Poetry, Humor, and News Media-Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.

Poetry, Humor, and News Media-Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.

Woodson, J. (2003). Locomotion. New York, NY: G.P. Putman’s Sons.

Life has not been easy for Lonnie Collins Motion also nicked named Locomotion since his parents died when he was seven years old. Ever since then he had to live from relative to relative or Group homes and is now living with his new foster mother, Miss Edna. He is going to a new school and trying to cope being separated from his little sister Lili, who lives with her new mother in a different part of the city. At school his teacher Ms. Marcus is teaching them about poetry by keeping a poetry journal. Through poetry Lonnie finds a way to express himself and in a series of poems that his teacher has assigned. He slowly begins to remember the memories of his family. The poetry notebook becomes a way for Lonnie to grieve, find his place at Ms. Edna’s and have hope for his future.

Locomotion is a novel that is told in sixty poems. According to Jennifer Verbrugge from School Library Journal, “Jacqueline Woodson uses various forms of poetry, such as haiku, sonnet, and free verse, to convey the boy’s range of emotions” (2012) and I would agree with her as this is evident in the example in the poem titled “Haiku” when Lonnie is having a rough day and doesn’t really care to be learning about haiku, “Today’s a bad day Is that haiku? Do I look like I even care” (Woodson, 2003, p.14). Another Haiku is represented when Ms. Marcus, Lonnie’s teacher wants to see all his poems and he doesn’t want to share. He says, “Ms. Marcus wants to see all my poems. No way. Some things just your own” (Woodson, 2003, p.59).

It is beautiful and sad to see Lonnie’s character develop as the novel continues. At the beginning Lonnie doesn’t feel comfortable sharing what has happened to him or his family in his poetry journal or how he honestly feels about things. He struggles whether he should share or not. On the one hand his teacher Ms. Marcus is encouraging him to write while on the other hand he hears the voice of Miss Edna telling him to be quiet. “This whole book’s a poem ‘cause every time I try to tell the whole story my mind goes Be quiet! Only it’s not my mind’s voice, it’s Miss Edna’s over and over and over Be quiet!...This whole book’s a poem ‘cause Ms. Marcus says write it down before it leaves your brain. I tell her about the smoke and she says Good, Lonnie, write that. Not a whole of people be saying Good, Lonnie to me so I write the string-of-smoke thing down real fast…And I’m thinking Yeah, I better write fast before Miss Edna’s voice comes and blows my candle idea out. (Woodson, 2003, p. 1-2)

As the story continues Lonnie’s character slowly begins to develop and open up about what he has gone through, and where he belongs. After going from home to home Lonnie doesn’t really feel like he belongs anywhere, but slowly he begins to see that he is wanted and loved. When he is shopping with Miss Edna at C-Town and buy Twinkies the cashier thinks that Lonnie is her son and says, “I guess your son likes Twinkies, huh? And Miss Edna looks at me sideways, Then smiles and says Yeah, I guess he does” (Woodson, 2003, p. 37). Then later on when Miss Edna’s son Rodney comes home from the war he calls Lonnie little brother, “Then he lifts me up, says Look at Little Brother Lonnie all growed up” (Woodson, 2003, p. 82). This begins to give Lonnie a sense that he now has a place where he belongs and is wanted and he confirms this in the poem titled “Almost Summer Sky” as he and Rodney are walking in the rain and through the park and Rodney is explaining that the trees upstate are not like any other trees you see and how nice it is to live up there but then Lonnie states “Can’t imagine moving away From Home” (Woodson, 2003, p. 88). This statement reassures the reader that Lonnie has found a place at Miss Edna’s, a place where he belongs.

The theme of Hope is found throughout Locomotion. According to Moreillon & Cahill “Lonnie uses his life experiences as inspiration for his school work and finds hope in difficult situations” (2011, p. 26). In the poem “Birth” when Lonnie writes about when he was born he weight less than four pounds but his mother had hope, “Doctors said there’s a little bit we can do but mostly you have to hope hard and pray” (Woodson, 2003, p. 74) is what his momma used to tell him. Then later in the poem titled “Church” when Lonnie is at church with Miss Edna he describes the what the preacher says, and what the people are wearing but then he decides to write the word hope on his hand, “I sneak a pen from my back pocket, bend down low like I dropped something…I write the word HOPE on my hand” (Woodson, 2003, p. 77).

