Wrap-up

"This is end my beautiful friend."

I went to the Teen Talent at the Mulberry St. branch yesterday. Daniel, the star of my teen interview, was in 3 of the 5 performances. The teens were nervous and excited. They had invited their families, friends, and their teacher to the show. The teacher kept shushing (SHHHHHH!) them as they scurried around the library. None of the librarians said shush and none of the other patrons complained. It was nice to see how much the library is part of their lives. These teens come to the library every day afterschool and participate in most of the programs the library offers.
Teens are a very important demographic in the library. Librarians should aim to tap into teens enthusiasm for things--when they love something, they really love it. And they really like it when the YA librarian listens to them and is able to create programs for them and recommend new books to them. It was so nice to see how much the teens appreciate Kim (the YA librarian) and how much they use the library.

I really enjoyed discovering YA lit. I loved, loved, loved True Diary and Freakshow and Little Brother. I got to indulge in my love for Gossip Girl and Chuck Bass. We watched The Wire!! It was great. Seriously, I got to been a teen all over again with none the angst.

XOXO

"All in the game yo, all in the game"

So says Omar from The Wire.

Street lit is an interesting genre and it's gaining a stronger presence in libraries. I'm having trouble getting into True to the Game but I can see its popularity. Teens like books that are "real" and "true" and street lit offers that. There's a chaotic rawness to these books and there's no sugarcoating going on.

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I can't make it through True to the Gameright now...too many other things going on. Prior to this class I hadn't read any street lit but now I've discovered
Around the Way Girls which I liked a lot better than True to the Game. While these girls are involved in all kinds of crazy drama involving men, drugs, guns, clubs, and just about everything else, there's also internal reflection. We get to know what these girls are thinking and feeling. (On a totally random note: the character of Frido? All I kept picturing was a gangsta-hobbit.)

I loved Tyrell and will definitely read the upcoming sequel. I know it's a much more emotional read than street lit but I still think it's a good recommendation. I'd want to talk to the patron to see which reading direction they wanted to go in.

Safety

I don't know where to begin. Living Dead Girl is too horrifying for words. I can't find the right words because everything would feel like it is trivializing Alice's story. It gives you the feeling of all the air being sucked out of your body while being kicked in the stomach and back simultaneously. It's something so brutal that you want to scream as loud as you can to have some sort of release but you can't make any noise. This was a terrible and sad story. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be like "why didn't she run away?" and part of me thinks that too but at the same time this girl has been so traumatized and scared and everything that once was has been beaten out of her. She's just a shell of who she was. There was a recent article which I, unfortunately, didn't read but I skimmed it and it said that people who are in terrible situations such as abusive relationships often lose the will to leave. They've become so defeated and broken that escaping has gone beyond them. God, this book was brutal.

I finished ALmost Home and while I can appreciate the stories I wish we had gotten to know the characters a little more...that they had revealed themselves more while telling their stories. Eeyore's story was terrible but at least you had some hope in the end. These are very broken kids and sometimes you can't come back from that kind of brokeness. And I wanted to knock out that teacher of Rusty's...what a predator.

I know that sad and upsetting stories have high appeal to teens. I haven't read A Child Called It but I think I'm going to have to at some point. I think part of the appeal is that adolescence is a very emotionally volatile time...everything seems to felt to the utmost extreme and these books allow them to give into those emotional extremes. I think it's hard in class sometimes because we're not reading these books as teens, we're reading them as adults and sometimes forget that we might have a different viewpoint than teens.

Anyway, I made it through After School Nightmare. Manga and your backwards reading...how your frustrate me!! Seriously, I have a really hard time with it and it always makes me feel like I'm going to miss something important in the plot.

Afterschool Nightmare was SO weird.

Prom and the world's largest collection of black Santas

Prom: it's either the highlight of one's high school career or it's a pointless ritual that forced upon teens. My prom was a bit of disaster and rather boring. I totally could have skipped it.

I really, really liked Brian Sloan's A Really Nice Prom Mess. It was funny and sweet and I think it would make a great movie. I'd want to pair this with I love you, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle. Actually, it would fit in well with Paper Towns. Dennis Cooverman has this image of Beth Cooper that's built on fantasy and Q has the same kind of reverence for Margo Roth Speigelman.

I'm having brain block right now. I'm going to have to come back.
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I decided to read Looking for Alaska (Thanks, Joelle!!) after finishing Paper Towns. Now I want to know who is this mysterious, crazy, beautiful girl in John Green's life. It seemed to bother a lot of people that Margo didn't go back with Q after he had come all that way for her but I don't see how else to could have ended.

