Summer Reading

So one of my goals this summer is to read as many of my students' favorite books as i can. I'm finding, overall, that young adult books are written with plot above all else. The storyline is the most important element in many of these books, with the art of writing and character development falling far behind. Of course i'm disappointed a bit, since what i love in a good book is lyrical writing and complex characters. But maybe that comes with years of scouring literature for just those elements, and letting plot slip down in my priorities. Perhaps my young adult readers are perfectly happy with books that get to the point and spend more pages "telling" than "showing". This gives me some insight on how my students might have very little idea when i ask them to write a scene by showing the details. They simply have read few examples of such writing...I'll keep looking though.

I'll give you a brief review of the books i have read lately. I'll put them order of my preference.

1. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Imagine being the center of the nation's focus, fighting for your life, and you've put yourself into Katniss Everdeen's shoes, or soft-soled leather boots, rather. The Hunger Games is an annual broadcasted event designed to remind the minions that the Capitol is always in control. Each district's children, ages 12-18, must put their names into a lottery for participation in the last-kid-alive-wins Games. Poor kids can put their names in up to 12 times a year for more food rations, which of course, tips the scales towards the poor fighting the poor for the wealthy elite's entertainment. Hmmm, perhaps a comment on today's wars? Katniss finds herself in the fight for her life, which she executes with compassionate precision and care, in light of the circumstances. What happens, though, when she rebels against the rules of the Hunger Games, and wins? Thankfully, this action-adventure has two more books to finish the story, Catching Fire, which is already out, and the third in the series is due out late August, 2010. This book has my kids reading ferociously (as it did me), though the content is certainly violent. It has a certain video game element to it, and the violence is hard to believe at times. Katniss, with her mission to survive, however, is very believable, beguiling, and intriguing.

2. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. Have you ever wondered if your life is meaningful and satisfying, even if you couldn't live another minute? Liz gets to ponder this question as she finds herself in Elsewhere, the place you go after you die. Yearning for all things that a 15-almost-16-year-old would, Liz wonders if she'll ever know how to drive, ever fall in love, ever find something that she loves to do, and is good at. While the plot is "fresh and arresting" (The New York Times Book Review), this is a perfect example of a story being told (five years were summed up in a single parentheses) rather than shown. Several of my students love this book, and i believe that the way it deals with loss and death and new appreciation of the moment (however un-ripe and un-mature and un-grown-up) is its beauty.

3. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes. I honestly don't have much to say about this one. A never-noticed girl at school, Olive, dies suddenly in a car crash. Martha is struck by the What if? notion, wondering all that could have happened had she made friends with Olive. With this thought running in her secret inner monologue, Martha visits her grandmother at the ocean, and deals with the possible loss of her dear grandma, a near-death experience, and a mortifying first kiss.

What's top on your reading list?

Ruined.

It's a play i saw two weeks ago at the Intiman Theater in Seattle. ( www.intiman.org/2010Season/ruined/default.aspx). Written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Kate Whoriskey, this play is set in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a story ultimately about love: the futility and the power of love in the face of systemic violence. It is a story about women: this war is fought on the bodies of women, one line describes. It was spoken by a woman brutally victimized by soldiers but sought refuge at a whorehouse. Yes, refuge as a prostitute. My heart was immediately ripped out.

Before we settled into our seats in the theater, I grabbed a flyer for Run For Congo Women (www.intiman.org/2010Season/ruined/runwalk.aspx), a fundraiser that supports Women for Women International and their work in the Congo. This is incredible work that i wholeheartedly support--Will you join me on October 16th?

But i have to say, that while i was watching a scene depicting soldiers about to rape a woman in order to get information from her, i thought cynically, "And my response to this is to go for a run around Green Lake?!?! Are you kidding me??" While in my emotional response, i did not (and never do) feel like my response to this gross injustice and oppression is even close to adequate or reasonable or appropriate. i feel like my actions are almost vulgar in my privilege and limited action.

But what helps me continue to move forward with hope is to know that i am not the only one. i am part of a much larger, much more powerful response that requires my participation, my trust, and my humility. i am not the only one responsible and i am one of many who respond. Loudly. Together.

Join me.