Hunger Games

Title Hunger Games

Author Suzanne Collins

ISBN 0439023483

Publication Information Scholastic Press: New York

 

Plot Summary Katniss Everdeen lives with her mother and younger sister in District 12. Each year the Capitol forces each district to send one girl and one boy to participate in the Hunger Games, a battle to the death to be televised to the entire country. When Katniss's sister, Prim is selected, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Whisked off to the Capitol with Peeta, the selected boy, she realizes that she must not only survive, but put on the show of her life to get all the help she can from outside sources. Katniss wins the crowd and Peeta's heart. Once the games begin, though, it is every person for him and herself. Katniss uses ever trick she ever knew from her time at home. Her tenacity earns her assistance from her sponsors in the Capitol. The love story between Peeta and Katniss allow for a change in the rules. If they can survive together, they do not have to kill each other in the end.

Critical Evaluation This is a very dark story. It is reminiscent of "The Lottery," Lord of the Flies, and The Truman Show combined. Katniss is a self-sufficient protagonist, hard to the ways of the world. She has repeatedly sacrificed herself to save her family after her father's death. The setting is equally dark and almost alien. Readers cannot even determine what country this might have once been; it's familiar enough to understand the structure, but different enough to be anywhere. The setting actually reminds me of the Gunslinger series by Stephen King. The plot of the story is not particularly surprising to adult readers. We can see the feelings Peeta has long before Katniss, and we are not surprised by the Capitol's game-playing at their expense. It is also a logical extension of the current craze with reality television in a barbaric, totalitarian world. The world be glued to their every move and the romance is a special angle that would be a big ratings winner. Each element alone does not make a original story, but the combination of them does make for a thoughtful look into the nature of entertainment and humanity.

Reader's Annotation Could you survive in a fight to the death without any help from friends and family? That is what Katniss Everdeen must do if she ever wants to see her sister and mother again.

Author Information This is Collins second series. The first, Gregor, the Overlander, is an Alice in Wonderland type story set underneath New York City. She also used to write childrens' television series for Nickolodean.

Curricular Ties Language Arts

Genre Dystopia, Action Adventure.

Book talking ideas Does Katniss really love Peeta? Are we taking our love of reality television too far? What makes a world a totalitarian one?

Challenge issues Violence especially children against other children. Parents usually want to avoid this subject for their kids.

1. Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
   
2. Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
   
3. Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
   
4. Review approaches from ALA
   

Interest Age 14-18

Why I selected this piece I didn't. You did J However, I very much enjoyed the book. I hope to read the other two when the last is released. I hate waiting.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Author JK Rowling

ISBN 054506967X

Publication Information Scholastic Inc

 

Plot Summary Eleven year old Harry has had a hard life. His family died when he was a baby and he has been reluctantly raised by his aunt and uncle who do not hide their contempt for him and their favoritism of their own son. To compound his trouble, he has odd moments where unexplainable things happen. It is not until Harry's eleventh birthday that he realizes there is a much larger world out there, one in which he is famous. Harry is accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is quickly whisked away by Hagrid, a half-giant, into a new world of magic. Here Harry meets his new friends, Hermione and Ron, his teachers, and Headmaster Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time. He also quickly learns that his family was murdered by the greatest villain of all time, Voldemort, a wizard who, it seems, is still alive and bent on becoming great again. Harry learns all about the world of magic, becomes a seeker on the quiddich team, and protects the sorcerer's stone from being stolen by Voldemort.

Critical Evaluation This book is the beginning of a seven part series following Harry from eleven to eighteen and through a series of adventures in a quest to save the world from Voldemort. Harry is a delightful protagonist. We sympathize for him immediately as an orphan and one who is almost abused by his caretakers, so we are thrilled when he finds his true calling. The other characters in the story are equally intriguing. Hermione is the classic overachiever and Ron, the classic underachiever. However, each character has great and important strengths that supplement Harry's personality. Harry has an archetypal mentor in the form of Dumbledore, who recalls both Gandalf and Merlin. Harry's journey itself is very much like the classic quests of Greek/Roman mythology. However, this series has skillfully combined these traditional archetypes with a relatable, fallible hero in a fantasy world that lives just outside our own. The setting is one that any child wishes to be a part of, a magical castle with an abundance of food and no parents. However, this also sets Harry and friends up to have to figure out nearly everything independently. It stresses the values of friendship, honesty, the triumph of good over evil. Thematically this book is not far from the Lord of the Rings stories but it is much more accessible to younger or reluctant readers.

