English 485: Expedition Adolescence

 Oh. My. God. This book is almost a 10/10 for me. I'd say a 9.5 overall because of the ending. Not that the ending was bad, but I'm selfish and I wanted more haha. I LOVE the way Anderson writes. I have owned her other book Speak for almost a year (before this English course) but I never had the nerve to pick it up because I wasn't sure if it would be as good as others have said. But I'm going to go ahead and assume I've been wrong and I so desperately want to read it soon. I'm in a low place with my mental health right now, but I plan to read it hopefully in a few weeks when I know I feel better and I can handle the material. The story was great. The pacing was phenomenal. Just... Chef's kiss. This has to be my favorite book we've read and maybe my favorite book from this year. It was so heart wrenching and it cut me deep. The imagery was one of the best things from this book. It was like each time I picked up the book, it was like a new Netflix episode...

 I'm going to be honest. I did not care for this book. I finished it pretty quickly. The material of the book was real, authentic, factual, etc. and I though that the author did great with the overall topic of the book. However, I don't think I cared for the writing style. I don't usually mind short books, although I prefer long and lengthy reads because it usually has more substance. I don't usually mind them because it's quick, straight to the point and my brain enjoys them. But this one was almost too quick. I felt like the book wasn't very tense for a story covering this type of material? I imagine being in this scenerio would be frightening and so tense that you feel a little panicked. This book didn't give me that feeling and it just felt like a school assignment. It felt anti-climactic. The ending was a little rushed to me. I didn't feel like every question was answered or even acknowledged. Miguel and his sister's inner-turmoil felt unanswere...

 I know how late this blog post is considering that I wrote the first paper on this book. Honestly as I sit here and write this at the end of the semester, this was my one of my favorites, if not my favorite book, that we've read the entire semester. It looks like it's long when you look at the physical book, but it feels like a quick read. Especially the last 100-150 pages or so. Fabiola wasn't my favorite narrator from the other books we've read, but she was realistic and I liked that. She knew (mostly) what her priorities were (to herself) and although not all of her decisions were the best, she stuck to her views and how she saw the world. Mostly, when Fab was feeling a certain type of emotion during the book, I was right there with her. She was smart, strong when she needed to be, and was one of the most loyal characters I've ever read about. When I was in the middle of reading American Street, I wasn't sure how I felt about the small chapters about each ch...

      (I forgot this was a draft and forgot that I never posted it!) It took me an extra week to read It's Kind of a Funny Story. I just don't think I connected with the book very much. The content wasn't too heavy or triggering to me personally. Even though I often struggle with depression, it comes and it goes, I just didn't connect with Craig's character. Okay, let me re-phrase that. I related to him, but didn't connect with him. I am a worrier and I stress over every little thing like he does. It's exhausting to say the least. But I understand where he's coming from when he panics and feels suicidal from his depression. I myself have not really dealt with suicide, but I know others or close friends who have, so it's a hard topic to discuss sometimes. Even with our similar struggles, Craig just didn't click with me. It don't think it's the characters, or the setting, or the story. Something about the book apparently didn't suck me ...

  My essential research question: Why have dystopian novels been such a popular subgenre of YA fiction, especially throughout the 2010s?  Focus Questions:  Why do teenagers like reading dystopian novels?  Why are dystopian YA novels so widely appealing (adults often read them too)? What makes dystopian literature such an effective medium for telling stories that are especially salient for YA readers? What kicked off the “trend” of YA dystopian literature?  What are the common features within these types of books? Are dystopian novels becoming more or less popular as time goes on?   What kind of dystopian YA literature has been written in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic?  Do teens feel that we live in a real-life dystopia more than ever? Are we done with the “renaissance” of dystopian YA literature?   Overview of the topic and why I selected it:  I have always loved dystopian fiction, starting with when I read the Hunger Games seri...

  La Linea is a short but sweet story about a journey through Mexico and other areas, to reach " La Linea" or the line that separates Mexico from the US. The book is a fantastic read that while is fiction, depicts the real struggles that many individuals face when decding to cross the border. Like other books in this class, the intention of the novel seeks to educate those who don't know about these struggles while also working as a hopeful narrrative. I think the novel would work best in the classroom, especially if the topic is specifically about immigration and the many problems that exsit in the world.  I would recommend this book to others as a great read. 

