Fantasy and Science Fiction ~ Among the Hidden

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Among-the-Hidden/Margaret-Peterson-Haddix/e/9780689817007/?itm=3, accessed Dec. 3, 2008.

Bibliography

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. 1998. AMONG THE HIDDEN. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689824750

Critical Analysis

In the book AMONG THE HIDDEN, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, families are forbidden from having more than two children. There is a government agency called “The Population Police” that enforce this law among its citizens. The hero of the story is Luke, a third child, or shadow child as they come to be known, who is hidden in his farmhouse attic. At the beginning of the story thick woods surround his farm so he is able to play outside, work in the garden, and roam the house freely, but when the government buys the land next to his family’s farm in order to build new houses, he has to stay hidden in the attic to keep from being seen by the outside world. One day, after being caught in the kitchen by his father, Luke is upstairs looking out through the vents in the attic when he sees a child’s face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. He finally gets up enough courage to run next door, where he meets Jen, a shadow child like himself. Jen is unlike any other child he has ever known and is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows and be free. Jen wants Luke to join her on a dangerous plan to free all of the shadow children, but will Luke have the courage to do so?

In this frightening and exceptional novel, Haddix envisions a near future where a tyrannical United States limits families to only two children. Focused on government policies and the Internet, the plot development is sometimes hard to believe but the disturbing, thought-provoking premise will keep readers hooked from the first page. Students will sympathize with Luke’s character for how he handles each new situation he is thrust into. The question of if he should obey his parents wishes and stay out of trouble or help Jen on her dangerous quest for freedom, will be a topic of discussion among all who read this story. As in other books by Haddix, the underlying theme is loss of freedom, that brings us a dramatic and compelling story of one young person’s journey of defying those in power to make a difference in the world. Readers will have a new sense of appreciation for the freedoms that we are all afforded in the world in which we live.

Review Excerpt(s)

ALAN REVIEW: “Although the denouement is swift and tidy, the fully realized setting, honest characters, and fast paced plot combine for a suspenseful tale of two youngsters fighting for their very existence.”

VOYA: “This is an easily understood, younger reader's 1984 or Brave New World, presenting a chilling vision of a possibly not-too-distant future.”

KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Haddix offers much for discussion here, by presenting a world not too different from America right now. The seizing of farmlands, untenable food regulations, and other scenarios that have come to fruition in these pages will give readers a new appreciation for their own world after a visit to Luke's.”

Connections

Have the students discuss the possibility that anything like this could really ever happen. Research how some other countries (ex. China) have started to try and control their population and the laws that are already in place. Discuss their findings in class.

Fantasy and Science Fiction ~ Ender's Game

Book Cover Photo Source: Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Enders-Game/Orson-Scott-Card/e/9780812550702/?itm=2&USRI=enders+game, accessed October 22, 2009.

Bibliography

Card, Orson Scott. 1977. ENDER'S GAME. New York: Tor Books. ISBN 0812550706

Critical Analysis

“He’s too malleable. Too willing to submerge himself in someone else’s will.”
“Not if the other person is his enemy.”
“So what do we do? Surround him with enemies all the time?”
“If we have to.”
“ I thought you said you liked the kid.”

Ender’s Game is a story about a boy named Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggin. He is the third child of Mr. and Mrs. Wiggin. Being the third is not a gift, it is a curse, for in Ender’s world Parents are not allowed to have more than two children. But Ender is different. In many ways large and small, Ender differentiates himself from his brother Peter, his sister Valentine, his friends and his schoolmates at the Battle School.

The World is at war with an Alien race called the buggers. In a desperate attempt to end the war the military begins a secret campaign to find the world’s greatest General in the children of today. The best and the brightest are sent to a space station called the Battle School. There they learn the fundamentals of fighting in zero gravity. Ender’s two brilliant siblings Peter and Valentine are each considered for the school, but it is Ender who is ultimately chosen to attend. There under the watchful eye of General Graff, Ender begins his transformation to become more than Ender and General Graff Can imagine.

Though Ender and his friends are ultimately successful in defeating the Buggers, what the reader comes to understand is that it is not the alien race that proves to be Ender’s enemy, but the cadre of handlers who keep Ender isolated, over worked, and fearful of the impending alien invasion that are the real enemy. Told from a variety of perspectives, this story engages the reader in a psychological drama that has many twists and turns on multiple levels.
Published in 1977, and winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards, Ender’s Game will be an intense and riveting read for young adult readers. The story is rich in detail and the plot keeps the reader engaged. The novel asks the reader to think about leadership and what it takes to lead others in the face of self doubt.

