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

Positive Values

I think a lot of times teens feel powerless and alone...like no one is really listening to them or takes what they have to say or how they feel seriously. It can be a very lonely time.

Robin Bowman's It's Complicated: The American Teenager is a very moving and empowering book. It shows these kids as survivors. Their stories are really amazing: Shavaris from Brooklyn trying to move his family out of the projects, Hilario the migrant worker from Honduras, April from Missouri who's mom gave her meth so she'd clean the house (WTF?!?!), Jassmond from Watts who made it to the 12th grade, Faduma and Said who escaped from Somalia, Charlotte the visually impaired football player...I could go on and on. Most of these stories are moving and some make you want to roll your eyes but they're all very honest. I think teens would like this book because of those qualities: there are stories they can relate to, stories that will make them indignant, stories that will make them say "that's so messed up." I think teens--just like everyone else--appreciate honesty and that's what these stories are.

OK, so I guess most of cannot relate to Felicia "Snoop" Pearson's Grace After Midnight but it's still a very compelling story. I don't think she was glamorizing the street life but she wasn't exactly begging for forgiveness. She was just telling her story. (Side note: quite a few of the actors on The Wire have a criminal past--Melvin Williams who portrayed the deacon was a major dealer back in the day.)Her story is one of survival--born addicted to crack to a crack addict mother, years in prison, and life on the street. I think it's an empowering story because she survived. I also think her attitude toward her sexuality was very empowering. She accepted that aspect of herself and never felt like it was "wrong" or "bad." I think I'd recommend this book to fans of The Wire, urban teens, and teens looking for something different. Teens like tragedy and drama...this book has that.

I watched Home Rooms from the 4th season of The Wire. This season focusing in on the kids and the schools is so brutal. It's like being kicked in the stomach, chest, and face repeatedly. These kids have everything in the world stacked against them. They are constantly surrounded by violence and drugs and death that they don't even blink an eye when one girls slices the check of a fellow classmate. It scary to think about but I think there are plenty of teens out there who could relate to these stories. Over the summer HBO was airing a documentary about the school system in West Baltimore and it gave one of the most depressing statistics: they lose 50% of their freshmen class by the end of the year. Kids drop out, deal drugs, get pregnant and don't finish school, or they end up dead. There are very few parents around...many of these kids are being raised by grandparents or they're raising themselves and their younger siblings. I don't think the teens in The Wire are empowered at all. Watching this episode and seeing Delonda (Namond's mom) made me think of the mom from Hotlanta. (I totally had to get the 2nd book in the series. I needed to know what was going to happen with those Duke twins and their drama.)

Time is on my side

After reading Cory Doctorow's Little Brother I SO want to be a computer geek. This was a great book and it's so awesome that Doctorow made it available for downloading. It really is in character with the whole book. I think Little Brother is great read for teens and librarians, as we are defenders of intellectual freedom.
There seems to be the assumption that teens do little but hang out and waste time. I don't think this is true at all. This is a time when they really start to explore a wide variety different things and figure out what they really like and what they're into. It's a time to discover their self-identities. The techie stuff that the kids in Little Brother can do is amazing. They spend a lot of time playing games but it's not just a meaningless game. Through these games they do a lot of social interaction, they have to work in a team and cooperate with and listen to each other, they have to solve a lot of puzzles and problems. It's actually a very productive use of time.
Another important part of this book is its political message. I think adolescence is a time when people start to become interested in and passionate about politics and societal issues. It is also a time of rebellion and going against authority figures.
I think this is a good book for teens because of these things. It never talks down to teens. Teens are highly empowered in this book.

Noah Scalin's Skulls project is such a creative endeavor. He takes everyday objects and reimagines them into these skulls. I think teens are very much into creative self-expression and this book would be of interest to them. It gives a feeling that anyone could do this type of project if they want to. They might be inspired by the books to embark on their own art project.

Boundaries & Expectations or "I'm Chuck Bass"

This week’s readings were on complete and total opposite ends of the spectrum. Hotlanta is fluff and No Choirboy is beyond serious and real.

Susan Kuklin’s No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row is the most somber and depressing book we’ve read this semester. I didn’t want to continue reading it after the first chapter. It’s an interesting read though. I think teens are particularly interested in and passionate about moral issues and justice and fairness. This book has all that. You get to see these men as human beings with deep and complex feelings and I think that’s very important to teens. I think that they like to be understanding of things especially when society as a whole does not want to understand these men on death row.
The men in this book are surrounded by boundaries and rules and yet they've broken society's ultimate rule by killing. In prison they have live to their lives by very specific rules or they could die. It also seems that they’ve lost all expectations of anything good happening. They only expect anger, violence, and sadness.

Hotlanta is bananas! I think the authors really nailed how viciously siblings can fight and the kind of crazy hyperemotional states teens can get into. The book is like a soap opera—almost completely implausible—which is part of its appeal. I think teens (and a lot of adults) like that super over-the-top, crazy drama and this book definitely has that. These girls don’t really seem to have any boundaries either. They act without thinking of any possible consequences. However, they do seem to have a lot of expectations of themselves. Sydney in very driven in her academic and extra-curricular activities. She wants to get into the best colleges. Lauren is driven as a dancer and is hard on her dance team. She wants to be the best dancer.
Their mother kind of reminds me of Delonda, Namon's mother, on The Wire. In some ways, I guess she is driven too. She wanted out of her former life and wanted one of extreme riches.

Sadly, this book does not compare to the sheer awesomeness that is Gossip Girl. OMG, I love this series (both the books & the show). I especially love Chuck Bass in all his depraved, smarmy glory. It’s like Chuck has a vague idea of how people are supposed to act but most of the time he doesn’t really understand it. (I also kind of wish they’d give TV Chuck a monkey like his monkey, Sweetie, in the books.) Anyway, it’s that same over-the-top, crazy drama that is so appealing. Also, everything is beautiful and glamorous on the outside in the GG world but behind that glossy façade lie some seriously dark secrets. I don’t think fans of GG are necessarily sitting around dreaming of being filthy rich. I mean part of it is that completely different life: shopping at the 3 B's (Barney's, Bergdorf's, and Bendel's), fabulous parties all the time, amazing vacations, running around the city going to all the hottest clubs and restaurants. But it’s also the totally ridiculous drama that brings them in. They know life isn’t really like this but the characters act on their every emotion all the time and being a teen is a highly-emotional time. It's like the viewers can be like "OMFG! I can't believe Blair did that. That's so f'ed up."

XOXO