 I am writing my research paper about how Covid has affected adolescents in the classroom. I will focus specifically on how it has increased levels of anxiety in adolescents, which can relate to many of the books we have read since they all deal with some sort of anxiety. 

I find it impressive that Jaramillo was able to convey the feelings of the characters and invoke responses in the readers with so much showing and very little telling, using such simple yet eloquent sentence- structure all the while. The anger I felt at the racism, corruption, unfairness, and injustice of the whole situation...it made me want to break something. I mean honestly, Miguel was dead-on when he was talking about how the desert was enough to make it hard for them to cross; it boggles my mind that people can be so racist, heartless and oblivious that they make it so hard to do something illegal that should be legal, that they  kill people for trying to flee from a country where they don't have what they need, along with terrorizing them. Where does this stupid law even come from? If people want to come here for a better life, why not let them? Why not offer resources so there's not poverty to begin with? Why not work together? Jaramillo's imagery was vivid in desc...

 In what ways do adolescents get impacted by societal norms and expectations? Do these pressures have their own benefits? How do these expectations affect adolescents later in life? Careers? Families? Are some pressures necessary and if so, when? How much responsibility can be placed on society itself? Has the norm and expectations changed over time? Are there less or more of them? How do these expectations/norms tie in with bullying between adolescents? I'm sure everyone has been impacted by societal standards whether it be beauty, education, family dynamics. Being raised in a Slavic household, I myself have faced a lot of pressure to do good in school while helping in the house and raising my three younger brothers. Attending church and other religious pressures have been a part of that as well. Most of the time, you are just expected to give up your mental and physical well-being just to please your family, teachers, friends, and even the general public as well. It becomes a lot...

 La Linea was a very eye-opening book for me. I knew that immigrants from the Mexican border had a very hard time crossing into America but never realized just how treacherous and damaging the journey truly was. Both my mom and dad came here as immigrants (my dad being illegal for quite a few years), but the hardest thing for them was to get on their feet financially. We never notice how privileged and lucky we are until we are faced with this kind of reality where leaving the country is almost necessity instead of whimsy.  I think this is a great book to teach to any grade level middle school and up. Although we all agreed that the ending was a bit unrealistic, it helps that the siblings made it all the way because if not for them going through all of that, the reader would not be able to get an overview of all the possible things that can happen along the path to la linea.  Speaking from the perspective of just someone who picked this book up for fun, I would not recomm...

Essential Research Question Throughout the years, in what ways has adolescent literature teachers choose to assign affected the mental health of students and their desire to read? Other questions 1) Who decides what to teach? (I'd assume it's the teachers, as that's how it's been in college, but I can't remember for high school if it's the teachers who created the curriculum, or other staff, or neither, or both, if it's different for certain schools, so I plan to check) 2) How are, and how should whoever is assigning the books make these decisions? Are they aware whether or not they're harboring any unintentional biased towards certain groups or topics? 3) If they are, in what ways can they resolve this issue? 4) Do most teachers consider how it might affect their students' mental health, or only how it will affect their learning literature? (In most cases I've experienced, teachers are more concerned about the latter. This class is one of the f...

 Can YA Literature Help adolesencets deal with or inform thier identity 1 What topics surroudning Identity to YA books talk about  2 How do YA books discuss the topic 3 Does the book have a clear theme with Identity  4What ways or methods do the characters use to form thier identity  5Are other issues addreased that realte to identity ( Race, sexuality, gender)  Absoloutely true Diary of a Part- Time Indian, Doppleganger, Stargirl, American Born Chinese. These books deal with the topic of Identity in many different ways.  I am going to use sources that are as closely related to the topic of identity in adolescents as possible, as well as sources that talk about things realted to identity such as lgbt topcis, and mental illness when applicable.  My claim, is that YA books can help adolescents form thier identities.  Potential issues with research will be how modern the topic is, it might signal a lack of study on the topic to a greater degree, at l...

 I did not get that far into this book. It was so real and on-point, making it that much more dangerous to myself and anyone that might be struggling with anorexia or, really, any eating disorder. Full disclosure, I did have a breakdown at some point and knew immediately that I would never teach this book to any middle or high schoolers. They are so very impressionable and this kind of awareness of calorie counting and competition can easily start a child on a path to starvation and self-hatred. Although I do wish people understood this illness more and could sympathize, there is no amount of awareness that is worth losing yourself over. It is so heartbreaking to think of younger people doing something like this to themselves and I know from experience that if I had not learned about eating disorders as in-depth as I did (thanks to people like Eugenia Clooney and such), it would not have affected my life. I am sorry for being so transparent by the way... there was never a chance fo...

