Jean Craighead George's novel My Side of the Mountain is about Sam, a teenage who longs for independence and privacy, so he decides to venture out on his own to live on his great-grandfather's land in the Catskill Mountains. On his own, Sam acquires skills and knowledge for surviving and living in the wilderness.
It would be great to teach in the classroom, and it could easily be used in an interdisciplinary unit. Most of the other books I've read this semester would seemingly appeal to girls rather than boys, but George's novel could certainly speak to the boys and naturalist learners.
My Side of the Mountain is a classic that addresses learning about oneself, fear and the courage to overcome it, independence, and survival. Sam's desire for independence speaks to every teen and pre-teen. I read My Side of the Mountain when I was a kid, and I loved it. It was no different this time.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Heaven
Angela Johnson's novel, Heaven, tells Marley's story. Everything is going well for Marley in her fourteenth summer; she has a job babysitting an adorable and lovable toddler whose father is a great role model for Marley. She has an eccentric, one-of-kind best friend, and her family is tight-knit, fun and loving. She frequently receives letters from her Uncle Jack, who is mostly a mystery to her, but a large part of her life just the same.
Her life is almost blissful until she hears her parents talking about something they should have told her much sooner. When they finally do tell her, it sends her world spinning, and she suddenly feels like she doesn't know who she is or who anyone around her is.
It's a story of identity and secrets, and I really enjoyed it. If I were to teach it, I think I'd use it as a literature circle choice, rather than a whole class text. Although it's not universal in subject, Heaven certainly speaks to shaken identities and the bonds we form with those we love.
Her life is almost blissful until she hears her parents talking about something they should have told her much sooner. When they finally do tell her, it sends her world spinning, and she suddenly feels like she doesn't know who she is or who anyone around her is.
It's a story of identity and secrets, and I really enjoyed it. If I were to teach it, I think I'd use it as a literature circle choice, rather than a whole class text. Although it's not universal in subject, Heaven certainly speaks to shaken identities and the bonds we form with those we love.
Spinning Through the Universe
Spinning Through the Universe: a novel of poems from Room 214 is written by Helen Frost. It's a touching novel of life in a middle school classroom, told through the eyes of the students.
This one's an eye-opener, and it would be great for my Special Education class. In the novel, readers meet every student in Room 214 (we even meet the custodian!), and every single one of them is different. Dustin cheats because his dad puts so much academic pressure on him, Shawna doesn't fit in because she's not one of the popular girls, Monique's father is in the military, and he is killed. Sam's family is evicted, and now they're living on the streets. Antoine has difficulty paying attention (perhaps ADHD?). Maria's father beats her and her mother, and Sharell tells her mother, who gets Maria help. It's a diverse group, and we hear how each one of them is feeling, why they do the things they do. When tragedy strikes, as with Monique, the classmates lean on each other and stand up for each other; as I said, the poems are moving.
I will definitely have this novel in my classroom. I would probably use it as part of a diversity unit, and every teacher (especially one who teaches middle school) should read it. I loved it and found it quite inspiring, as well as informational.
This one's an eye-opener, and it would be great for my Special Education class. In the novel, readers meet every student in Room 214 (we even meet the custodian!), and every single one of them is different. Dustin cheats because his dad puts so much academic pressure on him, Shawna doesn't fit in because she's not one of the popular girls, Monique's father is in the military, and he is killed. Sam's family is evicted, and now they're living on the streets. Antoine has difficulty paying attention (perhaps ADHD?). Maria's father beats her and her mother, and Sharell tells her mother, who gets Maria help. It's a diverse group, and we hear how each one of them is feeling, why they do the things they do. When tragedy strikes, as with Monique, the classmates lean on each other and stand up for each other; as I said, the poems are moving.
I will definitely have this novel in my classroom. I would probably use it as part of a diversity unit, and every teacher (especially one who teaches middle school) should read it. I loved it and found it quite inspiring, as well as informational.
Friday, December 12, 2008
New Moon
Stephenie Meyer's second book, New Moon was just as gripping as her first, Twilight. I didn't want to put it down. I would argue, also, that it is better than Twilight.
Bella's life is once again put in danger, and Edward packs up the family so that they will no longer be a threat to her. However, he convinces her that they're leaving because he doesn't want her. She is broken; she becomes a zombie: she goes through the motions apathetically so she doesn't have to feel the unbearable agony.