Review Excerpts

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "The buggers have invaded Earth twice. The last time mankind survived only because of the brilliance of Mazer Rackham, commander of the International Fleet. Years later, a third invasion is feared and a new commander is sought. Ender Wiggin is only six years old when he is plucked to succeed Rackham and sent to the space station Battle School. He is isolated, ridiculed, bullied, and persecuted-but he survives and thrives. Using his astonishing intelligence, the boy learns to be a top-notch solider and, despite his youth and small stature, is quickly promoted up the ranks. By the age of 12, Ender learns the art of command and earns the respect and fear of his fellow soldiers. "

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "Ender is portrayed as just a pawn in the larger game being played by the I.F., and readers will alternately sympathize with his exploitation and cheer when he is able to make friends in spite of the tremendous forces working to isolate and dehumanize him. The political and philosophical material at the novel's end may get too heavy for some readers, but for the most part, this novel will deservedly reach a new generation through this new edition."

Adventure, Sports and Mystery ~ The Killer's Cousin

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Killers-Cousin/Nancy-Werlin/e/9780142413739/?itm=1&USRI=the+killer%27s+cousin, accessed October 10, 2009.

Bibliography:

Werlin, Nancy. 1998. THE KILLER'S COUSIN. New York: The Penguin Group.
ISBN 9780142413739

Critical Analysis:

Set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, THE KILLER'S COUSIN tells the story of David Yaffe, a seventeen-year-old from Baltimore, who was recently aquitted of killing his girlfriend, Emily. His uncle has agreed to take him in, which will allow David to repeat his senior year at a private Catholic School nearby. When the story begins, you are not told the specifics of how Emily died, or any of the other details of David's affluent family, what you are told is that the story is about Lily.

When David arrives at his uncle's house, he finds a family on the edge of collapse. His Uncle Vic and Aunt Julia's oldest daughter Kathy, died four years earlier, and her death seems to have destroyed the lives of not only his aunt and uncle, but also his eleven-year-old cousin, Lily. Lily was seven at the time of her sister's death, and seems to be mentally unstable at best. She displays odd behavior and David finds himself unnerved by her actions. When he finds Liliy going through a box of his things and asks her to leave, Lily replies "Tell me something," she said, as if casually. "How did you feel when she went down?"......"Tell me. Did you feel.....powerful? Were you glad? Even....just for a minute?" After this alarming encounter, David starts school, begins filling out college applications and even manages to make a friend, all the while knowing that something is terribly wrong with Lily. He tries talking to his aunt and uncle, but is met with denial that there is a problem with Lily. David wakes up many nights hearing a humming noise in his small apartment. At first he thinks that it is Emily, trying to talk to him in some way, but he soon realizes that it is Kathy. Over time, the humming intensifies and he begins to see the fuzzy outline of a person. It is then that he begins to understand that Kathy is trying to tell him to help Lily. As David learns more about Kathy and her death, he is convinced that Lily is responsible.

The author's vivid descriptions of Harvard Square, row houses, and the Brattle theater give readers a glimple of what Cambridge is actually like and the climactic ending will allow them to learn the whole truth about David and Lily and the secrets that they keep.

Winner of the Edgar Award

Review Excerpts:

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Many secrets bubble just beneath the surface of this skillful thriller narrated by a high-school senior who has been accused--and acquitted--of murdering his girlfriend," said PW in a starred review. Ages 14-up.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "David Yaffe, 18, having recently been acquitted of murdering his girlfriend, is sent to live in Cambridge, MA, with his aunt Julia, uncle Vic, and cousin Lily to repeat his senior year of high school. Lily, 11, is resentful of his presence; she feels that her dead sister Kathy's room is rightfully hers, and that he should not be staying in it. Lily taunts and torments David until he begins to doubt his own sanity. His emotional fragility is compellingly revealed as he works through the loss of his girlfriend and the complicity he feels over her death."

Classroom Connections/Discussion Questions:

1. At the end of the story Lily tells David that she killed her sister. Do you think she really killed her or she just thinks she did? Does she deserve to be punished if she did?
2. Do you think that Kathy's was in David's mind or do you think she really appears to him as a ghost?
3. Did you feel differently about the title of the book once you had read it?
4. When did you first suspect that Lily had something to do with her sister's death?
5. After the fire, David says that saving Lily had somehow given him hope that he would find ways to atone in the future. Do you think David will ever forgive himself?
6. The author skillfully resolves many of the puzzles but leaves a few questions. What are some of these? How do you feel about what she accomplished by doing this?

