How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Personal Response:
I look back on what I read and even though I finished it moments ago I am not sure what to think of the book. I did not enjoy reading it, neither did I hate the book. There is no doubt that Rosoff knows how to weave a story, but the story itself was one I found less than captivating. I am truly struggling with why I did not find it interesting because it is obviously a minority opinion of the book. It could be my dislike for post apocalyptic literature (I know that I may be stretching when I say it was post apocalyptic, but many of the themes in the book are very similar to that genre) books as a whole, or it could be how I felt Rosoff handled certain situations.
The way that she seemed to handle stressful situations bothered me greatly. I find it hard to believe that Rosoff has ever been in a situation where she has witnessed death on the level that the children do. For example, when the girls watched the major die all they did was ride the rest of the way in silence. There is no process for dealing with the emotions, it is as though they do not have emotions even though they witness two men get shot to death. The only time they ever deal with loss is when it is on a more personal level, namely when they can’t find Jet, Edmond or Isaac. Rosoff even seemed to glance over the death of Aunt Penn. This lack of concern made it very hard for me to connect to the book. While I understand that there was quite bit going on in the book, I feel that dealing with heavy issues is vital for students and Rosoff could have been a great voice for adolescents.
Another area that I was struggling a great deal with was the love story. Even in my wildest dreams I cannot see the relationship between Edmond and Daisy as a healthy one. This is not only because they were first cousins, it has more to do with the way it happened. It was not as much love at first sight, as lust at first sight. I did not feel that Rosoff created a sense of love between the two of them. Sure they had an emotional and physical connection, but I could not feel it like I could all of the other emotions Rosoff was able to elicit throughout the novel.
Overall, I guess I just struggled with the novel because I truly feel that I was not able to connect with the novel on very many levels. Which as a reader makes it hard to want to pick up the book and continue to read it.

Critical Response:
I think the thing that worked best for Rosoff was the voice she used to tell the story. Daisy was a character that I believe many students can and will connect with. She was a good mix of intelligent, compassionate, witty, and had a dry sarcasm to go along with everything else. The way Rosoff told the story though Daisy’s eyes let the reader feel as though they were part of the story. The reason that I feel it was so effective was because Daisy was written in such a way that the reader will not only feel a part of the story, but they will be able to feel the emotions that Daisy went through. This is not an easy task for any author, but I believe that Rosoff did a wonderful job with that aspect of the novel.
Another thing that Rosoff did well was create a story that could captivate the audience. While I did not find the story interesting I can see it to be a story that many people would find interesting. I feel that the idea of an unnamed terror is something that many students feel about the world as a whole. We seem to be living in a world that is worried more and more about someone coming to get us. So I think that the way Rosoff uses such a open ended terror, make it possible for more students to be able to connect with it. She also seems to include many themes and ideas that students look for in a novel. A love story (even if I did not like it) as well as suspense, excitement, loss, and most importantly sex. The way that she was able to weave everything together I believe will reach out to many students on many levels.
One thing I am struggling with is the idea of How I Live Now being in the genre of realitic fiction. Maybe it is just me (and from the reviews I read I think it is) I do not see this happening anywhere in the near future. The reason I say this is not because I feel that this could not happen anywhere in the world, I just do not feel that this can happen in the western world. One might ask what the difference is, and I guess that I would say that if the book is written for and about an obvious western culture then it should be realistic to that society or culture. So in my eyes I would put it more in the realm of science fiction/fantasy that in the genre of realistic fiction.

The First Part Last by Anglea Johnson

Personal Response:

Throughout the entire book I found myself fighting two conflicting opinions. First, when would this ever happen? Sure, there are times when a mother will lose her life while trying to give birth to a baby. Sure, there are teenage father’s out there. But the chances of a story happening exactly like this are slim to none: none being much closer to the truth. The second opinion dealt with truth. What is truth? A story does not need to be true in order for it to be true to the reader. A young parent does not need to be sixteen years old to relate to Bobby’s fear. A parent does not need to have the other parent in a coma to relate to feeling alone. In the end truth is all in the perspective. Yes the story is a work of fiction. Yet, it is also a work of truth; a truth for many young parents out there who are struggling to make it on their own.

I am not a father, nor am I a teenager. On an individual basis it is hard for me to relate to the story. However, as a teacher and a youth leader I have witnessed students, children the same age as Bobby struggle with the same issues. I appreciate the fact the Johnson has the teenage parent as a male instead of a female; it is a perspective we do not in literature or in the real world. Sadly, of all of the teenage parents I have known it has always been the mother that gets left on her own. I have known teens whom have had an abortion, given up their child for adoption as well as ones who have chosen to keep them. The process that Bobby and Nia go through is a process that more and more teenagers are going through in today’s society.

Bobby’s story kept reminding me of a youth of mine who become pregnant at the age of 16. She also chose to keep the child. For the next few months she had the same look that I could picture on Bobby’s face. The look of a girl completely worn out, and at the same time when she looked at her little girl there was a look of unconditional love. She would not give up her sleepless nights for the entire world. Her baby was her life. So, while I still find myself finding this story at times unrealistic, I can still see the truth in it. Because I have seen the truth lived out through my youth and my students.

