Paper Towns by John Green

Green, J. (2008). Paper towns. New York: Dutton Books.

 As children, neighbors Quentin Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman discover a dead body in the local park, and their friendship is never the same.  Quentin spends the next nine years watching and loving the mysterious Margo from afar.  One Wednesday night near the end of their senior year, Margo reappears in Q’s life, recruiting him to join her on an all night prank adventure.  The next morning as Q begins to wonder what comes next for their relationship, Margo disappears.  This isn’t the first time that Margo has taken off for a few days on an adventure, but when Q discovers a trail of clues she leaves behind, he is certain that he is meant to follow the clues and find her.

            

Reader’s familiar with Green’s Looking for Alaska will find something familiar in this novel.  A reserved, slightly nerdy teenage boy who’s hopelessly entranced by a charming, free-spirited girl will likely remind readers of Miles and Alaska, and there are definite similarities in the dynamics between the two sets of characters.  While Miles finds Alaska fascinating because her attitudes and behaviors are so dissimilar from anything he’s known prior to meeting her, Q grows up next door to Margo and shares in some of those early experiences that shape her, but she still presents a puzzle to Q as her boldness and adventurous spirit are so different from his natural reserve.  Margo’s character is larger than life, and readers may believe Q’s early descriptions of her exploits to be exaggerated, but as the story unfolds, it seems her gift for scheming and thrill-seeking are true.  The other characters in the story especially Q’s two best friends Ben and Radar provide humor and a dose of logic and practicality when Q becomes increasingly absorbed with Margo’s disappearance.  Just as authentically drawn are Q’s parents, therapists who love and support Q but also often see him as they want him to be rather than as he truly is.  This cast of believable characters also seems to emphasize Margo’s dramatic personality.

            

The mystery of Margo’s disappearance is compelling and readers will follow Q’s emotional journey through highs and lows as he follows the clues and searches for her.  Although Q never loses sight of finding out what has happened to Margo, along the way he is just as interested in what the clues tell him about the kind of person that Margo is.  As he searches for her, he comes closer and closer to understanding the person behind the façade she presents to the world.  The mystery story is part of a larger search for identity.  Margo and Q use several different metaphors throughout the book to describe the inner life that represents true personhood, none of which ever completely seem to fit, but by the end of the book, Q is satisfied by what he is able to learn and understand about Margo as well as himself.  While readers may be hoping for a happier conclusion, the resolution of the story fits with the overall tone of the book and provides the answers that those drawn to the mystery of the story will require.

            

Literary allusions are peppered throughout the novel with the most focus on Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” which serves as one of Margo’s clues, but fans of the classics will also appreciate the references to the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Emily Dickinson as well as Moby Dick.  Connecting his characters and readers to other literary works is something that Green is able to do in such a way that communicates a clear appreciation and brings a sense of significance of classic literature to his contemporary work.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Roth, V. (2011). Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books.

Set in Chicago sometime in the future, the novel depicts a society that is divided into five factions that value different traits:  Abnegation whose members practice selflessness, Amity known for their peacefulness, Candor who quest for truth, Dauntless who exhibit bravery and daring, and the Erudite who seek knowledge and understanding.  There are also the factionless who are forced to live on the fringes of society.  At sixteen, Beatrice who has been raised in Abnegation, takes the aptitude test that will help her determine which faction she will choose to join.  Her results are inconclusive, and she learns that she is a rare Divergent, someone who possesses an affinity for multiple factions.  Beatrice is warned to keep this information a secret as claiming Divergence could be dangerous.  She chooses to join the Dauntless faction, where she discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the city’s leadership and seize power.  Beatrice’s loyalty to her faction is tested, and she is forced to accept and rely upon all the traits that make her Divergent in order to do the right thing.

