Book Review 1-3
A. Bibliography: Gephart, D. (2016). Lily and Dunkin. New York, NY: Delacorte Press. ISBN: 9780553536744.
B. Summary:
Lily and Dunkin is a heartwarming tale with themes of true friendship, family support and getting to know your true self. Two teenagers struggle to find their identity. One is transgender, and the other suffers from bipolar disorder. Written from both characters' perspectives, the reader gets an inside view of what it's like to struggle with an both an external and internal conflict. The book focuses on the importance of individuality and the struggles that come along with that such as bullying and peer pressure. Lily and Dunkin experience many trials and triumphs, both together and separately, as they come to be the truest of friends who support each other's individuality.
C. Strengths of the Book:
Lily and Dunkin is an example of realistic fiction, which is a subgenre that people can really identify with because it involves events that could happen in our lives. Lily and Dunkin brings empathy into the reader's heart as it teaches the themes of acceptance, friendship, individuality and family support. These four themes really sum up the experience of an average young adult. Young adults would connect with the struggles that Lily had with her dad. Her father did not approve of the changes and lifestyle of his son. He ultimately supported Lily after realizing that many transgender teenagers commit suicide because of bullying, being different and lack of support. Overall, this novel is one that many readers can connect with, in particular young adults who go through that same stage of finding out their true self.
D. Educational Connections:
This book would be a great read aloud to support the topics of bullying and individuality. There are so many ways that this book relates to young adults, as this is the prime time where they are finding out who they truly are. Lily and Dunkin would be a good book to teach the ideas of characters' point of view, as we get to read from both Lily and Dunkin's perspective. When I began reading the book, I immediately had a connection to Wonder by RJ Palacio. This book is also written through several characters' point of view and features a main character who gets bullied because of his differences.
E. My Personal Connections:
Lily and Dunkin brought new perspective to me because I didn't have any personal background knowledge or connections to bipolar disorder or transgenders. I read the Author's note at the back of the book and she mentioned that she did a lot of research about these topics, Gephart also mentioned that Dunkin's character was inspired by her son who had to take medications due to his bipolar disorder. This made me appreciate the book even more. I would have to say that my two favorite parts of the book were when Lily stood up for the tree that she appreciated and connected with so much, and the part where the dad finally shows support for Lily because he ultimately does not want her to suffer. As a new mom, this brought new awareness to me.
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B. Summary:
The Knife of Never Letting Go is a science fiction novel for young adults. It is the first book in a series of three. Todd is the youngest kid in a town with no women. It was said that there are no women because of the war with the Spackle aliens. Prentisstown is different from all other towns. You can hear everyone's thoughts and everyone can hear yours. Todd and his dog Manchee" find a hole in the "Noise" near the swamp. No one else knows about it, so Todd has to mask his thoughts so others don't find out about it. When others start to find out he is hearing silence, he plans an escape, but stumbles upon a girl from another world. Todd tries finding the answer in his deceased mother's diary, but he is uneducated due to rules from the mayor. Todd and the girl Viola set off on a dangerous adventure trying to escape the Prentisstown army. Along the way, Todd discovers the dark secret of Prentisstown: the men from their town murdered the women. Todd and Viola finally arrive in the town of Haven, but we are left at a cliffhanger when the only citizen is Mayor Prentiss.
C. Strengths of the Book:
The Knife of Never Letting Go is full of so many fast paced plot twists and turns that the reader cannot put it down. It is an easy read with teen friendly language. There are so many themes in this novel. One major theme is the feeling of loneliness. The protagonist, Todd, feels like he doesn't belong in Prentisstown. He doesn't really socialize with anyone in his town besides his dog. Some other themes are the decline of communication in our world, as well as manipulation of society and the government. This novel features many aspects of science fiction, such as aliens and other worlds. The Knife of Never Letting Go, the first of three in the Chaos Walking series is an example of soft science fiction.
D. Educational Connections:
As this was my first science fiction book that I've read, I didn't have any connections to other novels. As a classroom teacher, there would be so many areas for students to analyze, such as the various settings in the story: what they represent and how they contribute and affect the story. While reading the book, I found not one, but four major themes: loneliness, decline of communication, manipulation of society and the government, and loss of loved ones. Students could choose one of the themes and provide text evidence to present their ideas about the novel.
E. My Personal Connections:
This was my first time reading a science fiction book. Yes, I enjoy science fiction movies, but have never been inclined to try a book. I learned that soft science fiction is the way to go for me, because it still focuses on the character and does not revolve solely on science. ____________________________________________________________________________
B. Summary:
Speak is an honestly written story about a shy, yet witty high school girl named Melinda. She has suffered through a traumatic experience when raped by an older student from her school. The whole school , along with her friends, turns on her because she got the cops to shut down the party where she was raped. Melinda is unable to confide in anyone and therefore puts up a wall, loses her confidence and voice. The book takes us on a dark journey through her miserable experiences and treatment in high school. Yet through her art class, Melinda is able to begin a project that helps her find voice again.
C. Strengths of the Book:
Speak has presented a character who ironically (due to the title) has such strong voice inside. Melinda is witty, depressing, and honest as we learn about her experiences in high school. She is a character that a lot of teenagers can identify with as this is a hard transition time in life. Speak is an example of realistic fiction. The descriptive language and vivid imagery are the strong points of this novel. The reader gets to experience what high school is like as an outcast, which makes us empathize with Melinda and people in real life who go through similar experiences. The description and actions of all the minor characters help us identify and make connections to similar people in our high school lives: from the bad teachers to the cliques. Speak earned many awards such as the 2000 Printz Honor Book and 1999 National Book Award finalist.
D. Educational Connections:
This book reminded me of the book and series Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. This book and Speak both involve two teenage girls going through extremely difficult times during their high school years. Thirteen Reasons Why deals with more extreme problems such as suicide. In Speak, one of the lighter themes is the idea of perseverance. Melinda struggles through her art project all year, but is able to accomplish her goal after many attempts and frustration.
E. My Personal Connections:
This was one of the books this semester that I did not want to put down. From the moment I started reading, I instantly connected with Melinda's feelings about high school. Like a lot of people, high school was one of my least favorite experiences. I felt like the book did a great job highlighting the relationships between Melinda, her parents, teachers and ex-friends. A reminder from this book is that just one person, whether it be a teacher or classmate, can make a positive difference in someone's happiness. This is something for us as teachers to remember. Everyone has their own struggles and making those personal connections with students is so crucial because we may be the only ones cheering them on.
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