Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood"

"Persepolis" is the memoir of Marjane Satrapi's life experiences, growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The story revolves around Marjane (an only child)'s growth from an ignorant girl at the age of 6 to a very knowledgeable and daring young woman at the age of 14. During those years, she is the unfortunate witness to even more traumatic events in her country's history including the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of Iran's war with Iraq. Marjane is highly intelligent, outspoken, and gets most of her wisdom concerning her country's current events from her extreme Marxist parents who spare her no details when educating her about the dangerous world that surrounds them.

Not only does this book give an undeniable and realistic depiction of what life was really like at this time for the Iranian people but it's also an incredibly artistic graphic novel, which I think makes it that much more compelling to read. At first I wasn't so sure how well I would grasp the material due to the fact that the book is made of black and white comics, I figured I'd get lost in the pictures and pay no attention to the literary elements, but I soon realized that this genre might be the one for me after all. I found myself in suspense at times, laughing, and even in disbelief. Had it not been for the graphics, I don't think I would have been as able to envision what the story was really saying.

I can now see that this is an excellent genre that my future students would appreciate much to their benefit. Young readers I think would feel entertained by a novel such as "Persepolis." Other books might leave them questioning the content but with graphics to observe WHILE reading, there would be no doubt as to what the story's all about especially with a book like this one where there are so many names, so many details, and so many facts that face the potential of being misinterpreted and confused. Pictures minimize those chances.

Had it not been for the course I'm taking that required me to read this graphic novel, I probably would have never picked up such sort of book. I may not have been put off by the fact that it's a graphic novel but definitely would have been knowing that the book focuses on so much of a rich and meaningful history of one of the most unlucky country's I know of. I've never been a fan of historical non-fiction and I'm really not even now. However, this book brought new light to the idea that not all history is the same history we assume we already know. I believe that was one of Satrapi's main purposes when writing this novel. It's even mentioned in the story's introduction that she wrote the book so that the world could recognize the truth behind the country's hardships. Well I must say, she did a brilliant job of achieving that goal.

"A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly

"A Northern Light" is a historical fiction novel about a young girl, Mattie Gokey who possess a gift for writing, a love for books, and an ambitious hope to go to college. The story is set in a small town in the Adirondacks in 1906. Mattie is poor, motherless, and is the daughter of a farmer. She longs to leave the small town, to be free and independent, but is stuck feeling obligated to stay with her father and family due to a promise made to her dying mother, and a new relationship with a neighboring boy who doesn’t seem to understand or appreciate Mattie's joy of the written word. Intertwined with this is the story of letters left in Mattie’s care by Grace Brown, a guest of the hotel at which Mattie works, shortly before Grace’s body is discovered, drowned in the lake. Grace Brown’s tragic tale may sound familiar, because it is the true story told in Theodore Drieser’s "An American Tragedy."

At first, when reading reviews about this book by others and even on the back cover, you get the sense that this is a murder mystery story. But, after diving into this book, I soon realized that my first interpretation of what the novel would consist of was not correct. The book does include some letters from Grace Brown, a guest of the hotel where main character, Mattie, works but, the letters are so sparsely interspersed throughout the novel that there's not a whole lot of "mystery" or "suspense" in the story at all. Instead you're left wanting to know even more about the murder aspect that you end up resenting the rest of the story.

While the story is well told in the respect that it is wonderfully written, gives a realistic and imaginable depiction of what life was like during the turn of a century (from the types of chores one had to complete to the sexist expectations for a woman to take care of her family), nothing else about it really grabbed me. My biggest critique of the novel as a whole is that I wish it would have been focused more around Grace's story, or at least in equal proportion to Mattie's, and less about Mattie finding her way into the world as an aspiring writer/academic, supported by teacher, Mrs. Wilcox.

I think this book is definately worth reading at some point in your life, I would not say that this book is deserving of the awards in which it has received such as the Carnegie Medal, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Michael L. Printz Award Honor.

The one plus I give this book is its success in sharing with its audience different aspects of racism, sexism, poverty, and finding your way in the world around you.

M.T. Anderson's "Feed"

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Science Fiction novels (novels that project the future of mankind based on scientifically described discoveries or changes in earth’s social or physical environment). Nor would I consider myself a fan of sci-fi TV, movies, or really anything that involves unrealistic and far-fetched ideas. But, M. T. Anderson’s sci-fi novel, Feed seemed more to me like an outreach to society as a whole in regards to our irresponsibility when it comes to protecting the environment and relying so much on technology rather than the social skills that God blessed us with in the first place. Rather than being a novel written solely to amuse and entertain the minds of many sci-fi obsessed teens, the same teens who follow Star Trek, Star Wars, Battle star…whatever it’s called, Feed aims to grab the attention of teen readers, get them to envision the possible repercussions of their careless actions, and to recognize their role in society. I find the purpose of this novel much more useful and even educational than other science fiction works I’ve happen to get my hands on, reluctantly that is.

In the dystopian world Anderson has created in Feed, human beings are thought of as consumers first and people second. The title “Feed” refers to a chip that is imbedded in people’s brains at a very young age which allows them to be constantly connected to a “FeedNet.” Everyone’s thoughts are monitored at all times through the Feed, that information is then used to build consumer profiles and to almost spam them with constant pop-up ads having to do with popular products, governmental updates, and other news. These Feeds becomes such an important component in everyone’s growth and lives that to remove it could be fatal.

