English 485: Expedition Adolescence

Ms. Marvel is an entertaining read about a teenage Muslim superhero. I absolutely love the format of graphic novels and can say that I loved every second of Ms. Marvel. I believe that it not only showed the power of women but the power of identity and self-value as well. She struggled with her own identity at school, at home and as a hero. She eventually found her confidence within herself as a Muslim superhero. I think this was a great addition to our class anthology and I would love to teach this read in my classroom one day. The graphic novel itself is already a great way to get a reluctant reader enjoying books. I think this book could reach an even greater demographic of readers since it is so specific to a religion, but it speaks to everyone who has troubles with their identity too. This book made forgotten Muslim people feel important because they were able to take the spotlight in this book. It is imperative to be inclusive in literature as well as the classroom because ev...

When I first picked this book up, I instantly sighed and rolled my eyes. It was so hugeeeee and I thought I would never get through it in time. As soon as I opened the first page, I didn’t set it down until two hundred pages later. I absolutely loved this book. I believe I was first drawn in by its structure. I have never read a book like this and the constantly changing structure kept me entertained. The story overall was also unlike anything I have ever read. Hopkins’ ability to recreate her daughter’s experience into a book of poems that also told a story was just remarkable. I think the theme of identity is important to focus on in Crank. We first experience identity when Kristina refers to herself as “Bree.” This identity change allows Kristina to morph into her lifestyle of her father’s house. As a child of divorce, I can vouch for Kristina and her choice to change. I would have two totally different personalities depending on if I was with my mom or my dad. The kind of freedo...

     This was my second graphic novel, and I must say I like the first one better. I think this one has too many details. I found myself constantly losing my place and focusing on the art. I do think graphic novels give the reluctant reader and the visual learner an opportunity to excel. However, the distracted reader may say otherwise. The first graphic novel I read was not as colorful and contained more words per page. However, the details can enhance the reader's knowledge and provide information that would not have been known otherwise.     I love the fact that she is Muslim. Far too often, the media makes them out to be sinister. Not only can minorities relate to her, but she can connect with students on a universal level. The book addresses bullying, racial discrimination, justice, and the struggles of being a teenager trying to fit in. The most important lesson learned is to be your own hero, and love yourself. She teaches her readers to dig deep, use th...

         I still haven't seen the series, but I defiantly want to now. At first, I didn't like Hannah's attitude and decision of making the tapes. I was more disappointed in Hannah, as opposed to the ones who received the tape.  At first, I felt like she was doing too much blaming. I felt like we all go through series of unfortunate events, get made fun of, and let down. What I didn't take into consideration, was the fact that it is those small details that keep us up at night: That one comment, that one memory, that one bad decision. I didn't consider the fact that I let one 5th grader's comment keep me from reading.         I was mad at Hannah because I thought she was killing herself for vengeance. I guess her suicide wasn't justified for me. Which is terrible to say, but I was jealous, maybe? Instead of taking what life was throwing at her and keep pushing, she gave up, and took down everyone who treated her bad, not giving them a s...

Graphic novels are the future of reading. Visualization is such a huge part of reading, and I think it is oftentimes hard for students, or the casual reader, to make a movie in their heads. With graphic novels, the “movie” is there for them. They are also way less intimidating than typical novels, but they still convey a thematic message. I think what is the coolest about graphic novels is that they help foster a different skill set altogether. “Close reading” becomes much more involved with graphic novels, because there are so many different details the reader needs to pay attention to, in order to understand the plot. For example, in Ms. Marvel, there are several instances where the colors convey a deeper meaning. In part or chapter 3 of the graphic novel, Kamala is sitting with family, and they are wearing traditional headscarves. The women sitting by Kamala are wearing headscarves that are a dull brown, or tan color. Kamala’s is bright orange. It is vibrantly ...

      I wanted to applaud the author of this comic book as well as Professor Thomas for allowing us to read it in her class. This book was a perfect theme for so many young adult topics that need to be addressed in young adult literature as well as other books. This book addresses insecurity, religion, bullying, peer pressure, and even diversity and minority. This book presents a fun and cool way to address such topics in the classroom in an engaging my that entertains reluctant readers.       Ms. Marvel by Alphora Herring focuses on Kamal Khan and she becomes the new Captain Marvel and saves her friends and the city from tragedies and disasters. I wanted to stress how rarely ever do we see a minority member as the main character of a novel or comic strip? Hardly ever. And that is an issue with our society, country, classrooms, and authors. It is refreshing to see this happen in this comic book to encourage individuals that they are just as capable as the ...