After months of despair, she decides she can't do it anymore, so she allows herself to become closer to and depend on Jacob Black. Things are going great until she discovers Jacob's secret and that Victoria is still in Forks, and obviously out for revenge. Excitement, adrenaline, and danger erupt when Alice Cullen comes back to town; Bella's quiet life is thrown into chaos once again as she and Alice embark on a perilous journey against the clock to save Edward.
As with Twilight, I wouldn't teach this novel in my classroom, but teenagers would love it. Bella's pain is very real; the way Meyer describes this agony allows anyone who has had their heart broken or lost someone to relate--I was in tears a few times throughout. Despite the sadness that creates the tone of at least the two-thirds of the novel, I couldn't put it down, and I suspect my students who picked it up in the first place would have the same problem.
Bella's life is once again put in danger, and Edward packs up the family so that they will no longer be a threat to her. However, he convinces her that they're leaving because he doesn't want her. She is broken; she becomes a zombie: she goes through the motions apathetically so she doesn't have to feel the unbearable agony.
After months of despair, she decides she can't do it anymore, so she allows herself to become closer to and depend on Jacob Black. Things are going great until she discovers Jacob's secret and that Victoria is still in Forks, and obviously out for revenge. Excitement, adrenaline, and danger erupt when Alice Cullen comes back to town; Bella's quiet life is thrown into chaos once again as she and Alice embark on a perilous journey against the clock to save Edward.
As with Twilight, I wouldn't teach this novel in my classroom, but teenagers would love it. Bella's pain is very real; the way Meyer describes this agony allows anyone who has had their heart broken or lost someone to relate--I was in tears a few times throughout. Despite the sadness that creates the tone of at least the two-thirds of the novel, I couldn't put it down, and I suspect my students who picked it up in the first place would have the same problem.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Margaux with an X
I was gripped by Ron Koertge's Margaux with an X. I couldn't put it down; Margaux's attitude and wit is captivating. She's not the shallow, dimwitted "plastic" that most beautiful girls are portrayed as; she's a very profound and intelligent young woman with pain and wounds that cause her to act the way she does when she's with Sara.
The odd and unlikely yet understandable and comfortable relationship between Margaux and Danny is also part of the novel's ability to grip readers; Danny also has past hurts that shapes who he is, but his pain is manifested positively. This is partly because of Evie, his aunt, who takes him in and helps him heal. Margaux has no one. Until Danny and Evie.
The figurative language is also captivating. She speaks of the larger journals in Evie's collection as "large as the screen on a confessional" (134). Instead of telling a boy "no," she tells him she'll talk to him later; she's not sure why she did it. She was "hedging her bets, perhaps. Not burning her bridges, but at least buying matches and starting to gather kindling" (68). She refers to her mother's fingernails as talons, and she describes the front door of their apartment as having "long scratch marks on it, like the insides of a coffin in a horror story" (85). The imagery is unique and refreshing.
I did not, however, like the feelings the novel evoked. I felt as though I reverted, like I was a teenage girl again, and Margaux was the girl we all desperately wished we could be --she's drop-dead gorgeous, witty and quite intelligent, even if she appears mean. So, I recommend caution when recommending this novel to teenagers. It certainly would be a little too old for middle schoolers. I suppose if I were teaching eleventh or twelfth grade, and we were doing literature circles I would allow it; I'd have them focus on vocabulary and figurative language.
The odd and unlikely yet understandable and comfortable relationship between Margaux and Danny is also part of the novel's ability to grip readers; Danny also has past hurts that shapes who he is, but his pain is manifested positively. This is partly because of Evie, his aunt, who takes him in and helps him heal. Margaux has no one. Until Danny and Evie.
The figurative language is also captivating. She speaks of the larger journals in Evie's collection as "large as the screen on a confessional" (134). Instead of telling a boy "no," she tells him she'll talk to him later; she's not sure why she did it. She was "hedging her bets, perhaps. Not burning her bridges, but at least buying matches and starting to gather kindling" (68). She refers to her mother's fingernails as talons, and she describes the front door of their apartment as having "long scratch marks on it, like the insides of a coffin in a horror story" (85). The imagery is unique and refreshing.
