Module 3: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Module 3: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Stone, N. (2018). Dear Martin. Ember. ISBN: 9781101939529
Summary: In this compelling story a young African-American student named Justyce becomes a victim of racial profiling. He is an intelligent young man who is an Ivy League-bound student. Even though he has done well for himself he still has to face the fact that he will always be seen as a troublemaker. He finds himself in police handcuffs and now he questions many things.
Analysis: Justyce enters into quite the pickle within the first chapter of the story, helping out a drunk girl. "Before he can get his head out of the car, he feels a tug on his shirt and is yanked backward. His head smacks the doorframe just before a hand clamps down on the back of his neck. His upper body slams onto the trunk with so much force he bites the inside of his cheek, and his mouth fills with blood. Jus swallows, head spinning, unable to get his bearings. The sting of cold metal around his wrists pulls him back to reality." The imagery used in this particular scene was compelling. The reader can almost see Justyce pulling his shirt and hearing his body getting slammed into the car. In his confusion, he feels something cold and metallic which causes him to get disoriented. The handcuffs bring both Justyce and the reader into alarm at the situation he soon gets into. The officer assumes that since Justyce was wearing a hoodie and African American, he was trying to take advantage of a girl when it was not the case.
He writes a letter to Martin (identified as Dr. Martin Luther King) to introduce himself and express his disbelief over what occurred. Justyce shares a story about another boy named Shemer (another promising young boy) who got shot by a white cop and talked about how it is similar to the situation he fell into. He remarks, "That things aren't as equal as folks say they are." which brings out to light the unfairness of the circumstances he is facing along with the inequality of whites and blacks. The inequality Justyce is involved in opens up his eyes to how things are within his life.
The theme of inequality and even discrimination continues where Justyce does not feel like he belongs. Torn between his life at home and in a "bad" area, he is an outcast due to his incredible intelligence and studying at an excellent school. However, he does not truly belong at school either due to his racial identity and many whites on campus. "It's like I'm trying to climb a mountain, but I've got one fool trying to shove me down so I won't be on his level, and another fool tugging at my leg, trying to pull me to the ground he refuses to leave. This particular part brings out the imagery of his torn identity within his community along with his sense of belonging. It also connects to his awareness of how unequal things are in his school and life.
The most exciting part was when Justyce got accepted into Yale. Readers' happiness for the protagonist soon becomes bitter when the affirmative action where a character (Jared) felt it was unfair that Justyce got into Yale while deferred. Readers will feel the frustration and discouragement from Justyce when Jared explains that he got into Yale since he is a minority. In aggravation, he writes his letter to "Martin" to express how he felt over the conversation. "I know that when I head to Yale (because I AM going there), I'm gonna be paranoid about people looking at me and wondering if I'm qualified to be there." Justyce's doubt sinks in and wondering if he only got accepted into a top school due to affirmative action. Overall, police brutality is critical, and many can fall victim to it within the novel. The social injustice due to racial profiling and inequality makes Justyce question if he wants to follow Dr. King's teaching or stray off to a different path. However, it is an exceptional novel of Justyce exploring his identity and becoming more aware of himself. The switch between the third person to the first person changes perspective. The narrative (written in the third person) is detailed yet formal on what is happening in his life.
Meanwhile, the letters to Dr. King (written in first person) give the reader insight into Justyce's thoughts and feelings. I enjoyed seeing what he was thinking during certain moments and reading his expressed emotions, making Justyce a dynamic character. Readers will enjoy this powerful story of the social issues Justyce faces and his journey to finding himself.
Reviews and Awards:
Booklist: "Teens, librarians and teachers alike will find this book a godsend...Vivid and powerful."
Publishers Weekly: "A visceral portrait of a young man reckoning with the ugly, persistent violence of social injustice."
#12 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Violence (Books)
#16 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Prejudice & Racism
#28 in Teen & Young Adult Social Issues
Connections:
*It sends a message about facing against prejudice and racism
*You will have to teach about racial discrimination
*You can have students do their own version of Dear Mr. Martin letters
Related Books
Glasgow, K. (2018). Girl in Pieces. Ember. ISBN: 9781101934746
Richards, N.D. (2020). Five Total Strangers. Sourcebooks Fire. ISBN: 9781492657217
Jackson, H. (2020). A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Delacorte Press. ISBN: 9781984896360
Levithan, D. (2013). Every Day. Ember. ISBN: 9780307931894
Summary: In this best seller, a person wakes up every day in a different body and they are living a different life. They spend each day pretending to be another person without changing their personality or life. Explore the various and unique experiences of A who lives in a different body every day.
