluence? What about a millionaire’s well-to-do, well-kept, Land Cruiser driving, “supportive, stay at home wife?”
How do blacks and whites differ, how do they judge, how do they speak, how do they value life, love, friends? Does class know color or is that something people do inorder to make sense out of an ever chaotic world?
What about a millionaire art dealer, earning his keep supplying the rich with new and beautiful ways to display their affluence? What about a millionaire’s well-to-do, well-kept, Land Cruiser driving, “supportive, stay at home wife?”
How do blacks and whites differ, how do they judge, how do they speak, how do they value life, love, friends? Does class know color or is that something people do inorder to make sense out of an ever chaotic world?
Do you believe in God? Do you think he speaks to people and through people? Do you think your life is pre-ordained or that you choose your own course?
Is a man measured by what he does or what he gives?
In this amazing true-story, the reader is taken on a journey through the memoirs of two men, written in a series of flashbacks and personal accounts of the colliding worlds of two unlikely best-friends, Denver Moore and Ron Hall.
Denver, the son of black sharecroppers, who never went to school, never learned to read and write, who picked cotton well into his `30--, into the 1960’s, “well after Lincoln had freed the slaves,” who lived in a shotgun shack with no running water and no electricity even after America had put a man on the moon.
After growing tired of working for no one besides "the Man" and never owning anything of his own, Denver illegally hops a train and heads to Texas where he lives homelessly in several cities before seeking refuge at the Union Street Mission in Fort Worth, Texas. There, he meets a philanthropic couple seeking to get closer to God by touching the lives of these unfortunate “dregs” of society. Social-page, self-made millionaire art dealer, Ron Hall was previously content to attend fancy fundraisers, stroke a check or two a year and most certainly avoid any of the diseases and parasites crawling all over “those people” and his wife, Deborah, a southern debutant trying to make a difference, to get closer to God, to make a difference in this ugly world, and to rekindle an 11-year marriage just scarred by her husband's infidelity seeks out the mission after God speaks to her through a vision.
"She's the onlyest person that ever loved me enough not to give up on me, and I praise God that today I can sit here in your home a changed man -- a free man." -Denver's reflection on his relationship with Deborah Hall
Their "mission" at the mission, the friendship they form, and their lives together is the backdrop for this insightful and thoughtfully composed memoir.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book. It makes you question your thoughts, commonly held beliefs, and unspoken prejudices. I believe it would be well received by 11th or 12th grade students, the language isnt hard to follow, the voice alternating between Denver and Ron is the most confusing component. This book could also guide some purposeful lessons on race, class and other social stereotypes.
Ron Hall has his own page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ron-Hall/e/B001JS4GHA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
The memoir also contains pictures, a reader's guide and an additional Q&A from Denver.
He has also published a follow-up book, entitled "What Different Do It Make?"
http://www.amazon.com/What-Difference-Do-Make-Stories/dp/0849946190/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls has a lot of the same amazing qualities. I coincidentally read this book right after same kind and really loved them both.
This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf may offer the reader an similarly uplifting piece.
http://www.amazon.com/This-Child-Will-Great-Remarkable/dp/0061353485/ref=pd_sim_b_4
"She's the onlyest person that ever loved me enough not to give up on me, and I praise God that today I can sit here in your home a changed man -- a free man." -Denver's reflection on his relationship with Deborah Hall
Their "mission" at the mission, the friendship they form, and their lives together is the backdrop for this insightful and thoughtfully composed memoir.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book. It makes you question your thoughts, commonly held beliefs, and unspoken prejudices. I believe it would be well received by 11th or 12th grade students, the language isnt hard to follow, the voice alternating between Denver and Ron is the most confusing component. This book could also guide some purposeful lessons on race, class and other social stereotypes.
Ron Hall has his own page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ron-Hall/e/B001JS4GHA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
The memoir also contains pictures, a reader's guide and an additional Q&A from Denver.
He has also published a follow-up book, entitled "What Different Do It Make?"
http://www.amazon.com/What-Difference-Do-Make-Stories/dp/0849946190/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls has a lot of the same amazing qualities. I coincidentally read this book right after same kind and really loved them both.
This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf may offer the reader an similarly uplifting piece.
http://www.amazon.com/This-Child-Will-Great-Remarkable/dp/0061353485/ref=pd_sim_b_4
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