Q had a very good support system with his friends...they went with him on this adventure but they also pointed out how he was ignoring everything else in favor of the ever elusive Margo Roth Speigelman. Q's parents are also supportive and he seems to talk to them more than other teens we've encountered this semester.

I think we all want these kind of intense friendships where support is always given even if there are disagreements. Q has this kind of friendship with Radar and Ben. Cameron is a little more on his own but he picks up all these people along the way. I really loved Prom Mess. I wish I could have gone to prom with Cam.

I'd like to pair Prom Mess with Freak Show so the similarities between Shane and Flip could be discussed but I wouldn't want to pigeonhole either of these books.

And this is totally random but I think I might want to pair Freak Show with Little Brother. Both characters experience a traumatic event which would make some people want to run and hide and act like it never happened but these two characters decide to fight back and stand up for what they believe in and who they are.

Equity & Social Justice

School has officially hit its overwhelming point in the semester. SO much to do and not nearly enough time.

Ivan Velez's Dead High Yearbook was not for me. I don't think graphic novels in general are for me though I did really like The Plain Janes (Thanks, Nicole, for the awesome book talk!)so maybe I just need the right graphic novels/manga. Anyway, Dead High Yearbook is a fast read and I think it would be a good pick for a reluctant reader. The gore and gross-out factors make it good for fans of horror. The stories themselves are a pretty good take on high school life: cheating significant others, academic pressure and the SATs, struggles to fit in and look a certain way. The book even tackles homophobia so there are a lot of interesting themes running through the book and it could generate an interesting book club discussion.

The Dark Knight is a huge, blockbuster movie that you just know everyone is going to see especially after Heath Ledger's untimely death. So, at first, I thought it was just hype about his performance--greedy studios taking advantage of a terrible situation--but it wasn't and Ledger created a truly terrifying and unsettling Joker. I think teens would have seen the movie no matter what but I think they were saddened by his death especially since he has a young daughter.

TI!!!! It's no secret... I think he's very cute and his songs are pretty catchy and I love that he teamed with Justin Timberlake(!!!) for Dead and Gone. Ok, TI is not the greatest role model and his show, Road to Redemption is probably more of a publicity fix-his-damaged image rather than a genuine concern for troubled youths but it works in its own way. Celebrities seem to have a certain amount of influence in the teen world so when TI preaches against the street life, the message may get through to someone.

Social Competencies

I love the title Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You although the idea of it can be hard to believe when you're smack in the middle of adolescent angst. So, when I finished the book I originally thought "It's ok but I didn't really like it" but after our discussion in class, I had to think about it again. James Sveck is a mess. He's out of place wherever he goes with the exception of the time he spends with Nanette. He's so painfully awkward that it seems to make everyone uncomfortable to be around him or pity him. He's very socially disconnected. It's easy to dismiss him as a "freak" or "weird." The fake profile he posts in response to John's personal profile can be seen as cruel but the thing is James does not mean it in that way at all. He has a crush on John even though he isn't able to actually fully admit this which breaks your heart. James doesn't have any friends either. He's so alone.

He feels like he doesn't fit in anywhere and I think that's a big part of adolescence. A lot of teens feel like they don't fit in anywhere, that they are different from everyone else around them and there is the desire to escape from it all (James wants to move to the Midwest, Holden wants to spend his time in the rye field).

This book is the most "literary" one we've read for class so it had a very different feel. James does not sound like a typical teen with his intense focus on language and words. I don't think this book is for everyone so I'd recommend it to teens with more "literary" tastes or if they were Salinger fans (I love Holden Caulfield). I'd recommend it to someone who was feeling like an extreme outsider and people who were looking for something different and a little more challenging. I'd like to pair this book with Freak Show. The main characters are so different...James wants to get away from everyone and Billy is throwing himself into the fray headfirst.

Dramacon was great. I really liked it and already picked up volumes 2 and 3 from the library. I think it's a very relatable story for a lot of girls. You know the story: Girl stays with boyfriend because he's cute and he CAN be sweet-even though he's a jerk most of the time-and he was her first and there's that connection. And even though part of her knows she needs to dump his sorry ass, she still stays because of the times he does decide to be nice. And hopefully, she meets that other guy who's awesome and nice.
I would definitely recommend this books to most girls, fans of manga and graphic novels.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is a great move to pair Dramacon with. Norah is Chriss. I really like this movie even though there was THE GUM SCENE!!! I am traumatized. I <3 Michael Cera and Kat Dennings is awesome. Again, this is a very relatable story for girls and makes a great pairing with Dramacon. I just want to tell these girls "This guy isn't worth your time. You don't have to stay with him because he was your first. And never let any guy make you feel like you're worthless. He's petty and mean and small."