I never put a whole lot of thought into this topic before, because I don't know much about it. I'm ashamed to say this, given that everyone else has a valid reason for putting it down, but this book wasn't hard to read because I have an eating disorder; I don't. Nor do I know anyone personally who does. I do obsess about my weight and appearance, partially because I've been bullied, and partially due to personal preference, but it's different; I don't starve myself...though I did instantly know the numbers Lia was listing were calories before I even finished reading the sentence, because I used to be super strict about the calories I ate...and still keep track of it, though not quite as vigilantly...but anyone could've guessed that, given what the book is about. I feel stupid even bringing it up. The reason it was hard for me to read was because it worsened my depression, and my nightmares, made them even more disturbing and frequent than they already ar...

 The issue of young people facing different eating disorders in today's society is tragic. I have a friend who faces this exact struggle, so the book was very hard to read. For that reason, I did not finish the book.  However, what I did read was very well written - I can tell the author would have knocked the rest of the book out of the park. The topic of eating disorders is still pretty stigmatized in our culture and should be talked about more, in my opinion. 

  Unfortunately I cannot provide quotes or an in depth analysis because I did not get far in this book, but I have another interesting conversation to explore instead. I think this book has the potential to be harmful to adolescents who face the same challenges as Lia.  It is so effective at communicating the raw truths of what it is like to be within the depths of an eating disorder that those suffering from such an affliction would undoubtedly be triggered by its contents.   As we see with Lia and Cassie, letting someone into the “inner world” of what is happening with one’s eating disorder is a way to hold oneself accountable.  As in the case with Lia and Cassie, they would intentionally trigger one another to encourage further destructive behavior.   I fear that the realism of Wintergirls would serve as an “intentional trigger” that those suffering with eating disorders might use to continue their behavior.  The helpful lessons learned by Lia withi...

 Scythe by Neal Shusterman is a great novel that serves as a great introduction to Dystopian stories for younger readers as well as an introduction to darker themes in books. Aside from that, even as someone who is familiar with other Dystopian stories, the novel is subversive enough to stick out amongst the rest of the genre. The general plot focuses on two teens, Rowan and Citra are recrutied by a Scythe to become trainees however, only one can be chosen. The situation changes when they are challenged to kill the other once one has become a Scythe themselves. The story is told through various points of view with a third person omnescient narrator, the main characters are Rowan and Citra, but the book will give us various perspecitves of other characters. Speaking of which, the characters are good, but I think more could have been done to fleshout thier arcs as well as one character having a huge moment of plot induced stupidity. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and wha...

     I haven't quite finished Sold yet, I have a little over 100 pages left. However, Sold is an incredibly written book. The content itself is heavy and slightly intense at times even without me going through it myself. Patricia McCormick understands the weight and through her use of verses, she takes the beautiful lines and makes it bearable.     It's taken me a little longer to finish because I had to keep stopping in certain spots. I still plan to finish the book and it will definitely be one of those books that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. The way the words were written and how strong Lakshmi is has stuck in my brain. Over the last few weeks I will think of what I've read of Sold so far from time to time.     I enjoyed how the topic of sex trafficking was addressed. Not many people have the bravery or right state of mind to accomplish a book like this. I feel like for those who read it, and especially if you are m...

 Patricia Mcormick's book Sold is an excellent resource for raising awareness about human trafficking victims. It can also be used as a tool to help victims find the words to explain what happened to them. The book was written in such a way that it softens the punch of reality, giving the reader just enough detail to comprehend what is going on but not so much that it becomes overly graphic. The ultimate purpose of this book I beleive, was to inform people who don't know anything about human trafficking in a digestible manner rather than having them read a graphic description in a newspaper. I also believe that Mcormick wanted to instill hope into both victims and readers alike so that we can work towards making a world where this doesn't happen. The ending exists as that flicker of hope, we want to see Lakshmi escape and get back to her Mother, but in the real world we also want real victims to escape. Overall I beleive this book exists as a call of sorts to inform and ad...

