Category Archives: Uncategorized

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The Perks Of Being A Wallflower: Why Did I Wait So Long To Read This Amazing Book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I had heard people say this book changed their life.  With the film coming out in September, I knew I needed to read the book fast.  Why did I wait so long to read this?  This book is exceptional, painful and full of hope!  Charlie is writing letters to an unknown person chronicling his freshman year of high school.  His only friend committed suicide, leaving him friendless to start high school.  Through his letters we learn about his brother and sister, and the new family he makes as two seniors befriend him.  His English teacher challenges him to participate in life rather than just being an observer. I love the relationship between Charlie and the teacher.   Charlie hints that something has happened to him in his past which makes him different.  But he is not sure what that is.  There are many profound moments in this book where Charlie evolves as he both participates and observes his life with his new friends.  One of my favorite moments in the book is when Charlie’s parents are forbidding his sister to see her boyfriend who hit her.  When she tells her parents “he is her whole world” her mother sharply tells her never to say that again, not even about her.  This is great advice for everyone.  Another phrase that is largely repeated is “we get the love we think we deserve.”  I would recommend this book for a mature teen reader.  Charlie goes through so much during his journey but in the end he is still filled with hope.  That is what makes me love this book most of all.

Some ideas for discussing with teens:

Who do you think Charlie is writing to?

Discuss what it would be like to start high school without any friends.

Why do you think Charlie’s sister didn’t do anything when her boyfriend hit her.

Discuss this passage from page 17: “You know… a lot of kids hate their parents. Some of them got hit.  Some of them got caught in the middle of wrong lives.  Some of them were trophies for their parents to show neighbors like ribbons or gold stars. And some of them just want to drink in peace.”

Why do you think Charlie felt brave enough to approach Patrick at the football game?

Talk about what Charlie says about girls wearing boy’s jackets and the idea of “property.”

Discuss “we accept the love we think we deserve.”

Discuss when Charlie’s mom tells his sister never to say someone is their whole world.

Talk about Kurt Cobain or any other icon in this context: “I thought the magazine was trying to make him a hero, but then later somebody might dig up something to make him seem like less than a person.”

Talk about Mary Elizabeth gaining a “superior position” by introducing Charlie to all of those great things. (pg 130)

Discuss this passage when Sam was talking to Charlie about being a friend to Patrick. “At those times, you weren’t being his friend at all.  Because you weren’t honest with him.” (pg. 201)

Talk about the abuse and what that did to Charlie as a person.

What do you think will happen when Charlie returns to high school?

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Time Travel Via Facebook In New Book By Popular Teen Authors

Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler’s The Future of Us takes us back to a time long before facebook.  Only the privileged few had cell phones and it was cool to carry beepers.  Emma and Josh are next door neighbors.  They’ve been close friends since forever until Josh makes an unwelcome move.  Now everything is awkward.  Emma now has a computer and Josh shares his AOL start up disk with her.  After the long dial up connection finally kicks in, she loads up AOL.  But on the computer is a curious thing called “facebook.”  On facebook she sees her future self 20 years later and she doesn’t like what she sees. Her husband hasn’t been home in days and she seems miserable.  Josh thinks it is a prank until he sees his own future self.  The difference is his future looks great because he is married to the hottest girl in school.  Josh never gave her much thought because she was so out of his league.  Things become interesting when he starts to talk to her.  Is this dream girl really the one for him?  Emma keeps making changes to see what happens to her future.  That frustrates Josh because what happens if it messes with his?  They also notice some things about other friends that worry them.  But how much should they share and would anyone believe them? 

I admit that I spend an absurd amount of time on facebook.  My iphone has only made this worse.  When I read the parts when Emma read her posts about her personal life it made me look at myself.  Do I post anything that personal?  Should I be embarrassed?  I can see how flabbergasting the concept of facebook would be to a generation that just discovered the internet.  I remember getting my aol account and thinking, “ok, this is cool, now what?” 

Some ideas for discussing with teens:

Is there a person you secretly hope to have listed as your spouse in the future?

How did you feel about the way that Emma kept changing her future?  Was she too quick?

Talk about your ideal future.  Would you want to know if you had a facebook crystal ball?

Talk about what happens when one friend “likes” the other and that person doesn’t feel the same way.

Discuss how Josh felt about Sydney.  What happened as he got to know her.  How did that change his future?

Discuss the butterfly effect.

Should Emma have warned Kellan about her future?

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Beginning of August Reading Update

I tried reading Love Wins. I was interested in the content. But Robb Bell’s writing style was too distracting and I had to put it down.

I read Malled by Caitlin Kelly. It was interesting to me because I also have a background in journalism. She was treated better by management at The North Face than she was by most news managers. I can certainly relate to that. Most people will hate this book. She does whine a lot and constantly reminds us that she writes for the New York Times and has vacationed in France. People who work retail to survive will find this book insulting.

I made it halfway through Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin. I loved it but it was taking me a long time and I had books due back at the library. I will pick back up again. I loved it so far.

Right now I am reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I am enjoying it so far.

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July Summer Reading Update

Right now I’m reading Clash of Kings (Game of Thrones Book 2) by George R.R. Martin. It will take a long time, very dense, but I am loving it!

I took a break from adult to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again before the movie. I never tire of reading HP.

Bossypants by Tina Fey was probably my favorite read of the summer. I love how her mind works. It is insightful and hilarious!

I returned High School Confidential and Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. They sounded great, but I could not get into either one.

I am a huge fan of Alice Hoffman and her newest novel, The Red Garden, did not dissappoint. She followed decades of families from the start of a small town to the present time. The characters are intertwined and very interesting. The book has just a touch of magical realism that makes Hoffman so wonderful.

