Extra Credit Blog Review # 2: "Deadline"

Chris Crutcher, Deadline. New York: Green Willow Books 2007.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Annotation: This realistic fictional story is about sports heroism and ambition. Ben Wolf was a senior in high school who was diagnosed with severe leukemia. He was told he had only a year to live and rather than being deflated, he decided to keep his diagnosis a secret and live his life to the fullest. He forgoes treatment that would have given him extra months to live but with intense pain and physical deformities and despite his medical condition and physical limitations, he tries out for the school football team. At the end of the story, he joins the high school football team and becomes a champ and dates the beautiful and gorgeous girl, Dallas that he had secretly admired. Ben does a lot of self exploration in this story and built some confidants along the way. With the help of his spiritual guide “Hey-Soos, Ben achieved his ambition.

Justification for Rejection: This is a very inspiring story with lots of life lessons to learn from it but I will not nominate it to young readers. The subject matter is a little too heavy and deep for most teens and although the subplot about romance might seem appealing but there is also the presence of incest which would put off some people. I also think that this story has limited “readership” due to the numerous vivid sport action scenes depicted in the text. It would appeal to the male teen readers more than the female readers

Extra Credit Blog Review # 1: "I am the Messenger"

Markus Zusak. “I am the Messenger” New York: Knopf: Random House 2005

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Mystery


Annotation: Ed Kennedy was nineteen and had lived in poverty all his life. He was not good in school and felt he was a big loser. He had very low self esteem and the only thing that gave him joy was his old, smelly dog. He took to cab driving to make ends meet and got a lucky break one day when he foiled a bank robbery plot. This simple and sudden act of heroism set Ed on a path of adventure. He was able to help people and stop further crimes with the help of cards that he gets in the mail. Ed also finds love in his best friend Audrey and at the end of the book, his self esteem was greatly boosted.

Nomination Justification: This is an interesting mystery/fictional story with lots of lovable, interesting and engaging characters. Teens are going to like Ed as a character as he struggles within himself and eventually builds an identity. It is true that Ed never made any money through his heroic deeds but he got some self satisfaction. It can be said that he developed as a character because of his acquired independence and responsibility. The plot of the story matched its pace as the story moved from one action scene to the other. The conflict was person against self and person against society. Although the resolution of the story is not all that great but Ed is a lovable loser and the fact that he portrayed both strengths and weaknesses, would resonate well with teens.

Blog Review # 10: Audio book on Cd/tapes "The book Theif"

Zusak, Markus. The book Theif. New York: 2007

Classification/Genre: Audio book on Cd/tapes/Historical Fiction


Annotation: This historical fiction is set in Germany during World War ll. The main character is a strong, rough and determined young girl called Liesel Meminger. She was adopted by a family during the war in Germany and though things were a little shaky between her and her foster mother, Rosa Hubberman at first but eventually, she got along with her foster family and became a favorite of Hans. (her foster father) He taught her to read and let her in on a very dark secret; There was a Jew hiding in their basement! Liesel survived the war by stealing books and everything else. Her love for books (reading and writing) saved her. She was writing in the basement of her house when the bomb dropped that killed her family, her neighbors and her best friend Rudy. Although this entire story centers on life and survival during the war, it is the style and presentation of the book that really makes it unique. Death is personified in this story as he does the narration of the story from the beginning to the end.

Justification for Rejection: I enjoyed listening to this amazing story about this little girl and World War ll but felt that the story was too long and sometimes monotonous. The duration of the story was about fourteen hours and since there were lots of characters in the story and constant switching from the past to the present, there was a lot of rewinding and stopping of the audio Cd. It was unique that the story was narrated by death itself that saw in colors and gave vivid and chilling descriptions of its victims before taking them away but I felt that this visual imagery would be better appreciated and assimilated by reading the story in a book. The narrator Corduner Allan did a good job at the narration of the story including doing fine voices for Germans. I thought this was funny but it sort of made light a very serious subject matter. Overall, it was a great story but I think it would be better enjoyed in print.

Blog Review # 6: Vampire/Horror "Suck it Up.."

