Purpleharp's Blog

A look at Literature for Today’s Young Adults

by: Alleen Pace Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson, Pearson Publishing, (8th ed)

 As soon as I opened this book I liked it. The inside of the cover is titled “What is New in This Edition?” and large bullet points indicate the changes from the previous edition.  The layout is simple to follow and easy to read. The book opens up with the thoughts of YA writers Michael Cart and S.E. Hinton.  There is discussion of the characteristics of good YA literature as well as an “Honor List” of the Best of the Best YA literature from 1980-2007. Any list that starts with The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a good list in my esteem. It’s a fine list – not comprehensive – but inclusive of some excellent titles.

The book offers portraits of well-know YA authors and gets to the essence of their achievements. There is an abundance of footnotes which might be helpful for anyone looking for more sources of information. It also includes chapters on different genres and subjects of YA novels such as The Modern Problem Novel, Comic Books and Graphic Novels, Video Games as Interactive Literature, Adventure, What is Fantasy? Utopias and Dystopias, etc.

There’s a chapter that deals with non-fiction including memoirs, biographies and “Nonfiction to Help Teenagers Learn Who They Are and Where They Fit.”  A section on YA literature in the English class is fascinating. Although not directly relevant to librarians, it’s important to know how educators view and utilize the growing body of YA literature.

A chapter on censorship is highly relevant to librarians who inevitably will face book challenges at some point. Literature for kids and young adults seems to be the largest source of book challenges in a library system.

This book is current, up-to-date and has an excellent take on YA literature. It would be an excellent resource for librarians and writers too. I high recommend it.

Here it is – my first ever book trailer. Thank you Paulette for getting me to try out a new technology. And thank you Aaron for helping me get this thing onto the blog.

I really loved How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. It’s witty, funny, and full of interesting and wonderful characters. The premise is clever and the wit doesn’t stop throughout the book. I highly recommend it!

The Young Adult Library Services Association blog is not a monolithic blog of notices and statements issued forth by YALSA Central Offices. The blog is actually a compilation of a hundred bloggers. And a number of these blogs are not individuals – they’re groups: libraries and committees. YALSA allows participating bloggers to blog for no more than two years in order to keep the content fresh and up-to-date. In the blog instructions, words like “original” and “fresh” recur. Bloggers are encouraged to read other postings so they don’t repeat information and are asked to write original and current material. A hundred plus bloggers contributing to the YALSA Blog form a sort of ‘meta-blog’ of interesting materials. Topics include extensive discussion about the interface with technology in the YA library world. Invariably there are links to other interesting blogs.

The archives go back as far as January 2006 and include items about awards, conferences, ALA news, Teen Tech Week, and ideas and services relevant to the world of YA materials. It appears that the number one topic of discussion is technology, and in particular the phenomenon of social networking.  One thing that’s clear after going through this blog, is that anyone who wants to be involved in YA librarianship needs to have a strong grasp of social networking tools and be able to use these to interface with and have access to the teen universe.

Because of the nature of the authorship of this ‘meta’-blog, the material that appears is both unpredictable and original in nature. It’s written by real people: librarians and library professionals who are participating in the blog because they’re obviously enthusiastic and passionate about YA materials. That passion from grass roots YA’ers makes this blog a must-read for YA librarians. I would definitely continue to keep up with this blog.

Deborah Kerbel is a Canadian Young Adult novelist.  Author of Mackenzie, Lost and Found, her new book Girl on the Other Side will be out in November and is already  receiving rave reviews, including this one from the Manitoba Library  Associaton: 

http://umanitoba.ca/cm/vol16/no3/girlontheotherside.html

 Here’s an interview I did with her:

How would you describe Canadian YA in your mind?

Maybe it’s because so many of our books end up in the school systems, but I think Canadian YA authors ask a lot from their readers.  A certain amount of entertainment is vital, of course, or kids would never get through the pages.  But the Canadian YA novel usually strives to offer some kind of moral, historical, or social lesson that leaves kids thinking after the book is over and done. 

What is it that compels you to write for Young Adults?

I don’t think it was ever a choice for me.  When I started writing manuscripts, teenagers just flowed out of my fingers onto the page.  Young adulthood is such an exciting stage of life.  Everything moves at high speed, emotions are felt so intensely and experiences are fresh and new. 

How long does it take you to conceive of an idea for a novel?

There’s no easy answer for that question.  Some ideas hit you like a pie in the face – fast and blinding.  Others take longer to form.  The idea for my newest YA, Girl on the Other Side, formed in stages.  At the onset, I started writing it with the idea of exploring the power of words and how they can shape a person’s life.  But throughout the process, the theme of the book evolved into a close examination of two very different individuals and how similar they were behind the mask they worked so hard to present to the world. 