Analysis: The reader is introduced to the protagonist named A, who has a strange ability to wake up in a different body every day and live the life of the person they inhabit for twenty-four hours. A does not seem to have its own body or identity; it seems to be seen as a fluid entity.
There is no bound identity for A at all, not even gender. Day in and day out, A experiences another life after another. Then, one day, A inhabits the body of a boy named Justin and notices Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. A falls for her and wishes to be with her. However, unfortunately, A wakes up in another body the next day. Unsure of what to do, A desperately wants to have a relationship with Rhiannon but is unsure if she will understand their nature or be accepting.
Each day, A becomes a part of a new perspective in their new body even if they only possess it for a day. One possible interpretation of this ability is that each day is a unique story told through A's eyes. Another possibility is how each day brings forth something completely new; yesterday was in the past with no knowledge of what tomorrow might bring, which connects to the idea that every day is a brand new one. It is an awesome theme that connects to both the story's title and the plot overall.
Since A only is in a body for twenty-four hours, they try not to disrupt the life they take over too much. "I have harmed people's lives in the past, and I have found that every time I slip up, it haunts me. So I try to be careful." This particular line is a powerful foreshadowing for what might happen to A in the foreseeable future. Readers will anticipate that A will be incredibly careless in their desire to be with Rhiannon. A's enthusiasm to be with her grows in time, becoming obsessive since she is its first love. A's obsession grows and grows as the novel goes on to where A becomes selfish and soon realizes that it is harming the lives of those it inhabits. One thing to note within the novel is the overall imagery of a host situation that A lived in for the past sixteen years of its life, like being a parasite to a host. They leech onto whatever body it wakes up in day after day.
A's possession can be seen as almost parasitic and entity-like due to the hosting imagery displayed in the novel. "I am not a demon. I am not any of the things you want me to be. I am just a person. A person who borrows other people's lives for a day." A says a somewhat ironic understatement in regards to their ability. This is mainly due to the metaphor of its parasitic nature; the reader might even believe that A is a demon since it does not have a body or soul. A's chameleon character, bodiless, without an identity, and drifts from one body to another, brings out the idea of identity and adds to the possibility of A being a demon.
Since the novel is mainly told from A's point of view, it could be the case of the unreliable narrator since A has no sense of identity and even considers the lengths they will go to be with Rhiannon. Towards the end, A decides that their ability will not allow Rhiannon a relationship and lets her go. Finally, A goes on to live another day. Overall, it was pretty interesting to see a fluid character with no identity and the ability to possess others for a day. I also enjoy the theme of how each day is different from the previous one and that there will always be tomorrow to look forward to.
Reviews and Awards:
Kirkus Reviews (2012): “An awe-inspiring, thought-provoking reminder that love reaches beyond physical appearances or gender.”
Horn Book (2012): "Brilliantly conceived...[Levithan] shapes the narrative into a profound exploration of what it means to love someone."
School Library Journal (2012): "Every step of the narrative feels real and will elicit a strong emotional response from readers and offer them plenty of fodder for speculation, especially regarding the nature of love.”
Booklist (2012): “Levithan has created an irresistible premise that is sure to captivate readers….
[Every Day] is a study in style, an exercise in imagination, and an opportunity for readers themselves to occupy another life: that of A, himself.”
#8 in Children's Books on LGBTQ+ Families
#21 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Romance
#38 in Teen & Young Adult LGBTQ+ Fiction (Books)
Connections:
*It introduces a fluid character (the protagonist)
*It introduces the theme of how obsession makes one act selfishly
*It shares the idea that every day is different compared the previous one
Related Books:
Quindlen, K. (2021). She Drives Me Crazy. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 9781250209153
Levithan, D. (2017). Another Day (Every Day). Ember. ISBN: 9780385756235
Forman, G. (2010). If I Stay. Speak. ISBN: 9780142415436
Reed, A. (2019). The Nowhere Girls. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781481481748
Summary: In this bold and exploring novel, three young girls come together to avenge the rape of a fellow classmate named Lucy. Unfortunately, her accused rapists got away with it due to their social privileges. In their anonymous group, they strive to take action against the rape culture in their town and get justice for Lucy. Will they be able to achieve their goal or will they fail?