Adventure, Sports and Mystery ~ I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Id-Tell-You-I-Love-You-but-Then-Id-Have-to-Kill-You/Ally-Carter/e/9781423100034/?itm=3&usri=i+d+tell+you+i+love+you+but+then+i+d+have+to+kill+you, accessed October 10, 2009.

Bibliography:

Carter, Ally. 2006. I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 9781423100034

Critical Analysis:

"I suppose a lot of teenage girls feel invisible sometimes, like they just disappear. Well, that's me-Cammie the Chameleon. But I'm luckier than most because, at my school, that's considered cool."

In Roseville, everyone thinks that the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is nothing more that a snobby boarding school. But in reality, it's an undercover, all-girl school for geniuses that teaches the latest methods in espionage. The curriculum includes "Advanced Encryption" and "Covert Operations," not to mention how to speak fourteen different languages. Cammie Morgan attends the school along with her best friends Liz and Bex. Her mom also happens to be an ex-CIA operative and the headmistress of the school. This fall there is also a hunky new teacher on the grounds. His name is Joe Solomon and he does things his way. When the girls go out for their first Covert Operations field experience, things go wrong and Cammie ends up separated from the rest of her classmates. The town, which resembles Mayberry in terms of quaintness, is holding it's town carnival and Cammie finds herself smack dab in the middle of dunking tanks, carnival rides and funnel cake stands with no place to hide. On her way home she meets Josh, a regular boy whose few words to Cammie during their encounter sweep her off her feet. Back at school, she confesses to her friends what happened and the girls go on a mission to find out all they can about Josh and his family, while trying to figure out the biggest enigma of all-BOYS! Keeping her true identity under wraps, Cammie continues to meet Josh through a series of messages left behind a stone in the gazeebo in town square. When she finally figures out a way to go on a real date and her cover is blown, Cammie must make a choice between what she knows she loves and who she thinks she might. The characters in the story are captivating and the relationships real, making it especially appealing to young adult females. Told in an easy-to-read, conversational tone, this book will have it's readers impatiently waiting for the next installment of this engaging series.

Review Excerpts:

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "Cammie is a sophomore at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women a place that lives up to its name, as Cammie knows 14 languages and is a skilled killing machine. Of course, Gallagher girls become the most elite spies, and Cammie fires ahead on that career track (as was her mother, now the school's headmistress) until romance with an ordinary guy, no less threatens to derail her progress. Despite any shortcomings, aficionados of this burgeoning fiction genre will be tempted to give this title a go." Ages 12-up.

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "Everyone in the town of Roseville thinks the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is a regular boarding school for snobs. But it is actually an undercover, all-girl spy training school, and Cameron Morgan is both a sophomore and the daughter of the headmistress. The curriculum for these high school girls includes "Covert Operations," "Culture," and "Assimilation." Students are expected to speak one of the fourteen languages they know during lunch in the Great Hall. There are lots of other fun spy-related details in the story, which will have most readers chuckling."

Classroom Connections/Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think that there could really be someplace like the Gallagher Academy for Girls?

2. If so, would it be a place you would be interested in attending?

3. How would the story been different if Cammie had told Josh the truth from the beginning?

4. How do you think Cammie's father dying changed her character?

5. Did you like the ending of the book? Why or why not?

Adventure, Sports and Mystery ~ Inside Out

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Inside-Out/Terry-Trueman/e/9780064473767/?itm=6&USRI=inside+0ut, accessed October 10, 2009.

Bibliography:

Trueman, Terry. 2003. INSIDE OUT. New York: HarperCollins Children's Books.
ISBN 9780066239637

Critical Ananlysis:

This story begins with Zach, a 16 year-old schizophrenic, sitting in a coffee shop waiting for his mother to bring him his medication. When two teenage boys attempt to rob the shop, Zach is one of seven people held against their will. All of the other people in the coffee shop start to panic. Zach does not. Because of his illness, Zach has a hard time differentiating between what is real and what is imagined. He has two imaginary "psychokiller enemies," Dirtbag and Rat, who murmur evil thoughts in his head when he doesn't take his medication. It is the voices whom he truely fears. "Hey, Wasteoid, time to die," Dirtbag whispers. Rat laughs and screams, "Yeah, time to die, Wasteoid!" Compared to the voices, the two robbers do not seem threatening at all and when the situation escalates, Zach finds himself volunteering to become their hostage. When this happens, we start to find out more about the desperate situation the brothers are in. Their mother has cancer and little money to pay for care, and the boys see the robbery as a way to help her. The gun they have has no bullets and as the story progresses we see them as basically good kids who have gotten in way over their heads. An unusual bond begins to form between Zach and the brothers, and when one of them is wounded by a stray police bullet, it is Zach who aids in ending the standoff. Ultimately the boys surrender and Zach is reunited with his mother and given his much needed medication. Narrated by Zach, the reader gets a sense of the bewilderment and silent struggle which take place in the schizophrenic mind on a daily basis. The book is disturbing, especially the ending, but it is riveting nontheless. Young adults will without doubt come away from this read with a stronger appreciation for those who battle mental illness.

