American Born Chinese - Book Review - TWU LS5603 - Spring 2012

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Yang, Gene Luen. 2006. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. Color by Lark Pien. New York: First Second. ISBN 1596431520 2. PLOT SUMMARY Tales of the Monkey King, an American-Born Chinese (ABC) named Jin Wang and the ultimate Anglo-American boy Danny and his stereotypical Chinese cousin Chin-Kee are the pillars this award winning graphic novel rest upon. Upon beginning this graphic novel the reader is introduced to what they come to know as a traditional tale of the Monkey King. When he is shunned at a party of the heavens for being a monkey, he pushes himself to learn more disciplines of Kung Fu in order to change himself as he wills it. With these powers his story line continues as he exacts revenge on those that mocked him, and finally confronts the god of his existence, who punishes him for his crimes by trapping him under a mountain of magically sealed rock. Entertaining as this story is, it is the elements related to Jin Wang that are the most compelling. As he struggles to find his identity in the country of his birth he calls into question his race, his language, the barbaric treatment of other children, and whether one should change themselves for love. It is Jin’s story that keeps the reader connected. The introduction of Danny’s storyline might seem a bit confusing as we are shown how his sometimes awful Chinese cousin Chin-Kee seems to come in and ruin his perfectly scripted white American teen life. It is only later that we find out all three of these stories actually center around Jin, as Danny is revealed to be Jin, changed into his idealized American self. Chin-Kee is actually the Monkey King, long since made aware of the need to accept and love one’s own identity. In the end the reader is left hopeful that Jin will be able to accept and love himself as an American Born Chinese, and that others can too. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Jin is the perfect teen protagonist as he encounters nearly every emotion young people that age are apt to go through. He fights to belong, chooses to change himself to fit in better, hurts others to protect himself, swoons over the opposite sex, feels jealousy and anger and struggles with simply knowing who he is. He is very compelling and rings absolutely true to readers. If the characters of Danny and Chin-Kee seem a bit false and one dimensional, it is because they are. The reader should know that something isn’t quite right here, and the reveal at the end makes that unease all the more satisfying. We are told that these people were not who they were supposed to be, and told why. The entire theme of finding ones identity and learning to love and accept yourself are bound up in the development of the characters and how they all relate to Jin. After revealing himself to be Chin-Kee in his effort to help Jin find his true identity and stop being the transformed version of Danny he becomes, the Monkey King speaks to us. We are left with these parting words in a simply drawn panel focusing only on the Monkey King’s face. “You know, Jin. I would have saved myself five hundreds years’ imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey.” Yang’s illustrations allow the setting to come to life. The drawings of most locations are non-descript allowing the high school, the homes and the outdoor scenes to take place almost anywhere in America. The focus on the drawings remains steadfastly on the characters. Even the elements of the story which appear to occur in China, those related to the early adventures and imprisonment of the monkey king, are still relatively undetailed allowing the reader to again transfer those graphic experiences in their mind’s eye to their own experiences. The overall style of the graphic novel in words and images is that of simplicity, clearness and a focus on the people involved. The transformations they take, as symbolized by the transformers the young boys have as they begin their journeys, are what the novel is about. 4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) THE NEW YORK TIMES: ““[W]ith Chin-Kee’s striking embodiment of ethnic confusion and self-betrayal, Gene Luen Yang has created that rare article: a youthful tale with something new to say about American youth..” PUBLISHERS’ WEEKLY REVIEW: “This much-anticipated, affecting store about growing up different is more than just the story of a Chinese-American childhood: it's a fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they could escape. The fable is filtered through some very specific cultural icons: the much-beloved Monkey King, a figure familiar to Chinese kids the world over, and a buck-toothed amalgamation of racist stereotypes named Chin-Kee. Jin's hopes and humiliations might be mirrored in Chin-Kee's destructive glee or the Monkey King's struggles to come to terms with himself, but each character's expressions and actions are always perfectly familiar. True to its origin as a Web comic, this story's clear, concise lines and expert coloring are deceptively simple yet expressive.” 5. CONNECTIONS 2006 National Book Awards Finalist *Students could use this graphic novel as a jumping off point into a study of prejudices and stereotyping in the media. Students could collect physical and digital examples where stereotyping is present in the media and create a critical analysis as to why advertisers and others feel the necessity to use stereotypes. *Students could be asked to research and locate, with the help of their teacher and librarian other books that consider identity and finding one’s true self. They can then read this additional report and create a comparison and contrast presentation over the two novels.. *Other graphic novels and comic collections for YA readers by Gene Luen Yang: Yang, Gene Luen. ANIMAL CRACKERS. ISBN-10: 1593621833 Yang, Gene Luen. THE ETERNAL SMILE. ISBN-10: 1596431563

