The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The writings of John Green are so mind-blowingly-beautiful that they leave me feeling much like the quote above. My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.

And, did John pat himself on the back and smile that sly-writer's smile that writers get when they realize they've just written gold? If not, we need a time machine. 

Let me first say: I bought the novel this afternoon. I read it in just over two hours. I refused to leave a 6 foot radius. I laid on the carpet like a 15 year old girl. I cried. I sobbed. I cried and laughed at the same time. I was appalled, and then pleased, and then confused (because that is what John Green does to me). 

And before I even get to the review: yes. I recommend this novel. 

The Fault in Our Stars is primarily comprised of a raggedy bunch of cancer-fighting youth. Blind, missing limbs, and attached to oxygen tanks, they are trying to navigate the world of adolescence while simultaneously engaged in civil wars with their own bodies. John does a great job of touching on the very real aspects of the teenage experience - break ups, family drama, video games, high school; all of these things play a role in the lives of the characters.

The thing I've really come to appreciate about his writing is that it offers some real, something worth consuming, to the world of YA Literature. The characters featured in novels such as The Fault in Our Stars have a level of depth to them that is so, so very human. 

Augustus, Isaac, and Hazel transcend the imaginary character space. They are these people, and these people exist in the world. These situations happen. This is teenage life for someone, somewhere - and thank the universe for John Green because he keeps the bookshelves lined with words that matter. With experiences that are truly relatable. With character-people who provide that other side, the emotional perspective, the raw truth, the fact-of-the-matter.

Augustus is this fantastic blend of Holden Caulfield and Miles Halter (plus a dash of something completely unique to his own self). Hazel is a kind, smart, but still ordinary (self conscious, ANTM watching) teenage girl who compliments him perfectly. 

This novel navigates the tough stuff - death and dying, grief and pain - in a gentle but upfront way. It's a great read that pushes the boundaries and leaves you sobbing on the carpet of your parents living room like a little girl.

The universe won't look the same for a long time.
Or maybe ever again.

*Sidenote: It was really strange, reading this novel and being forced to re-encounter the grieving process. I didn't realize how many loose ends I'd left open in regards to deaths of close friends/family, and this novel wouldn't let me ignore them. It sits heavy with me, but in a very welcome way. Read it. 

Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James

I'm ashamed I'm writing this.
I was convinced by a friend to read Fifty Shades of Grey in Spanish (because she was, our friends were, it's good to keep up with language skills...that kind of stuff).

It was the most tortured 380+ pages I have ever read.
Thank GOD the author herself admits she's not a good writer, because she's not.

There was no character development (in fact, this may be the first time I've experienced character regression). The almost non existent plot moved at a snails pace. The whole "first person experience" is also cringe-inducing:

I see Christian. He is walking towards me in his grey suit and grey tie and he has grey eyes. His last name is Grey. I can feel my heart fluttering.

That's not a direct quote, but it's pretty damn close.
Luckily, reading it in Spanish, I just pretended it was all in the past tense (easier to do in another language).

Unfortunately, the authors lack of vocabulary was not as easy to avoid. I think I will vomit if I ever hear the word "drool" again.

Yeah. DROOL.

And, let's not leave out the whole "naive little girl who thinks she can convince the beast to change for her" over-arching theme of the novel. I am very worried for all the young ladies out there who read this book and think that Christian is the kind of guy to compete for.

He's an abuser. A handsome, somewhat-mysterious abuser with a past.
Condoning (wait, creating and then condoning) abusive relationships through writing? Horrific.

This book was an accident - and it reads like a disaster.
Stay away.

The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult

I saw this book sitting on the shelf at the student book fair. I'm an English teacher; it was called The Storyteller. I put it on my teacher wishlist and moved on with my life.

And then I read the book, which changed my life.

Seriously. I'd read 20, 30, 40 pages. Put it down, and then 10 minutes later come back. The multiple story lines weave beautifully (and surprisingly) through one another. The characters are refreshing - not stock characters by any means.

And the story. It is definitely one to be told. It's beautiful, poetic. It's full of charge, and full of tragedy. Love. Confusion. Wonder. Fear. Pushing boundaries, breaking norms.

In fact, it's so fabulous, I want to say as little as I can - the story is so precious, I don't want to spoil even a corner. 

My Name is Not Easy - Debby Edwardson

I had my students write book reviews for this novel after we finished it. Here are some of the things they had to say:

"...Experience being ripped away from your family and forced to adhere to a culture you don't believe in, and which doesn't believe in you..."

"You will laugh, cringe, and cry all within 3 pages."

"The past never felt so current."

