Feathers

Bibliography

Woodson, Jacqueline. Feathers. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2007. ISBN 9780142415504

Plot Summary

Jacqueline Woodson has created a fluid story about a sixth grade classroom whose routine is disrupted by a new kid. This new kid is white, but attends a predominantly black school on “the other side of the highway” in 1971. Feathers demonstrates depth and encourages reflection about complex issues. The narrator, Frannie, is only eleven, but has already dealt with a lot of issues. She has a deaf brother. Her mother suffered many miscarriages and now struggles with depression. Her father is often away. Woven into the story are Frannie’s contemplations about religion, being different, segregation, problems in the world, family, and growing up. 

Critical Analysis

There is a mixed focus for this story. It is mainly on Frannie’s inner dialogue, but it is also divided between the actions in the classroom, at home, and on the playground. Those places serve as a backdrop to Frannie’s analysis of her world as reflected through other people's reactions to these situations. Woodson offers a very believable analysis of these life experiences. 

Although the character didn't undergo a major revelation, it seemed she was on the crux of one: she’s trying to find her place in it all. Her reactions are clearly those of an eleven-year old, which increases the authenticity of Woodson’s story. Frannie admires the features of older people, since currently she is not feeling pretty or old enough. She tries to use new words she’s heard adults and older kids using; however, she doesn’t seem to want to grow up too fast. She enjoys where she is in the world and is taking it all in.

Woodson sets the time and place when Frannie refers to the music of the period, such as the Jackson Five. There are additional hints of culture, class, and time period through the use of jive, a reference to the Vietnam War, and the constant reference to what it would be like to live on the “other side of the highway.”

Woodson does a good job of using the weather to play into the characters mood and events in the story, such as grey snowfall during a low time and sunshine filling a room for a happier time. Overall, there is an ethereal feeling as the narrator goes in and out of the physical and into her thoughts. She is often dreaming and mulling over the world around her. She thinks about real life and real world problems through the eyes of an eleven year old. 

Personally, I would think about the audience before using this book. Very young children might not relate to some topics, such as miscarriage. However, for some mature children, this book could serve as a launching point to think about some complex issues. 

Review Excerpts

This book is a:

  -  Newbery Honor Book

  -  Publishers Weekly starred review

  -  School Library Journal starred review

  -  Booklist starred review

Publishers Weekly

“Narrator Frannie is fascinated with Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul," and grapples with its meaning…Frannie's keen perceptions allow readers to observe a ripple of changes. Because she has experienced so much sadness in her life (her brother's deafness, her mother's miscarriages) the heroine is able to see beyond it all—to look forward to a time when the pain subsides and life continues.” 

School Library Journal

“With her usual talent for creating characters who confront, reflect, and grow into their own persons, Woodson creates in Frannie a strong protagonist who thinks for herself and recognizes the value and meaning of family. The story ends with hope and thoughtfulness while speaking to those adolescents who struggle with race, faith, and prejudice. They will appreciate its wisdom and positive connections.”

Connections

-  This book would be good for a discussion on cultural diversity or being different. 

Ship Breaker

Bibliography

Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. New York: Little, Brown, and Co, 2010. ISBN 9780316056199

Plot Summary

Bacigalupi has created a science fiction adventure book set 50 years in the future along the Gulf Coast. There are environmental issues since this world has been destroyed by global warming. The protagonist, Nailer, works with a crew dismantling the wiring from one of the large oil tankers no longer used. Nailer is a small teenager with large responsibilities. He must make his quota while staying alive in his hazardous job and take care of his drunkard and drugged up father. Nailer lives by a code of honor and loyalty. He often dreams of a better, less gritty, life by watching the high-tech catamarans leave the port.

After a large hurricane, what they call a “city killer,” Nailer and his friend discover an expensive beached ship that will forever change his life. Should he strip the ship and leave this hard life, or help the hunted lone survivor and possibly pay the consequences? The thriller of an ending leaves readers guessing. Will Nailer survive? And if he does, will he have the better life he seeks?

Critical Analysis

Bacigalupi does an excellent job of using figurative language to lay the foundation of life on the water and its favela-like living conditions. There are rich characters with flawed backgrounds. The feeling of the harbor city is raw and cut-throat. The cost of a life is negligible. This creates juxtaposition to the better life in another place and makes the discovery of the expensive ship so important. 