So, I guess none of these characters feel very socially competent (James doesn't want to be around people, Chriss is nervous about her first 'Con, and Norah has her own issues about guys.) They all feel awkward and out of place. James Sveck reminded me of this guy I met at a bar one time. He sat next to me reading this book called "The Inextinguishable Fire: A True Story of Music and Love in Nazi Germany." I'm nosey and dorky and asked what he was reading and he started to tell me about how hard it is for him to connect with people and going out was terrible and disappointing and how he hated it because he felt like he didn't fit in and then he finished it up with "I want to find my true-love...the person who fills in the cracks in my sidewalk." I didn't know what to say to that one. Anyway, this is what I pictured James to be like.

It's easy to ignore or not even see people like James...the awkwardness is so obvious that other people want to avoid it. Maybe it's because they can see themselves in that outcast place, feel that painfully awkward or maybe it's just because people can be insensitive jerks. I don't know.

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I think defending intellectual freedom is one of the most important things the library does. The materials within a library should not be censored because of controversial subject matter. I think what I was wondering about Tyrell and how it would fare in libraries that aren't in urban environments was more like are teens as interested in these titles, are there a lot of requests for these genres? Part of the library's mission is to provide what the patrons want...do these teens want urban fiction books? I think it would be great if all libraries had all these books so people could be opened to a world different from their own. Mow much does region affect what titles are most popular? Obviously, there are those titles that are popular everywhere (Twilight, Harry Potter) but what other titles are most requested?

Empowerment!!

As I wrote in a previous post I picked up the 2nd book in the Hotlanta series and let me say again "Hotlanta is bananas!" The book just moves along dropping designer and brand-names and then all of the sudden at the end, it explodes with all kinds of craziness. So, of course there's always the comparison of this series to the AWESOME Gossip Girl and it does have shades of GG in it (status, image, shopping) but it doesn't have any of GG's snark. There's no mocking, snarky tone to it at all which is one of the reasons I like GG so much. Anyway, I have the 3rd Hotlanta book waiting to be read. I also picked up the first Around the Way Girls book. I can't wait.

I could NOT make it through Deathnote. I tried. The whole reading it "backwards" was disconcerting and I just wasn't into the story or the character either. I don't think manga is for me. But I know how hugely popular it is so I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of manga and graphic novels. I'd also recommend it to someone who was looking for something "different" to read. It could make for a interesting discussion on society and what it deems morally right. I don't think I'd recommend this to a reluctant reader though.

Tyrell made me so sad. His mother is horrendous and vile. The saddest thing is that while *she* is a fictional character, there are mothers who actually do this in real life. Again, she reminded me of Namond's mom, DeLonda, on The Wire (I think it always comes back to The Wire universe for me)and Keisha in Hotlanta. Mothers who seems void of any maternal protective instinct although they seem to think by hooking up with these gangsta men, they're actually providing a good life for their children. Coe Booth really captures Tyrell's voice. It really feels like he's talking to you. I'd recommend this book to fans of urban fiction and teens living in urban environments, fans of The Wire, "troubled" teens. The thing is I think the book could appeal to any teen no matter where they live or anything like that. Tyrell is a very good and strong character and the way that Booth captures who he is makes him seem like he's a real-life person and I think that the honesty in the way he says everything would be very appealing.

There seems to be a lot of discussion in class regarding the ability to relate to a character--if they can't relate to the character they generally aren't big fans of the book--I wonder how teens living in environments that are the complete opposite of Tyrell's would feel about the book. I'm not saying that it shouldn't be recommended or taught, I'm just wondering what people would say about it. I think that's one of the best things about books. Books can open you up to something you never would have known or thought about before. How awesome is that?

I'm still reading Poison. It's a fun read but I'm not deeply invested in the story. I think I'd recommend this to girls who want to buck the norm and fans of fantasy. Poison is a strong character right away. She's fierce, defiant, belligerent and a loner but she also loves her father and sister very much and is wildly protective of them. I think that she cares about her stepmother too but she's too busy being angry to actually admit it to herself.

***To be continued after class
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I'm so excited there is going to be a sequel to Tyrell!! I need to know what happened to him.

I'm almost finished with Poison. It's still a weird book and Poison is kind of a violent girl. The whole dog-killing-skinning and wearing their skins was so gross and then she killed that moth thing by throwing an apple through its wing. I haven't encountered that many female characters who are like Poison. She's more like a male warrior character at times. Also I can't get that movie Labyrinth with Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie out of my head as I read this book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UoG-xQ9Lqc