            

Roth creates a world that is both recognizable and completely foreign to readers.  Beatrice and other characters in the story must face pressures and influences from family and society while trying to develop a sense of self and choose a path for the future.  The highly regimented faction system may not be a reality, but young readers may feel similar constraints placed on them by peer groups, teachers, or socioeconomic factors.  The depictions of life within the factions show both members who thrive living within the narrow confines of their faction’s defining trait and those who are out of sync or alienated.  There is little room for individuality except for the factionless.  For teens who are often struggling to find a balance between fitting in and autonomy, the society of Divergent could provide some valuable perspective.

            

In addition to the societal issues addressed in the novel, through Beatrice’s training and initiation in Dauntless, readers are exposed to a world of aggression, combat, and survival.  Like other popular dystopian and fantasy novels, the characters find themselves in situations where they must rely on their own strength, skill, and cunning to survive.  While this world of weapons and tactics may not be a part of reality for today’s young adults, these scenarios demonstrate important lessons about strength and strength of character while also providing an escape into a world where characters experience situations and trials that are far removed from the lives of readers.

            

The relationships explored in the novel are another element that will likely be appealing to readers.  Beatrice finds herself making friends with a variety of characters who are very different from her, and the first person narration conveys how these relationships help her to grow out of the sheltered life of her old faction to understand the world more.  The developing love story between Beatrice and her instructor Four is described with emotion and authenticity that will resonate with readers.

            

As with many fantasy and dystopian novels, the main character faces harsh realities and impossible dilemmas, and the overall tone can be read as bleak or dark.  Since this is the first book in a trilogy, there is no bright happy ending to wrap up the story.  The characters face external dangers and villains as well as internal fears and personal grief, and some readers may be depressed by the tragedies and conflicts, but many readers will respond to the complex heroes of Beatrice and Four and find a connection to this story.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Johnson, A. (2003). The first part last. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.  

Bobby is a teenage father living in New York City.  He tells his story of life with his newborn daughter Feather and the countless ways that his life is transformed by her existence.  The responsibility of caring for a child at such a young age while still balancing school, family, friends, and decisions about the future is daunting, but Bobby is determined to make the right decisions for his daughter and their future together.

            The novel begins just a few days after Bobby brings Feather home from the hospital.  The chapters alternate between the first few months of her life and flashback descriptions that begin with the day that Bobby’s girlfriend Nia tells him of her pregnancy.  The two timelines blend to create a story that keeps the reader engaged.  Although it’s obvious in one sense where the “Then” chapters are leading since the reader knows from the “Now” story line that Bobby is raising Feather with support but little direct assistance from his parents, it becomes clear early in the novel that both timelines are building towards a climax that the reader may not expect.  The narrative style is episodic in nature, describing key events that lead to future consequences as well as conversations, interactions, or reflections that are representative of the relationships among the characters.  

            Bobby’s narrative voice seems authentic, conveying the fear and confusion alongside his determination and love for his daughter.  He is frank about the realities he faces in raising a child alone, conveying both the resentment he secretly feels about losing his own childhood and the tender devotion and amazement he feels at Feather’s existence.  The novel reads a bit like poetry.  The language is sparse in places but very powerful and descriptive.

            There is foreshadowing leading up to the conclusions of both timelines that connect then and now into one linear story, but Bobby’s final decision about his and Feather’s future may still seem shocking or even unrealistic to readers, especially after the realistic way that Bobby has been portrayed throughout most of the book.  Eve with this slightly incongruous ending, the result  

is a powerful novel.

Where Things Come Back

I enjoyed Where Things Come Back so much that I decided to make it the subject of my book trailer assignment for this class.  One of the requirements was to incorporate spoken narration as well as text.  I hate the sound of my recorded voice so much, I seriously considered hiring someone to do it.  In the end, it's my voice saying "Welcome to Lily, Arkansas."

