English 485: Expedition Adolescence

You know, when I was in high school, we had to read Night by Elie Wiesel three times. I know, it sounds crazy, but they kept bumping it up year after year because it was "too mature". So I had to read it three times before I graduated. And it still didn't prepare me for the horrors of the holocaust. I don't think anything ever could. Especially not when we see what it does to people. Both the predictable and the unpredictable. Like Elie's experience throughout World War 2, we see Yanek slowly change. Which is to be expected, of course, but it's such a slow and subtle thing. So creeping, yet powerful enough that it's not so much subtle as much as it is strong. It's a permanent, complete outlook change. We see Yanek begin this story as a happy, relatively carefree child. But as the war wages on and his world gets darker and darker, Yanek too becomes hardened. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. He goes through major character development, and his ...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was honest and gruesome. My two favorite parts of the book was the use of onomatopoeias and how much the holocaust changed Yanek for the better. However, I do have an uneasy feeling about his identity by the end. At the beginning of the story Yanek was such a hopeful and happy child, but as the chaos starts, so does his insightful onomatopoeias. For example, when the Germans first came he stated "there was a BOOM , and my mother's teacups rattled in their saucers" (5).  He later goes on to say, "My father hurried to put his coat on over his pajamas to go and help put out the fire, but a loud crack! from the street brought me and my parents to the window again" (12). His use of this figurative language provides the fearful tone associated with this time in his life, as well as provides the reader with anticipation. It also fits his age, and adolescents because in an adult novel this form of writing might not always fit...

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Grantz is the story of 10-year-old Yanek Gruner, a Polish Jew held in the concentration camps of WWII Germany.  Prisoner is based off of the true life of events Jack Gruner and his struggle to survive amidst so much death.                 The Holocaust is very difficult situation to write about because of the seriousness and reverence of the subject matter.  By choosing to tell the story through the eyes of a young boy, Grantz is able capture innocence in the middle of so much senseless death.  Grantz uses bread as a symbol of life throughout the book.  Yanek and his father sneak out in the middle of the night to bake the hidden bread that they will take to the others.  Under cover of darkness in the bakery, Yanek is made a Jewish man in the presence of ten other men.  It is his memories of this bread and the small pieces of bread that he was able to save f...

Prisoner B-3087 really got to me. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. Yanek is so inspiring. Very few, if any, could endure a fraction of what Yanek did and not he entirely changed by it. Yanek was such an old soul, and I don’t mean like a cute old person. He is very mature for his age. The first line of the novel is, “If I had known what the next six years of my life would be like, I would have eaten more” (p.11 – I have an Ebook, so my pages will be different). I know that I would never sum up my life like this. To think that his life was so horrible, that his main focus would be getting enough food really puts things into perspective. Yanek is so strong, because let me tell you, I would have given up a long time ago. All of that moving around from concentration camp to camp, I would have said just shoot me! Yanek does not see life like that. He views it as something precious that he can never let go of.  Although there are times when he wants to give up, and even ...

Overall I think that Prisoner B-3087 is a great novel for adolescents. This is not only a book that can be used in an English class, it can also be used in social studies class. Teachers could partner with each other and plan activities to benefit students in other areas. Even though Yanek is going through something no adolescent today can relate to, they could relate to one of the major themes in the novel which is self-identity. I feel like throughout this novel Yanek makes not only a vow to survive but also a vow to not let the Nazis change the person he is before the war and moving from camp to camp. In the novel we can see how Yanek started off trusting in his father but when the war broke out he basically started to develop his own opinion about the war. Despite what his Uncle Moshe thought as well as his father. We don’t see a lot of kids his age develops this skill at age ten, if they develop it at all. His Uncle Moshe told him not to be numb to survive, “From now own, you h...