I did not, however, like the feelings the novel evoked. I felt as though I reverted, like I was a teenage girl again, and Margaux was the girl we all desperately wished we could be --she's drop-dead gorgeous, witty and quite intelligent, even if she appears mean. So, I recommend caution when recommending this novel to teenagers. It certainly would be a little too old for middle schoolers. I suppose if I were teaching eleventh or twelfth grade, and we were doing literature circles I would allow it; I'd have them focus on vocabulary and figurative language.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sing Down the Moon
Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell is a great multicultural text; it is the story of different dangers the Navajo Indians faced as the United States was expanding. Through Bright Morning’s eyes, we receive a Navajo girl/woman’s perspective of the Spanish who captured young Indian girls to work for wealthy whites, and the forced migration of the Navajos to New Mexico when the U.S. acquired Arizona and New Mexico. The author has provided a piece on the historical context of the story at the end of the novel that is also worth discussing with the class.
Bright Morning was one of the girls kidnapped by the “slavers,” but she escaped, along with her best friend. Then, along with the rest of her village and thousands of other Navajos, she was forced to walk from her beloved Canyon de Chelly to Fort Sumner in New Mexico.
This novel could be taught in an interdisciplinary unit, and I would certainly use it as a multicultural text. I think seventh grade should be the cut off, however; this novel is probably ideal for students in fifth through seventh grades.
Bright Morning was one of the girls kidnapped by the “slavers,” but she escaped, along with her best friend. Then, along with the rest of her village and thousands of other Navajos, she was forced to walk from her beloved Canyon de Chelly to Fort Sumner in New Mexico.
This novel could be taught in an interdisciplinary unit, and I would certainly use it as a multicultural text. I think seventh grade should be the cut off, however; this novel is probably ideal for students in fifth through seventh grades.
Life on the Refrigerator Door
Alice Kuiper's Life on the Refrigerator Door is a novel told through notes, specifically notes between mother and daughter. In their busy lives and seemingly opposite schedules, they find themselves primarily communicating via notes stuck to the refrigerator door. Through these notes, they discover the need to strengthen their relationship, their changing roles as respective working mother and maturing daughter, and how much they need each other when tragedy strikes.
It’s a quick read; it took me an hour and a half to two hours. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t teach it in my classroom, but I might give a book talk on it to introduce a different writing style that some students might enjoy. In this book talk I would also mention that it deals with a painful and difficult topic as well as the ever-changing, but certainly necessary, communication and relationship between mother and daughter. Students who read books like those by Lurlene McDaniel or Nicholas Sparks will probably enjoy this novel and the unique style in which it’s written.
It’s a quick read; it took me an hour and a half to two hours. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t teach it in my classroom, but I might give a book talk on it to introduce a different writing style that some students might enjoy. In this book talk I would also mention that it deals with a painful and difficult topic as well as the ever-changing, but certainly necessary, communication and relationship between mother and daughter. Students who read books like those by Lurlene McDaniel or Nicholas Sparks will probably enjoy this novel and the unique style in which it’s written.
Perks of Being A Wallflower
The coming-of-age story Charlie shares with us in his letters in all at once heart-warming, depressing, humbling, and eye-opening. Many students—different kinds, personalities and groups of students—will be able to identify with at least one of the several phases Charlie goes through and the assorted experiences he must successfully navigate.
Although I certainly think Stephen Chbosky's novel is too old for seventh graders, this is teachable text, and it is much more accessible than other coming-of-age novels that are taught in schools. I thoroughly disliked Catcher in the Rye when I read it as a freshman, and I’m sure part of that was because I wasn’t ready for such topics. Also, as a more canonical text, Catcher in the Rye is less accessible, so, as others have suggested, I would certainly support teaching Perks of Being a Wallflower, perhaps in conjunction with Catcher in the Rye.
Although I certainly think Stephen Chbosky's novel is too old for seventh graders, this is teachable text, and it is much more accessible than other coming-of-age novels that are taught in schools. I thoroughly disliked Catcher in the Rye when I read it as a freshman, and I’m sure part of that was because I wasn’t ready for such topics. Also, as a more canonical text, Catcher in the Rye is less accessible, so, as others have suggested, I would certainly support teaching Perks of Being a Wallflower, perhaps in conjunction with Catcher in the Rye.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Twilight
I have to begin by saying that I didn't like Twilight at first. I was gripped by it, definitely, but I scorned my best friend and others who swooned over the theme of "forbidden love." It seemed to me to be an obsession, an infatuation --unhealthy, and certainly not a great love story. However, as I continued reading, I became more convinced that such an unexplainable connection can begin as an infatuation (especially with their age), and, as they get to know each other better, this connection develops into something that those of us on the outside can understand, that appears more "acceptable" to skeptics like myself. Despite my strong opinions of the novel at the beginning, I teared up towards the end; I laughed aloud several times and gasped many other times. At one point, I actually called my best friend up and yelled at her, "Are you kidding me right now? Does he kill her?" I was out of control and totally sucked in.