According to Publishers Weekly “Woodson through Lonnie, creates (much as Sharon Creech did with the boy narrator in Love That Dog) a contagious appreciation for poetry while using the genre as a cathartic means for expressing the young poet’s own grief” (2002, p. 69). This novel written in poetry form is a definite must read for children 10 and up. It is a wonderful way to introduce students to poetry while at the same time providing a story of hope when sometimes it feels like there’s none.

References

Locomotion. (2012). Booklist, 109(2), 78.

Moreillon, J., & Cahill, M. (2011). Growing in knowledge: Rooted in community. School

Library Monthly, 27(8), 24-26.

Roback, D., Brown, J. M., & Zaleski, J. (2002). Locomotion (Book). Publishers Weekly,

                                   

249(47), 68.

Verbrugge, J. (2012). Locomotion. School Library Journal, 58(8), 56.

Woodson, J. (2003). Locomotion. New York, NY: G.P. Putman’s Sons.

Nonfiction-Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration by Shelley Tougas.

Nonfiction-Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration by Shelley Tougas.

Tougas, S. (2012). Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books.

Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration is the story behind a photograph captured by newspaper photographer Will Counts of Little Rock Arkansas. The photograph taken was that of young Elizabeth Eckford, one of the nine African-American teenagers who were known as the Little Rock Nine. On September 4, 1957 The Little Rock Nine were supposed to meet and together walk into the all-white Central High School. But Elizabeth did not receive the message and found herself alone in front of the high school. Alone amongst mobs of angry white people Elizabeth was spat upon up, insulted verbally and not allowed to enter the high school. The Arkansas National Guard, under the orders of the Arkansas governor Orval Faubus prevented her entrance. During this turmoil, Will Counts snaps a photograph of Elizabeth being followed by an outraged white teen named Hazel Bryan. Later the photograph and Elizabeth became symbols of courage and hope for the Little Rock crises.

The book includes a table of contents, a timeline, glossary, additional resources, source notes, selected bibliography and an index. The book is part of the “Captured History” Series. According to Booklist, “This series is model nonfiction. Each volume takes an issue and looks at it creatively. The design is fresh and inviting, the writing is clear, and the back matter (including source notes) is useful and extensive. An all-round winner” (Cooper, 2011, p.58).

 

It also includes many black and white photographs of ranging from various scenes. Some of them include the crowded and less equipped African American Schools; Photographs of the young Little Rock Nine as well as in their later years; more pictures of Elizabeth Eckford followed by the crowds or being interviewed by photographers and reporters as well as a photograph of Elizabeth and Hazel Bryan in front of the school reconciling in front of the Central High School in Little Rock.

According to Heather Acerro from School Library Journal, “Each page includes an archival photo, primary-source document, or biography of a key player in the event” (p. 143). This is evident in the vignettes such as the one of Governor Orval Faubus where there is a picture of him holding up a sign the states he is against racial integration of all schools within the Little Rocks School District. In his case he was one of the main reasons for the conflict with the Little Rock Nine since he was adamant against the desegregation of schools in Little Rock Arkansas and shut down the schools before he allowed any African Americans to attend Central High School. Each vignette is accompanied by a photograph with a caption along with a brief summary of the people or person and the role they played during the time of turmoil in Little Rock.

School Library Journal states that “The author makes good use of quotes throughout the readable text, enabling today’s students to image walking in the shoes of one of the Little Rock Nine” (Acerro, 2012, p.143). This is evident throughout the book such as when Elizabeth is trying to make her way to the school, “As she approached the door, the soldiers, who were in the Arkansas National Guard, crossed their riffles and blocked her path. On the orders of the Arkansas’ governor, Orval Faubus, they wouldn’t allow her to enter the building. Her legs started shaking. The crowd continued to yell. Go home! Whites have rights too!” (Tougas, 2012, p. 5).

The double timeline provided at the end of the book provides the reader with important dates in history during the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock. It includes the various pictures found throughout the book with snippets of the events that took place. The timeline begins with the date of 1896 with the U.S. Supreme Courts’ decision of separate but equal accommodations with Jim Crow laws and ends with the fall of 1972 fifteen years after the Little Rock Nine encountered the angry mob to try to integrate in the schools. Even though the timeline tries to show the events chronologically, having the double outline creates a sense of confusion.

Overall, the book is “A testament to the power of the press and the bravery of all who fought for equal rights, this book should be required reading” (Acerro, 2012, p. 143). This book is recommended for students in grades 5-9. I think this book would be a great resource to include in a school library’s nonfiction collection. It is not filled with boring facts but instead it easy to read  and sprinkled with well-placed quotes by the author.