The events in the story logically move from one place to another, yet he still throws in some surprises and twists along the way. As the story grows more complex, he keeps the reader engaged through to the conclusion. 

One day at his job, Nailer is in a life or death situation and is dependent on another to save him. This creates a turning point for him when soon after, he has to make the choice to save or kill the survivor. He states to himself that it would have been easy to kill her before and it would have been different, but now he has changed. In the past, he would have outright killed her for the money, but now that he has had to plead for his life, it is not so clear. 

Nailer and his friends form a diverse community, yet they seek the same things typical of any teen: romance, first jobs, futures, and a different life. These are the themes of growing up into adulthood. Of import to this genre, the male and female characters hold equally relevant positions in Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker. 

I personally could not put this book down. It was very exciting, vivid, and full of plot twists. I would highly recommend this book to a YA reader or adult. 

Review Excerpts

This book is a:

  -  National Book Award Finalist

  -  L. A. Times Book Award Finalist 

  -  Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

  -  Lone Star Book

  -  Booklist starred review

Booklist

“This YA debut by Bacigalupi, a rising star in adult science fiction, presents a dystopian future like so many YA sf novels. What is uncommon, though, is that although Bacigalupi's future earth is brilliantly imagined and its genesis anchored in contemporary issues, it is secondary to the memorable characters. In a world in which society has stratified, fossil fuels have been consumed, and the seas have risen and drowned coastal cities…Clearly respecting his audience, Bacigalupi skillfully integrates his world building into the compelling narrative, threading the backstory into the pulsing action. The characters are layered and complex, and their almost unthinkable actions and choices seem totally credible. Vivid, brutal, and thematically rich, this captivating title is sure to win teen fans for the award-winning Bacigalupi.”

Connections

-  This book would be easily adapted into a dynamic skit.

-  This book could be used as an entry into a writing assignment set 50-100 years in the  

    future.

-  Since this book discussed global warming, it could serve as a starting place for a 

   discussion about the future effects of global warming and/or be paired with a research 

   assignment about climate change. 

Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes

Bibliography

Krosoczka, Jarrett. Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. ISBN 9780375870286

Plot Summary

To set the stage, Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes opens to the lunch ladies stopping a robbery. The main story is about three students who made a bad decision and as punishment are forced to join the mathlete team and compete with them in the upcoming competition. At first the students are reluctant, but, once challenged by the opposing team, they put all their effort into winning. The mathletes have a commanding lead, but something is foul with the opposing team. One of the Lunch Ladies goes to investigate. She runs into trouble after finding out the real story of their competitors, and the custodian comes to her rescue! At the final championship, the mutant mathletes make their appearance and the lunch ladies are there to protect everyone with their food weapons, like a pineapple mace. 

Critical Analysis

Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes is a fun read with quirky characters. The book is designed as a graphic novel. This style lends itself to the problem-solving questions and plot of the book. It also worked for the action scenes. It comes off very Batman and Robin with the two crime fighting Lunch Ladies. The dialogue is focused and helps drive the plot. The graphic novel reads differently than a fiction novel but, again, it lent itself to the plot to have the illustrations support the dialogue and vice versa. 

The characters grow throughout the book as they learn loyalty to their team and confidence in their ability to do math. Over time, student pride beams through the initial reluctance to join the team. Also, the Lunch Ladies are very proud of their work saving the students and the school. 

There are some predictable moments as the team gets teased by the football players and are called nerds. This really didn’t need to be in there, since it did not move the plot along, but the kids will enjoy reading it, so it works. There were also some stereotyped school features, such as the teachers holding coffee cups and the Lunch Ladies serving fish sticks at lunch. Although stereotypical, the images help set the stage for time and place, since any public school student can relate to these features. 

Personally, this was a fun read. This is my first graphic novel and I can see why they are very popular with this age group. 

Review Excerpts

Graphic Novel Reporter

“The Lunch Lady books are fun, quick reads for kids, with lots of zany and culinary-inspired humor. Though Lunch Lady is the titular character, she’s only in part of the book, with Dee, Hector, and Terrence also being important characters. The art has that purposefully cartoony style, like something you might see on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon, and the colors come in black, gray, white, and yellow. Is that to bring more attention to Lunch Lady’s yellow gloves? Lunch Lady’s definitely the one who steals the show, and readers who enjoy this book ought to check out the others in the series.”

Connections

-  This book would be easily adapted into a dynamic skit.

-  Students could be encouraged to read other books from the Lunch Lady Series.