So, at this point, I take back my assertion that Twilight most certainly will not be in my classroom library. Its theme unexplainable love and deep connection between a vampire and a human --and the danger it puts them both in--is not for everyone, but it is a thing of pop culture right now, and it seems everyone who reads it loves it. I certainly did.
So, at this point, I take back my assertion that Twilight most certainly will not be in my classroom library. Its theme unexplainable love and deep connection between a vampire and a human --and the danger it puts them both in--is not for everyone, but it is a thing of pop culture right now, and it seems everyone who reads it loves it. I certainly did.
My Antonia
My Antonia is the story of Jim Burden, a recent orphan who has moved from Virginia to Nebraska to live with his grandparents. It is the tale of his adjustment to frontier life and his friendship with the Bohemian girl on the next farm. The entire novel is a flashback; Jim reminisces as he looks back at Antonia's assimilation to farm and prairie life.
My Antonia is written by Willa Cather, a well-known author who wrote about life on the Great Plains, of settling out west in early 1900s. My Antonia is a canonical text, but I'm not entirely sure how I would use it in my classroom. I will fully admit that I went online to get ideas because I had no idea what to address in the novel. We could look at perspective, as this is a unique one: the novel is written by a woman as a flashback by a man reminiscing about his boyhood, telling the story of a Bohemian woman's migration to the Great Plains of America. Using this concept, the discussion could focus on how the novel would change feeling and perhaps meaning if written from a different person's perspective. We could also focus on description; we could look at class differences (it becomes more apparent once they move to town).
I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and I'd recommend it to my students who enjoy historical fiction, but again, I'd have to do some serious thinking and researching before I decided to teach it.
My Antonia is written by Willa Cather, a well-known author who wrote about life on the Great Plains, of settling out west in early 1900s. My Antonia is a canonical text, but I'm not entirely sure how I would use it in my classroom. I will fully admit that I went online to get ideas because I had no idea what to address in the novel. We could look at perspective, as this is a unique one: the novel is written by a woman as a flashback by a man reminiscing about his boyhood, telling the story of a Bohemian woman's migration to the Great Plains of America. Using this concept, the discussion could focus on how the novel would change feeling and perhaps meaning if written from a different person's perspective. We could also focus on description; we could look at class differences (it becomes more apparent once they move to town).
I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and I'd recommend it to my students who enjoy historical fiction, but again, I'd have to do some serious thinking and researching before I decided to teach it.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is a fantastical story about Meg and her "baby" brother, Charles Wallace. Their father has been gone for a couple years, and no one knows where he is. When a stranger enters their house one night while Charles Wallace, Meg and their mother are enjoying a midnight snack, the children's lives are turned upside-down, and they face dangers that force them to tap into strength they've never before tested.
A Wrinkle in Time is a tale about the power of love, and what one will do for the precious people in one's life. I can't see how I would use this in my classroom, but it's a classic and a great story (I couldn't put it down), and it will certainly be in my classroom library, recommended especially to those who enjoy fantasy and science fiction.
A Wrinkle in Time is a tale about the power of love, and what one will do for the precious people in one's life. I can't see how I would use this in my classroom, but it's a classic and a great story (I couldn't put it down), and it will certainly be in my classroom library, recommended especially to those who enjoy fantasy and science fiction.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs
I read Mary E. Lyons' Letters from a Slave Girl a couple times when I was younger; historical fiction was something that always interested me. This time around, however, I read the real-life account --the authentic version of Harriet Jacobs' life--in American Texts, right alongside Letters. It was so interesting because in her account, Jacobs uses a pseudonym and changes the names of all the characters to protect all --her goal was to educate and make readers aware of the ways of the South's "peculiar institution," not to blow the horn on specific individuals. Lyons', however, safely used everyone's real names in 1992 when she presented Jacobs' story in letter form for young readers. At the end of her novel, Lyons steps up as the author and tells us what happened to Jacobs after she reached the Northern Free States; she also shares pictures of Jacobs' home town and Dr. Norcom.