Words they used to describe this novel: encouraging, heart-breaking, endearing, sad, shocking, honest, communal, accepting, educational, confusing.

Truthfully, I don't think the students picked up on the subtle unconventional tones of this novel. You are dropped feet first into a culture you know nothing about, but at no time do you feel "out of the know." You as the reader become part of the instant-family in the novel.

I really appreciated the jokes about white people. So many times in life you hear phrases like "is it because I'm black?" or "You know how Mexicans/Natives/Asians can be."

But you almost never hear "Oh, you know how White people are."

This is a theme that occurs again and again - the white person as the outsider, the minority, the one that has strange customs and eating/religious habits.

I really enjoyed seeing my white students squirm in their skin. They've never had to think about themselves as the "other" and so it was really cool to have that experience with them, to help them see that people view white culture just as awkwardly as we view 'other' cultures and customs.

So - final word: read this book. There are some obvious typos and occasionally it gets slow, but that's life. And this book is teeming with it. 

The People Could Fly

I have not had a lot of experience with Black folk tales. To be honest, Virginia Hamilton's The People Could Fly was my first exposure to these tales. As I was reading them I was upset that I hadn't had more exposure to these kinds of tales. They are full of great lessons and stories: stories of trickery, honesty, life lessons and freedom. There is so much to be learned from these tales. They could easily be paired with Native American trickster tales, and I don't understand why these Black folk tales aren't regularly implemented into primary and secondary language arts classes.

It is exactly this type of literature that can be used to send a powerful message to students of color that their background and their heritage is valuable. By excluding them from the classroom, it's like saying that they have nothing to offer. These kinds of stories don't have to be saved for Black History Month, either. They can be used in a short story unit, a folk tale unit, a history class, an American literature class or unit and more. Students of any race, ethnicity, heritage, religious background, sexual orientation, and so on can connect with or learn something from these texts. They can compare them with tales they know, and discuss the similarities and differences. They can talk about how freedom is a universal desire. They can discover how magic and talking animals are symbols for deeper expressions.

Because this was my first experience with "Gullah" and other Black vernacular tales, I did have a bit of a difficult time understanding a few of them; I had to read them out loud to get the message. That being said, I thoroughly appreciated the blurbs at the end of the stories that gave a little history and context to them. It helped me to connect with them, it helped me to understand them, and overall it helped me to appreciate them more. I also enjoyed the chronology. I do not know if that was intentional, or if it just happened that way, but I liked seeing the tales move from folky, mythic trickster-like "Gullah" tales to tales of freedom, all of which were incredibly powerful.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part - Time Indian, Sherman Alexie

In this novel, the major theme that resonates with me is the theme of leaving the world you know for a world which will, hopefully, be able to help you succeed in the long run. On some level, I think all readers (so long as they have been an adolescent at one point or another) can relate to this theme; all young people have that moment when they say “I'm ready to leave. I'm ready to move beyond this place.” But, like is also expressed in the novel, not all people get that opportunity, and so it needs to be seized when it presents itself.
Although the story revolves around and the narrator is a young man, I still was able to connect his experiences to my life. Several times I felt as though I knew exactly what he was feeling. [large excerpt removed for privacy reasons - but the teacher knows what's there!]
I appreciate this novel because it isn't often that narrators (or authors, I should say) are so comfortable with their writing. For example, Junior talks about uncomfortable topics quite frequently: breasts, masturbation, alcoholism, abuse, death. In most young adult novels I've read, albeit written by white authors, the narrator implies an uncomfortable situation but never delves into it. Even though it made me a little uncomfortable at times, probably just because I'm predisposed to be a little uncomfortable, I really enjoyed that Sherman Alexie didn't dawdle. He laid it out there. It seemed to say to me: These things are REAL! These things are what happen in the world. Like Michael Cart says in his article, “That period of passage called 'young adulthood' is a unique part of life, distinguished by unique needs that are – at minimum — physical, intellectual, emotional, and societal in nature” (Cart 2). I think it is safe to say that authors like Sherman Alexie are helping meet these needs by writing novels to which adolescents can fully relate to. Through his writing, he seems to know that the real and uncomfortable things are what students relate to, and it is so important that we bring it up.
I think the only issue that could arise with this book is that because it is a male author and a male main character, it may be a slight turn-off to younger female audiences. Nevertheless, this book has a lot of offer adolescents, male or female. Everyone can learn something from or relate to Junior's trials in some way. He is raw and real and makes you laugh and cry all at once. Even if there had been no lesson to learn or message to relate to in this novel, at the very least the reader would get to experience the height of different emotions. Just being allowed to feel in that way should make the story valuable to all who read it.

Cart, Michael. "The Value of Young Adult Literature." 1-3.