Robert Cormier

I found Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War full of interesting topics and, up until the very end, I thought it had a great theme it was attempting to portray. The main character, Jerry, was very likable and admirable for his attempt to "disturb the universe" by not partaking in the annual chocolate sale. At first I thought that Jerry was simply refusing to sell chocolates, but as I read on I learned that by his refusal he was achieving so much more. By quietly saying 'no', Jerry was refusing to support the evil that was in the school. Jerry became a very appealing character due to his sincerity and genuineness. He was the heroic figure because he refused to buckle when everyone else did, and stood his ground when others ran.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the book, the last part was very hard for me to understand. Jerry had become such a preferable character that when he was abused in the end it almost ruined the entire book for me. It seemed as if everything Jerry stood for was crushed and the entire novel made no sense. In the beginning of the novel I thought that the books main point was that we should all stand for what we believe in, but by the end I didn't know what Cormier was attempting to portray at all. It was as if he was showing readers that standing your ground is not the right thing to do because in the end you will lose. I would have understood the book better if we had gotten to learn what happened to Jerry after the fight, but Cormier left readers wondering if he even turned out alright.I guess overall the ending really made me second guess the book in its entirety. I was disappointed with the ending and was left wondering what Cormier was trying to get across.

"Looking for Alaska"

I was amazed that this book touched on so many important issues. John Green did an amazing job at making the characters believable. I think all readers can compare their lives to at least one of the characters in the novel. Although there were many parts through out the book that really spoke to me, the part where Alaska gets into the car made me the most emotional.
Although I have never known anyone who has died in a car accident, I have known people who have made stupid mistakes in which their lives were put at risk. Underage drinking is a terrible thing to begin with, but the fact that Alaska got into a car while being intoxicated made the entire situation even worse. She was looking for an 'escape' from reality and found it in cigarettes, alcohol, and putting her life at risk. Someone very close to me has gotten into a car while being far from able to drive due to the amount of alcohol he had drank. He recked his car but thankfully walked away with his life. This passage in the book struck me because it showed me just how easy it is to make a stupid mistake. My friend who was driving while under the influence had to spend time in jail due to one stupid decision. Thankfully that decision changed his life because it showed him how close to death he had come.
Alaska's decision to drive when she shouldn't have showed how she was looking for a way to end her life. She was waiting for the end, and it came faster than it should have. The worst part is that there are thousands of kids that are going through many of the same issues that Alaska was dealing with. They think that their lives don't have a purpose or that they are hopeless. When tragedies like Alaska's happen it really shows that everyone, no matter what they may think, have an affect on somebody and one stupid decision could possibly be the last decision they make.

The field of YA Lit

Well, here I go. Attempting to make my blog interesting to readers and good enough to receive a good drade in my class :). This blog is going to dedicated to parents who do not know if a certain book would be appropriate for their child. I will be giving my personal oppinion on the characters, authors, and themes of the books. I will be going into detail on many of the books, maybe even giving away some of the endings. (I don't want to ruin anything for anyone!) Through my blog I hope to assist parents in knowing if the books I will be reading are the right type for their child, and if the theme is what they are hoping their children will enjoy. To begin my blog I am going to go over the field of YA literature overall and discuss some personal oppinions. Hope I am a help!

The field of Young Adult Literature is much broader than I ever would have expected it to be. I was very surprised to realize the impact that YA novels have on so many people. It was interesting to learn about the Kidlitosphere (a blog set up fpr young adult readers), publishing industry, and the impact that YA books have on bookstores, but the topic I was most interested in was the fact that many great YA novels go unrecognized.

I did not know till recently that there are actual awards that are given to YA novels. The fact that so many people do not know about these awards is astonishing. Everyone has heard about the New York Times Best Seller list, and the Newbery award, but there are also certain awards that are dedicated to YA novels that I never even knew existed. Just because a book is characterized as 'Young Adult' does not mean that it is not worthy of broad recognition.
I am thankful for taking YA Literature class because it opened my eyes to an entire list of amazing books that I had never even heard of. It has given me an all new appreciation for the YA books!

"The Outsiders" Bolg Entry

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was an amazing book. Incredibly interesting and constantly relatable. The author, S.E. Hinton, made the characters very likable to all readers. While I was reading the book I found myself wanting to comfort Ponyboy as his life seemed to crumble around him.
The relationship between Greasers and Socials is like many relationships in real life. You can relate their hatred for one another to hatred between the popular and unpopular, or the rich and the poor. The difference in social classes in apparent and happens on a daily basis.
Hinton uses his main character, Ponyboy, to portray a young man that is trying to find himself in a big world. The novel can relate to everyone in the fact that we have all been through times in our lives where we feel alone and confused. In the tender years of one's life there is a point in time where you don't really know who you are. Ponyboy is going through those years, which is why this book can be viewed as a 'coming of age' novel. It is amazing to follow along as Ponyboy is forced to make adult decisions and watch as he changes from a boy to a young man.

"How I live Now" Blog Entry

For my Young Adult Literature class we needed to read one "classic" YA novel. I chose to read How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. I found this book very interesting and definitely different than any book I had read before. The author was very courageous with her attempt to stretch new boundaries in her relationship between two cousins and in depth descriptions of the war.
The main character, Daisy, has a relationship with one of her cousins, yet Rosoff makes the relationship seem so harmless. Readers find themselves hoping that the two will end up together in the end, yet the relationship should never have been made in the first place.
Rosoff reaches out to young adults with her ability to humor readers while keeping them locked into her story, yet she also targets an older crowd because of the adult issues and ability to make her story relatable to any age.
Overall I enjoyed the book because it Rosoff's writing was simple yet deep. She kept me interested in Daisy's life and I felt as if I was going on the journey with her.