I've never read a book about this real-life subject before, and I think Sold was the best possible book I could have read of it. Of course it was heart-wrenching and horrifying, but the eloquence and beauty of the verse, the way Patricia McCormick wrote it, made it possible to get through. In any other style, a book like this would have been dense, too graphic, too heavy in every sense, and despite not having gone through something like this myself, I would not have been able to make it through. This book was fast-paced, and despite the final line of a lot of the poems snapping my heart in half, the reading just flowed for me, while resonating. McCormick put a lot of work into this, by interviewing people who had actually been through it, and you could feel that in her writing. It was simple, with beautiful figurative language, and, while the content was unspeakably sickening, and the tears I was crying for most of it were heart-break, they were also cathartic. And while I was hopi...

 This novel definitely takes the cake for how dark and disturbing the content is. At least for me. I remember that when I got to the first "time" when Lakshmi was drugged, I had to take a little break just because of the anger and absolute horror I felt for that child. As I mentioned before in class, I do not believe that I would come out of something like that without breaking in some way and the women in the Happiness House continued to live and survive in those conditions day after day, still being able to laugh after what was being done to them.  Unlike all of the previous books we have read, this one I would not teach to younger grade levels. Juniors and seniors in high school would be a more appropriate demographic. Not that we shouldn't raise awareness in the younger kids, but this novel is definitely not the one to do it with. Some parts were just too vivid, even if the author did not particularly use extremely descriptive phrasing or graphic wording during the mo...

I was not able to finish the novel, as it hit too close to home for me. I had never been "triggered" by a book before, but as soon as this book started to ruin my day, I put it down and decided for myself that it was not worth finishing.  However, I think that speaks volumes of the book itself! The author wrote it in a way that was so believable that the tragedy of it all weighed too heavy on my soul. I think that shows the strength of the writing itself, honestly.  Though I have never had suicidal tendencies, I have found myself battling both anxiety and depression, which both have a large negative effect on my life. I applaud the author for exploring these topics and I can see why this type of book would be valuable for an adolescent to read. It can serve as an eye-opening tool for them to see how issues like these are serious and potentially life-threatening.  It teaches adolescents that mental health is important and is not something to be afraid or ashamed of. 

  It's Kind of a Funny Story  is an excellent Young Adult novel.that I would recommend people to read. I really connected to the novel, mostly becuase I resonate alot with Craig and how he feels. I don't use the same terminology that he does when describing his issues, like the Tentacles, for me they are needles that are poking my brain. But, regardless I still relate to how Craig describes his issues. I also like they positive ending that the novel has and how it leads to a hopeful life for Craig in the future. Despite the true tragedy of Ned Vizzini, I think this book serves as an excellent perspective to give teens and adolesecents the tools needed to deal with thier mental health or at the very least give them hope that there will be a better Future.      The novel has many themes, but at its core, the book I believe is really about perspective.  "I look at the map. It's not a brain, clearly; it's a  map ; can't she see the rivers and highways and ...

       I am exhausted as I write this so I apologize for anything that might not make too much sense lmao. Anyway, it is really hard for me to rank this book or even begin to describe how I felt about it. I think what really made it for me was how incredibly connected I felt to Craig and how relatable his experiences and emotions were. Even without being diagnosed with any mental illness, I can understand that feeling of not being good enough and how hard it is to find motivation or even joy in life when something you thought you loved and were amazing at other people find less of a challenge.      This was also one of those books that, as was mentioned during class, made it hard to separate the author from his writing. Every time there was a hopeful spell or an encouraging encounter, I could not help but think of "what happened in the end anyway", even though that is not the "end" of Craig. It honestly sometimes gave the opposite feeling of what was i...

                Unfortunately, I couldn't finish the book; I only read chunks of the beginning and middle, so I only know so much. So I took the option to read mental health websites instead, and here discuss them with the same focus.         First, there's something we were talking about in class that is addressed in one article I read, something that I didn't put into this exact wording till now. I've known it in concept, but don't think of it often.         Mental health encompasses more than actual diagnoses; if you have poor self-esteem, are consistently stressed, insecure, or anything like that, your mental health is suffering. I mean, obviously we know that it's terrible to feel insecure, stressed, self-conscious, but when it's not debilitating and directly hazardous to yours or others' health and safety, it's easy to overlook it, to not think of it as still suffering mentally--but it i...

