Module 8: Unwind

Shusterman, N. (2009). Unwind. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Summary: Connor, Risa and Lev are all teenagers who have one thing in common: they are about to be unwound. They live in a world where pregnancies must be carried to full term, but guardians may choose to unwind their children’s physical selves between the ages of thirteen and eighteen and have their parts given out as transplants to people in need. These Undwinds do not die nor do they continue to exist in their previous form. But for Connor, Risa and Lev, heading to the ending of their current lives is only the beginning…

Response: I had this book recommended to me by a Youth Services librarian where I work because she found the idea of the book to be thought provoking. I found it to be just that. The collision of the lives of Connor, Risa and Lev explodes into a vast array of perspectives altered by their coming together and holding onto their lives for as long as possible. I was most touched by Lev’s journey, as someone who is literally born to end, he is reborn into a second life and is able to see that his neatly packaged life is more of a complicated web. I feel that this is a great book to prompt discussion about human lives what the future holds for how we regard it.

(Side note- while I did enjoy the book, I wasn’t as pleased with the mention of skin color occurring only when a character “of color” appeared in the story. If the futuristic designation of white as the skin color sienna, and black as the skin color umber, then it should be mentioned for all characters, not just a given that the central characters will be white by the lack of mention of skin tone).

Reviews:

Unwind NEAL SHUSTERMAN

Shusterman (Everlost) explores one of the most divisive of topics--abortion--in this gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller. After a civil war waged over abortion has almost destroyed America, completely new laws are in effect. Human life can never be "terminated," but between the ages of 13 and 18, a child can be "unwound" by his parents, an irrevocable decision that leads to every single bit of his body being harvested for medical use. As the novel opens, 16-year-old Connor has secretly discovered his parents' copy of his unwind order, and decides to "kick-AWOL," or run away. Connor's escape inadvertently sweeps up two other Unwinds: a ward of the state who is not quite talented enough to merit her place in a state home any longer, and the 10th son of religious parents, who gave birth to him just to "tithe" him. Beyond his pulse-pounding pace, the cliffhangers and the bombshells, Shusterman has a gift for extrapolating the effects of alien circumstances on ordinary people and everyday behavior. He brings in folklore, medical practices, and slang that reflect the impact of unwinding, creating a dense and believable backdrop. Characters undergo profound changes in a plot that never stops surprising readers. The issues raised could not be more provocative--the sanctity of life, the meaning of being human--while the delivery could hardly be more engrossing or better aimed to teens. Ages 13-up.

Unwind. (2007, November 26). Publishers Weekly, 254(47), 54.

Program: Create a book talk of 3-4 books on social topics in fantasy and science fiction that are aimed for teens. Present an enticing summary for each book while highlighting the issues that are framed.

Module 7: Tua and the Elephant

Harris, R. P., & Yoo, T. (2012). Tua and the elephant. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Summary: Tua is a young girl who lives with her always-working mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand and helps her community of vendors by running errands across the night market. While running errands, Tua finds a whole in the wall surrounding the market that leads her to the bustling city where she encounters a chained elephant being mistreated and exploited by its handlers. She connects with the elephant, who she names Pohn-Pohn and is determined find her a safe place to live while outwitting the Pohn-Pohn’s previous owners in the process.

Response: I thought this book was an accurate depiction of life for a young girl of this age and it made it all the more engaging. There are many moments where we are keyed into the thought process of Tua who is respectful of adults, but knows the difference between those who are to be respected and those who are conniving such as the elephant’s previous owners. She also demonstrates quick thinking and resolve when her elephant is captured by two fisherman and she makes the ransom by filling plastic bags with strips of paper. She is aware of her own potential and as a young, imaginative person she is not limited to the boundaries of the adult world that would normally prevent her from taking action on behalf of the elephant’s life. I was also quite captured by the descriptions of tastes, smells and colors of the world around her.

Reviews:
Tua and the Elephant

R.P. Harris, illus, by Taeeun Yoo.