Review Excerpts:

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "While a 16-year-old battling schizophrenia waits in a coffee shop for his mother to arrive with his medication, two boys attempt to rob the cafe and take hostages. PW called this "a vivid story of three desperate teens that recalls Robert Cormier, with its dark, disturbing theme and narrative shifts in rapid-fire succession." Ages 14-up.

VOYA: "Sixteen-year-old Zach suffers from schizophrenia. He hears two voices in his head, Dirtbag and Rat, whenever he needs to take his medicine. Those voices tell him to kill himself. If this condition was not enough to live with, Zach now finds himself in the middle of a holdup at the coffee shop after school. The two robbers are around Zach's age, and Zach tries to talk to them through the veil of his disease. Although his doing so tries the patience of the robbers and confuses the police outside, Zach is able in his own way to help work things out for everyone, except possibly for himself. Trueman is a master of point of view, as shown in his award-winning novel Stuck in Neutral (HarperCollins, 2000/VOYA December 2000). His research into the disease really helps make Zach's warped thought patterns believable to the reader. Every reader will have sympathy and new understanding of this devastating illness."

Classroom Connections/Discussion Questions:

1. Before reading this book, what did you know about schizophrenia? Was the portrayal of this diasese different that what you thought it would be?
2. Was the plot of the story plausible to you?
3. If the boys mom hadn't been sick, how would the story have been different?
4. How are the two brothers and Zach the same? How are they different?
5. Why do you think that Zach is so afraid of Rat and Dirtbag, but not of Joey and Alan.
6. Why do you think the author included exerpts of the letters between Dr. Curtis and Zach's mom in the story?
7. What do you knoe about suicide? How have your feelings changed after reading this book?

Realism, Romance & Censorship ~ Story of a Girl

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780316014540, accessed September 26, 2009.

Bibliography:

Zarr, Sara. 2007. STORY OF A GIRL. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
ISBN 9780316014533

Critical Analysis:

One moment caused everything to change for Deanna Lambert. "I was thirteen when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy's Buick, parked next to the old Chart House down in Montara at eleven o'clock on a Tuesday night." Deanna's dad hasn't looked her in the eye "or talked to me, really talked to me since." Her peers have labeled her "the school slut" which, in the small town she lives in, defines who she is for the next three years.

Sophomore year is over and Deanna decides to get a job for the summer. Deanna's brother, Darren, and his girlfriend, Stacy, live in the family's basement with their baby, April. Deanna has decided that she will save enough money for them all to move out of her parent's house and into an apartment. Her friends Jason and Lee try to be supportive of Deanna, but she ends up feeling at odds with them as well. When Deanna shows up for her first day of work at the pizza parlor and discovers that Tommy, now 19, works there too, old feelings resurface. "My body did things again, nerves awake, something not quite good and not quite bad creeping over my scalp." Told in honest first-person dialog, the story is both credible and clever. Zarr explores Deanna's dysfuctional family life with sensitivity and perception, which in turn is convincing and believable to the reader. Her effective use of flashbacks, explains how Deanna became involved with Tommy and helps to tie up questions the reader may have about the relationship. Deanna's journal entries are scattered throughout the book like leaves blowing down an empty lane, adding a profound sadness to the story. In the end, forgiveness defeats fear and Deanna is able to overcome her past and find her true voice.

2007 National Book Award Finalist

Review Excerpts:

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Sophomore Deanna Lambert made just one mistake to turn herself into the "school slut." Back in eighth grade, Deanna's father caught her having sex with a high-school boy. Nothing has been the same since that painful night, and Deanna's extremely dysfunctional family is not much help. There are just two people who are willing to take the razzing of being the friends of "slutty Deanna," and she misses her loving dad who has turned into a man who can neither look her in the eye nor give her any affection.