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Whaley, J. C. (2011). Where things come back. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

The small town of Lily, Arkansas is situated halfway between Little Rock and Memphis and is the sort of place that people dream of leaving.  The summer before his senior year of high-school, Cullen Witter witnesses people coming to Lily instead of leaving.  An alleged sighting of the Lazarus woodpecker thought to be extinct for seventy years brings notoriety to Cullen’s hometown.  The woodpecker becomes a symbol for second chances to the people of Lily and the bird enthusiasts who flock there, but when Cullen’s younger brother Gabriel disappears without a trace one night, his family and friends are left hopeless, desperately in need of a second chance. 

Whaley’s novel is rooted in a real place and time.  The ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, was spotted in the Big Woods region of Arkansas in 2004, and its existence  has been the subject of debate among ornithologists for the past several years.  Teens in Arkansas, especially in the central and delta areas surrounding the Big Woods will be old enough to remember the extensive news coverage surrounding the bird as well as the locally-published children’s books such as Big Woods Bird (Luneau & Bennett, 2005) that were distributed in classrooms across the state.  While the story of Gabriel’s disappearance and the Witter family’s struggle to deal with the loss is the true focal point of the novel, the woodpecker subplot is woven throughout and comes to have great significance in Cullen’s recollections of that summer.  Readers familiar with Arkansas may also appreciate the many geographic names from around the state that are used as character names throughout the novel. 

Interspersed with the chapters narrated by Cullen, are sections told from a third-person point of view that introduce the character Benton Sage, a young missionary in Ethiopia and later a college student in Georgia.  His experiences and relationship with his roommate Cabot Searcy at first appear to be completely unrelated to the events unfolding in Lily, but the author eventually weaves these two story lines together through some surprising twists and turns.  Benton and Cabot both demonstrate the same single-minded passion and pursuit of goals that characterizes the zealous woodpecker-seekers in Arkansas, and their particular interest in biblical texts and apocrypha connects to the other storyline through the name of the woodpecker.  Of course, there is no Lazarus woodpecker, the name is an allusion to the biblical story of one who returns from the dead, underlining the hope and belief in second chances that the bird represents to the town. 

Although the novel is has a realistic setting and plot, Cullen’s narration often turns fanciful with extended descriptions of his zombie-filled daydreams and nightmares as well as his notations of amusing book title ideas he records in his journal.  Although these elements provide some humor, it can sometimes be a little tricky for the reader to determine where reality ends and fantasy begins.

Small town life is authentically portrayed as are the teen characters of Cullen, his best friend Lucas, and the various friends, enemies, and love interests Cullen describes.  The descriptions of how each family member and close friend deals with Gabriel’s disappearance as well as Cullen’s perception of how the town bears with them through the loss are vivid and realistic.  Readers who have experienced tragedy or loss will appreciate how the narrative demonstrates the duality of time marching onward and standing still.  Although the subject matter is serious and the emotional descriptions haunting, Whaley provides moments of humor and levity that seem to mimic the ups and downs of real life.

References

Luneau, T. R., & Bennett, T. (2005). Big Woods bird: An ivory-bill story. Little Rock, AR: Kury Lane Inc.

            

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Melinda Sordino enters the ninth grade “clanless,” without a group of friends to define her identity.  Her former friends shun her, and when she does draw the notice of teachers or other students, it’s the wrong kind of attention.  She withdraws into her own haunting thoughts, burying her pain in long silences and a year-long art assignment that will push her to deal with the tumultuous memories that plague her.

Despite the fact that it was written over a decade ago, the subject matter of Speak could have been inspired by much more recent headlines:  a teenage girl, drunk at a party, a victim of sexual assault at the hands of a popular athlete.  The only difference in Melinda’s story and the real-life tragedies that have made news in the past few years is that there’s no social media to testify to what happens to her.  Her rape is a closely guarded secret—one that she manages to compartmentalize and keep even from herself much of the time, yet she is still criminalized by peers who don’t know the whole story.  Melinda is left to deal with the emotional fallout of her ordeal on her own.          