I also picked up Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal. Like many woman my age, we loved the Sweet Valley High series as tweens. This is ten years later and the twins are estranged. It is strange that they only aged ten years but they tweet and facebook. But ten years later shouldr really be the mid-1990s. That felt a little weird. Also the twins are now bitter and angry. If you hated Jessica, you will really hate her now!

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Summer of Adult & NonFiction Update

So far I have read:
Game of Thrones – Loved it! Fun to read while watching the HBO series for more details.
Don’t Be Afraid – I really enjoyed it, especially the very accurate setting in Cleveland Heights.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother – Even though she is extreme, many parents could stand to take a lesson or two from her.
Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian – I am always looking for insight into my Autistic daughter. I loved this book.
Graveminder – Very fun read. This is my first time reading Melissa Marr.

I returned The Speech. I couldn’t get into it. Too dry.

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The Conclusion of The Hunger Games is Like Katniss Herself, Uncompromising, Brave and Beautifully Complicated ((Spoiler Alert!))

Katniss is now in District 13, struggling to become the Mockingjay to inspire the rebels.  Her film crew shoots video of her in a stunning Mockingjay military uniform, which was the last creative work by Cinna.  She, Gale, Prim, her mother and the rest of the survivers from the Games and District 12 live in an underground, controlling environment run by District 13.  All other Districts are in full rebellion, cutting off resources for the Capitol.  Katniss wonders if Peeta is dead or alive, when she finally sees him on TV asking for a cease fire.  Each time Peeta appears on TV, he seems more damaged.  Many in District 13 consider him a traitor.   Only after a rescue that seems to easy is Peeta’s true purpose revealed.  His brain has been hijacked and his mission is to kill Katniss.  Katniss’s only solice is that she will be the one to kill President Snow.  Katniss stuggles throughout this story with how far she is willing to go to win this war.  Once the war is won, will the same atrocities continue to happen with a different side that can be just as evil?  Gale runs hot and cold as he helps Beetee develop weapons.  As Katniss’s team infiltrates the Capitol it is like the Hunger Games all over again as horrors are unleashed upon them as they inch closer to the President’s Mansion.  At the same time, Katniss wonders if Peeta will ever be the same again, or is he damaged beyond repair?  Does she love him or Gale?  Or has she had enough of both of them?  A horrible attack in front  of the President’s Mansion is not what we think.  New knowledge and a creepy conversation with President Snow convince Katniss to take her defining moment of bravery.

The ending of the book is one of the  most satisfying endings I have ever read.  The way Katniss and Peeta find each other again takes time, patience and true understanding.  This is the stuff real love is made of.  Both seemed to be damaged beyond repair but find comfort in each other and the life they rebuild in District 12.   I have reread this ending several times and have cried each time.

Suzanne Collins created a wonderful female character I think young girls should look up to.  Not once does she seem contrived.  Katniss is not perfect.  She is brave in the face of true terror.  She is also damaged.  Her drive for revenge sometimes clouds her judgement.  In the end, she chooses rebirth over hatred.  The story is not black and white, but complicated and full of twists.

Ideas for discussing with teens:

Was District 13 what you expected?

Talk about Katniss’s struggles as she decides to become the Mockingjay.  How can one person rally an entire world?

Talk about Presidents Snow and Coin.  How are they different.  How are they similar.

Talk about the song, “The Hanging Tree.”  Have the teens read the words out loud.  What is the meaning for Katniss?

Katniss revisits the meadow with Gale, calling it “a place where I was happy.”  Talk about a time when you felt that way.

Discuss how Peeta’s mind was Hijacked and how he had trouble figuring out what was Real or Not Real.

Talk about President Coin’s idea to have the Hunger Games with the children of the Capitol.  Why would Katniss agree to this?

President Snow and the Capitol create monsters designed to frighten Katniss to her core.  Discuss this quote, “However, the true atrocities, the most frightening, incorporate a perverse psychological twist designed to terrify the victim.”

Talk about the moment Katniss made her decision with her arrow.

Talk about the parallel between roses that represent President Snow and the primrose that represents Prim.  Discuss the quote, “Fire beats roses again.”

Discuss what Gale says about Katniss choosing the person “she cannot survive without.”  Who did you think she would choose?

Discuss this quote, “That what I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself.  What I need is the dandelion in the spring.  The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction.”  Compare this to Bella’s choice in Twilight.

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Pete Hautman Explores Distructive Behavior In How To Steal A Car

Some teenage girls cut themselves, some have eating disorders, and some shoplift to get a rush.  Kelleigh steals cars.  Her home life is not so hot.  Her dad is a high powered attorney defending a known rapist and it is likely he is having an affair.  She often has to act as designated driver to her mom’s liquid book clubs.  Pete Hautman is great at exploring different topics and how they relate to teens.  How To Steal A Car looks at the distructive behavior of one teenage girl who is desperately seeking some kind of control over her own life.  He describes the rush Kelleigh feels in the quiet moments before she starts the car she is about to steal.  She and her friend Jen have a relationship with a boy they call their joint boyfriend, Will.  Their three-way friendship is an interesting one.  Besides the car stealing, Kelleigh finds she is strangely attracted to a more daring thief.  The book’s ending leaves you wondering and is a great conversation tool to engage teens.  What will happen next?

Some Ideas For Discussing With Teens: 

Talk about the rush she gets from stealing cars.  What would drive someone to do this or any other kind of destructive behavior?

She does it once.  What makes her keep doing it and taking bigger risks?

Kelleigh is disgusted with her father for defending a rapist.  Talk about how teens can be disappointed in their parents. 

Talk about Kelleigh and Jen’s relationship with Will.  How do these kinds of plutonic relationships work?

What attracts Kelleigh to the car thief?  Why does she keep going back for more?

Do you think she will keep stealing cars?