Usually I work from a rough outline.  But with Girl on the Other Side, I had no idea how the book was going to end when I started writing.  At about the ¾ mark, the ending revealed itself to me very clearly.  When you read it, you’ll see that there was no other resolution possible for these characters.  Start to finish, the writing of the book took about 8 months.

What’s the best part of writing a novel? What’s the worst?

The best parts of writing a novel are those moments when the characters start to take on an energy of their own and you, as the author, have to take a step back and let yourself get carried away on the arc of the story.  That’s really magical.

 The worst parts for me are the revisions.  By that point, the magic is over and it’s time to clean up the messy parts.  Going back into the story, taking apart all the carefully woven threads, re-writing, and then tying all the threads back up again as seamlessly as possible.   It is painstakingly tedious.

 Did you ever regret having to say goodbye to a character when you finished a book?

Honestly, no.  After I’ve crawled through my characters’ heads and let them take over my life for months at a time, I’m happy to say goodbye and push them out into the world.  It’s the only way I can make room for the new cast of characters who will inevitably populate my next book.

Quentin Jacobson, a Florida high school senior, has had a life-long infatuation with his neighbour, the awesome Margo Roth Spiegelman. Despite their childhood friendship, and the shared experience of discovering a dead body as young children, the beautiful, charismatic, and mysterious Margo operates well beyond Q’s social strata. After years with no contact between them, Margo enters Q’s room one night and takes him with her on a magical night of pranks and acts of revenge which includes a break-in to Sea World. This is the night that will change Q’s life forever.

Margo’s subsequent disappearance and Q’s determination to find her becomes the focus of the book. Helping him in this quest, although sometimes unwillingly, are his best friends Radar and Ben. Q’s mission to find Margo becomes a journey of self-discovery and growth. The characters are vividly developed with interesting personalities who share the kind of bond that most teenagers strive to experience with their friends.

The middle third of the book has a slightly different tone than the other segments of the book. Q becomes more philosophical as he delves into the clues provided by Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” in his determination to locate Margo. The story slows down and the focus is weighted towards the more internal musings that propel Q in his voyage of self-discovery. The action picks up and the story takes on more comedic dimensions in the final third of the book, in one of the funniest road-trips in Young Adult literature.

John Green’s writing is sharp, insightful, and uproariously funny. The combination of humour with memorable and wonderful characters make this book a wonderful and compulsive read. Green’s insights make this book an entertaining and intelligent experience. Green is currently writing the screenplay for the upcoming movie.

Mackenzie Hill is still grieving over the death of her mother when her father, a York University archaeology professor, informs her that they’ll be spending a sabbatical year in Jerusalem. She’s resentful about the move so her father offers for her to return to Toronto after three months if she does not adjust to life in Israel. Initially unhappy about being in a strange country, she is soon befriended by a young American expatriate, Marla, who also lost her mother.

The friendship between Mackenzie and Marla deepens and her adjustment to life in Jerusalem occurs rapidly, making her lose interest in returning to Toronto at the end of the three month period. The relationship is threatened though, when Mackenzie finds herself drawn to an Arab boy from Jerusalem’s old city who works in a local grocery shop. Mackenzie discovers that the relationship is offensive to her Jewish friends. The liaison is also considered a culturally taboo one in Nasir’s Muslim family and he must conceal their connection from his family in order to see her. The plot is further complicated when Nasir’s father traffics illegal black market antiquities and Mackenzie’s inadvertent involvement leads her to danger.

The author’s description of Jerusalem offers a vivid and fascinating outsiders look at a city that is both ancient and modern. Kerbel’s description of the sights, sounds, and smells, of the city is tactile and engrossing. She depicts the ethnic conflict that arises between Jewish Israelis, Muslim Arabs, and a Gentile Canadian with sensitivity and insight. The story is told from Mackenzie’s point of view in first person and alternates with Nasir’s third person narration. The characters are all believable and sympathetic; individuals bearing pain, longing, and sadness. Their yearning for love and acceptance is a common thread despite the web of ethnic and political unrest that contributes to the tensions between them. The cultural gap between the characters backgrounds also serve as a backdrop to the conflict that develops.

This book is a gripping read that’s fast paced and well-written. Mackenzie’s reluctant arrival in Jerusalem turns into a significant catalyst for the personal growth that helps her heal from the tragedy of her mother’s loss. Mackenzie, Lost and Found is an excellent read for teens of any age.  Readers of this book will welcome the sequel.