I remember I read an article about a woman and her husband who both survived the holocaust - they met afterward and moved to the US. I think it was their first Passover meal in their new home, they set the table for all their relatives who died and it was something like thirty place settings. Thirty empty place settings. I try to picture thirty people I love and then I try to picture losing them all: my parents, my brother, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, my girlfriend, my friends, classmates, teachers... I just can't imagine what it would be to have to survive on my own. Especially not at age thirteen. I've read about the Holocaust before in Elie Wiesel's Night and in Anne Frank's diary. I really loved Anne Frank's diary as a kid because I could relate to her - not in dealing with genocide or hiding in an attic, but having this little private world and using writing as a way to build that world or to process the world outside. Adolescence is such a chaotic time...

“Save your own life” (152), Yanek had to live by this at such a young age. Yanek had an adult mindset when he was technically still an adolescent. If it was me, I’m not sure that I would’ve been able to keep this in mind and make rational decisions to stay alive knowing that there is a chance that my life will be taking away from me for no reason at all. To be kicked out of your house and moved from one concentration camp to the next is tiring and I would’ve begged for them to just kill me already. Yanek stays strong and always tries to make sure that he is as strong as possible so that he does not fall victim to becoming a Musselman. To see death in front of you every day, Yanek becomes numb at its appearance. For this, I salute Yanek. To everyone one else, he was “Prisoner B-3087” but he knew that he was Yanek Gruener “who loved books and science and American Movies.” (131) Prisoner B-3087 was an amazing novel. I enjoyed reading this book because of its development of the characte...

"He was supposed to die! I needed him to die, so I could have his bread. I closed my eyes. What was I thinking? I wouldn't steal bread from a living boy, but I would wish death on him so I could take it without guilt? What were the camps doing to me? What had the Nazis turned me into? (pg. 182) This lines spoken by Yanek are what left the most impact on me while reading the book. Those lines sum up the entire struggle Yanek goes through throughout the novel. His capture by the Nazis are not simply a matter of live of death, but of ethics versus survival. Yanek struggles to keep himself alive as he goes through the death camp. By the end of his journey his body is emaciated. However, it is his spirit that takes the greatest toll. The monstrous conditions the Nazis put him and his fellows Jews through cause them to strip themselves of their identity and turn against one another so they may not be shot for another day. The cruelty of the Nazis is not something that is merely in...

I can honestly say this is the 2nd book I've really enjoyed reading, first being Absolute Diary. I have read books on the holocaust and know a good bit about the history behind it, but this book was different than the others. The real life struggles of that the young Yanek had to survive through really struck a nerve. I know all about the real life horrific happenings at the time but the way that Alan Gratz put it in perspective of Yanek made it even more intense and heart-wrenching. The vivid details that Gratz gives to the readers add even more intensity to the book as a whole. "We worked all day in the tailor shop doing what we had done in Plaszow, only now there were more SS guards, and we were often beaten for no other reason than because we were Jews. I saw one man struck so hard in the head with a club that he fell off his stool and didn't get back up again." Although this book is pretty intense the way that Gratz formatted this book is on a level that can re...

“It made me cry” pretty much sums up my experience with Prisoner B-3087 . I felt such a strong connection with Yanek throughout the novel, which is due mainly to its fast-paced style keeping me enticed. By page five, the German army had reached Kraków, Yanek’s city in Poland, and I was hooked from there. It’s the epitome of a page-turner. The way it’s written makes the situations straightforward and easy to understand, which is something that will draw young readers’ attentions. Alan Gratz does a wonderful job of writing so that an adolescent audience can become educated on the Holocaust. Adolescent readers can empathize with an adolescent victim. It seems that he establishes a strong connection with American adolescents specifically, as Yanek frequently says things at the beginning of the novel like, “Maybe one day I would go to America and work in the movies” (5). I questioned this when I began reading – why is Yanek so interested in the American culture? My question was answe...

Alan Gratz’s Prisoner B-3087 was a great book in my opinion. I feel as though it is the most realistic book that we have read yet this semester. The details that the author gives readers are incredible, and at certain parts of the story I can actually visualize by being a fly on the wall what Yanek is going through. I think that this book is appropriate for adolescents who are in middle school. It is a quick read, and because of the protagonist’s age, students would be able to picture themselves in his shoes throughout the whole story. This book reminded me so much of The Diary of Anne Frank , but I think I just may like this one better. Because this story is told in first person, I feel that it makes it better than it would have been if it was told from someone else’s perspective. I love how Gratz sets this story up where we start off with a protagonist that is just a carefree young boy, then within a few days his whole life changes and he has to adjust.     ...

