My most mediocer book

Dear Joshua,

This weeks book is “My Most Excellent Year” by Steve Kluger. As a class, we decided that it is not the most excellent book, however it does have something to offer.

The novel is told through journal entries and IM chats of three different friends, T.C., Augie, and Ale. The parents and other supporting characters can be found by way of memos to each other. This is a story about friendship and family and it’s all wrapped up in a neat little package. T.C. and Augie are brothers, although not by birth. They became friends when they were six years old and decided that being brothers would be much more fun. Ale is T.C.’s love interest and a socially and politically minded individual. She is a strong female character, which I can appreciate. Augie is most certainly gay; although he doesn’t know when everyone else does (he writes his journal entries to his “Diva of the Week” for crying out loud!). He does figure it out and falls in love for the first time. T.C.’s mother died when he was 6 and he has taken in another 6 year old, Hucky, as his friend/little brother. Hucky is deaf so T.C. and everyone else learn sign language pretty quick so they can all communicate.

I cannot honestly say what the story was trying to do. What was the plot? Ummm….I guess it was some friends during their Freshmen year and how they got to know each other with some parents and a deaf child mixed in. I don’t have a clear answer. There was no big drama, no big dilemma; everything was fixed in the end and you are left with a fuzzy feeling inside.

Needless to say, this week was the week on “Innovations With Form.” I enjoyed the book and did not find it difficult in the least to read, but I was part of a select few. After having read plenty of graphic novels I was able to get into the swing of things pretty easy. There is a lot of changing view points and messages and letters and chats that make up the story, but that’s what I found most interesting. I doubt you would like it, Joshua, but it’s still a pretty easy and fun read.

Your sister,

Paige

Relatability, Shrematablity

Dear Joshua,

During this blog, I have been trying to find ways to get you to relate to the books I review. I have tried using your interests, your experiences (that you have had or will have eventually), or lessons you should probably learn. This time I have a book that caused quite a commotion in class, due to the subject of relatability.

“We Were Here” my Matt De La Pena is a book about a Mexican American teen, Miguel, who winds up in Juvenile Detention in California. He is sent to a house to work off his sentence with a Judges request that he write a journal. The journal is to help counselors help him. He meets Rondell, an African American teen, in Juvi who also ends up in the same house. At the house already is Mong, a Chinese American teen who just looks plain crazy to Miguel.

Miguel and his new acquaintances decide to run away to Mexico and find jobs. On the journey, we learn a lot about where the boys come from, what kind of family life they had, what their aspirations are. Miguel is the narrator, we have a limited perspective, but we can see the progression of an unlikely friendship between three kids brought together by actions deemed irresponsible.

“Throughout Missouri, the Division of Youth Services operates 32 residential programs serving 72 groups of 10-12 youth and 10 day-treatment programs. Division of Youth Services programs are located in both rural and urban/metropolitan areas throughout the state.” This was found at http://www.dss.mo.gov/dys/faq/genopt.htm. This means that, in the state of Missouri, there are 23,040 – 27,648 kids in the DYS database at a given time. The discussion raging in class was over how students could relate to a book about Juvi kids. I believe the numbers above deem relatability a moot point.

We know these kids. We see them on the street, in the grocery store, at the mall, cleaning trash on the side of the interstate. To not present a book like this would pretend that these kids don’t exist. I didn’t work at a non-profit crisis care center for abused and neglected children for 12 months to walk away thinking that I will always be surrounded by white, middle to upper class, privileged kids.

Joshua, I know that at your Super Nerd Tech School (just poking fun) probably doesn’t have a lot of Juvi kids, if any at all. But your school recently ended up having the largest Toledo Public High School, Scott, merge into your building. That school is riddled with gangs and violence like you wouldn’t believe. And you share a building with them, despite TTA’s best efforts to prevent that from happening. You are going to see Juvi kids. And you would be better off knowing that they come from a home life that you could only imagine. They need extra guidance and a hell of a lot of support. Read “We Were Here.” These kids are human and worth taking a look at. I don’t care if you can’t relate. Suck it up, boy.

Your sister,

Paige

Now that's more like it!

Dear Joshua,

You are a big fan of Tolkien, just like me and Justin. Justin got us into the books and I can remember reading The Hobbit on our way to Florida the first time. We were sitting in the car and I was reading Gollum’s riddles to dad. I remember you (how old were you? You had to have been super little) trying to guess the answers. It was so cute!

Well, today I have a really great fantasy book for you! It’s called Graceling by Kristen Cashore. It doesn’t have very many of the same elements as Tolkien’s world, but it’s still pretty darn good. Katsa is a Graceling, someone who has a Grace. A Grace in this world is a gift of tremendous ability. Not everyone has one and you know a Graceling by their eyes being two different colors. Katsa has the gift of killing. She can kill any person at any time with any method. She’s quite a phenomenon. She is used in her kingdom as a hit-man (hit-woman?) by the king. She doesn’t like her job and doesn’t appreciate her skill being used to solve petty crimes.

Katsa creates her own secret society to put her Grace to good use. She and her friends stumbled upon a mystery and have decided to take it into their own hands. Someone is causing a lot of trouble, namely kidnapping an elderly man for no apparent reason. Katsa meets another Graceling, Po, who happens to have a strong connection to the elderly man. Katsa and Po’s relationship unfolds into something beautiful and intimate and together they learn of a terrifying man who destroys the minds he meets. It is their duty to put an end to him.

We talked in class about fantasy books and what types of questions they raise and how those questions can be answered by fantasy. Basically, a fantasy book can ask any of the same questions a non-fantasy book can ask. We have discussed how The Lord of the Rings is similar to the Second World War, raising many of the same issues. Well, Graceling presents questions on gender, power, altruism, and relationships. Remember how I said that Frankie was about how NOT to treat a girl? Well, Graceling is about how you SHOULD treat a girl. Po is an excellent male figure, one that I think most young adults would appreciate.

It doesn’t matter what you’re vehicle is. You can write in plain old fiction or amp it up with fantasy. As long as you have some pertinent questions and make use of our higher cognitive functioning, you’ve got yourself a good book. Graceling is one you must read.

Photos!

Dear Readers, Here is a fun post! My older brother, Justin, got married in September and Joshua just sent some pictures to me that were taken from his camera. The first is one of Joshua himself. You can see Justin in the background, just look behind all of Joshua's bulk. The second one is of both Joshua and myself. We really do love each other, I promise!

Take care,

Paige