Ship Breaker - Book Review - TWU LS5603 - Spring 2012

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bacigalupi, Paolo. 2010. SHIP BREAKER. New York: Little Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316056212 2. PLOT SUMMARY Nailer thought the greatest “lucky strike” he might ever get in his life would be to stay small enough to work light crew for a few more years. Luckily for him a lack of food and the hard life that working salvage entailed were doing their job to keep him small and able to climb through the rusty hulks of the great ships of the past. For Nailer, a good day was making quota, spending time with his crew and staying away from his drug and alcohol enraged father. All of that changed, though, when a city-killer storm blew into town bringing a gorgeous, young, rich girl whose troubles captured him just as much as her deep eyes and playful smile. “If he was honest with himself Nailer could admit he had no idea what he was doing. He was making it up as he went along, some new version of the future, and all he really knew was that this strange swank girl needed to be a part of it.” As the trouble continues to brew among both the wealthiest of the wealthy merchants and the lowest of the low scrap-workers, Nailer and Nita, Lucky Boy and Lucky Girl, have to trust that there luck will continue to hold. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS As family become enemies, friends become family, and the truth about the ties that bind are slowly revealed in this engaging and at times harrowing novel by Paolo Bacigalupi. Set in a future where the great cities of the past are devastated by natural disasters grown too large to ever prepare for, where trade routes have shifted to now race over the melted North Pole, and where the barter system has re-emerged for those not swank enough to hold good Chinese Red cash, the tale seems all too likely to happen. The protagonist of the tale is utterly relatable to teen readers as a young man working as an adult, struggling to care for himself in a time when the remaining parent he has is more likely to hurt him than help him. He finds solace in the other members of his light salvage crew, until he comes face to face with how need and greed can make one turn on even a blood oath. When his chance comes to let greed overshadow choosing to protect the life of another, Nailer chooses life. The reoccurring theme in the Ship Breaker is really two sides of the same coin. First, family is a choice, not something based on biology alone, and one must choose to care and support those we love most deeply. The other side of this coin is that even if one’s own nature may reveal tendencies to act or think wrongly, we can also choose to overcome our baser nature. The world Bacigalupi reveals in his National Book Award Finalist tale is rich in texture and character nuances that ask the reader to evaluate people on a multitude of levels, not simply what is on the surface. Swanks, ship breakers and salvage yard rats as well as genetic half-breeds who also reveal their ability to choose their destiny bring the novel to life. As the world of a post natural apocalypse Earth is traversed by clippers of remarkable technology and grace, the day to day life of the struggling ship breaker is disheartening. Yet it also reveals the ability of young people to rise above trials, band together and fight for their own survival. The grittiness of the world the novel is set in is paired with a flowing narration that keeps readers engaged. The details of sights, smells, sounds and feelings of both pain and pleasure are tangible and entrancing, and they are told with particular significance from the perspective of the teenagers at the heart of the story. There is a reason why this book is an award winner! 4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) PATRICK NESS -THE GUARDIAN: “It's a taut, disciplined novel, moving with tremendous coiled energy and urgency. I found it a tad colourless in places, but Nailer is a fine hero, complicated and questioning, always wondering whether he's doomed to inherit his father's failings or whether he can make his own destiny.” KIRKUS REVIEWS: “As Nailer experiences brutal betrayals, he relies on his wits and learns the people worth calling family are the ones who “[cover] your back.... Everything else [is] just so much smoke and lies.” In Bacigalupi’s defiled, depressing landscape populated by mercenary humans and mechanical dog-men, Nailer’s loyalty offers hope.” 5. CONNECTIONS 2010 National Book Award Finalist 2011 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature *Students could research one element of climate change discussed in the book such as growing storms, loss of the polar caps, coastal city loss, etc. Then students could embed quotes from the novel into presentations on their chosen climate change subject. *Students could embed this book in a design course where they attempted to redesign the ships that Nailer and his crew salvage into more environmentally friendly ships. This project could be as simple or as advanced as student skill dictates. It could also incorporate simple digital drafting programs or even CAD drafting as well. *Other books for high school readers about a post-apocalyptic world: Aretha, David. MEMORY BOY. ISBN-10: 0060288116 Aguirre, Ann. ENCLAVE. ISBN-10: 0312650086