Meehl, Brian. "Suck it Up". Random House, Inc. New York. 2008

Genre: Vampire- Horror, Supernatural. Fiction

Annotation: This fictional story is about a teen vampire, Morning McCobb who though had supernatural powers, still went through all the struggles that teenagers are associated with. He had developmental issues and looked different from his peers. He was orphaned and was raised in group homes. He was also challenged academically and was glad whenever he made a C. However, despite all these shortcomings, Morning McCobb became popular and a super-hero at the end of the story.


Nomination Justification: I nominate this book for the teenage reader because it has a well written plot with engaging and exciting characters. The writing style is in the first person and it is easy and pleasing to read. There is suspense all through the novel and the horror/vampire scenes were not too gory. The horror presented was enough to satisfy the curiosity of horror story lovers and would not be repulsive to readers who are new to the genre. There is also the presentation of information about vampires at the begining of the book like how to recognise a vampie in three easy steps. There was a slight use of humor throughout the book like on page 56 where Portia talked about the divorce of her parents. "She said when she was thirteen, her mother had hit the husband eject button, and Dad hadn't stopped flying until he landed in Australia."
   There was also the strong presentation of the themes of Identity, sexual attraction, immortality, power, and revenge. The protagonist/vampire mission was to get people of mortalty (lifers) to accept them (IVL League vampires) as a new generation of vampires who were not night-stalking, fang-popping and bloodsucking fiends. This mission angered one of the leaders of the ancient vampire cult (Ikor DeThanatos) who feared that revealing vampire secrets to human/mortality, would endager all vampires and he sought to destroy Morning McCobb. His quest for revenge opened up a lot of secrets and resolution.
   The teenage reader would find this book very exciting.

Blog Review # 4: General Non-Fiction Guys are Waffles, Girls are Spaghetti

E. Chad, B. Farrel, P. Farrel. Guys are Waffles, Girls are spaghetti. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 2009

Genre: Non-Fiction

Annotation: This book is catalogued as a non-fiction even though it has autobiographical references. It is a kind of inspirational book that gives insight into the inter-personal communication and discovery of teenagers. The adolescent age is a time of confusion as development begins to happen physically, mentally and emotionally for teens. As boys and girls interact at this crucial time, they are full of questions and desperately need answers. This book tries to give answers to why boys and girls act the way they do by mixing biology lessons with personal information from real teenagers’ experience. The bulk of the information is from letters and notes collected from teens over the years by the author. The author used humor in the presentation of this vital information through the use of dialogue, side notes and illustrations. There is also a subtle reference to religious texts for inspiration.


Nomination Justification: This book’s presentation makes it appealing to young struggling readers as it addresses the issue of dating, friendships, sex education and general teenage wellbeing. Its ability to present this information in a humorous and detailed manner makes it very unique. It also helps that the book was written in 2009 and thus it is able to address some of the newer teen problems like the use of electronic devices in a reasonable and responsible manner.

Blog Review # 3: Coming of Age SwissMist

R. Powell, "SwissMist" New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008

Genre: Coming of Age.

Annotation: This fictional story is about a young boy named Milo Bastion and the story relates a major part of his life which is his adolescence age. The story started when Milo was eleven years old in fifth-grade and ends when Milo turns sixteen at the onset of eleventh grade. He goes through a lot of struggle which includes dealing with his parents divorce, changing schools, dealing with loneliness and playing sports.As he goes through these problems, he is given advice on how to make it in life. His mum taught him some skills on how to catch a ball at an early age which he found useful later as he played sports. His dad also shared with him some philosophical insights on how to make it in life. To the dad, the only way to make it in life was to always seek the truth. The person that made the greatest impact in Milo's life however, was his fifth-grade teacher Ms. Swinford.
Ms. Swinford was a favorite of the fifth-graders. She loved to sing the song "The happy Wanderer" and told tales about her childhood on a farm in Wenatchee. She told them stories about her travels to Switzerland and showed them cool power point slides of Swiss villages and mountains. She made such a huge impact on Milo that he never stopped thinking of her as he journeyed from city to city with his mum. Ms. Swinford gave him a book titled "Synonyms" which he referenced whenever he was going through his ups and downs. The surprising twist to the story happened when Milo found out years later that Ms. Swinfors was such a big phony after all. She never went to Switzerland and had made up all those stories which the the fifth-graders so much enjoyed. Milo was hurt by this revelation but he handled the situation well because he had already gone through a lot.However at the end of the story he got a surprise about his friend Jastin Spitters. Jastin had lived his adolescent life as a criminal and Milo and his mum thought Jastin was going to end up in jail but Jastin actually ended well.