Critical Response:

One of the most important qualities in a book is whether or not the intended audience can relate to the story. If the text was rated solely on that criterion then I believe that this text is a high quality text for Adolescents. We now live in a society in which more and more students are becoming pregnant. This means that there are more and more children having to make tough decisions about what to do when they get pregnant, or their girlfriend gets pregnant. They are not easy decisions, but I believe that Johnson does a good job showing the importance and weight of these decisions in her novel. These decisions are ones that many students can relate to.

While the students will be able to relate to the decisions and process Nia and Bobby went through, I think that one thing that the story lacks is realism. Very few teenagers who actually have a child will have the same privileges that Bobby had. While he may have been left on his own quite a bit, he had two sets of parents who were willing to help. They gave him a place to stay, and more importantly they gave him love and support. Many teenage parents to not have that help, they do not have a family that can or will help support them. Some are kicked out of their house or just flat out ignored. They are “forced” to go to a different school, and many find themselves not having a realistic option to graduate from high school.

I think that what will remain memorable about this text is the fact the way in which it was told. It is not a free flowing novel. It jumps the past to the present. Often time jumps months ahead from one sequence to the next. While it takes a few chapters to get used to the jump, I believe that it is a tool that will actually get the readers more interested in the story. It is essentially two stories in one. They can get engrossed in their past and his present. They want to find out what happened to Nia, but they also want to see how Bobby will react to new situations. I believe that doing the novel this way Johnson keeps it fresh for teenagers. It is something that they have not seen before and often times something different means something good.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Personal Response:

This book was very different from what I have been reading as of late. Which, as it always does, ended up be a good thing. It is definitely not a book I would find myself picking up in the store and thinking, “Hey I think this is a book I would enjoy”. However, as is often the case with recommendations it gave me the opportunity to explore a genre and a story that I would often not give a second glance.

With that said, the book grabbed me from the onset. It was the way the author was able to speak about serious topics while still keeping his sense of humor. I think what struck me the most was the way that he was able to deal with the issue of poverty. At my church I am in charge of a community outreach program which deals with the rising rate of hunger in our church’s neighborhood. Once a month we give away free food (i.e. milk and fresh produce) to people who are not always able to afford those items throughout the month. While reading the text I found myself picturing the children that walk through the line at my church. Children that wake up on some mornings not knowing where they are going to get their next meal. Junior also talked about days not knowing if there was going to be food on the table, and going 36 hours without a meal. Junior was poor and was able to get free lunch at school, however, his pride was such that on the first day of school he still wanted to use his money to help pay for the lunch. There are many adults like Jr. that walk through our line at church. They know that the food is free for them, yet when they have money they are always giving us what they can. Pride plays a vital part in people’s self perception, and keeping it is a priority for many of them.

As a teacher I also liked the way that Alexie dealt with the role of the “loser” in the school. The fact that the main character, Junior, was that “loser” made the story all the more interesting. One thing that I have noticed in all of the schools that I have been in is that virtually all students find a niche. Whether it is a group of two or three or a group of twenty it seems that similar students find each other. I have taught freshman and I have seen the look in their eyes. That fear on the first day. “Who is going to be my friend?”, “Who am I going to eat lunch with?”. These are traumatic questions for young students. For a high school student it is all about who you know. We all need someone in our life, and that was the battle that Junior was fighting. He wanted a friend, and he even though he did not find many, he did find them. Even he dealt with a great deal of heartache and trauma, he friends and family were able to see him through.

With that said. I think the thing that kept me wanted to read is that even though he was dealing with this issues, he was able to keep the story light hearted. At times he had me wanting to reach out and give Junior a hug, but then a split second later he was able to make my laugh to myself. He was also able to do the opposite. He would give the reader and emotional high such as Junior getting his victory, then he would bring the reader back to reality by showing the rez team with their heads hung low and Junior feeling guilty. The way he was able to play with emotion and keep the reader on edge was a huge positive for me.

Critical Response:

I think that what makes this novel so memorable is the way that Alexie is able to relate to so many different readers with his story. While the main character is the school consummate “loser” I believe that he is also able to give a pretty accurate representation of different clichés in a school. Not only that, he does not make any group to be the “bad” group. At points Junior steps back and can see the good in everybody he encounters. Even though the reader sees the story unfold through the eyes of Junior they get a sense of what the other characters have to deal with.

Adolescent literature asks students to take on different perspectives for the students who are reading them. I believe that Alexie has written a novel that truly makes the reader do that. While it does this through the handling of the different clichés, more importantly it does it through the eyes of a Native American. I think that one lens that many students have never had the opportunity to see the world through is that of an Indian student. It puts a human face on a group of people many students have not knowingly come in contact with. It shows them the struggles that many Indian students face, and how while they are not the same struggles that they face they are still struggles that many students can relate to. They reason he is able to do all of this is because he can keep the reader interested in the story with his amazing sense of humor. The story is constantly engaging the reader with its emotional up and downs, and got even me to get drawn into the story and want to continue reading.