Prior to reading this comic book, I have never really entertained the idea of reading comic books or movies. So, reading this comic was interesting, as it had classic comic book conventions such as: action, detailed plot, two separate identities and an evil person serving as the antagonist. But, it refreshingly differed as the protagonist was a young, Muslim, female. I was immediately intrigued after finding out the characteristics of the main character, Kamala, and the qualities that she possesses. I enjoyed reading the comic because it was not your stereotypical white guy in a suit and tie by day and spandex by night. It was about a young teenage girl who does normative teenage things while saving the world. Additionally, the comic introduces the concept of culture and how it is perceived by the public. The fact that the Kamala is Muslim is interesting to me, because they are often wrongfully depicted as the bad guys or villians in the media. So, the fact that this young muslim girl ...

Ms. Marvel,  written by G. Willow Wilson is a great novel about the regular teen turned superhero !  I love the whole idea of this graphic novel  and how enjoyable it was to read.Graphic novels always add that extra level of enjoyment to a story that is already written amazingly.  The images are important in the telling or re-telling of a story in a graphic novel. It you overlook the details in the pictures, it can be difficult to understand the story in all of its glory. The pictures can help to tell a deeper story that the words can’t accomplish. With Ms. Marvel, it was very easy to read and made it fun to read as well. As we spoke about in class, the only issue that I could see with teaching a graphic novel in the classroom is the organization of the story. Also, the plot and the pictures may not exactly match. Other than these two issues, I would be happy to teach a graphic novel in the classroom. I think it is a great way to engage the reluctant readers, and it...

Before reading Ms. Marvel, I had never read any comic books or read or watched anything Marvel related for that matter; I just never had any interest for it. I was a bit skeptical about reading this at first and I didn’t think I would like it because this would not be my first choice of something to read. After I began reading and really got into it I noticed that it was definitely a different type of read, of course, but after I got over the confusion of how to properly read this, I enjoyed it. It was rather interesting, and I liked how it all came together. Although comics and marvel books and movies were not my forte, I have still heard about other marvel superheroes and I was really exited to see that Kamala is Muslim, female, and a struggling adolescent. If you take Muslim with African American, you have a description of me, and I love that Ms. Marvel is so relatable in such a diverse aspect and that any young girl can relate to Kamala.        ...

When we were first assigned to read Ms. Marvel I was really hesitant on if I’d like it, so it took me some time to really sit down and begin reading it. Once I began I couldn’t put it down, it was a quick and fun read. I found it very interesting the issues in that kamala dealt with were very relatable. I also liked how it touched on a lot of problems muslims tend to deal with I have never been a fan of comic books. I usually stay away from them, but this book was really interesting and I’m glad I took the time to actually read it. This is a really good book to give a reluctant reader in the classroom because it is such an easy read. It’s also a good book to touch on when teaching about equality for all races in the classroom.

Although I do not enjoy comic books, nothing against them, its just not my style, this was different. I love learning about new cultures and this book was great for that. Not only was this a piece of work that is relatable to all kinds of people, but it also allows Muslims to be seen in a different light. Like most people have said, Muslims have always been painted in a bad light, whether not actually calling them Muslim and just describing the "bad guys" as the characteristics of them or saying it, it give a great outlook to what people of different cultures to be. It will broaden peoples spectrum of what "good guys" should be. American culture is very stereotypical as to who should be the "good guys" and who is the "bad guys" and this allows comic books to break that standard. I feel that this would be a great book to teach in schools, for many reasons. One being that it is a book about a minority that is not really talked about. It would ena...

Let me start by saying, Ms. Marvel is not a book I would be eager to read at first glance and I didn’t expect to gather the information that the novel provided. I use to read comics that my grandpa would bring home when I was younger in elementary school because of the pictures.  I think the pictures and colorful presentation in comics can made me feel like they’re always supposed to be funny or happy, so when I read this novel I was shocked. Ms. Marvel was semi dark and I guess it had to be that way in order to bring awareness to issues that are taking place in society.                 I loved the background information about the Muslim community and I feel it gives the world a different side to see of that community. Ms. Marvel allowed for identity for Muslims to be redefined and to go outside of the stereotype that has always been given to that community. Ms. Marvel also allowed for identity to be...

I love surprises! Ms. Marvel was that and more for me. I have always stayed away with anything comic book like and when I saw that we were going to read this I thought that it will be a hard read for me. I just hate being pressured to read a book that I find no interest in any level with. When I first starting reading Ms. Marvel it was hard to put back down! Just like the reviews said it will be, relatable to all kind of readers. I also thought that it will be hard to follow to know where to read next and ext., but to my surprise it, and in my opinion I was able to follow it really easy. I love that this was part of our reading list because it opened my mine up and see what options are there for my future readers that are interested in comic books. There are kids in my RTI group right now that I feel are going to be those students that are going to get so frustrated with reading that maybe without comic books or YA books that have pictures in them, these readers might stop being that.....