Reader's Annotation Even if you seen the movie, you don't really know the story of Harry.

Author Information- JK Rowling's life story is a famous one at this point. She was living on welfare while she composed this story and now she is, literally, wealthier than the Queen of England. Her life, in many ways, parallels her young protagonist as he realizes what it means to be famous.

Curricular Ties Language Arts/Mythology

Genre Fantasy

Book talking ideas

Challenge issues

Witchcraft, supernatural. This book is frequently challenged in conservative areas like the one where I live, but there is overwhelming support available for this novel, usually from the public long before one has to consult other sources.

1. Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
   
2. Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
   
3. Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
   
4. Review approaches from ALA
   

Interest Age 11-adult

Why I selected this piece It's Harry Potter! When this novel was first released, my husband read it to his special education students. The following year, I read it to my remedial freshmen, and to this day I will have students pick up books from the series to read for the first time, compare to the films, or re-read before a film is released. Many of my students literally grew up with this series, and I believe it will become a classic of children's literature. Although the first book is not really a YA book, the later ones most certainly are. I selected this one simply because it is the beginning of the series.

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire- Maybe

Title Sucks to Be Me: the All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire- Maybe

Author Kimberly Pauley

ISBN 0786952563

Publication Information Mirrorstone

 

Plot Summary Mina Hamilton is the daughter of two vampires. As a junior in high school, the vampire hierarchy discovers her and demands that she decides whether she wants to become a vampire or remain human. To help her with her decision, she is forced to attend a "vampire school" to review all the rules and regulations in the vampire world. If she refuses, she will be separated from her family forever. If she does not, well, she gives up her life, will be forced to move and has to leave behind her friends. If it isn't hard enough to make that decision, she also finds herself attracted to three different boys- one that she's had a crush on for years that all of the sudden notices her, and two from her new class. She also has to go on "field trips" with her crazy Uncle Mort, who is the vampire that turned her parents just after her birth. And to add a final twist of irony, she is forced to study Dracula in her English class this term and confront her namesake in literature just as she is learning the real stories of the vampire world.

Critical Evaluation This story is a charming and hilarious variation on the typical vampire story that permeates young adult literature today. The protagonist, Mina, has all the realistic issues of the typical teenage girl: difficult parents who cannot relate to their daughter, bizarre extended family whose sole purpose in life seems to be to embarrass her, the best girl-friend, the mean girl crowd who are only interested in embarrassing her in front of the guys she likes, and, of course, the guy, or in this case, three guys. The plot complications of seemingly normal parents who are vampires make this story fun. They are painfully NORMAL. They don't wander around charming people with their eyes or glittering in the sunlight. They love their daughter and have sacrificed their lives to keep her safe. Now she must make this difficult choice on her own without being able to talk to her usual support structure. Each chapter begins with a "myth" and the reality, which are usually somehow connected to the content of the chapter. She also maintains a list of things that "suck" (pun intended, I am sure) about her life. The protagonist is fun, kind, and charming with a little sarcasm to round her out. This is a great read for students who are tired of the Meyers phenomenon.

Reader's Annotation Mina Hamilton is being pulled between her parents and her friends. Of course, it's harder to deal with when your parents are vampires and your friends are not.

Author Information- Pauley is also an expert in young adult literature. She is the founder of YA Books Central, an online site that reviews young adult literature. She also does school presentations on a variety of subjects- what it is like to be a writer, interactive writing workshop, and helping reluctant readers.

Curricular Ties None

Genre Vampire

Book talking ideas Is Mina a realistic character? How does the mythology of this book compare to other vampire stories you've read?

Challenge issues

Vampires, Supernatural.

1. Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
   
2. Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
   
3. Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
   
4. Review approaches from ALA
   

Interest Age 14-18

Why I selected this piece- Even though I read and loved the Twilight series, I'm just about done with Meyers mania in a way I was never done with other series like Harry Potter. This piece jumped out at me as a fun read after being tired of all the vampire romance novels floating around. I found it after NPR did a story on the social criticism of the vampire mythology after the reporter read 75 different novels- this being one of them. She highly recommended it, and frankly, I liked the title.