I would definitely recommend and teach this book in my classroom: similes and foreshadowing abound. It could also be used for its cultural aspects, at least in terms of language --Harriet doesn't always use the correct verb tense, and sometimes there isn't a verb at all! Since it's written in the first person via letters, I'm sure I could do something with that; as of right now, I don't know what, but it's at least an aspect of the book I've thought about. Letters would be great to teach alongside a social studies/history class working on a pre-Civil War unit; the integration would surely serve to strengthen and deepen student understanding.
I would definitely recommend and teach this book in my classroom: similes and foreshadowing abound. It could also be used for its cultural aspects, at least in terms of language --Harriet doesn't always use the correct verb tense, and sometimes there isn't a verb at all! Since it's written in the first person via letters, I'm sure I could do something with that; as of right now, I don't know what, but it's at least an aspect of the book I've thought about. Letters would be great to teach alongside a social studies/history class working on a pre-Civil War unit; the integration would surely serve to strengthen and deepen student understanding.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Cut
Cut by Patricia McCormick is a very real, heartfelt story about a young girl in a rehabilitation facility that the "guests" dub "Sick Minds." She refuses to talk to her counselor, to any of the other "guests," or her parents.
It is written inside Callie's head; she thinks as if she is speaking to her counselor. Slowly, this is how we as readers discover why she doesn't speak to anyone about anything, and why she began cutting herself. When she witnesses another of the "guests," who is there with an eating disorder, throwing up what she eats, she doesn't tell anyone. This girl eventually gets so sick she is sent to the emergency ward, and Callie's guilt brings her out of her silence. She finally begins to share her story with her counselor and develop relationships with the others.
Cut was certainly an eye-opener to me; I consider it one of my "challenge" books. I didn't really enjoy it, but I read it to expand my knowledge. I've never been exposed to anything like Callie's story, and it was a serious crash into reality for me. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone, just because the subject is a sensitive one, but it is certainly an eye-opener, and any teen surrounded by or at least exposed this situation should read it to gain a better understanding of the possible reasons why.
It is written inside Callie's head; she thinks as if she is speaking to her counselor. Slowly, this is how we as readers discover why she doesn't speak to anyone about anything, and why she began cutting herself. When she witnesses another of the "guests," who is there with an eating disorder, throwing up what she eats, she doesn't tell anyone. This girl eventually gets so sick she is sent to the emergency ward, and Callie's guilt brings her out of her silence. She finally begins to share her story with her counselor and develop relationships with the others.
Cut was certainly an eye-opener to me; I consider it one of my "challenge" books. I didn't really enjoy it, but I read it to expand my knowledge. I've never been exposed to anything like Callie's story, and it was a serious crash into reality for me. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone, just because the subject is a sensitive one, but it is certainly an eye-opener, and any teen surrounded by or at least exposed this situation should read it to gain a better understanding of the possible reasons why.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Catherine, Called Birdy
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman is about a young woman in England in the year of 1290. In her journal, she wonders about everything, reflects upon her actions, ponders the actions of others, and records the daily things she learns and experiences. Throughout the year, we see Medieval England through her eyes as the daughter of a knight; she shares with us the hardships and joys of the villagers, daily life in the manor, and, perhaps most important of all for readers now, a glance at what it meant to be a teenage girl during Medieval times.
I loved Catherine, Called Birdy when I was in middle school; the pages and binding are worn and falling apart from its many readings. Birdy is spunky, feisty, mouthy and as stubborn as a mule. Her reactions to certain events and her curse words (which will be unfamiliar to young readers today), are humorous --I laughed aloud several times during this reading, and I recall doing the same years ago.
As readers see her promised against her will to a "pig in pants" (an old man she dubs Shaggy Beard), help deliver her mother's baby, run away to see a hanging, forced to spend all day embroidering and hemming, fight with her father, and long for what she does not have, it humbles them at times and allows them to relate at others. As is often necessary for adolescents, it directs their attention, and perhaps their concern, away from themselves to understand another's way of life. I would recommend this novel to my middle school girls so that they may relate to, or perhaps learn something from, Birdy's journey in which she discovers her own morals (in the case of the exiled Jews and the dancing bear), humility and a special knowledge of herself. I would probably have them read a section and write a response to it, and/or look up unfamiliar words, phrases or events so as to better understand the author's message.