Nomination: I will nominate this book for young readers because there are lots of issues in the story that they can relate to.

Blog Review # 2: Graphic Novel Runaways, Pride & Joy

V. Brian and A. Alphona, "The Runaways, Pride & Joy, Marvel Publishing inc. 2009

Genre: Graphic Novel

Annotation: This book is a fictional graphic novel about six teenagers who are forced to attend an annual event by their parents. The event was hosted at the home of one of the teenagers, Alex Wilder. This meeting or event was usually held in private in the library behind closed doors while the teenagers were left on their own to entertain themselves. The teenagers’ curiosity about what went on behind the closed doors, led them to eavesdrop on their parents and they were surprised at what they saw and heard. Their parents were members of a secret cult called “The Pride”and they murdered a young teenage girl in cold blood. The teenagers were shocked to find out that their parents had been living deceptive lives all along and they agreed that the best thing to do was to take the matter to the police. They realized later that the “Pride” had taken over the city and that no one could help them. They then decided to run away and as they went from one person’s house to the next searching for evidence, they found out that great supernatural powers had been passed out to some of them by their parents. At the end of the story, they were able to subdue their parents but they could not turn them in to the police for the crime they committed. The six teenagers actually became suspects for the murder of the girl. They all went to a secluded cave in the park and gave each other new names with the exception of Alex Wilder
Who vowed to protect the world their parents were trying to destroy.

Nomination: I nominate this book because I found the story interesting and intriguing. The writer used suspense effectively in the narration of the story. The illustration or pictures are very colorful and vivid and even though it is an action story, the pace was regular, not too fast or slow. The cool settings used in the book would also appeal to the teens. The story was set in rich California neighborhoods like Malibu and Beverly Hills. The language of the book is also very modern and there was a constant reference to everyday events like TV shows and eBay or past historical events. The characters were also diversified; an under aged teen, an obese teen and a gothic teen were amongst them. The writer also incorporated humor in the story and I know teens would find this book to be interesting. The book is a very good example of a graphic novel because of its well structured sequence and vivid imagery.

Blog Review # 9: Adult Market Author "The Shining"

Stephen King. The Shining. Garden City, New York, Doubleday, 1977 1^st ed.

Genre: Adult books for teens/ horror/fiction

Annotation: This fictional horror story by Stephen King was published in 1977 and became one of his best books ever. He is one of the best supernatural/horror story writer and one of the popular adult writers whose books are constantly read by young adults. The novel is about a family of three who moved into a resort home in the mountains of Colorado. The father Jack Torrance had recently lost his job as a teacher and was picking up a job as the caretaker of a resort, “The Overlook Hotel.” Jack struggled in his new job as a caretaker as he tried to control his alcohol addiction, hot temper and violent attitude. His son Dan had telepathy and psychic powers and could see into the future. The mother Wendy did all she could to keep the family together but they all had to battle against the ghosts and evil forces present in the mansion.

Nomination Justification: I nominate this book because it is such an interesting read. It is full of suspense and engaging characters and the supernatural and horror plot is a favorite among young adults. They can relate to Danny as a character as he interacts with a father fighting addiction and all his other inner struggles. The “Creepiness” in the story is very high as flower hedges move about and ghosts basically take over the resort. The setting of the story (an empty magnificent hotel in the snowed up mountains)is very suitable for the plot and the teen reader is going to go away with a great experience after reading this book.

Blog Review # 8: Challenged or Censored Title "Harry Potter and The half blood Prince"

J. K. Rowling. New York, NY. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005 1^st Ameri. ed.

Genre: Challenged or Censored book.

Annotation: This is the sixth book in the series by author J. K. Rowlings and just like the earlier books before this, the story is full of magic and sorcery. There is a major confrontation between good and evil in a prolonged battle that results in the death of one of the major characters. There are wizard lessons and quidditch matches and making of potions that some parents deem too offensive for young adults. Harry Potter and the half blood Prince has been constantly challenged by parents due to the excessive portrayal of witchcraft and wizardry and they have actually succeeded in getting the books off of some school shelves and libraries.

