December 31, 2018

On My Bookshelf: How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation by Maureen Johnson

How I Resist is a collection that challenges the idea of resistance. Protests, marches, and sit-ins are all very visible forms of protest and resistance, but this collection reminds the reader that a song, a podcast, a poem, our day to day choices can all be forms of resistance too. The collection brings attention to all sorts of interesting individuals and projects and the variety of voices and types of pieces in the collection makes it appealing to people of ages (teens are the target audience) and backgrounds. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.
The basic plot from Amazon: An all-star collection of essays about activism and hope, edited by bestselling YA author Maureen Johnson.

Now, more than ever, young people are motivated to make a difference in a world they're bound to inherit. They're ready to stand up and be heard - but with much to shout about, where they do they begin? What can I do? How can I help?

How I Resist is the response, and a way to start the conversation. To show readers that they are not helpless, and that anyone can be the change. A collection of essays, songs, illustrations, and interviews about activism and hope, How I Resist features an all-star group of contributors, including, John Paul Brammer, Libba Bray, Lauren Duca, Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita, Alex Gino, Hebh Jamal, Malinda Lo, Dylan Marron, Hamilton star Javier Muñoz, Rosie O'Donnell, Junauda Petrus, Jodi Picoult, Jason Reynolds, Karuna Riazi, Maya Rupert, Dana Schwartz, Dan Sinker, Ali Stroker, Jonny Sun (aka @jonnysun), Sabaa Tahir, Shaina Taub, Daniel Watts, Jennifer Weiner, Jacqueline Woodson, and more, all edited and compiled by New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson.

In How I Resist, readers will find hope and support through voices that are at turns personal, funny, irreverent, and instructive. Not just for a young adult audience, this incredibly impactful collection will appeal to readers of all ages who are feeling adrift and looking for guidance.

How I Resist
is the kind of book people will be discussing for years to come and a staple on bookshelves for generations.

Why I liked it: How I Resist is a collection that challenges the idea of resistance. Protests, marches, and sit-ins are all very visible forms of protest and resistance, but this collection reminds the reader that a song, a podcast, a poem, our day to day choices can all be forms of resistance too. The collection brings attention to all sorts of interesting individuals and projects I never knew existed. The variety of voices and types of pieces in the collection makes it appealing to people of ages (teens are the target audience) and backgrounds, and if you are active on Twitter, you'll have quite a few new accounts to follow.

Classroom application: The collection could be read in its entirety in an English or Social Studies class, especially one focused on current events. The variety of pieces could also be used individually as examples of different types of nonfiction texts. I'll share a few of my favorites.

"Could We Please Give the Police Departments to the Grandmothers?" by Junauda Petrus is an essay that, much as the title suggests, describes what police departments would be like if they were run by grandmothers. The essay would be a great pairing with popular fiction titles like The Hate U Give, All American Boys, and Dear Martin. The essay could lead to research about how police are trained and function in other parts of the world. It is full of allusions and could be a mentor text for students to write about other things that would be better run by grandmothers (or any other age/gender group).

In the essay "The Lucky Ones," Jennifer Winner tackles the issues of privilege and equality. Because it is focused on her daughters, it is less likely to be perceived as preachy or threatening than other pieces I've read on the topics. I think it would open up good dialogue in the classroom about what has changed in America in the past 50-100 years and what hasn't. Further, it would help students begin to realize that all change has positive and negative effects, even if that change is "for the good."

John Paul Brammer recounts a formative childhood experience in "Letter to a Sensitive Brown Queer" in which he is confronted with gender stereotypes. The essay could be part of a unit on identity and imparts the message to students that it is okay to be different. I particularly like that the essay is written in second person to draw the reader in to the drama of the event.

Finally, "Media-Consciousness As Part of Resistance!" by Jonny Sun has a list of ten things to think about when consuming media and six ways to react to media. The list of things to think about would be a great starting point for a lesson on unit on digital literacy in either a Language Arts class or Social Studies class. Students could select a piece of media (the author points out that the same ideas apply to social media) and process it using this list of things to think about.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of How I Resist for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

How I Resist is a collection that challenges the idea of resistance. Protests, marches, and sit-ins are all very visible forms of protest and resistance, but this collection reminds the reader that a song, a podcast, a poem, our day to day choices can all be forms of resistance too. The collection brings attention to all sorts of interesting individuals and projects and the variety of voices and types of pieces in the collection makes it appealing to people of ages (teens are the target audience) and backgrounds. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom application.

December 14, 2018

6 Suspenseful Page Turners to Recommend to Your Secondary Students

Nothing hooks you as a reader like well done suspense and a series of plot twists you never saw coming. Putting these types of page turners in the hands of students means they'll want to keep reading and won't want to put their book down.  They are ideal books for students who are often disengaged readers. Here's 6 suspenseful novels that I've recently read and would recommend to secondary students.
Nothing hooks you as a reader like well done suspense and a series of plot twists you never saw coming. Putting these types of page turners in the hands of students means they'll want to keep reading and won't want to put their book down.  They are ideal books for students who are often disengaged readers. Here's 6 suspenseful novels that I've recently read and would recommend to secondary students. Click the title of each to read my full review and ideas for using it in the classroom.

1. One Of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
This is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive, is accurately described as “Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club.” The four survivors of detention narrate the book and each has something to hide, a secret only the outcast knew, which means each of them has a possible motive for murder. 
in this interesting mix of fantasy and thriller, fairy tale and magical realism, the main character, Alice, is no doubt a nod to Alice of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Similar to Carroll's Alice, this Alice is far from perfect. She can be impulsive and is willing to use others to get what she wants. However, her mission is not a selfish one; she is trying to save her mother from whatever forces of evil have captured her. 
Cheyenne's kidnapping is really an accident, but becomes a crime of greater opportunity when her kidnapper's father finds out who her father is, and more importantly, who he works for. Despite being sick with pneumonia and almost entirely blind, Cheyenne is quick thinking and never stops trying to outsmart her captors. The novel becomes more and more intense as Cheyenne's situation grows increasingly more dangerous and her likelihood of survival decreases. 
As the divide between the rich and poor grows, cases of kidnapping also increase. The twists and turns in Charity's kidnapping will surprise you and you'll never suspect the true identify of her kidnappers. 
Sixteen near strangers are named as heirs to millionaire Sam Westing, but in order to claim their inheritance, they must solve the mystery of who killed Sam Westing. The players are paired up and only one pair can win. Clues are stolen, three bombs explode, and family members are keeping secrets from one another as each pair desperately hopes to win. 
This novel falls into the categories of mystery, suspense, and thriller, and the twists in the plot kept me hooked until the end. Maddie's ability to see peoples "death dates" seems like a gift until she become involved in a murder investigation. A number of believable red herrings and realistic character development make the novel a hit.