 

References

 

Acerro, H. (2012). Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration.

           School Library Journal, 58(1), 143.

 Cooper, I. (2011). Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration.

Booklist, 108(5), 58.

Tougas, S. (2012). Little Rock Girl 1957: How a Photograph Changed the Fight for Integration.

            Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books.

 

Historical Fiction--Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Historical Fiction--Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

McCormick, P. (2012). Never fall down. New York, NY: Balzer & Bray.

Never Fall Down is a novel based on the real person named Arn Chorn-Pond and his survival in a children’s labor camp in Cambodia when the Khemer Rouge or Cambodian guerrilla took over in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.  The novel is about Arn’s hardships and experiences he endured in order to survive all those years. One of those experiences was volunteering to play a musical instrument he did not know anything about it, something that helped to save him. Told from Arn’s point of view, the story is told from the time the soldiers arrive in his hometown when he was eleven years old to when he was fifteen and in America.

The story is told in first-person from the point of view of Arn. At the time the regime takes over he is eleven years old. So everything he sees, smells, tastes, and feels is told to the reader through his eyes. After the Khemer Rouge take the people deep into the jungle and they begin to work them long hours, Arn describes what is happening to his little brother, “My little brother, his stomach now getting bloat, full of air from no food. He cry at night, he beg me… I tell him no; I tell him remembering this good food only will make us miss it more” (McCormick, 2012, p. 22).

According to Christine M. Heppermann from Horn Book, Never Fall Down is “written in realistically halting English, the narrative might be unreadable if not for Arn’s brash, resilient personality” (p.93-94). The short sentences and Art’s broken English make it as if he himself had written the story. This brings his character and the time and place to life and adding credibility to the story. In chapter three Arn describes the children’s circumstances as they are walking to a new place. “The rainy season is here now, and the path is like river of mud; and the nighttime is very cold with no blanket, only thin pajama, so we sleep with all of us very close to stay warm. Also it’s the season when malaria can come, and all the time we get bit by bug. At night I think maybe to cry a little bit form my family, but I do like my aunt say, cry only in my mind” (McCormick, 2012, p. 166).

The theme of survival weaves throughout the story from beginning to end. In chapter two as the families are separated Arn’s Aunt tells them how to survive, she says, “Do whatever they say…be like the grass. Bend low, bend low, then bend lower. The wind blow one way, you bow that way, It blow the other way, you do, too. That is the way to survive” (McCormick, 2012, p. 23-24). In another occasion when Arn comes across a group of monkeys and a baby monkey gets near him he grabs him and kills him to survive, “He didn’t do anything to me. But I need to survive. I need to eat. Before I kill human being, and now I kill this animal. Why? Because every minute I have to think about surviving. Every minute” (McCormick, 2012, p. 86).

Music plays a very important role in Never Fall Down.  It not only symbolizes feeling alive and free but it also symbolizes survival. At the beginning of the novel it is mentioned that music is everywhere and it does not discriminate. “At night in our town, it’s music everywhere. Rich house. Poor house. Doesn’t matter. Everyone has music. Radio. Record player. Eight track cassette. Even the guys who pedal the rickshaw cycle, they tie a tiny radio to the handle-bar and sing for the passenger. In my town, music is like air, always there” (McCormick, 2012, p.5). Here Arn says the music is like air, always there like the oxygen that we breathe giving people life no matter who they are and bringing them joy.

Later on when everyone is taken captive to the jungle and the Khemer Rouge want to put together a band, Arn volunteers to be one of the band players thinking this will help him survive even though he doesn’t know how to play any musical instruments. He says, “I just raise my hand. Just give me one bowl of rice, I think, then you can kill me” (McCormick, 2012, p. 31). Then as the old man is trying to teach him to play the instruments in less than five days Arn realizes he must learn in order to stay alive. “I almost cry one time, it’s so hard. But the old man, he whisper in my ear. Learn fast he says. You don’t learn, they gonna kill you” (McCormick, 2012, p. 31). Then as Arn leads the other boys to play music time after time for the Khemer Rouge, Arn begins to realize he is respected by the soldiers when he sneaks out of his hut and gets caught, “This is death. To be out alone at night is death. To run, that’s also death. So I raise my hands and come out of the wood. The Khmer Rouge, he click his gun, ready to fire. You the khim player? I nod. He put the gun away. Go back to bed he says” (McCormick, 2012, p.48). And so by learning how play the musical instruments, Arn is able to survive for a little more.

