Insightful Reads: 5 Genre Fiction Reviews

Drew Durham

Libr 264

Prof Penny Peck

9/16/14

5 Genre Fiction Reviews

Review #1 Realistic Fiction

Shmatz, Pat. Bluefish Paperback – August 6, 2013 240 pages

Candlewick Reprint Edition $6.99 ISBN-13: 978-0763663414

How can someone dealing with his or her learning differences cope in a world of oppressive normalcy? Bluefish by Pat Shmantz is a powerful story that tries to answer that question. Told with humor and hope from alternating two perspectives between two Eighth grade friends Valveeta and Travis. Interestingly Travis’s sections are told from the third person perspective while Vaveta’s sections are told from her first hand perspective some of which is a direct letter to the newly deceased Calvin, a good friend of Valveeta’s. Both Valveeta and Travis are suffering from heartfelt losses in their lives. Travis’s dog is gone and Valveeta’s good friend Calvin just died. Their friendship is between a boy with learning difference and a girl helping the boy gain confidence and grow in his abilities.

Bluefish is a powerful book deals with loss and death carefully and with the right amounts of humor and weight. The book is also thoughtful in its emphasis on the lessons of secrets, the usage and power of metaphors and the sameness of similarities between two sensitive young people who are genuine friends. The book is a triumphant empowerment story of friendship and describes some ways we can all build trust with other people. A clear lesson in confidence, the ongoing search for identity, and lessons in how to build, maintain and celebrate our personal discoveries. Though there are no teaching resources that I could access, all of the teachable moments in the Bluefish, keeps the book full of insight and potential projects and discussion questions. Bluefish has some classroom ideas from the publisher Candlewick press located at: (http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763653349.bdg.1.pdf)

The ideas presented here are discussion questions and activity ideas.

Review #2

Adventure/Survival

Hobbs, Will. Downriver Paperback – July 10, 2012 $6.99 Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition ISBN-13: 978-1442445475

The California young Readers Award wining book Downriver by Will Hobbs follows a group of youth who are a part of Discovery Unlimited, a wilderness therapy company. The self-proclaimed “hoods in the woods” are enduring obstacle after obstacle hiking and rafting, an extremely adventurous and in fact dangerous type of wilderness therapy. One day our troublemaking troop breaks away from the drill-sergeant type named Al the authority figure and former group leader.

Thus the quirky group of fascinating characters and ill matching personalities immerge during the progress of this thrilling coming of age type adventure.

There are group politics including a hierarchy, trust issues arise, and loyalties change, and subgroups are formed. Soon our troop is separated into the two rafts as they start rafting down as “pirates of the Colorado river” in stolen raft and gear. As our youth, develop in character and personality. Our first person narrator Jessie, a girl with a strained relationship with her father learns to navigate her relationships as she orients herself physically as the river thunders underneath the rafts.

The character development is very well written and the setting and the action and brought to vivid life by a gifted survival and adventure storyteller.

After the inevitable ending of the trip, the ending is quite abrupt. The youth learn and grow tremendously in unique ways as a result of their criminal and life changing adventure together. On Will Hobbs’s website of the book (http://www.willhobbsauthor.com/teachers/lib_river.html) there are some ideas on teacher and librarian ideas for working with the book and some ideas for planning adventures. Random House also did a Teacher Guide for Downriver located at (http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780440226819&view=tg )

Review #3

Historical Fiction

Vanderpool, Clare. Navigating Early Hardcover $16.99 January 8, 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 306 pages (SBN13: 9780385742092)

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool is a historical book about a long journey set during World War 2. The book describes what it takes to be a friend through the example of an eccentric friendship of two young boys. Navigating Early explores power of belief and the power of stories. The book is about an outsider Jack who feels on the outside of every group he encounters especially upon his arrival at a new boarding school named Morton Hill Academy and after the death of his mother. The books other main protagonist is what today would be classified as an autistic savant but back then was only an eccentric strange kid named Early who along with Jack adventure together on a journey based on a fantastical story Early strongly believes is true. Early spins a magical tale about his brother, a legend at their boarding school and a bear as they follow the path Early describes in his story.

Jack and Early’s friendship and Early’s trustworthiness is tested time and time again during their adventures. The definitions of being lost and found are explored in this thought provoking and touching book. The balance of humor and excitement that make the more serious issues that Vanderpool discusses through the protagonist narrator Jack more real to the reader. The extras in the book are the author’s note with questions and answers and a list of resources. I also found the publishers educators guide for the book. which includes common core state standards correlations. (http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/NavigatingEarly_EG_WEB.pdf)

Review #4 Mystery

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Egypt Game Paperback – Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition July 7, 2009 ISBN-13: 978-1416990512 $7.99

A group of youth gather in the backyard of a mysterious and eerie curio shop to create their own imaginative version of Ancient Egypt. There they have a very detailed and elaborate and imaginative “society” full of elaborate interchangeable roles, fancy costumes, complex rules, intricate rituals, mythological beliefs and decorative ceremonies and carefully crafted customs that are imitations based on the life, beliefs and mythology of the real Ancient Egypt.

A local and mysterious murder of child changes everything. The agency or power of children is a major theme here and all the children (even the four-year old boy) have a crucial role to play through out this book’s suspenseful plot. Snyder’s classic is well written, apparently researched, and full of character development and has many clever plot points all along the way. I found a lesson plan aid for The Egypt game (http://www.meritonlinelearning.com/OLMS/manuals/BPLPA/The_Egypt_Game_Lesson_Plan.pdf) This lesson plan aid is full of great ideas, writing prompts, sources for activities, curriculum integration vocabulary, and other things.

Review #5 Science Fiction

John, Christopher The White Mountains Mass Market Paperback – April 1, 2003 $6.99 (Simon Pulse) 208 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0689856723

Imagine the scene, life in the Middle Ages, while you experience everything from life in the mills to a royal festival, a banquet, and a tournament, but something evil and overwhelming looms in the skies above. This is the backdrop for the White Mountains by John Christopher, the first book of the tripods series which portrays life of centuries ago, with a sci-fi twist. Tall and menacing tripods “cap” or put metal mind control device on the back of the heads of all youth as their coming of age ritual.

Our main heroic character a boy named Will makes some discoveries of his own and he realizes he does not want to be a slave to the tripods and escapes to the White Mountains that the crazy vagabonds roaming the cities and country side speak of. With some misfit friends Will escapes his fateful “capping” multiple times, but will Will make it to the White Mountains in time? What will happen to his friends? As for extras, I would suggest making a first person journal of being Will or one of the friends, and explain their thoughts and their experiences through out the book. I also found a publishers fact sheet with a list of classroom ideas to teach the book. (http://delivery.stpb.net/MAGA/ENGLISH/Reading%20Group/READING/penguinreaders/penguinreaders/Downloads/0582419182.pdf)