            This book made me have so many feelings, oh my goodness. Historical fiction and novels based on true events fascinate me, so I could not even manage to put this book down once I started it. Reading about horrific tragedies like this is so surreal. You know it has happened, but it is so completely heinous and awful that you can’t even fully wrap your mind around it actually happening. Like Yanek says in the book “We could tell them all about it. Describe in every detail the horrors of the camps…But no one who had not been there would ever truly understand” (251). Naturally, I drew parallels between this novel and Elie Wiesel’s Night for obvious reasons as both center around the experiences of a young man trying to survive the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Each story is absolutely heart wrenching, but the stories need to be heard, nonetheless.               I think we can ...

When it comes to the Holocaust I've learned about it all throughout school; but in terms of this novel I think it did a really good job capturing the imagery of what the camps were like and the people there. It's descriptiveness made me feel as though I was there with Yanek watching things turn for the worse in front of our eyes. I think Gratz's portrayl of adolescence demonstrates the fear and also strength that children have in the appropriate times; therefore , Yanek being 12, going on 13 symbolizes not only the transition but the balance of a boy and a man. It honestly saddened me when Uncle Moshe told Yanek that his parents died and they were the only ones left. What made that moment sad was Yanek breaking down crying; "My legs felt wobbly. I had to sit down on my bunk, or I would have collapsed. I had known my parents might be dead...I didn't try to stop the tears that filled my eyes and coursed down my cheeks" (68). This was also the moment where Yane...

Personally, I am tired of reading holocaust novels by now.  I have read them in almost every school year since middle school.  I understand the topic is a sensitive one, and it is definitely one that deserves recognition.  The holocaust was a tragedy; moreover, I will never understand what these people went through.  And yet, I still wish we, as a educational society in literature, would focus on this topic perhaps two or three times instead of thrice that.   I've read so many novels since middle school pertaining to the holocaust.  If I had known about this book before I would have enjoyed reading it in my leisure time, but academically I could have done without.  I can't say it takes away from the terror, although, because it doesn't.  There's just too much horror to say that I've "read it all."  Still, I feel as though I've "read it all." That aside, this novel does an excellent job of throwing you into the horror of a dystopian society....

I chose this literature circle as my group. I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't a hard read. I think it took only a few days of reading here and there. I definitely recommend this, not just for adolescents, but for anyone who maybe doesn't really read for fun or hasn't picked up a book in a year. It really draws you in with the short text and the fantastic drawings. The story moved very smoothly and I felt like it gives the reader that 'transported to another world' sensation that you often get from movies. The book, in itself, is about the magic of cinema and how early cinema was transformed by magicians who injected their dreams into it. Today's magical cinema, a product of stunts, green screen, and CGI is a direct descendant of that. I think the historical element would make this a great book for a middle school literature class, especially before reading a book about World War II since it's prewar France. I can't see why any parent would ...

A Long Way Gone I enjoyed A Long Way Gone was an exquisite story about Ishmael Beah's Life.  I enjoyed the amount of details the author put in the story along walk to thoroughly paint a picture. For example he states in chapter 6, "The first two weeks were extremely painful. I suffered from back pains  and muscles aches. Worst of all, the flesh on the palms of my hands was peeled, swollen, and blistered. My hands were not used to holding a machete or an ax. After the clearing was done, the bush was left to dry. Later, when the busch was dried, we set fire to it and watched the thick smoke rise to the blue summer sky"(42). Little details like this provide great imagery of a place we as readers may have never been. Many of us barely know where Sierra Leon is on the African Map, not to mention point out parts of the landscape. I liked how much he incorporated the money story at the end because I felt that the monkey and the hunter served as metaphors. Just as the hunter f...