Readers can sense her aggravation at how people don’t seem to talk about it and even try to pretend that nothing happened. After the rape accusation, Grace discovers that nobody believed her story at all. This connects to the idea of how rape can be hidden away by the community or society and even enabling rape culture to continue on as if it was normal. Soon, she hears about The Real Men of Prescott, a blog runned by a popular boy at her school.
The blog brags about their sexual conquests in the book. The Real Men of Prescott blog shows off a lot of negative masculine behavior and the toxic nature of the rape culture that they encourage with others. When I was reading through the blog part, it was terrible to see the male character's descriptions to share his very aggressive sexual behavior. Within the blog, it contains date-rape tips and such. "11. Fifteen-year-old freshman nobody, got her so drunk she couldn't say no. Kind of messy and mostly just laid there, but busting a nut is busting a nut."
"What started with reading The Real Men of Prescott blog turned into nearly three hours of torture as she started clicking on links until she found herself deep inside the manosphere, on forums where men exchanged date-rape tips, on websites that suggested men move to impoverished countries where women don't put up a fight and there are no laws to protect them.
The world is a sick place, Grace thinks. It is a place where people can post things like that, spreading hate and darkness, and no one holds them accountable. It is a place where hurting people is too easy, and where helping them is too hard. It is a place where the darkness is winning, where the darkness will always win." Readers will feel the same horror that Grace does when looking at the blog that the guys are running. The terrible actions they brag about as if they are proud to bring out such an ugly yet realistic truth about rape culture. There is no accountability for the actions of those who perform such heinous acts. The aggressive behavior reflects a toxic masculinity outlook and how rape culture almost becomes acceptable due to social privilege. The reader will read on with anticipation for what Grace will do after she discovers and reads the blog of such horrific things occurring in the world she is in.
The beginning feels frustrating about what happened to Lucy, but it is due to the boys not being punished due to their social privileges. When Erin, Rosina, and Grace form the Nowhere Girls, they try to band the other girls in school to join to stop the rape culture at their school. It was interesting to see the shifts from one character to another. The reader gets more insight from the three girls. Like how Erin wants to be more independent and not be seen as helpless. Rosina struggles with her sexuality and wonders if she comes out to her family. Finally, Grace is trying to get justice not just for Lucy but for other girls who have suffered from the terrible rape culture that they are facing. I believe that the most diverse perspective is when the story is written in the US since there is a much broader worldview in the storyline compared to individual characters. I also like the message that there is no shame in trauma, and everyone heals from traumatic experiences differently. The other positive message is how the Nowhere Girls work together (despite their diverse backgrounds, ideas, and thoughts) to change things at their school and get their message delivered to go against the status quo.
All in all, this is an emotional story of fighting against sexism and standing up for oneself even if change does not happen right away. Readers will also enjoy resources added for abuse, rape, and sexual assault victims in the back of the book—a powerful and incredibly great read.
Reviews and Awards:
Kirkus: “Subversive anti-sexism—just try to put it down.”
School Library Journal: “Gritty and timely.”
Booklist: “A thoughtful, literary portrayal of female sexuality in a culture that often rejects it.”
VOYA: “A must-read.”
#50 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Sexual Abuse (Books)
#384 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Dating & Sex (Books)
#584 in Teen & Young Adult Friendship Fiction
Connections
*You might have to talk about sensitive topics such as gang rape, rape culture, and sexuality
*Contains crude/strong language, offensive terms towards women, underage drinking & smoking
*You might have to talk about the importance of consent and how toxic rape culutre is in soceity
Related Books:
Ludin, B. (2021). Like Other Girls. Disney-Hyperion. ISBN: 9781368039925
Litter Badger, D. (2020). Elatsoe. Levine Querido. ISBN: 9781646140053
Smith, A. (2017). The Way I Used to Be. Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN: 9781481449366
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