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a refreshing take on the life of a young person.  Refreshing might be a strange word to use to describe a book about a kid contemplating suicide, but let me explain myself: YA authors too often love to challenge their teenage protagonists with larger-than-life, spectacular, world-altering problems.  We’ve seen popular YA protagonists fighting corrupt governments and/or taking down horribly evil adults and/or saving the world from certain doom. It's easy to forget that realistically speaking, the lives of young adults aren’t always full of adventure or incredibly spectacular…and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Sometimes, the biggest problem a young adult has to tackle is just how to make it through the next day. This is the problem that faces Craig.  He’s not trying to overthrow the government or kill Voldemort or save the world—he’s just trying to survive. Of course, we see Craig struggle with the idea that he has somehow failed at the...

       The overwhelming challenges that Fabiola faces in American Street are significant to the discussion of xenophobia, racism, and poverty. Though these challenges can be difficult to read for some, they magnify American racism and xenophobia, which are aspects that are ingrained in our culture and need to be discussed at length.       Dealing with the early conflict of Fabiola being ripped away from her mother at the airport, I found myself imagining how I would feel if I were in her situation. There is no way that I could be as strong as Fabiola was during this time, as I would be so scared to be alone in a location that I didn't know anything about. Detroit, especially, as it has a reputation for not being so "friendly".     My favorite part of the novel is the bit at the end when Papa Legba kills Dray. This is my favorite part because it introduces magical realism, which is a technique that I've learned about recently and is somet...

 I believe that American Street  by Ibi Zoboi is one of those novels that begs to be read twice.  The novel absolutely drips with foreshadowing, especially within the dialogue of the character Papa Legba.  Some of these hints toward future disaster are obvious to us, the readers, but are lost on Fabiola in the moment that she hears them.  However, other hints from Papa Legba at first just seem like pure nonsense.  In my post, I want to talk about one instance of Papa Legba's foreshadowing, and why it seems like Fabiola, despite putting huge amounts of faith in Papa Legba, one of her lwas, to show her through, doesn't stop to consider the deeper meaning behind what he is singing and how it might impact the decisions that she can make.   Here, I will examine one of Papa Legba's songs, which are full of forewarning, as well as Fabiola's response to it and why she might have reacted that way.   This is what he sings right after Fabiola has r...

  American Street by Ibi Zoboi is a great book that tells the story of Fabiola Toussaint. The book details Fabiola's transition to life in Detroit and all the pros and cons that come with life in America. The book is really good on a technical level and is a great read and something I would recommend  other adolescent readers pick up when they have the chance. However, I didn't really connect with this book the same way that I did with the previous book.  I can't really explain why, I just didn't get that spark so to speak, but I can say that there are definitely topics in the book that many can relate too even if they don't share directly with the conflicts the characters are involved in. The big conflict being Fabiola's decision to speak to the Detective about Dray and the eventual conclusion it leads to by the end of the book. The big conflict relates to the book's themes about loyalty. Fabiola's personal conflict is in regard to her mother and how th...

       I really enjoyed this book. My favorite aspect of it was probably the character of Papa Legba and the shroud of mystery that surrounds both him and the gun used to kill Dray. The little magic mixed in with more serious problems in society was a nice touch. Besides that, I think that the way the author introduced more and more backstory and personality of each character was so effective and made me want to know more.      The only thing that did not satisfy me was Fabiola's character at times and how naive and hasty she was at making vital decisions. She should have known better, considering the fact that she did grow up fighting and constantly having to look out not only for herself but for her mother as well. Yes, she is just a teen, but being exposed to the things she was exposed to in Haiti would still prepare her more than perhaps a typical American adolescent.      Now, when it comes to issues that were addressed in the novel...

“But then I realize that everyone is climbing their own mountain here in America. They are tall and mighty and they live in the hearts and everyday lives of the people.” ― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017 “We have to become everything that we want. Consume it. Like our lwas.” ― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017 “We fold our immigrant selves into this veneer of what we think is African American girlhood. The result is more jagged than smooth. This tension between our inherited identities and our newly adopted selves filters into our relationships with other girls and the boys we love, and how we interact with the broken places around us.” ― Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017 “So trying to come to America from the wrong country is a crime?” - Ibi Zoboi, American Street, 2017 “Creole and Haiti stick to my insides like glue—it’s like my bones and muscles. But America is my skin, my eyes, and my breath. According to my papers, I’m not even supposed to be here. I’m not a citizen. I’m a ‘residen...