I really enjoyed reading this book and not that I can relate to the extreme drugs use but that I can see how a young girl gets influenced in the wrong way and goes about her life trying to find herself and grow up basically. The diary type format made also made it an easy and relatable to see how 'she' progressed through her life. The personality of Alice throughout the book portrayed her as this simple-minded young girl going through her "normal" teen years. And I guess I can't say that I was completely confused with her attitude shift from a sweet, little All-American type girl to a hippie, hardcore, foul mouthed using girl. Although she had this shift when she was using the drugs she would go back to her sweet type of attitude when she was "clean" from the drugs. Such as in the beginning when she spoke about a popular girl calling her over to a party; "Oh diary, I'm so happy I could cry! It did happen! Jill called at exactly 10:32. I know bec...

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a wonderfully unique novel. Melding pictures and words, it creates a wonderful story about the power of imagination and dreams. The book is like a modern day fairy tale: full of wonder and magic, just without any actual magic. Instead, the book uses the wonders of the real world such as automatons, clockwork, and magic tricks to weave a tale that sparks the mind. This book would be wonderful to use in a school setting. Not only is it easy to read, but the pictures used in the book are a great introduction to the power of illustrations to tell a story visually. The themes of hope and discovery would resonate with young readers inspiring them to pursue their own dreams.

The Skin I'm in is an excellent novel that makes the reader walk a day in the life of a bullied girl. The story covers a great deal of issues that not only effect girls, but kids everywhere. The main character, Maleeka struggles through poverty, bullying, lack of self-esteem, and having no real friends to support her. This has been one of the most enjoyable books that I have read this year. I really liked reading it, and I think that adolescents everywhere could benefit from. Throughout the course of the novel, Maleeka begins to accept and see herself as beautiful and independent. This would be a great book to teach in a school setting just because many adolescents have experienced what Maleeka does. And this girl goes through a lot in this novel. Pretty much the only positive influence that she gets in the book comes from the new teacher Ms. Saunders who understands what Maleeka is going through from personal experience. I really liked how Ms. Saunders made it a po...

I think that the “ Skin I’m in” by Sharon Flake is a great relatable novel for adolescents to read in middle school. it deals with a lot of different problems that adolescents face in that stage of adolescents. Bullying, peer pressure, and self-identification is just some of the things that Maleeka faces in this novel. At the middle school age adolescents are stuck between wanting to be little kids and wanting to be treated like adults. So it is very important for us as teachers to pay very close attention to our students and that is exactly what Ms. Saunders did for Maleeka. Ms. Saunders battled with accepting herself also and she saw the battles that Maleeka was facing and gave her different assignments to keep her on the right track and not fall to the bullying and peer pressure. Sometimes I think all we need is someone who actually cares about us. Someone who has out best interest in bringing out the best in us as people and that is exactly what Ms. Saunders did. I would use...

The thing that surprised me the most as I read Go Ask Alice  was the voice of the narrator, especially considering the cover and the book jacket summary. I really don't think the reputation of the book is an accurate representation of the narrator; instead of becoming a calloused, drug-addicted delinquent, the girl writing the diary sounds familiar, thoughtful and self-aware rather than an unrecognizable caricature of a rebellious teenager. Throughout the entire novel, though she does feel the weight of her experiences, the narrator doesn't become hardened or malicious and doesn't feel like a drug-taking, troubled teen stereotype that fearful adults would want to warn children against becoming. Despite knowing that this novel isn't genuinely the unfiltered diary of a teenage girl, it feels strikingly relevant and relatable. I think it was such a wise choice to have the narrator as this gentle, almost meek girl who struggles to overcome an addiction that she didn't c...

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick is the fictional account of a young boy living in the walls of a 1930’s train station in Paris, France.  Hugo, the son of a deceased watchmaker, has gone to live with his disappearing uncle and has the responsibility of keeping the clocks on time throughout the station.  He has recovered a broken automaton from the museum fire that killed his father in the hopes that it will have a message for him.  Hugo steals parts to fix the automaton from a toy shop within the station until he is caught by the shop owner.  Hugo’s relationship with the shop owner is further complicated when he is forced to turn over a notebook given to him by his father before his death.  It is later revealed that the toy shop owner is the original inventor of the automaton; and he is also a famous filmmaker who has gone into hiding.                 As with most young...