The story told in Feed centers around a teenage boy, Titus, who goes to the moon for his spring break with some friends. He meets Violet there, a girl who’s not like anyone he’s ever met. Violet’s family isn’t as well of as his, which is partly the reason, along with her parents’ concerns, for her not having the Feed installed until she was seven years old. Because she received the Feed at such a late age, she still has the memory of a world without constant mental spam which prompts her to ask questions, think outside the box a little more than Titus and trendy friends, and challenge the Feed’s power over herself.

Feed is told in first person narrative style, by Titus himself, a character who doesn't question the system of the Feed and doesn't happen to be the most articulate character either. Because of this style, we readers are forced to pay that much more attention and to decipher the meaning behind the many characters' comments, relationships, and trends of the world they live in.

This novel cautions its readers, many of whom consist of adolescents brainwashed by the consumer driven world we live in today, "think for yourself," "resist the norm," and "respect the environment." If the adolescents of today's world don't stop to appreciate the roots of humankind soon, it might not be unimaginable for that world we live in to become one more like that of what the characters in Feed experience, a world that devalues the existence of human beings altogether.

Judy's Blume's "Forever"

                                                          

I am by nature a hopeless romantic. I’ve been dreaming of meeting the man I would spend the rest of my life with…forever. And though I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting that man, I can certainly remember the days in which I was sure that EVERY boyfriend I had in high school would be that guy. I can also recall the amount of disappointment I felt every time I realized that each of those boys in fact was NOT that guy, but I never lost hope. So, when I first picked up this book, “Forever” by Judy Blume, I was expecting to find a fairy-tale like story about falling in love for the first time, and it lasting forever. Needless to say, that is not what I got.  The book gives a realistic depiction of a number of issues that we all face at some point in our lives, most of which we face in our adolescent years, such as first love, first sexual experiences, struggles with personal identity, and more. Pregnancy, birth control, and even sexually transmitted diseases make an appearance within the text, all of which are presented with poise and intelligence that is smart and undeniably real.

This book is about a high school senior, Katherine, and her first love, Michael. The two are convinced that they will spend “forever” together and fight to make their love last through their stressful senior year, decisions about college, a summer away from each other, and all the baggage and ties that come along with incorporating sex into a meaningful relationship. 

By the time I was expected to have read only a third of the novel I had already finished the whole thing.  From the first moment the two main characters, Katherine and Michael, held hands, I knew this book was going to be special. The book immediately took me back to when I was in high school, I thought I was in love and was willing to do anything to make it last. I related with the characters in this novel so much so that as I read, I felt butterflies. I found myself being nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time, eager to find out how their love would turn out. Everything about “Forever” was so realistic which I think is why so many young adults can relate to the issues being presented. From the awkwardness of Katherine and Michael’s first sexual experience to the passion they have for making it work, determined to let nothing get in their way, this story is the epitome of a young romance…without being cheesy.

I now hold this book very dear to my heart. I wish I had read it when I was younger, when all the same things that Katherine was experiencing were happening to me as well. Young adult readers I think would appreciate the honesty this book portrays. It’s not a fairy tale, it’s real. That is a hard fact to face when reading a love story like this one. It’s also what made “Forever” such a great read.

Literacy History

As a child, I never cared too much for reading. Sure, I'd love when others would read TO me but to sit down with a story book just wasn't for me. At best, I might flip through the pages, look at the pretty pictures and make up my own little version of how the story might go if it were up to me. I was a much more imaginative child. I would have much rather looked at a painting for hours, imagining what they picture really meant, than read words in which someone else had already written, from an imagination other than my own.

As I grew older, my views about reading certainly didn't get any better. This was, in my opinion, due to the constant boring novels (or what THEY considered to be "classics") in which teachers kept shoving down their students' throats, sending in the mail a list of books to be read before the new school year began. I absolutely despised reading Shakespeare, along with ANY other works that I couldn't easily understand without the help of some kind of translation device, be it the internet, cliffnotes, or Shakespearean dictionaries.

My views on reading have somewhat changed throughout the years, although I must admit that I still cringe a little every time I receive the list of books I need to purchase for my college classes each semester. Only now, I don't assume that I can just cheat my way through the book by using sparknotes/cliffnotes. I actually do the work now. It isn't fun, well at least not most of the time. But, I feel a little bit smarter with every chapter I read.

As a future educator, it is important to me that I make my students' reading experiences as likeable as possible. I believe this starts with giving them a voice, an option, that way they don't feel intimidated or bitter because I'M the one telling them to read something. Sure, there will be times when yes, they might HAVE to read something but if there is any wiggle room at all, you'd better believe that my students will have a say in the matter as to what kind of material their minds will be filled with.

Not only will this make them feel as if their voices matter (which is an important feeling for children to have in order to make a difference in their community) but it will allow them to better grasp the material itself in which they are reading. I want to avoid my students reading the given work closely enough as to answer questions about it and then forgetting the material as soon as they’ve received a grade. I think that can only be done by employing the method in which I have discussed, by giving them choice. It would have made a difference for me.

With literature evolving into what it has become today, it’s especially important to adjust my teaching style to the material in which my students will be most interested in. The trends may be imaginative and magical, like the Harry Potter or Twilight series. They may be fairy tale-like yet realistic, like the works by author Nicholas Sparks. Whatever the trend may be, I need to adjust to it. After all, the times are changing, that means my students will too, and I should be expected to move forward right alongside of them.