Never Fall Down was a National Book Award Finalist in 2012 and in my opinion it’s a must read. At the beginning the novel is a little difficult to read because the way the story is told in Arn’s broken English but as the reader continues reading, Arn’s voice comes alive sentence by sentence. The novel is not an easy one to read due to the graphic and explicit details of children dying of starvation, disease, and the massive killings. Every step of the way the reader smells, feels, and sees the catastrophes as they are told, yet through it all, the story of the many innocent lives lost in Cambodia’s genocide must be heard, even if it’s through a child’s eyes.

References

 

Heppermann, C. (2012). Never fall down. Horn Book Magazine, 88(3), 93-94.

McCormick, P. (2012). Never fall down. New York, NY: Balzer & Bray.

Mydans, S. (2012). From the killing fields. The New York Times Book Review, 25.

 

Adventure, Sports, Mysteries, and Westerns-The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall

Adventure, Sports, Mysteries, and Westerns-The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall

Mackall, Dandi Daley. (2011). The Silence of Murder. New York, NY: Ember.

Jeremy Long is accused of killing the beloved Panthers baseball coach, John Johnson. There were witnesses that saw Jeremy fleeing from the crime scene and the evidence was found in his possession. Hope Long is convinced her autistic brother Jeremy did not murder anyone and Jeremy can’t really help defend himself since he stopped talking at the age of nine. Everyone thinks Jeremy is guilty, even his lawyer, except for his sister Hope, who along with her two friends T.J. and Chase goes looking for clues that will lead them to Jeremy’s innocence. However, snooping for clues leads to more to what they bargained for. Now family secrets are revealed and truths are told as slowly the identity of the real murderer is revealed.

The Silence for Murder was the winner of the Edgar Award for best young adult mystery of 2012. This award is presented by the Mystery Writers of America who honor a best mystery fiction book, non-fiction and television published or produced every year. Even though the book was published in 2011, the awards are not given until the following year, therefore 2012 winner. The book is organized in thirty-seven chapters with an epilogue at the end of the novel. The chapters are not titled and they vary in length. The book is recommended for grades 8-12^th.

The story is told from first-person omniscient point of view by Hope. Through her we are able to live the moments in court during Jeremy’s trial, feel her pain, feel her tenacity, and understand her confusion, and get to know other characters. When hope is looking for evidence to prove her brother is innocent, she looks at the crime scene photos and says, “I can’t stop staring. Coach is not so much a dead person as he is a person without life. I take in all the details of this picture…Coach faceless, lifeless John Johnson. My brother could not have done this”(Mackall, 2011, p.45).

The story begins with chapter one in the past with Hope having a flashback to the last time her brother Jeremy spoke out loud. Then in chapter two we are back to the present in the courtroom where Hope is testifying because the defendant wants to make Jeremy look crazy so he will not get the death penalty. “He wants me to tell the jury about something that happened when Jeremy was ten. That’s what we rehearsed. Only I don’t want to tell this story. I know it will hurt Jer”(Mackall, 2011, p. 9).

There are many flashbacks throughout the story that help establish Jeremy’s character and the close relationship that Hope and her brother have as well as the not so nice relationship that they have with their mother Rita. I one occasion they are at a shelter and Hope is remembering Jeremy giving away his clothes and shoes and Rita’s reaction. “I close my eyes and remember. I can see Rita’s hand reaching for something. I know it’s her hand because she’s wearing the big green ring she used to have…He gave his coat to a red-haired girl with a long braid down her back. He unbuttoned his shirt. Rita took hold of his hand, but he kept going, unbuttoning with his other hand. So she smacked him” (Mackall, 2011, p. 10-13).

 Another time Hope keeps having these images where she thinks she’s the reason her father is dead. “I hear footsteps  behind me and more shouts from Daddy...I hear thunder from the street and screeching that makes me stop so I can cover my ears. The next thing I know, I am lifted off the ground, as if an angle has flown by and picked me up” (Mackall, 2011, p. 285).