Out of all the books we read this semester, Ms. Marvel was the one I was least looking forward to. I didn't exactly dread it because I knew it would be a quick and easy read, I just figured I wouldn't get much out of it. On the contrary, I ended up enjoying the novel, and I think it carries with it a lot of merit for a variety of reasons. I'm not a big graphic novel fan or a fan of the superhero stories/movies. I enjoyed learning more about their background and about how most superheros are Jewish. After reading more about how superhero stories are often stories of an outsider trying to fit in, the decision to make Ms. Marvel into a young, Muslim teen made more sense. I liked that marvel was able to incorporate more diversity into their universe while still making it logically fit into the concept of the preexisting superheroes. I think that this text has value in three major ways. Firstly, the main character, Kamala, deals with issues that are relatable to teens reading...

   In Marvel's comic, Ms. Marvel, the new heroine is named Kamala Khan and unlike the majority of other superheroes, she's a muslim character. Marvel didn't want to make Kamala's culture and race such a big part of the story that they lose the main point of the story all together, which is to talk about and show the newest superhero of , but they did a great job at not crossing a line, but taking  a good look at what real life is like for a  Muslim teen. It's also important to note that Marvel makes her problems "normal" teenage problem. Instead of it being a cultural difference, it is made to look like just an average problem that the majority of teens face, which is great. In one scene, Kamala sneaks out of her house in order to go to a party and once she's there her culture is disrespected by her uneducated "friends," and she is made fun of. After she leaves the party out of anger and embarrassment, she meets some popular Marvel superheroe...

Mz. Marvel  is the first Marvel comic I have ever read and experienced. The way it is written and illustrated makes for an  adventu rous  and easy read. Through the  fast- paced  graphic  novel, I am  able to read with an instructed and specific way to imagine  the characters in a particular moment through the drawing s.    When it came specifically to the relationship with her parents it was sort of general overall. The aspect of her being Muslim is historical in the comic world but when I read it I didn't get a deeper sense within her culture and parents. The scenes with her parents seemed like the average strict parents and the way they yelled and  disciplined  her sounded like an average way. I didn't get the emotions that could have been  rawer  if there were a clever way to connect the  parent's  thoughts to the lifestyle in community that's mainstream.    When there were parts that...

Crank by Ellen Hopkins is an amazing novel that deals with an issue that many teens face today, drug addiction. I really enjoyed how easy of a read this novel was and the layout was very innovative and fun to read. I like the way the Hopkins chose to write this novel in prose because it takes a different course in the conventional way of writing a novel. Although it was a tough read because it talks about teens and addiction, I feel that it is very relevant and needed. The novel  details the inner struggles of a teenager addicted to Methamphetamine. The protagonist, Kristina Georgia Snow, is a direct depiction of the challenges that drug addiction leads to. Even though the book provides lucid detail about the protagonist’s addiction, it is also a controversial novel. This is because the novel highlights drug abuse and sexuality as its main themes. That being said, the author writes the novel from a personal point of view. Hopkins illustrates the novel concerning the addictions her...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is just the beginning of a series of novels that has set the tone for modern fantasy literature. Before we even read the novel for our literature circles, I had my bias about it being something that I thought I could never picture myself reading. When we started to read and do research on the novel, I surprisingly enjoyed reading and getting into the plot! It was not only interesting, but very relatable and almost addicting. I enjoyed the way J.K. Rowling wrote it and the buildup of the plot was perfect. Usually an author crafts very carefully their first sentence of a book. Also, their first paragraph sets readers expectations and the tone for the rest of the book. J.K. Rowling does great job setting up the plot and putting readers directly into the setting. This is especially important for adolescent readers who have a hard time staying interested in a novel. The first chapter is very vital in creating an interest and keeping the interest hi...

Prisoner B-3087, written by Alan Gratz, is a great story about one boy's struggle during the time of the Holocaust. It opened my eyes up to the life of one teen who is struggling through trying to be a teen while enduring a major change in his life. This story was great in relating real life issues while still existing as a historical novel. The story begins in 1939 in Krakow. The Nazis are taking over Poland when ten-year-old Yanek and his family hear the first bombs explode. Jews are penned in a small area by the army, and soon their neighborhood is sealed off behind a wall, the image of which is poignantly evoked by the book’s cover. Despite increasing danger, the Jews struggle to preserve their identity and family life. Friends and relations, at great personal risk, give Yanek his bar mitzvah in a secret nighttime ceremony. Sadly soon after, the trucks arrive and take family after family away to imprisonment and death. Yanek is separated from his parents and begins his ...