After Tupac and D Foster  by Jacqueline Woodson speaks so much about the way friendship can overcome hardships in adolescence. The novel details the experience of three preteen girls growing up in ‘90s Queens, New York – Neeka, D Foster, and the narrator. The girls constantly compare their identity in their specific culture to the famous rapper, Tupac Shakur’s identity in their same culture. The three girls’ strong bond over the social issues musical artist is an illustration of how cultural differences can be overcome for the better understanding of each other. “Woodson’s books are powerful, groundbreaking and very personal explorations of the many ways in which identity and friendship transcend the limits of stereotype,” Edwards Award Committee chair Mary Arnold said. “Her captivating and richly drawn characters struggle and grow and celebrate who they are in the world, and reveal to readers exciting possibilities for their own lives. -Young Adult Library Services Association...

“The Skin I'm In” is a powerful young adult novel that expresses the life of a young African American girl who deals with poverty, bullying, and low self-esteem. It was an amazing book and I loved every minute of it. I would think that the book would be very beneficial in a high school classroom. It was very relatable for me and can be very relatable for other adolescents. Sharon Flake is an amazing author and not only allows her readers insight on life as a student but also as a teacher who is not well favored in the school. Readers can see that teachers are not only there to teach and be “strict” on the kids, they are also there to be advocates in children’s lives. However, many students in the book and in everyday society do not turn to teachers when they need some type of support, they feel that by going to the teacher they will be labeled as a snitch, or that they would get in trouble if they told anything that happened. But that is not always the case. Maleeka realizes this ...

I really liked this novel because it was an interesting story that helped to grasp and keep the reader's attention by providing images. After reading the book the title seemed to have a more deeper meaning than what I first expected. At the end of the story Hugo becomes a magician named Professor Alcofrisbas; therefore, the automaton can symbolize Hugo being worked on as he transitions from an orphan working the clocks, to a young boy with friends, and then a young man who discovers his purpose. This transition is used within the title to inform the audience that something or someone will be created. I think this book is appropriate for students of all ages as it helps to keep people who are distracted easily on task by making the pictures majority of the novel and having a visual of Hugo's adventures. The relationship between Hugo and Isabelle is needed for each other's sake I think Brian Selznick's reason for incorporating two children with deceased parents is not o...

            Overall I feel that The Skin I’m In was a good book. It was a quick and simple read, and it kept me interested through the entire book. I read it all in one day and it had many situations in it that were very much relatable. I would think that this book is appropriate for students who are in middle school or the first two years of high school. I think that Sharon Flake did a good job at portraying adolescents and showing how some of them struggle with being comfortable with the way that they look. I think she also did a good job at talking about other issues that adolescents go through like poverty, bullying, and trust.             One of my favorite characters of the book was Miss. Saunders. She was a wealthy woman who came back to teach at a low poverty middle school. She suffered with a skin disease herself, but never let that deter her from doing her job. She became close with t...

So Go Ask Alice is the story of a young woman falling into a spiral of drugs, depression, and debauchery after an accidental exposure to drugs. And the kicker is that it's supposedly ripped from the diary of an actual teenaged girl. That's pretty heavy stuff, even today. But at the same time, we've all been so bogged down in D.A.R.E. ads and anti-drug commercials that this 1970's classic scare tactic novel has lost its kick for most readers. Most of what's covered in this novel, by today's standards, would be "edgy" at best. But there was a time when this book was the height of most rebellious teenagers' reading lists because of the controversy and stigma attached to the words between the covers. One of the biggest reasons that this novel was banned so heavily is because it "encouraged" sexual and pharmaceutical experimentation. But the fact that Alice slides so quickly and intensely into a drug-induced is actually meant to be a deter...