I loved Catherine, Called Birdy when I was in middle school; the pages and binding are worn and falling apart from its many readings. Birdy is spunky, feisty, mouthy and as stubborn as a mule. Her reactions to certain events and her curse words (which will be unfamiliar to young readers today), are humorous --I laughed aloud several times during this reading, and I recall doing the same years ago.
As readers see her promised against her will to a "pig in pants" (an old man she dubs Shaggy Beard), help deliver her mother's baby, run away to see a hanging, forced to spend all day embroidering and hemming, fight with her father, and long for what she does not have, it humbles them at times and allows them to relate at others. As is often necessary for adolescents, it directs their attention, and perhaps their concern, away from themselves to understand another's way of life. I would recommend this novel to my middle school girls so that they may relate to, or perhaps learn something from, Birdy's journey in which she discovers her own morals (in the case of the exiled Jews and the dancing bear), humility and a special knowledge of herself. I would probably have them read a section and write a response to it, and/or look up unfamiliar words, phrases or events so as to better understand the author's message.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
My Father, The Nutcase
Zoe Cohen is a fifteen year-old girl dealing with the many things adolescent girls deal with: boys, uncertainty about herself, her social standing, and her abilities; understanding and exploring her body, moodiness, her older sister's gradual pull away from their sisterly bonding to her jock boyfriend, and her little sister's own move to adolescence.
However, on top of the usual stressors that high school and adolescence can bring, the girls' happy-go-lucky, goofy father falls into depression. Consequently, the annoyance and difficulty of everything else in a teenager's life is magnified because everyone at home is on edge and she doesn't completely understand what's going on. She battles anger and disappointment in her father, and her outlet is the poems that she writes for the school magazine.
It was interesting to see an adolescent girl's life from this perspective and to this depth; she did certain things that were reactionary, impulsive --she wasn't really sure why she did what she did. At other times, she can understand, upon reflection, why she acted a certain way; still at others, she has everything planned out. At times, I was reminded of myself when I was going through that stage --you know, why do all the boys like my friends and will I ever be confident enough or smooth enough to pull off what they do? Why is my little sister so obnoxious and why does my big sister think she's so cool? I think my ability to relate came from me being a middle child also.
When her father's depression is spoken of directly, it had a profound impact on me. When she discusses it with her school magazine advisor, I teared up. When her grandmother announced that her father planned to undergo electroshock therapy, I put the book down with a rush of emotion and didn't pick it back up for a couple days. I know that my reactions were because it hit close to home (someone very dear to me has experienced this same thing), and it may not hit everyone like that, but it's real. Her reactions to every new update are real, and how her anger, confusion and hurt manifest themselves is real.
My Father, The Nutcase is a must-read for any teenaged girl struggling with the transition from the "cooties" stage to a comfortable place in her adolescent existence. It's funny, but it's real, and I'd definitely recommend it to any freshman or sophomore girl having trouble fitting in or feeling as though nothing is ever going to work out for her.
However, on top of the usual stressors that high school and adolescence can bring, the girls' happy-go-lucky, goofy father falls into depression. Consequently, the annoyance and difficulty of everything else in a teenager's life is magnified because everyone at home is on edge and she doesn't completely understand what's going on. She battles anger and disappointment in her father, and her outlet is the poems that she writes for the school magazine.
It was interesting to see an adolescent girl's life from this perspective and to this depth; she did certain things that were reactionary, impulsive --she wasn't really sure why she did what she did. At other times, she can understand, upon reflection, why she acted a certain way; still at others, she has everything planned out. At times, I was reminded of myself when I was going through that stage --you know, why do all the boys like my friends and will I ever be confident enough or smooth enough to pull off what they do? Why is my little sister so obnoxious and why does my big sister think she's so cool? I think my ability to relate came from me being a middle child also.
When her father's depression is spoken of directly, it had a profound impact on me. When she discusses it with her school magazine advisor, I teared up. When her grandmother announced that her father planned to undergo electroshock therapy, I put the book down with a rush of emotion and didn't pick it back up for a couple days. I know that my reactions were because it hit close to home (someone very dear to me has experienced this same thing), and it may not hit everyone like that, but it's real. Her reactions to every new update are real, and how her anger, confusion and hurt manifest themselves is real.
My Father, The Nutcase is a must-read for any teenaged girl struggling with the transition from the "cooties" stage to a comfortable place in her adolescent existence. It's funny, but it's real, and I'd definitely recommend it to any freshman or sophomore girl having trouble fitting in or feeling as though nothing is ever going to work out for her.
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