Annotated Bibliography of Choice Books

Alexie, Sherman. (2007). Flight. New York: Black Cat. 978-0-8021-7037-8

      This book is a science fiction novel that deals with time travel. The main character is a Native American teenager who struggles (in current day) mostly because of his parents’ death. Ever since his parents died, he has been in a countless amount of foster homes. One day, he finally decides to run away. When he does this, he finds himself suddenly waking up in the body of someone else. He does this four times and each time it is someone new and someone who has direct relation with Native American history. Meaning, he finds himself in the body of a white abusive FBI agent, someone on a battlefield, etc. This book speaks well to identity struggle among adolescents and it provides insight into the Native American struggle currently and throughout history.

Bartoletti, Susan C. (2010). The Called Themselves the K.K.K. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 978-0-618-44033-7.

This book is a non-fiction book about the most famous American terrorist group: the Ku Klux Klan. The book provides the history of the civil war and how its remnants created the development of this group. Additionally, it heavily discusses the politics of the time and the repercussions of what it meant to be on the side of the K.K.K and what it meant to not be on their side or what it meant to be a Democrat and what it meant to be a Republican. The book went into great deal about the gruesome acts of the group such as rape, lynching and downright terrorizing anybody or anything that got in the way of their ideals. The book follows the history of the group from the time it started to present day.

Hesse, Karen. (1997). Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic Inc. 0-590-37125-8.

     This novel is written entirely in verse, therefore falling under the genre of Poetry. The main character in this novel is Billie Jo, a young girl who lives in Oklahoma, trying to survive the Dust Bowl with her family. The theme of this novel is that love prevails in any circumstance. Billie Jo and her father never really got along but they somehow have to in order to survive the death of her mother and her baby brother. This novel successfully combined free verse and rhyme, telling a story of 80 years ago, by using strong imagery.

Lynch, Christopher. (2005). Inexcusable. New York: Ginee Seo Books. 978-0-689-84789-9.

    This novel is in the genre of Contemporary Realistic Fiction. The main character’s name is Keir, he is male and is a senior in high school. The theme of Inexcusable is that one’s mind can be deceiving and can manipulate one to believe things that are not true, so one should be aware of this manipulation and its consequences. The strongest element of this novel was its ability to effectively use a flashback narrative and circular plot type.

A Response to "The Arrival"

This graphic novel was much more difficult to read and understand because it was wordless. Reading this book reminded me a lot of going to an art museum. I have never been one to be able to accurately interpret paintings; I have never been able to deconstruct a painting to see all that it has to offer. Similarly, I was unsure how accurately I understood the images in this novel; therefore, I am unsure how well I understood the narrative. 

From what I was able to understand, the novel portrays an immigrant coming to a new country, perhaps America. I like how scary the novel portrays the land. It leaves one's imagination to wonder if it is actually a fantastical land or if the immigrant man just views the land this way because it is so incredibly foreign to him. 

I appreciated the "friend" he made who was a little white creature, it seemed to be his saving grace. However, I had a hard time figuring out what he was a metaphor for, or if he even was a metaphor. 

Overall, the visuals in this novel were overwhelmingly powerful. I liked that there was this unknown force throughout the novel and it's hard for the audience to decipher what that was. I can assume it is the government or officials constantly trying to keep tabs on the protagonist to make sure he is abiding by the law. 

             I think this novel would be very suitable for adolescents. It allows them to interpret without the limitations of text. I can envision many activities that could stem from this novel, including having students create dialogue for the novel. Additionally, I think this novel appeals greatly to visually learners. 

A Response to "American Born Chinese"

Reading this text was my first true encounter with graphic novels. I have read a few comic strips here and there, and I have read excerpts from graphic novels but that was it. My first encounter with this genre was a very positive one. One of the challenges of reading this novel was I had to return to my childhood roots. I am not used to reading words with constant pictures and then having to associate and combine these two things. However, once I got used to it, I truly enjoyed the novel. 

I appreciated the theme that I have encountered with most of the books I have read for this class: identity. Once again I like that this adolescent encounters being "different" yet being the similar. In other words, Jin, just like the rest of his classmates deals with his feelings for girls, not getting along with his parents, and trying to fit in. I appreciated that as a young adult graphic novel, there is something to be said about identity; however, I thought it was sad that there weren't any characters besides Wei-Chen that tried to connect with Jin's struggles; there weren't characters that attempted to understand his history or culture. Instead, most of them just laughed in ignorance. As sad as this was to me, this may be the reality of minority young adults. However, I think it is the job of the young adult novel to challenge what is considered "normal." I do not think this graphic novel did this well. 

However, to give the book some merit, considering it is a graphic novel, I think the graphics deserve some mentioning. I loved the way the graphics exaggerated the stereotypes. This, in turn, flipped these stereotypes on their sides and made them more visible, making it possible for the audience to see just how ridiculous and inaccurate these assumptions and ways of seeing people are. For instance, when the audience is introduced to the cousin, "chin-kee," the audience witnesses a lot of stereotypes. 

His luggages, for example, are take-out boxes from an Asian cuisine restaurant. He has buckteeth and spits as he talks. I found that within the realm of the graphic novel, this stereotype had the opportunity to make an even more powerful impression on its young readers both positively and negatively. 

Similar to fantasy and science fiction novels, I think this text and graphic novels alike, have the ability to offer adolescents a way into the bigger issues of society which can be more engaging than other genres. Additionally, the novel did a good job within this genre of bringing three seemingly different stories together at the end. Similar to The Underneath, this story offers the idea that we are all a lot more connected than we give ourselves credit for.