Go Ask Alice is basically a diary version of a DARE ad, but I still like it all the same. Essentially, the book is a “true” diary about a young girl’s drug addiction in the late 60’s-early 70’s. I have read the book a couple of times now, and each time I still tend to see it as a little unrealistic and contrived (but that is probably due to the fact that it is not actually a real diary and was written by an adult woman). I think the diary being marketed as a true anonymously-written diary is interesting, because it really played on the audience for quite some time and created controversy. I actually bought this book and read it for the first time about three or four years ago for that reason. This book is on the banned book list in many places still, so I just had to read it.             The specific aspect of the text I am going to focus on is the portrayal of mental illness and mental institutions. Near the end of the diary wh...

Our literature circle focused on a memoir written by Ishmael Beah.  I actually read this novel in high school, and it is among my favorite reads to this day.  I wouldn't pass an opportunity up to discuss this novel.  This collection of memories comes from Beah's first hand experiences of the civil war in Sierra Leone as a child soldier.  He explains his role as “defending” the nation from the rebel force that was attempting to over throw the government.  However, from the age of thirteen he is tossed into a world of severe drug abuse, violence, murder, and then the harsh recovery from his experiences.  He survives through PTSD, the loss of his family, rehabilitation, and being tossed back into the war afterwards.   For a novel – memoir – that is written based on a true account of his life, there is certainly a lot of action that keeps a reader captivated.  What was shocking to me was how beautifully written the novel is.  I found it i...

Before reading the book, I decided to read the back cover to see what it was going to be about. After reading it, I thought that this book would be interesting. However, it wasn't. It was not the worst book that I've read but it could be put on the list. The World Made Straight is a book filled with poverty. Many characters in the book are living in poverty and are trying to find anyway to come up lucky. Also, many of the characters are affiliated with drugs, whether they are selling out or using it. As always, drugs do not lead you down a road to success. This was evident by the end of the book when more than half of the leading characters were dead or going down the road of a miserable death. The time did not all go to waste. Travis and Lori are deciding to get out and make something of themselves all thanks to Education and dreams of one day achieving a better life. Lori goes off to college and Travis still has things that he has to deal with but hopefully he will follow b...

            Poverty and the efforts made to escape it are an ever-present theme in The World Made Straight. Many of the characters live in poverty and attempt to overcome it in various different ways, both helpful and self-destruction. Some, like Leonard, Dena, and the Toomeys turn to drug dealing. Not only does this take a toll on themselves mentally and physically, but it further increases the amount of pain and corruption present in the Appalachian community they all live in. All of these characters are punished for drug dealing by the end of the novel, with Leonard and the Toomeys dying - the elder Toomey still clutching his wad of drug money in his fist while taking his last breaths and Dena being completely broken inside with an uncertain future. Travis is a prime example of the ways used to get out of poverty. His attempts at drug dealing at the beginning of the novel leave him grievously injured, which deters him from doing it any farther and ...

   After not liking Caramelo, I optimistically went into this book thinking that I would enjoy it. That was not the case. I was not a fan of The World Made Straight  for various reasons, but mostly the darkness of the book as well as the excessive drug usage. Another huge reason that made me dislike the book was the fact that to me it seemed as if the story lacked an actual plot. I honestly have no clue what the main objective of this book was. I understand that it has themes and those are displayed throughout the book, but I didn't see a plot. To me the story just dragged on and on and I could see how someone might say that it follows Travis' life and the discoveries about his past, but he does nothing with this. He does all of this hard work to get his GED. but once he has it, he doesn't want to do anything with it. I think that the only reason he got his GED was so that he could prove something to his father, not because he actually wanted to do something with his life...

I think this was a good book. I feel like it wasn't my favorite, but it was definitely well written. I didn't really relate to any of the characters. I did like Leonard and I wanted him to pull his life together. I feel like his wife, Kera's, reaction to him having the pot in his car and claiming it as his was kind of extreme. Also, her moving to Australia and not even letting him stay in touch with his daughter was kind of messed up. I do get her frustration with him not sticking up for himself and choosing to fight in court. I was also frustrated by Leonard not trying to go after them or find out where Emily was. He just kind of accepted his life falling apart. I could understand that he's depressed but it just doesn't make sense to me that he would just give up like that. I can understand how Rash used the whole 'landscape as destiny' thing though. Leonard used it as an excuse to not see himself as responsible for things until the very end where he t...