All through the story the main character Hope has an internal conflict with herself and with society. From the very beginning all the evidence points to Jeremey being guilty that even his lawyer and his mother Rita don’t try to prove his innocence they just want to make Jeremy look as if he’s crazy enough to kill. On the other hand Hope refuses to believe this that when she’s on the witness stand the entire time she’s testifying about her brother’s character, even though she agreed to go along with what the lawyer said she cannot bring herself to make him out to be a monster. After she testifies Hope says, “I feel sick inside my bones. My whole life I’ve fought anybody who said Jeremy was crazy, or treated him like there was something wrong with him. And now I’ve done that and worse, here in front of everybody and after swearing with my hand on the Bible” (Mackall, 2011, p.285).

According to Julie Paladino from School Library Journal, The Silence of Murder “very slowly (too slowly) builds to suspense as clues gradually surface” (p. 70). I would have to agree with her, even though the author does a great job of building the case, it is done too slowly where at times the reader can lose patience and discourage him from finishing reading the book. This would be a shame because the author does a really good job of bringing the story back to a full circle to the beginning of the story where Hope ask Jeremy to tell the court that he didn’t do it by writing it out. She says, “Jeremy, you have to tell them you didn’t do it. Write it out. Please? Just write down what happened” (Mackall, 2011, p. 15).

References

Fesko, Shari. The Silence of Murder. (2013). Booklist, 109(18), 69.

Mackall, Dandi Daley. (2011). The Silence of Murder. New York, NY: Ember.

Paladino, Julie. The Silence of Murder. (2013). School Library Journal, 59(3), 70.

 

 

Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Supernatural-Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Supernatural-Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

Westerfeld, Scott. (2011). Uglies. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

Tally Youngblood can’t wait to be sixteen because at the age of sixteen she will have the surgery that will change her life forever. Every teen is expected to have the surgery that turns them from ugly to supermodel pretty.  Once uglies have the surgery, they get to leave Uglyville and cross over to live in New Pretty town. In Pretty town there are no rules, there are parties, pleasure gardens, and everyone is happy.  Right before her sixteen birthday Tally meets a girl named Sha who is not sure she wants to have the surgery and tries to convince Tally not to have it. Sha goes missing and the authorities know that Tally was the last person to see her. The authorities threated Tally to help them find Sha, if she doesn’t her chance at becoming pretty is in jeopardy.

Uglies is the first book of the series titled, “Uglies”. The other books in the series include pretties, specials, and extras. I recommended that the series be read in order. Book one does a good job of establishing the setting, time, and the characters that appear throughout the series.

The story is told in three parts. Part I is titled Turning Pretty and consists of sixteen chapters. Here we meet our main character Tally who loves to defy the rules and regulations of Uglyville and Sha the girl who forever changes Tally’s future. Part II is titled the Smoke and it also includes sixteen chapters. Here Tally sets out to find Sha who went to live with the other rebels who run away so as not to have the surgery. Part III is titled Into the Fire and it includes eighteen chapters. 

From the beginning of the story, Tally the main character, has been fascinated with getting the surgery to change her looks for as long as she can remember. She says, “I don’t want to be ugly all my life. I want those perfect eyes and lips, and for everyone to look at me and gasp. And everyone who sees me to think who’s that?” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 83) As the story develops so does Tally’s character, as Tally goes out to find Sha and spends more time with the Smokies she begins to question the decision for her or anyone else to have the surgery. When she is speaking to David she says, “I’d hate it if you got the operation. She couldn’t believe she was saying it” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 232).

There are many themes in Uglies one of them being how your perception of yourself is shaped by what society makes you believe. In Uglyville everyone is actually normal but what makes them ugly is their differences or as David’s character puts it, “the features that we take away from our parents are the things that make us different. A big nose, thin lips, high forehead--all the things that the operation takes away” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 214). Even in the Uglyville schools, students were taught that when everyone was ugly, before the pretty surgeries came along, “Everyone judged everyone else based on their appearance, people who were taller got better jobs” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 43). Then the surgeries came along and everyone is more alike now, “It’s the only way to make people equal,” Tally states (Westerfeld, 2011, p.43). On another occasion when Tally is being complemented by David by her internal and external beauty  she has a difficult time believing him but the theme is clearly stated when the character David says, “the worst damage is done before they even pick up the knife: You’re all brain washed into believing you’re ugly” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 230).

An explicit theme shown in Uglies is that beauty is more than the physical way you look. After David and Tally go see his parents he continually complements Tally on how beautiful she is and she can’t believe it, “What, with my thin lips and eyes too close together?” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 229). Then she remembers everyday insulting other uglies without even thinking twice about it.  But as David explains it’s not your looks that make you beautiful, it’s what’s inside you that matters, “What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful” (Westerfeld, 2011, p.232).   

