Young Adult Fantasy #2

Book Review For:

 

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. 1^st ed. New York: HarperCollins
        Publishers. ISBN 9780060530921

Baby Bod takes refuge from his family’s murderer in the local graveyard, where he is raised by ghosts and those who walk in between the living and the dead. Bod struggles with growing up and becoming more independent just like any ordinary child, but his environment and interactions with other beings are anything but ordinary. Bod makes many mistakes and is an endearing character, one that adolescents can relate to. But, will Bod be able to stretch his wings, have human friends, and experience the world, or will he have to forever hide from his family’s murderer?

Gaiman uses clever wording to create an eerie atmosphere. For example, at one point in the story, one of Bod’s teachers is described as “the grey wolf that was Miss Lupescu”, and “Now he could see the Milky Way, see it as he had never seen it before, a glimmering shroud across the arch of the sky (Gaiman, 2008, p. 95).” Gaiman also makes use of interesting, somewhat distorted, black and white sketches that are interspersed among the pages. This tale is artfully arranged from the beginning to the end.

Educators could present this story around Halloween time. Teenagers could be divided in half for two teams to answer questions about the story in a friendly competition. Rules might include that the same person could not answer two questions in a row, etc., to prevent one individual from hogging all the questions. Gaiman’s book CORALINE could also be read, and the two stories could be compared. How the author has achieved his particular style of writing could additionally be discussed.

 

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK has won awards such as the 2009 Newbery Medal Winner, the 2009 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel, and the 2010 Carnegie Medal Winner ("Barnes & Noble: The Graveyard Book", n.d.). A BOOKLIST review also praises this novel, stating “This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming….this is a rich story with broad appeal (“Barnes & Noble: “The Graveyard Book”, n.d.).” Likewise, a HORN BOOK review claims, ““Lucid, evocative prose and dark fairy-tale motifs imbue the story with a dreamlike quality. …this ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age-novel as readable as it is accomplished (“Barnes & Noble: “The Graveyard Book”, n.d.).”

 

References

"Barnes & Noble: The Graveyard Book." Barnes & Noble, accessed November 30, 2013, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/graveyard-book-neil-gaiman/1100258468?ean=9780060530945

Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. 1^st ed. New York: HarperCollins
        Publishers.

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Book Review For:

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2008. AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER. New York: G.P. Putnam’s
       Sons. ISBN 9780399246548

 

Three young girls on the verge of becoming teenagers form a close friendship. Although their backgrounds and situations are different, their intense admiration for Tupac, a musical artist/entertainer who has recently been accused of a crime and is eventually shot, draws them together. Also faced with the imprisonment of Neeka’s brother, who is gay and was consequently set up, the girls struggle to understand the world that they live in and, most importantly, their own part in it.

D Foster is the new girl who is admired by Neeka and her best friend, the main character, whose name the author purposefully and cleverly omits from the story. (This must signify that her self-identity is not yet clear and is still forming.) In a Queens neighborhood in New York, these three girls sit on the stairs talking, join younger girls reluctantly to jump rope, and test the boundaries set by two of their mothers. Readers of this age will certainly be able to relate to the characters’ adoration of a famous public figure and envision the environment created by Woodson, and girls of today could easily place themselves and their friends in this story, doing each others’ hair and discussing celebrities.

A Round Robin, taking turns reading the story out loud, could be used by educators, and discussions after each chapter could take place to ensure that a deeper understanding of events is happening. A paper brown bag book review could also be assigned, requiring adolescents to decorate a paper brown bag with pictures or words that relate to the story and place common items inside the bag that have some connection to the events in the story. For example, they might include a short length of rope and explain how it reminded them of the scenes in which the girls in the story were jumping rope with the younger girls.

AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER has won the 2009 Newbery Honor Medal and the 2009 Josette Frank Award (“Jacqueline Woodson: Books for Children and Young Adults”, 2013). A Booklist review claims, “Beautifully capturing the girls’ passage from childhood to adolescence, this is a memorable, affecting novel about the sustaining power of love and friendship and each girl’s developing faith in her own ‘Big Purpose’ (Amazon: After Tupac and D Foster, n.d.).” The SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL agrees, saying it “...will immediately appeal to teens... the emotions and high-quality writing make it a book well worth recommending (Amazon: After Tupac and D Foster, n.d.).”

 

References

"Amazon: After Tupac and D Foster." Amazon., accessed November 30, 2013, http://www.amazon.com/After-Tupac-Foster-Jacqueline-Woodson/dp/0142413992.

“Jacqueline Woodson: Books for Children and Young Adults.” Jacqueline Woodson,
       Accessed November 30, 2013, http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/category/books-ive-written/middle-grade-titles/