This is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis

This is What I Did. Ann Dee Ellis. Little, Brown and Company, c2007. 157 pages.

Plot: Ann Dee Ellis’ This is What I Did is narrated by thirteen-year-old eight grader Logan Paloney. Logan is struggling to move past a violent encounter he witnessed between his friend Zyler, Zyler’s abusive father, and a girl named Cami the previous year. Though Logan’s family moved Logan and his younger twin brothers across town after the incident and enrolled Logan in a new middle school, Logan’s life hasn’t gotten any easier. His new classmates (and even one classmate’s father) bully him terribly. However, Logan begins to see a counselor and begins a friendship with a girl named Laurel and is eventually able to confront his feelings about what had happened.

Review/personal thoughts:
Ellis’ fragmented writing style and use of almost screenplay-style dialogue accurately portrays, I believe, the thought process of a young boy who has been through something traumatizing. A quick and engaging read, its honesty will appeal to tween readers.

Having done nothing to help his friend Zyler when he witnessed a violent encounter between Zyler, Zyler’s father, and Cami, Logan struggles with feelings of shame. He not only feels guilty because he feels he wasn’t a good friend to Zyler, but he also feels guilty because of the ways in which his family’s life has changed since the incident. When Logan’s parents take him out for a milkshake, leaving his twin brothers behind, he thinks: “I felt guilty they were taking me without the others, at first, but then I realized it made sense since everything was about me: Dr. Benson, me getting the best room, the playoff tickets, and now shakes” (Ellis, 2007, p.124).

Because Logan feels guilty that his parents are concerned about him, he constantly assures them that he is fine. He doesn’t trust that his family won’t judge him if he is honest about what had happened and the way it has affected him. He also doesn’t trust his new friend Laurel will still want to be his friend if she knows the truth about what happened. However, Logan eventually begins to open up and in the end even finds the courage to email Zyler, who he hasn’t spoken to since the incident.

Tweens will relate to Logan's difficulty overcoming his shame, and will benefit from his journey towards forgiveness—towards forgiving himself as well as Zyler.

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Reading level: ages 12-up

Awards:
Nominated for Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
American Library Association - Best Books for Young Adults
Voice of Youth Advocates - 2007 Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers List

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton. Speak, c1967. 180 pages.

Plot:

Narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a shy, fourteen-year-old boy, The Outsiders depicts the rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs (short for Socials), two groups separated by their socioeconomic status. Ponyboy, his two older brothers, and their tight-knit group of friends are Greasers. When Ponyboy and Johnny (his best friend among the gang) are jumped one night by a group of Socs, Johnny winds up killing one of them. The incident opens Ponyboy’s eyes to the fact that the warring groups really aren’t that different.

Review/personal thoughts:

Though The Outsiders was written and takes place in the 1960’s, I consider it an appropriate addition to a core contemporary realistic fiction collection for tweens as the material isn’t dated. Written when Hinton was just sixteen, the novel tackles issues that are still relevant today.  

For example, tweens will relate to the characters’ need to belong. Though Ponyboy and his friends consider themselves outsiders, they find comfort in their “Greaser” label. Hinton’s characters initially define themselves according to their Greaser or Soc status. In the end, however, they begin to recognize their similarities, in spite of their differences; “Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too” (Hinton, 1967, p.118). 

The Outsiders also touches upon such other relevant subjects as friendship, family relationships, and loss. 

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Reading level: ages 10-up 


Awards: 

New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967

Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967

Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975

ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975

Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, 1979

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird. Kathryn Erskine. Philomel Books, c.2010. 232 pages.

Plot:

Kathryn Erskine’s Mockingbird is narrated by Caitlin, a 10 year old girl with Asperger’s syndrome. Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has just been killed in a school shooting and Caitlin, with the help of a kind school counselor, struggles with finding closure for her and her father.

Review/personal thoughts:

Erskine makes a great contribution to young adult literature with Mockingbird for several reasons. In employing a narrator with Asperger’s syndrome, she takes on many challenges. Caitlin’s interpretations of the world around her are absolutely literate and entirely unemotional. However, I found that I quickly began to understand her thought process. By giving Caitlin a voice, Erskine forces her young readers to see the world from Caitlin’s point of view. Readers are made aware of the difficulties of living with Asperger’s syndrome as Caitlin faces them. Mockingbird gives readers the chance to better understand someone who is different, and in doing so gives them the tools for acceptance. 

Erskine’s novel also deals with the issue of grief, demonstrating the different ways in which people deal with grief. Caitlin, for example, remains mostly unemotional, though she does miss her older brother and his patient explanations and guidance. She understands that Devon is dead, yet she still expresses her desire to do the things with him that she used to. This, as does any mention of Devon, upsets her father greatly. In fact, he conceals Devon’s chest (an unfinished Eagle Scout project) with a sheet so that he doesn’t have to see it. He also spends a lot of time crying. Josh, a boy at school, offers readers yet another example of grief. The cousin of the school shooter who killed Devon, Josh deals with his grief by acting out until he finally breaks down at school.

Mockingbird deals with difficult topics, but handles them with “finesse” (one of Caitlin’s favorite vocabulary words). It not only brings its readers an understanding of what it’s like living with Asperger’s syndrome, but also provides a well rounded view of the ways in which a community deals with the aftermath of a traumatic event. 


Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Reading level: ages 9-12

Awards:
National Book Award for Young People's Literature, 2010

Parrot in the Oven, Mi Vida by Victor Martinez

Parrot in the Oven, Mi Vida. Victor Martinez. HarperCollins Children’s Books, c1996. 216 pages.

Plot:

Victor Martinez’s Parrot in the Oven, Mi Vida is a coming of age story following Manuel Hernandez, a fourteen year old Mexican American boy. The novel follows Manuel’s life in the year leading up his test of courage and initiation into a neighborhood gang. Manuel, who is smart and well behaved, struggles to find his place in the world while battling hardships often brought on by his dysfunctional family. Though he must contend with an alcoholic and sometimes violent father, a mother who turns a blind eye to his father’s behavior, poverty, bullies, racism, and more, Manuel does discover in the end what being a vato firme, a guy to respect, means to him.

Review/personal thoughts:

Though highlighting issues such as alcohol abuse, violence, poverty, bullying, and racism, Parrot in the Oven is a beautifully told story that I believe mature tweens will find benefit in reading. Martinez’s descriptions are rich and always right on, and were a delight to read.

Even more valuable than Martinez’s stunning prose, however, is the message his novel delivers. Growing up with a dysfunctional family in the projects, Manuel knows that it’s difficult for a kid like him to make something of himself. In his neighborhood, a man earns respect by joining a gang.

Manuel passes the Test of Courage to become a member of the Callaway Projects gang, but discovers soon afterward that the gang’s definition of a man to respect differs greatly from his own. He realizes this when he witnesses Eddie, one of the gang’s members, mug a woman coming out of the bank. “It was like I’d finally seen my own face and recognized myself; recognized who I should really be. Then I didn’t feel like catching up to Eddie anymore. Instead, I wanted to grab him, and scold him about how to treat people, how to be somebody who knows how to treat people: like my sister; like that lady” (Martinez, 1996, p.210). 

Though Manuel struggles with the difficult circumstances of his environment, in the end he doesn’t allow himself to fall victim to it. Through Manuel’s journey, Martinez demonstrates to his readers the importance of not allowing outside factors (whether these be your neighborhood, parents, peers, friends, race, social class, etc.) to define you. Tweens will benefit from Manuel's demonstration of self-determination and empowerment. 

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Reading level: ages 12-up

Awards:
Pura Belpre Author Award, 1998
Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, 1996
National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, 1996 

Blubber by Judy Blume

Blubber. Judy Blume. Yearling, c1974. 153 pages.

Plot:

Judy Blume’s Blubber is told from the point of view of Jill Brenner, an average fifth grade girl. When one of Jill’s classmates, an awkward and overweight girl named Linda, gives an oral report on the whale and references the whale’s “blubber,” another classmate, Wendy, passes a cruel note around the class. “Blubber is a good name for her!” (Blume, 1974, p.5), the note says. Wendy is clever and very popular and for these reasons Jill laughs at the note, even though she doesn’t find it particularly funny. Unfortunately for Linda, the name sticks and most of Mrs. Minish’s class (including Jill) joins Wendy in bullying “Blubber.” However, when Jill finds herself the victim of Wendy’s cruelty, she learns what it’s like to be on the other side of the bullying.

Review/personal thoughts:

Though I had read Blubber once when I was a tween, I found the novel almost shocking the second time around. Jill, Wendy, and the others in Mrs. Minish’s class positively terrorize poor Linda. They physically assault, humiliate, and threaten her on a daily basis. In one particularly disgusting incident, Jill, Wendy, and Wendy’s best friend Caroline meet Linda in the girls’ bathroom. While Wendy and Caroline hold her still, Jill begins to strip Linda’s clothes off of her.

While reading Blubber, I found myself aching to intervene and help Linda and felt little to no warmth towards Jill as a character. However, when Jill grows tired of obeying Wendy’s every command and stands up to her, she finds herself the class’ new target. This was an important turn in the plot, as it illustrates to readers how quickly the tables can turn. Though Jill had once been one of Linda’s main tormentors, and had thus gained Wendy’s acceptance, she loses this acceptance as soon as she asserts her independence. Wendy and Linda then team up in bullying Jill, referring to her as “Baby Brenner.” 

Jill’s relationship with Wendy is juxtaposed with her relationship with her best friend, Tracy Wu, in the novel. While Jill must perform for Wendy in order to gain her acceptance, Tracy and Jill can sit and be quiet together; “best friends don’t have to talk all the time” (Blume, 1974, p.133). Their relationship is revealed in the novel as one based on true friendship.

Judy Blume’s Blubber is an important novel for tweens to read as it showcases the often secret and shameful problem of bullying. Though Jill is initially the bully, she winds up the one being bullied in the end and discovers the affect her behavior has had on Linda. Blubber also reveals her relationship with Wendy as both manipulative and destructive, and demonstrates true friendship in her relationship with Tracy.

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction

Reading level: ages 9-12

Awards: 

Arizona Young Readers Award

Young Reader’s Choice Award, Pacific Northwest Library Association, 1977

North Dakota Children’s Choice Award, 1983