At the beginning of the story when Tally goes to find Sha she is only doing it for her own selfish reasons to become a pretty, “her only way home was to betray her friend” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 158). As the story continues Tally begins to have a conflict with herself as whether or not she should turn Sha and the Smokies in to the authorities, “David’s revelation had suddenly made everything much more complicated…If Tally activated the tracker, it wouldn’t just mean the end of Shay’s big adventure. It would mean David’s home taken from him, his whole life stripped away. Tally felt the way of the mountains pressing down on her…” (Westerfeld, 2011, p. 185).

Uglies is a definite must read, as Kirkus reviews puts it, “with a beginning and ending that pack hefty punches, this introduction to a dystopic future promises an exciting series” (Kirkus Reviews, 2005, p.237). The series is intended for youth ages twelve and up. The names and vocabulary are easy to understand and makes this dystopic novel an easy read.

 

References

Uglies. (2005). Kirkus Reviews, 73(4), 237.

Westerfeld, Scott. (2011). Uglies. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

 

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Contemporary Realistic Fiction--Skinny by Donna Cooner

Cooner, Donna. (2012). Skinny. New York: NY. Point.

Skinny is the story of Ever Davies, a fifteen year old teen who gains a lot of weight after the death of her mother and is now up to three hundred and two pounds.  Since Ever can remember she has been on every possible diet there is to try to lose weight but has had no success. Ever is constantly reminded of how ugly, fat and worthless she is by skinny, the vicious negative voice in her head that continually belittles Ever’s life. After an incident at the school awards ceremony Ever decides to do something drastic and has gastric bypass procedure done to lose weight once and for all. Even though Ever begins to lose weight there are many challenges that she must deal with to recover, one of them the voice of skinny who is still lingering around.

The story of Skinny is broken up into six sections in the book. The first part called Ashes, includes the first three chapters. This part focuses on Ever’s view of herself based on the little voice inside her head she calls skinny. Skinny tells Ever everything that everyone is supposedly thinking of Ever as well as condemns her for being overweight, “You’re like the big marshmallow monster in that old Ghostbusters movie. Soft. Gooey. Horrifying,” (Skinny, 2012, p.5) and Ever believes it all. She believes that she could never be pretty enough to be loved or liked by anyone. This continuous voice of negativity that “skinny” feeds her is what makes Ever have a negative self-image about herself. It is a constant battle within herself that at the beginning she doesn’t realize who she really is struggling against.

The second section of the book is titled, Prince Charming and it includes chapters four, five, and six. In this section we learn about the secret crush that Ever has had on Jackson, a childhood friend whom she used to hang around a lot until her mother died from Cancer. Here Ever decides to undergo the gastric bypass surgery after a humiliated event occurs at school, “I don’t care. If I die, I die. I will do whatever it takes. I will let them cut my stomach open and change my internal organs forever…I will never feel this way again” (Skinny, 2012, p.49).

The third section of the book is appropriately titled Abracadabra; it includes chapters seven through fifteen and is rightly so the longest part of the book. In this section we are thoroughly taken through the before, during, and after process of gastric bypass patients as Ever, accompanied by her best friend Rat, listen about the risks, life changing habits and physical changes that the body will have to endure after the surgery like only eating one spoonful of food and feeling like she just ate a Thanksgiving dinner (Skinny, 2012, p.97).

It is also here that like magic Ever begins to lose weight quickly. The reader can visually see her physical transformation in the weekly charts provided by Rat. These charts include Ever’s starting weigh, pounds lost, exercise for the week and a column with a playlist since Rat remembered Ever stating, “it’d be great if we could hear the soundtrack of our lives playing in the background” (Skinny, 2012,p.101-102), so he includes it in her charts.

So every week there’s a different sound track that represents Ever’s mental state of mind as she loses weight week by week.

It is also in this section where we see the physical transformation of Ever, not just by how much weight she loses but also by the new friends that she begins to acquire, one of them being Whitney, one of the girls from the popular crowd. Whitney makes it her mission to transform Ever with a make-over that includes make-up, a new wardrobe and a new hairstyle. Slowly and surely Ever begins to accept her new self, “I’m a regular size…I can’t stop smiling and smiling, and smiling at the me in the mirror” (Skinny, 2012, p.129) Nevertheless after all of this, Ever is still hearing skinny’s negative comments and feels changed on the outside but not on the inside, “but I don’t feel any different…on the inside” (Skinny, 2012, p.146).

