If you Come Softly

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Bibliography

Woodson, J. (2010). If you come softly.  New York: Penguin Group.  ISBN:  9780142415221, pp. 181.

Summary

Ellie and Jeremiah meet for the first time when they bump into each other in the hallway of their prep school. Neither can seem to get the encounter out of their mind. Eventually they meet again and ditch school to spend an afternoon together in Central Park. They are instantly enamored with one another, but there is one problem--Jeremiah is black and Ellie is white. Both adolescents are worried about the ridicule they will face from their friends and family. As the relationship progresses, they find that they care too much about one another to worry about the stares they get on the subway, and they try to find the courage to break their news to Ellie’s family. In the end, they find that racism will destroy their relationship after all.

Critical Analysis

Woodson tells the story of Ellie and Jeremiah in alternating voices. The two characters are fully developed before they begin their romance together. Woodson deals with a sensitive subject matter with grace and shows how the bigotry of others affects both students. Readers especially see this through Jeremiah’s conversations with his dad about white people and his distrust for them. However, the relationship between the two teenagers does not seem well-developed, and readers spend much more time getting to know the individuals than they do the couple. This is a problem since the relationship is supposed to be the center of the book. Although the couple face some sideways glances and worry about what others may think, there are no major events that build up to the climax. The climax is gut-wrenching and will leave readers feeling angry at the ignorance displayed. Overall, it is a gentle and moving story, but the slow plot may inhibit young readers from receiving this important message.

Looking for Alaska

Bibliography

John Green. (2006). Looking for Alaska.  New York: Penguin Group.  ISBN:  9780142402511, pp. 256.

Summary

Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter leaves his home state of Florida to attend Culver Creek Preparatory School near Birmingham, Alabama. Unlike at his public school in Florida, he quickly fits in there with other students that appreciate his quirky obsession with memorizing the last words of famous people and that don’t judge his lack of experience with smoking, drinking, and sex. Miles befriends his roommate Chip “The Colonel”, the dangerous but alluring Alaska, and Takumi known for his hip rhymes. The foursome work together to plan elaborate pranks and get under the skin of the headmaster known as “The Eagle”. The fun comes to a tragic end when one of the students is killed in a car crash. Miles finds himself desperately searching for answers to the suspicious accident as well as the quest for the “Great Perhaps” that brought him to Culver Creek in the first place.

Critical Analysis

Green does an amazing job of developing each character in this story of one adolescent boy’s search for the meaning of life and death. Told through the perspective of sixteen-year-old Miles, readers are introduced to a number of intelligent teens that seem to be only worried about having fun. However, Miles learns as he becomes closer to his prep school friends that everyone has their dark secrets that haunt them. He is especially drawn to the elusive, Alaska, that simultaneously flirts with him and keeps him at a distance claiming she is in love with an out of town boyfriend. At times this back and forth is a bit annoying, and readers are frustrated right along with Miles. When Alaska is killed in a car crash, readers mourn her death through the confused and grief-stricken view of Miles. Readers will be disappointed as well as you finally see their relationship developing only to see it abruptly come to an end. He spends the rest of the novel trying to make sense of that fateful night as well as unraveling the true meaning of life and death. This thoughtful story is full of many literary and scholarly references which will be lost on some teenagers; however, it will have great appeal to those that can appreciate the deep concepts and realistic characters. Due to the sexual content, language, and references to drugs and alcohol the book is recommended for more mature audiences. However these elements are used in a believable way to shape the lives of teenagers that are living away from their parents. The layout of the book (in days prior to and after the accident) makes it a quick read that will leave readers thinking long after the last page.

Go Ask Alice



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Bibliography

Anonymous. (2005). Go ask Alice. New York: Simon and Schuster.  ISBN:  9781416914631, pp. 224.

Summary

This book is written in a diary format. A teenage girl goes to visit her grandparents during the summer. While there, she is given LSD in a soft drink without her knowledge. After the initial high and the acceptance she feels from the “cool kids”, she begins to use drugs more heavily. She loses her virginity to a boy she barely knows, her grades begin to drop, and she runs away from home only to return broken and defeated. She slowly begins to put back together the pieces with a new promise of better grades at school, a straight laced boyfriend, and supportive parents. Will it be too late to undo the damage she has created?

Critical Analysis

Go Ask Alice is a classic cautionary tale of the dangers of drug abuse. As the narrator’s life spirals out of control, the reader is desperate to help her reclaim her old life and see the good things that are waiting for her like patient parents and the prospective of a new relationship with a boy that cares more about getting to know her than what she can offer him. The story line moves quickly as she wrestles with the life she wants and the life that she can’t get away from. The book has been challenged throughout the years for the use of drugs, sex, and foul language; however, these elements help illustrate the dark times the main character faces when she is deep in the trenches of drug use. Although it is told from a teenager’s perspective, it takes place in the late 60s to early 70s, so many of the cultural ideas will be lost on today’s teenage generation. Also, some of the situations are a bit far-fetched and hard to believe. However, it still remains a relevant tale of the entrapment of addiction and the adolescent struggle to find your true identity. This book would be a great companion to the modern novel Crank by Ellen Hopkins.

Hatchet

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Bibliography

Paulsen, G. (1987). Hatchet.  New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. ISBN:  9781442403321, pp 181.

Summary

Brian Robeson is traveling on a small prop plane through the Canadian wilderness to visit his father when his pilot suddenly has a heart attack. Brian is forced to take over the plane and find a safe place to land as best he can. He has only the clothes on his back and a hatchet his mother gave him before leaving to help him survive alone in the wilderness. As he tries to hold on to hope that he will still be rescued, he is plagued by the secret that has haunted him since his parents divorced. He must stay determined to battle the elements and wildlife and find a way to survive despite the grave outlook of his situation.

Critical Analysis

Brian is a courageous character that you can’t help but root for as he overcomes countless obstacles with a sheer will to survive. Even though the story contains only one main character and almost no dialogue, the emotion and suspense are kept alive through Brian’s thoughts as he is tortured by the secret he knows about his parents, and as he wrestles with the idea of continuing to fight or giving in to hunger and despair. As soon as he conquers one obstacle he is faced with another (such as a destructive tornado or agitated moose). The theme throughout Paulsen’s novel is the human will to survive, and Brian finds that this drive changes his perspective and gives him a new understanding about what it means to appreciate life. Paulsen leaves the reader wanting to know more about Brian’s fate at the end of the novel, but overall it is a satisfying read that is hard to put down.