The Graveyard Book - Book Review - TWU LS5603-Spring 2012

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gaiman, Neil. 2008. THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. With illustrations by Dave McKean New York: Harper Collins Children’s Books. ISBN 9780060530921 2. PLOT SUMMARY When a frightening killer ends the lives of his parents and older sister, a young boy finds himself cared for and hidden by the spirits of a local graveyard. Named Nobody Owens by his adoptive ghost parents Bod, as he comes to be called, learns the skills of the graveyard from his guardian, Silas. As one who walks between the worlds Silas is able to bring food to Bod and often goes on extended leaves from the graveyard. It is not until later that Bod learns the truth of these trips. Silas and others who can cross between the worlds have been working to protect him from the man who originally killed his family and who seeks even now, with his brethren, to finish the job he began years earlier. It takes not only the love and support of his ghostly family, but also the courage, determination and skill of Bod himself to end the deadly game those chasing him are playing. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The truest telling element of a Young Adult fantasy novel is the protagonist and the ability of young readers to make a connection to them. Nobody Owens most certainly fits the bill. As is often felt by many teenagers Bod walks the line between two worlds, never fully fitting in either. Those once his friends as a child drift away as he ages, and he must continually seek his own identity in a place that is not made for him. While the love and support he receives from his graveyard family are helpful, he must learn to survive on his own. Only by confronting his fears and the dangers of the world is Bod ever truly free to live. This plot and the nuances of Bod’s character will ring very true for young adult readers. Though set in the unlikely location of a somewhat run-down graveyard, the believability of the inhabitants and the daily “life” they engage in as they while away the days after their deaths are both evocative and engaging. Both a maturation story and a fight against evil where only one can prevail, the plot elements are tested and true for Fantasy and are a large part of why Gaiman’s book is a Newbury medal winner. This struggle against those wishing to end his life is evident from early in the book, yet as Bod grows older, the concern crystalizes in his mind. “The only way into the northwest part of the graveyard was through the Egyptian Walk. And to get there he would have to go past the little man with the black silk rope. A man who was looking for him, and who wanted him dead…” Yet it is Bod’s resilience and his belief in himself that wins through in the end. Bod grows to recognize his skills and trust that he will be able to do the right thing. “He was Nobody Owens, he told himself. He was a part of the graveyard. He would be fine.” This growing belief in his own abilities also mirrors the transition teenagers make as they move from reliance to self-reliance. The mists of the graveyard, the feel of the terrain and the visions of his home in both daylight and moonlight help to bring this book and Nobody’s situation to life. As the themes of maturation and the struggle against wrongdoers are developed, it is the characters that live in the graveyard and the graveyard itself, that help fully develop the reader’s connection to Bod and his predicament. Gaiman does a compelling job of bringing this world to life, and readers can accept it, connect with it and become engrossed. 4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) THE NEW YORK TIMES: ““The Graveyard Book,” by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form.” KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Wistful, witty, wise—and creepy. Gaiman’s riff on Kipling’s Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family’s murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending…Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod’s innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.” 5. CONNECTIONS 2009 Newbury Medal Winner *Students could combine the reading of this book with their own charcoal drawings of scenes from the story. By extension they could choose to work in other mediums and compare and contrast how their own representations might affect the interpretation of the story when compared to McKean’s original black and white illustrations. *Students could engage in a local history project where they visit a graveyard with older graves, if possible. Students can learn to do rubbings and work with local historians and genealogists to research the lives of the individuals they find rubbings for. Additional pre-work by the teacher to recommend gravestones where local history and connections are likely to appear would support this connection. *Other books for YA readers with a teenage protagonist and a melancholy setting: Gaiman, Neil. CORALINE. ISBN-10: 0380807343 Gaiman, Neil. MIRRORMASK. ISBN-10: 0060821094