The fourth section of the book is tittle the Ball and it includes chapters sixteen through eighteen. After all these changes, Ever’s confidence begins to rise and she begins to see a glimmer of hope in herself, “I have to admit it, I like what I see. I look different and after everything I’ve been through, different feels good. A faint, wistful smile slowly lights the face of the girl in the reflection. Long-buried hope starts to stir” (Skinny, 2012, p.185). Not only does Ever’s self- image begins to improve, but also, the voice of skinny is heard less and less, “she doesn’t respond. She misses a lot of these opportunities lately” (Skinny, 2012, p.189).

In the section titled Midnight that includes only three chapters, nineteen through twenty one, Ever realizes all along the real reason why she had the gastric bypass surgery. It is here that skinny comes back with a vengeance and Ever realizes why everything in her life is changing except for the negative thoughts that skinny keeps feeding her. Ever tells skinny, “I’m done believing what you say, I’m much more than what you’ve made me…If I made her, then I can change her” (Skinny, 2012, p.225). At this point in the story, the reader can see the full character development from Ever’s poor self-image to a confident young lady filled with determination to beat her own demons. The last section is titled Ever After and it includes the last three chapters twenty-two through twenty four.

The story is Skinny is somewhat biographical since author Donna Cooner did have gastric bypass surgery herself. She states, “Gastric bypass surgery was a positive experience for me, but it wasn’t a magic wand. I will always struggle with weight and body image issues. This might be your battle too…Don’t believe it. You are so much more” (Skinny, 2012).

Many of the themes in the novel include poor self-image, overcoming negative destructive thoughts, and contemplation of gastric bypass surgery. Publisher’s Weekly says it best, “Cooner’s debut novel may be appreciated most for its information about gastric bypass surgery and its ramifications” (2012, p.78).

To me the story had kind of a Cinderella story feel to it with the many references made throughout the book. At first I didn’t care for the story, the negativity of skinny was overwhelming and the plot moved slow at the beginning. The middle of the story began to pick up with Ever’s surgery and the ramifications but as skinny’s voice began to lessen, I began to enjoy the character development of Ever and her appreciation of the people that truly mattered in her life. Skinny is recommended for ages twelve and up. I would definitely recommend it, especially for someone considering having Gastric Bypass Surgery or someone battling the little voice inside their head, whatever that voice may be.

References

 

Cooner, Donna. (2012). Skinny. New York: NY. Point.

Davies, Sarah. (2012). Skinny. Publishers Weekly, 259(39), 78.

Judkins, Julie. (2013). Skinny. Library Media Connection, 31(4), 71.

Kraus, Daniel. (2012). Skinny. Booklist, 109(4), 58-59.

Printz Award Winner--The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

Printz Award Winner—The First Part Last by Angela Johnson.

Johnson, Angela. (2003). The First Part Last. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.

Angela Johnson’s book, The First Part Last is the story of Bobby, a typical 16 year old from New York City. He likes to go to parties, hang out with friends, go to the movies, eat pizza and spend time with his girlfriend Nina. Then on the eve of his birthday party, Nina is waiting for him to tell him his going to be a father. This news turn Bobby’s world upside down. Now instead of hanging out with his buddies he’s running across town trying to satisfy Nina’s cravings, going to gynecological appointments with Nina, and meeting with social workers to figure out the right thing” to do with this baby. Then something unexpected happens and Bobby is once again forced to grow up.

 The First Part Last is part of the “Heaven” trilogy series. It is actually the second book in the series. Bobby the main character was written as a secondary character in the novel Heaven until author, Angela Johnson, decided to make him the protagonist of The First Part Last (Carin, 2009, p.25). Finally, the trilogy of Heaven concludes with the last book Sweet, Hereafter.

 In 2004 First Part Last was awarded the prestigious Printz Award for exemplifying literary excellence in young adult literature (YALSA, 2012). That same year Angela Johnson was the winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award. (ALA, 2014)

The story is told in the present and in the past. It is organized in four parts and each part includes very small sections where the narrator informs the reader where he is currently in his life (now) and where he was in the past (then). The entire story is told this way until part four where somewhere in the middle there’s a section titled “Nia” and at the end of the story there’s another one titled “heaven”. The way the story is structured helps to demonstrate the struggles that Bobby, the main character, is presently facing and at the same time shows the reader when and how he got to his present circumstances. Lastly in the final chapter, the past and the present come together weaving the story together.

