in which I discover my true calling in the "blogosphere" and discuss YA literature

Good morning, Clint.

I have decided that my role in this whole blog...thing...is that I will make lists. I'm very good at lists and I think that if you take a look at the collection (albeit small) of my posts they're basically lists anyway. You have your things that suck and the confessional (which I would like to take part in as well because that is fairly entertaining)...I will have my lists.

Today, my dear brother, I would like to speak to you about young adult literature (henceforth, it will be referred to as YA). Now, before you totally turn off your interest in this particular post, I think that it is a legitimate subject and one that is especially dear to my heart. So what is YA literature? As I've come to understand it, it is basically any piece of writing that is aimed at about 13-18 year old readers. Amber, I'm sure, will disagree with the age range, but I will most likely focus on this age range of books anyway. There are so many good ones to choose, but I have decided that I'm going to give you a list of 5. These are my favorites as a middle school lit teacher and as an adult who reads YA books because they're really good...(confession).

5. The Redwall Series

Yeah, those are rats...and that mouse is definitely holding a sword.

If you are a boy under the age of like...35 you've probably read the Redwall books. Or at least heard of them. Yes, it involves talking animals. Yes, they fight with swords. No, it is not stupid! These books basically allowed me to fall in love with literature. It's why I read now, and why I have a great time teaching lit when I get the chance. As a slightly...let's be honest, ridiculously dorky 6th grader, I think I read every single one of these books that had come out. It actually led me to read Watership Down and later on, Lord of the Rings. The other reason I love these books is because of the world that it created. It was totally and absolutely fake. Which meant that for the first time, I had to imagine what it looked like, sounded like, tasted like...Brian Jacques (the author) does a really good job of describing the feasts. I was able to really experience Redwall Abbey and the forests and areas surrounding it (which was really nice, considering I had no friends and lived in a desert). More and more I am concerned my students don't have imaginations. They don't read, they don't play pretend, they don't even build forts. They just shoot each other on call of duty, go to football/basketball/soccer practice, and then go to bed. It's a tragedy! Books like these create imaginations. Albert Einstein was famous for using his imagination. He came up with his idea that space was curved in one of his, what he called, "thought experiments" which were essentially day dreaming. Imagination creates things. It's so important to our future that kids imagine and day dream! Einstein said, "Imagination is more important that knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the whole world and all there will ever be to know and understand."

Certainly used his imagination thinking this was flattering...

4. The Larry Series

Black nail polish...always a good sign in YA

There are three books in this series and I have read two of them. I taught them last year and it was great, but there is such thing as Larry overkill and I had to take a break after putting both under the microscope in Lit. This is the kind of high school book that I wish that I had when I was there. It's about smart kids, consumerism, activism, and the whole "one person can change the world" thing that is about as cliché as you can get. However, it does it in such a way that is thoughtful, humorous, and even though I almost totally disagree with this characters opinions...I liked him! The character manages to do something that almost every single public figure & politician tries to pull off everyday but fails miserably: share an opinion without getting preachy. It's unbelievable. Later on, it also tackles things like the consequences of becoming "involved" with friends romantically (in a that's-what-she-said kind of way). Like most issues in the book, it's handled in a classy, understanding way (you want to, I know...and you're going to like it at the moment...but this is what happens). But probably one of my favorite things about the book is the way that it paints adults. They aren't static characters. They're not the evil principal or teacher, or the evil cop that won't let them skateboard in front of the mall. I appreciate that Janet Tashjian (the author) wants kids to see that adults are always growing and changing as well. Larry's step dad, for instance, is a big time ad agency/marketing guy who decides that he has lost himself in his career and becomes a house painter to get his life back together. The second book in the series is about a presidential campaign...which politically, makes me want to hurl...but has some interesting lessons about the mandate of the people and constitutional laws. All things together, Larry has some interesting things to say in an interesting way. I finished the books in about a day.

3. The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is like 1984 for teenagers. I say that because I don't think 1984 is for teenagers...or anybody for that matter (but that's a confession and another post). So, yeah, it's a dystopian novel...so let's go down the dystopian novel check list: set in the future? check. something that resembles a current western world power? check. oppressive government that has no problem with "making people disappear"? check. idealistic young person who quietly questions said oppressive government? check. children having to fight to the death each year for the entertainment of the masses? che-wait what!? That's right. Welcome to the Hunger Games. Each year one boy and one girl are selected from each of the districts to fight to the last for the entertainment of the masses and as punishment for a previous rebellion against the government. Think of it as American Idol but instead of getting a record deal and platoon of paparazzi for losing, Clay Aiken actually is shot by a poison dart and Reuben Studdard stands victorious!

Lethal.

While this would certainly liven up TV on Tuesday nights, this clearly creates a lot of strain on the relationships between the districts and the government. The book does a really great job of hiding a lot of political commentary inside of an action packed novel. It's a fast read and even though the main character is a girl, the 8th grade guys love it. I had even planned to use it as my summer reading before I taught Civics. I was going to talk about rights and privileges as citizens and why we guard certain values so highly in a democratic republic...but then we got a job in Saudi and I have no idea what kinds of things I can ask my kids to read. Hunger Games actually is pretty controversial just because kids get murdered by other kids...but then again...so was Lord of the Flies. Which reminds me...

2. The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner basically takes the ideas behind The Lord of the Flies and adds a whole other sci-fi futuristic twist to it. I think I would actually let this book join Ender's Game in the blew my mind category as the twist at the end of each book leaves your head spinning. This book is violent, thoughtful, and engrossing. For much of the book, there are no girls and the boys are trapped in a maze which changes every day. They are trying to get out of the maze, but in the process have had to build a society complete with a government and everything. This is probably the most interesting part of the book. The way that the boys create this society makes sense if you've ever lived on a cul-de-sac with other kids (sorry, Clint). It's exactly what I would do if I was a teenage boy in a situation like that. Anyway, I would totally spoil it for you, but I think you might actually read some of these so I don't want to do that. But suffice it to say, that this book makes you try and figure out the ending from the beginning...but it stays pretty well hidden until late in the book.

1. Pretty much anything by John Green...but my personal favorite is Looking for Alaska

There's a lot to this book. I mean, a LOT. As most John Green books do, it starts out mostly pretty funny...kinda dark humor, but funny all the same. The main character is obsessed with the last words of famous people. Long story short though, the characters in the book experience everything that high schoolers experience: anger, love, lust, loss, strawberry wine, vodka and milk, and a plethora of cigarettes. It's pretty much exactly the way that I spent high school...(kinda...okay not really). But the way that Green talks about a couple of issues makes me really kind of impressed. I mean how do you eloquently express the way that you feel about the first love...or the first lust? I think one of the things that is conveyed is that you kind of don't need to. First love feels perfect...poetic...and that's the way that it is written. But first lust is different. It feels awkward. It feels strange and cumbersome...and there is no attempt to hide this or glamorize lust in any way. It is what it is and that is how it is written. Awesome. It is also interesting the way that while the kids are dealing with loss, they are dealing with growing up. It's no coincidence that the main character is obsessed with famous people's last words and there is a constant existential conflict going on within the main character. However cliché this sounds, it results in a kind of understanding that they're just kids and they have a lot to learn and do. As you might imagine...I'm for this. All in all, I finished the book and...

boom goes the dynamite.

So there you have it. Read 'em.

Clint, until next time...