Non-Nomination Justification: It is true that this book contains a lot of magic and violent graphic scenes like the scene where Dumbledore uses magic to freeze Harry in place and the battle scene between the members of the order of the phoenix and the death eaters. The incident were Snape kills Dumbledore by sending him flying over the edge of the tower is described by some as too graphic for young teens. However I don’t think this book deserves to be banned or censored. After considering the book as a whole, it is clear that the author just wanted to satisfy the curiosity of her young readers. One of the developmental milestones of adolescence is the intense curiosity about the world of fantasy. It is interesting too that a little romance was depicted in the relationship between Ron and his girl friend Lavender and the jealousy that ensued with Hermoine.

Blog Review # 7: Science Fiction "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone"

J. K. Rowlings. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. New York: A. A. Levine Books, 1998

Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy

Annotation:   Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a science fiction story about an eleven year old boy who was living a miserable life at his aunt and uncle's home. He gains admission into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and while there, he makes some new friends. Harry gets transported later into the supernatural world with the help of the school keeper, Hagrid. While there, he goes on a quest that results in an awesome adventure experience.

Nomination Justification: I nominate this book for all young readers because it is full of fun characters and creatures. The story line will also appeal to teens because of the adventure/quest themes. Teenagers go through stress daily either in academics, social or personal life and reading a good science fiction /fantasy book can help them to release some of that stress. They like to be transported or immeresed in a world where they can experiment with magic and find some answers about nature or the superntural. This book would surely give them all the excitement that they so much crave.

Blog Review # 5: Multicultural "When my Name was Keoko"

L. Sue Park. "When my name was Keoko" New York: Clarion Books, 2002

Genre: Multicultural

Annotation: This historical non-fiction novel is about a Korean family that lived under the Japanese occupation during World War 11. The close-knit family which was made up of five members which includes; the father, mother, two kids and an uncle, went through a lot of struggles that tested their family bond and patriotism. They were forced to undergo a name change, had their property seized, were subject to suspicious and frequent unannouced searches until the family was torn apart. The uncle ran away after being accused of treason by the Japanese and there was no trace of his whereabouts and Tae-yul (the son) was forced to join the Japanese army in order to save his family.


Non-Nomination Justification: This novel has a lot of merits in dealing with multicultural issues which includes the struggle of the characters with ethnic and Identity Issues, conflict which drives the family apart and social justice and courage themes. It also presents a lot of historical information and teaches about the Japanese and Korean culture but in I don't nominate this book for an award.
The story line presented in the novel lacks depth and there is no intrigue. The interaction of the characters within the family unit in relation to the issues presented in the plot is somewhat boring. The author's style of telling the story from the perspective of Sun-hee and Tae-yul (the brother and sister) was a little bit repetitious. The resolution of the plot was even more surpising, sudden and uninteresting. The book was catalogued as an ALA Notable Children's book and an ALA best book for young adults but I think it is more suited for the children than for the adolescents.

Blog Review # 1: M. Printz Award Winner "How I live now" by Meg Rosoff

M. Rosoff. New York: Wendy Lamb books 2004

ANNOTATION: This book is a Realist Fiction story about a fifteen year old girl, Elizabeth, who goes on a quest of finding love by travelling from her home in New York to London. While in New-York, she was not happy with her family situation because she never got along with her stepmother. When the opportunity was presented to her by her father to go to london to meet her aunt and cousins, she jumped at the idea. She was excited to get away from her dad and stepmum and she was hopeful that she will be able to connect with her new family and find a loving and peaceful home again but little did she know that she will actually fall in love also!

GENRE: This books falls under the category of Realistic Fiction and it won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in Young Adult Literature in the year 2005.

NOMINATION JUSTIFICATION: I nominate this book for an award and I justify my nomination based on the fact that this book targets the right audience. It is full of different teen characters who are going through issues that everyday teens experience; finding love, eating disorders, relationship with parents and friendship. The story is also based on a crisis period ranging from war, political uncertainty and terroristic threats which teens experience today either directly or indirectly. However, this book deals with the issue of incest in a very negative way and some readers might be put off by that aspect of the story just as I was. Overall, I think the positive story of survival and human endurance, overrides the negative aspects of the plot.