The narrator is the main character Bobby, a sixteen year old teen that is currently living in New York with his mother, Mary. Through Bobby’s eyes the reader experiences his fears “ and that sweet new baby smell… the smell of baby shampoo, formula, and my mom’s perfume. It made me cry like I hadn’t since I was a little kid. It scared the hell of out of me” (Johnson, 2003, p.4). and  the joys of being a young inexperienced father, “she came to me so slowly I felt I was in a dream…Then she was all dark hair, hand in fists, Nia’s nose and mouth. She came to me so slow, and it was just like somebody brushed the air with a feather” (Johnson, 2003, p.124).

It is sad and moving to see the internal conflict within Bobby as he wants to be the father to his baby when he himself is still a kid. After he has had a long night with the baby and he’s achy and tired of being up all night he “wants nothing else but to run crying into my own mom’s room and have her do the whole thing” but he know it’s not going to happen and so his “heart aches” as he straightens out the little baby’s hand. He continues and says, “And all I can do is kiss them and pull her closer so she won’t see my face and how scared I am” (Johnson, 2003, p. 15).

Then the internal struggle continues as he and Nina need to make the decision about what to do with the baby. His friends want to know if he is going to keep the baby and when they ask he gets defensive about it, “It’s a stupid fucking question, K”(Johnson, 2003, p.11). At another time Bobby and his friends are at the park and his friend K-boy asks him if Nina is keeping the baby or not, Bobby becomes physically ill, “My stomach is hurting by the time that question is out of his mouth and into the air. I don’t say; it’s not up to me. I don’t say; whatever I want, I can’t say” (Johnson, 2003, p. 32).

The theme of becoming a man is also seen in the story. Bobby mentions an old man named “Just Frank” who used to hang around the corner and would always ask him if he “was being a man”. Bobby’s would just laugh at him because he didn’t consider Frank much of a man since he was always “hangin’ on the corner, drinking forties a ten in the morning” (Johnson, 2003, p.9) But after Frank gets killed trying to save a girl in the neighborhood, Bobby begins wondering if he “would be a man, a good man” for his little girl (Johnson, 2003, p. 9). This brief scene shows us Bobby’s consideration to either stay a boy or become the man his baby needs him to be. In another chapter he gives us the rules of parenting once again telling himself that he must be a man. If the baby cries or if she needs to be changed, “In the dictionary next to “sitter” there’s not a picture of Grandma. It’s time to grow up. Too late, you’re out of time. Be a grown-up” (Johnson, 2003, p.14). At the end of the story when he is at the hospital he thinks he sees “Just Frank” he knows he’s “being a man”(Johnson, 2003, p.95).

 According to Hazel Rochman from Booklist, “Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short spare sentences that teens will read again and again” (2003, p.122). Johnson’s lyrical style is found throughout the story as Bobby expresses his innermost feelings and emotions that are filled with images of his beautiful baby girl, Nina and the hard reality of becoming a father at the age of 16. “I’ve been thinking about it. Everything. And when Feather opens her eyes and looks up at me, I already know there’s change. But I figure if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last” (Johnson, 2003, p.7) The short like poetic sentences in the story allow this story to be a quick read in one sitting.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The First Part Last. It was such beautiful and emotional ride to see Bobby’s character develop from being a young boy to being a man. I liked this story because it is also told from the young man’s point of view, and not from a girls like it’s typically seen in many stories. This book is recommended for grades 6-12 (Rochman, 2003, p.122). I think it would make a good read for parents and teens to discuss difficult questions and decisions such as the ones that Bobby has to make in the story.

 

References

 

American Library Association. (2014). Coretta Scott King Book Award Recipients.

Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards/recipients

Hinton, Kaavonia M. (2006). Angela Johnson: Award-Winning Novels and the Search for Self.

The Alan Review, 34(1), 63-65. Retrieved from

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v34n1/

Johnson, Angela. (2003). The First Part Last. New York: NY. Simon Pulse.

Roback, Diane. (2003). The First Part Last (book). Publishers Weekly, 250(24), 73.

Rochman, Hazel. (2003). The First Part Last (book). Booklist, 100(1), 122.

Young Adult Library Services Association. (2012). The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence

in Young Adult Literature. Retrieved

from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/previouswinners/04printz