Although Melinda stops communicating with her parents, teachers, and classmates, her first person narration of the story is highly descriptive, full of evocative imagery and perceptive observation of the people and events around her.  Her thoughts and judgments of others are sometimes biting in their sarcasm, but this trait lends an authentic teenage voice to the narration.  The realism, raw emotion, and feelings of powerlessness that Melinda expresses will likely find a ready audience with teenagers who can often feel marginalized and silenced due to parents, teachers, and peers who do not understand or provide support to their inner struggles.

Throughout the novel, Melinda must endure encounters with her attacker who goes to her school, and while he seems to taunt her through these interactions, it’s somewhat unclear whether this is Melinda’s perception or what’s actually happening between them.  A final confrontation near the end of the book brings them face to face once again and seems to reveal her adversary as a person who displays every confidence that he will continue to get away with his abusive treatment of girls.  While it is easy to sympathize and relate to Melinda, even for people who have not experienced a similar trauma, the antagonist and his actions seem almost too horrible to be believed.  Perhaps his character is just as realistic as the others in the story, but the way he maneuvers himself into his final scene with Melinda seems just a little far-fetched.

The difficult subject matter have made this novel the target of challenges and attempted censorship, but the realistic portrayal of the cruelties of high school and adolescence along with the ultimately hopeful message provide ample cause to keep this book on library shelves and easily accessible to teen readers.           

I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier

Cormier, R. (1977). I am the cheese. New York: Knopf.

The story of Adam Farmer begins when he sets out on a bicycle trip from Monument, Massachusetts, to Rutterburg, Vermont to see his father.  Along the way, he encounters dangers of the road, some of his worst fears, and a few helping hands.  Interspersed with Adam’s first person account of his journey and his recollections of happier times are transcripts of interviews between Adam and Brint, a doctor who is trying to help Adam regain his memories.  Through their conversations and Adam’s trip narrative, the clues about Adam’s family and past unravel. 

            The multiple points of view to which the reader has access through Adam’s travel narrative, the interview transcripts, and the third person descriptions of some of Adam’s memories that are recalled during the interview sessions highlight the unreliability of Adam as a narrator while leaving clues and foreshadowing for the reader to solve the mystery of the Farmer family.  Multiple viewpoints or shifts in narration from first to third person may be more common in contemporary young adult literature, but for its time, this was a likely an innovative literary device.  The  events of the story also cast doubts upon certain aspects of the government in a move that mimics the trends in adult literature of the same time and is a precursor to conspiracy theories and exposés that abound in popular fiction (and nonfiction) today.

            Like so many other young adult novels that have remained perennial favorites among both teens and the teachers and librarians who recommend and advocate for them, I Am the Cheese is a story of seeking out identity.  In Adam’s case, this may be a more literal quest than other works, but the story is told in such a way that even if teens cannot relate to the specific circumstances of Adam’s life, they will connect to his exploration of memories as he tries to piece together and explain his life.  The mystery and adventure of his bike trip will also likely resonate with readers who are eager to gain independence from home and family while the treatment of Adam’s many fears along the way can be viewed as reassuring or affirming to readers who may be dealing with their own fears and insecurities about growing up, changing relationships, and identity.  I believe that the accessibility of the teen characters of Adam and Amy in the book and these themes of identity, insecurity, and independence are the greatest strengths of the novel.  As someone who reads a great deal of young adult literature, I can see the influence of Cormier’s writing and characters in the writing of more contemporary realistic fiction.  As I read, I noticed several instances or descriptions that will make this novel seem dated to today’s young readers.  Adam has to use pay phones in his attempts to contact his friend Amy along his journey, and during one of the calls, the operator cuts in to speak to him.  Although I can recall a time before cell phones when pay phones were a necessary part of life, but today’s teens will have little or no reference for this plot point.  Some of the literary and musical references will be similarly outside the experience of current readers.  This could be perceived as a drawback to some teens who aren’t interested in outdated references in books or movies, but the overall strength of the characters, plot, and theme of the story ultimately outweigh this drawback.