KLIATT: "Deanna Lambert is a girl with a past. Ever since she was caught by her father having sex with her brother's friend in the backseat of a car, her life has become a high school joke. The event not only haunts her but also defines who she is. Now that summer is here, Deanna is looking for a job that will give her enough money to help her brother and his wife and daughter to move out of a difficult home situation, taking her with them. The only job she can get is one working in a pizza parlor with Tommy, the high school boy from the backseat. Her brother Darren and his wife have a falling out and Deanna is caught in the middle. Deanna's friends Lee and Jason provide support and encouragement, but she finds herself uncomfortably in the middle of that relationship as well. In one weak moment she goes out with Tommy and almost becomes the girl in the high school joke. Instead she channels her frustrations, forgives Tommy and is finally able to put the past behind her."

Classroom Connections:

This book is a great way to talk to teens about how one mistake can make such a profound impact on our lives. After reading the book talk about what might have happened to Deanna if she had chosen not to sleep with Tommy at such a young age. How do you think the story would have been different?

What if Deanna's dad had been different after he caught her with Tommy? Would that have made a difference?

Realism, Romance & Censorship ~ The Chosen One

Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780312555115, accessed September 25, 2009.

Bibliography:

Williams, Carol Lynch. 2009. THE CHOSEN ONE. New York: St. Martin's Press.

ISBN 9780321555115

Critical Analysis:

In her book, THE CHOSEN ONE, Williams finds the right balance of information and warning in her riveting story about a 13-year-old girl living in a polygamist cult. Kyra who longs to be free, finds shelter in a Russian Olive tree at the back of the compound where she lives in the isolated desert, with her father, his three wives and their 20 children. She loves climbing high in it's branches, the only place in the world that is truly her own. "I love being here," I say. "I love being able to see it all and having no one see me." She even goes so far as to walk outside the confines of the compound where one day she meets Patrick, who drives the local Bookmobile. Ever since "the cleansing" seven years before, books have been banned. Eventually, she begins to check out one book at a time, hiding them within the folds of her dress. Literature opens up a whole new world for Kyra, who learns of what life is like in the outside world. Kyra also has another secret, Joshua. Joshua is the boy that Kyra shares her first kiss with, and the boy who would choose her for himself if he could. One night, Prophet Childs comes to see Kyra's family and tells her father that Kyra has been "chosen" to be the seventh wife of her sixty-something year-old, uncle, Brother Hyrum. Kyra vows to herself that she cannot let this happen, but even with the support of her family, her pleas go unheard and she is faced with the unimaginable choice of running away and giving up her family, or staying and being forced into a marraige that will break her spirit.

Physical as well as emotional abuse run rampant through this book as does fear and even murder. The final scenes of the story are gripping and terrifying, and though you know what you are reading is fiction, you find yourself wondering if things like this ever actually happen. Although most teenage readers will not directly identify with Kyra's situation, her emotions are so complex and global that young adults will find this enticing book impossible to put down.

Review Excerpts:

VOYA: "Kyra has been Chosen. Prophet Childs received a vision: she is to be the seventh wife of Apostle Hyrum. Kyra is thirteen; her uncle Hyrum is in his sixties. They live on a desert compound, miles from town. Ever since Prophet Childs led the New Cleansing seven years earlier, books have been outlawed, medicine and doctors banned, children harshly disciplined, and young girls saved for older men. Such is life in a polygamist sect, but Kyra has rebellious thoughts and often walks beyond the walls of the compound to feel free for a few minutes. Recently she met the local Bookmobile along the road and has been checking out one book at a time, concealing them under her dress. Reading and playing the piano are two of her favorite things. The other is Joshua, the boy who would Choose her if he could. Suddenly Kyra is faced with an impossible choice—run away and never see her family again or stay and be forced into an unbearable marriage. "

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "In this thriller, 13-year-old Kyra lives in an isolated polygamist cult. Life in the compound is as dry as the surrounding desert, more confining than the chain-link fence on its perimeter. But Kyra finds small freedoms despite the tightly controlled communal environment and is able to slip outside to wander the desert. There she chances upon a friendly book-mobile driver who opens the world of children’s literature to her. Kyra even begins a flirtation with her classmate, Joshua, a dangerous sin for which they will both pay dearly. The brutal leader, Prophet Childs, has plans for Kyra and will brook no disobedience."

Classroom Connections:

Have students list some of the things that intrigued them about the book. Do they think that this book was over the top or can something like this really happen? This book will make students think, but could also be problematic to teach in the classroom due to some of it's subject matter.