Sister Wife, is a novel by Shelley Hrdlitschka whose three main characters are female teenagers in the fictional polygamous Mormon community of Unity. The main protagonist is Celeste, and like the other older daughters of Kelvin’s four wives, her life is filled with child care and household chores. She begins to have “impure thoughts” and doubts as she moves closer to her fifteenth birthday when she will be “assigned” by the prophet to be married to a middle aged husband with wives.

The stories of Celeste, Nanette, and Taviana are intertwined as the narrative moves to its gripping conclusion. The polygamous community is portrayed through the eyes of the young girls who have varying degrees of faith. The characters are likeable and their motivations are realistic.

The depiction of the community is not an overtly negative one and there are some sympathetic men. However, for the most part the portrayal is of a completely patriarchal system in which young girls and boys are exploited. A man can only go to heaven if he has three wives, thus a girl’s role is to enable the males to achieve the glories of the afterlife. Celeste’s father is a harsh man who would rather see his wife die in childbirth than receive proper medical attention. It’s a community that is motivated by a fear of shame and is image-driven within itself and to the outside world. Young boys are essentially driven away by the lack of future within the community. Jon’s father eventually has six wives but is still heart-broken when his son leaves the community. With favoured men collecting multiple wives, young boys have no future in the community.

This book is moving and compelling with memorable characters. Although there were some slight plausibility issues in the resolution, it is a gripping book that resonated with this reader long after the book was finished. The issue is relevant now more than ever. Events in Bountiful, BC just might force the legal status of polygamy all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Can the ban against polygamy survive a challenge to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Will religious freedom trump the ban? Legal changes that were previously unthinkable in a western liberal society just might be around the corner.

Update:

Now that the blog post is finished, I’m going to get all indignant and angry here. The more I think about this book the more disturbed I am by the issue. (Spoiler Alert) The character of Martin Nielsson marries his son’s sweetheart and eventually racks up seven wives. Demographically, this will inevitably drive away sons from the community. Multiple wives is the ultimate selfish indulgence. Men indulge their spiritual and sexual needs at the expense of their own offspring.  Martin regrets his son’s Jon leaving only because he was help for the farm. The idea of ensuring your place in heaven (with the acquisition of at least three wives) by using women is simply repulsive. Women have no rights, no hope, no future. They simply exist to further the desires and goals of the few powerful men in the community.

I asked a friend how it’s possible that men could behave so selfishly towards their own offspring and he pointed out that these men are similar to male lions who amass a pride of lionesses as a means to consolidating power.  It’s the powerful men who get all those wives with the Laura Ashley dresses.

It’s unfathomable to me that there isn’t more of an outcry by Canadian feminists about this form of male exploitation. If the ban against polygamy doesn’t survive a challenge at the Supreme Court of Canada to religious freedom under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms than Canada will take a step towards the dark ages. There are inevitably going to be people that will argue that polygamy is  internationally, historically, and religiously,  less ‘radical’  than same-sex marriage. I would argue that in that case, perhaps the government shouldn’t be in the marriage business, granting licenses and dictating who gets to and doesn’t marry. Polygamy is a patriarchal system that exploits even grown women (yes I know, there are voluntary polygamous unions, but there are always exceptions to prove any rules) and only exist in the most patriarchal and illiberal societies. If we as a liberal Western society cannot even prevent this form of oppression against women, than we have nothing left to stand for.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a riveting novel by Sherman Alexie with whimsical and evocative illustrations by Ellen Forney. The basic outline of the book – a Spokane Indian teenager leaving the reservation to attend high school in Reardon, Washington is closely based on Alexie’s own life.  Like the protagonist of the novel, Arnold “Junior” Spirit, Alexie was born hydrocephalic, experienced severe seizures, was ostracized and victimized on the “rez” and attended high school as the only aboriginal in Reardon, WA, where he excelled academically as well as in basketball.

This book is a compelling novel in which the author, manages to weave together the tragic violence, poverty, and alcoholism of the Reservation as well as “Junior’s” victimization and alienation, in a humorous and keenly insightful journey of self-discovery. Junior emerges from a landscape of collective despair and heroically builds a future for himself. He is self-effacing, honest, and amazingly insightful about himself and his surroundings. Despite the treatment he endures, and the dysfunctionality of his family, his tone is rarely self-pitying but almost always humourous. Despite the cruelty of his environment, he remains funny, unjaded, and gentle. He becomes emotional with joy, from small gestures of kindness, and beauty.

I couldn’t put this book down and was moved by the humanity, intelligence, and wit of the author.