by Walter Dean Myers
Monster is the story of a young man, Steve Harmon, put on trial for being involved in a hold-up that results in the murder of a shop keeper. The book consists of Steve's journal entries and a script for a movie that he is writing about the trial and his experiences. It is a gripping drama - the reader can feel for Steve even while pondering his guilt. The book moves along at a brisk pace, alternating between flashbacks and reflection with what is happening in the trial. Fans of courtroom dramas will enjoy the plotline and dialogue. The journal and the script provide different perspectives, and at times, different versions of the same events. This leads the reader to ask questions about Steve's account and his character.
Students were generally positive. A few talked about how they had to prevent themselves from looking ahead so that they didn't reveal the ending to themselves too soon. Suggestions for use of the text included having students rewrite the ending or write journal entries from another character's perspective. Since much of the book is in script form, students could also do reader's theater or similar interactive projects.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
ttfn
By Lauren Myracle
ttfn is the sequel to ttyl. It finds the same friends, Angela, Maddie and Zoe dealing with their sophomore year in high school. The text is the same as ttyl, that is, in a form of IM. The book is thus structured as a series of messages between the three girls. Each character gets a distinctive font and color to help tell them apart (in addition to having their names on each message).
The three personalities are pretty clear. Maddie is the reckless one, Zoe is the straight-arrow, and Angela is the emotional one. The plotlines center around boys, experimenting with drugs, thinking about sex, and the fact that Angela has to move from Atlanta to El Cerrito (in the Bay Area of California).
I don't personally find the books compelling as stories, but they are doing quite well and kids are responding to them. What I do find compelling is the fact the author is at the forefront of trying to integrate IM and other digital technologies into the structure of adolescent literature.
I think books like ttfn represent baby steps towards a more expansive sense of text structure, and regardless of their limitations, the books are breaking some ground.
Some students in the class liked it, if in a disposable sort of way. Others did not care for it. Many thought the drug use and sexuality made the text off-limits for use in class, unless only certain sections were used (which all agreed would send kids to find the taboo missing sections). Students not used to texting and IM found the language to be hard to follow at times. Those who are veteran texters thought is was fairly realistic, though each message might be a bit long.
ttfn is the sequel to ttyl. It finds the same friends, Angela, Maddie and Zoe dealing with their sophomore year in high school. The text is the same as ttyl, that is, in a form of IM. The book is thus structured as a series of messages between the three girls. Each character gets a distinctive font and color to help tell them apart (in addition to having their names on each message).
The three personalities are pretty clear. Maddie is the reckless one, Zoe is the straight-arrow, and Angela is the emotional one. The plotlines center around boys, experimenting with drugs, thinking about sex, and the fact that Angela has to move from Atlanta to El Cerrito (in the Bay Area of California).
I don't personally find the books compelling as stories, but they are doing quite well and kids are responding to them. What I do find compelling is the fact the author is at the forefront of trying to integrate IM and other digital technologies into the structure of adolescent literature.
I think books like ttfn represent baby steps towards a more expansive sense of text structure, and regardless of their limitations, the books are breaking some ground.
Some students in the class liked it, if in a disposable sort of way. Others did not care for it. Many thought the drug use and sexuality made the text off-limits for use in class, unless only certain sections were used (which all agreed would send kids to find the taboo missing sections). Students not used to texting and IM found the language to be hard to follow at times. Those who are veteran texters thought is was fairly realistic, though each message might be a bit long.
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