Harris's debut, inspired by a trip to the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, follows nine-year-old Tua and her relationship with an abused elephant, PohnPohn. Tua, whose mother is a hardworking waitress, lives an independent life in Chiang Mai, near a popular night market where she finds--and falls in love with--Pohn-Pohn. The elephant is under the charge of two thieving scoundrels and wordlessly begs Tua to help her escape. As quick-witted and adventurous as she is warmhearted, Tua undergoes hair-raising escapades to keep Pohn-Pohn our of the villains' grasp and find her a sanctuary. Engagingly filled with Thai vocabulary, food, and customs, and peopled by helpful family members, chums, and kind monks, the book maintains a quick, suspenseful pace. The final chapters wrap up the story a little too neatly, however, and border on an infomercial about the sanctuary for abused Asian elephants. Nonetheless, Harris's story, enlivened by Yoo's gently evocative woodcut illustrations in violet and mustard, avoids overt anthropomorphism of Pohn-Pohn while maintaining the sweet connection between elephant and girl. Ages 8-12. Illustrator's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

Tua and the Elephant. (2012, April 2). Publishers Weekly, 259(14), 58.

Program: Have an event on Thai culture with different tables focusing on several cultural aspects represented in the book: Thai food, theater, market life, and wildlife and elephant endangerment. If possible, have food samples of Thai food, pictures or samples of theater clothing and adornment, and information about wildlife preserves.  

Module 7: Eleanor & Park

Rowell, R., & St. Martin's Griffin (Firm). (2013). Eleanor & Park.

Summary: Eleanor is the new girl in school with big red hair and quirky style of dress, waiting to find a place to sit on the bus. Park is a quiet half-white/half-Korean punk kid who dares to have her sit next to him just so she won’t socially flounder on her first day on the bus. Through this chance seating arrangement begins a young love between two awkward and misfit teenagers in 1986 complete with the music of the time. Amidst the complications of teenage emotions, family and circumstance, Eleanor and Park struggle to stay together and make their young love last forever.

Response: I fell in love with Eleanor and Park’s love in reading this book. I felt as if I was transported back to high school when peer opinion mattered so much, when everyone was very self-conscious and wary of their own appearance. The structure of the novel alternating through the perceptions of Eleanor and Park give us a full view of the complications of teenage lives. I felt that I could easily have known both of them as people in my young life and would have been surprised by all of the dramas that surrounded their life experiences.

Reviews:

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Mar. 2013. 320p. St. Martin's/Griffin, Gr. 9-12.

Right from the start of this tender debut, readers can almost hear the clock winding down on Eleanor and Park. After a less than auspicious start, the pair quietly builds a relationship while riding the bus to school every day, wordlessly sharing comics and eventually music on the commute. Their worlds couldn't be more different. Park's family is idyllic: his Vietnam vet father and Korean immigrant mother are genuinely loving. Meanwhile, Eleanor and her younger siblings live in poverty under the constant threat of Richie, their abusive and controlling stepfather, while their mother inexplicably caters to his whims. The couple's personal battles are also dark mirror images. Park struggles with the realities of failing for the school outcast; in one of the more subtle explorations of race and "the other" in recent YA fiction, he clashes with his father over the definition of manhood. Eleanor's fight is much more external, learning to trust her feelings about Park and navigating the sexual threat in Richie's watchful gaze. In rapidly alternating narrative voices, Eleanor and Park try to express their all-consuming love. "You make me feel like a cannibal," Eleanor says. The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship they develop is urgent, moving, and, of course, heartbreaking, too.--Courtney Jones

Jones, C. (2013, January 1). Eleanor & Park. Booklist, 109(9-10), 98.

Program: Have a display for teens regarding trouble home life. Include non-fiction books and Realistic Fiction books representing these issues, such as Eleanor & Park. If possible have a safe-space discussion group for teens regarding these issues led by a professional in social services.

Module 6: Pinduli

Cannon, J. (2004). Pinduli. Orlando: Harcourt.

Summary: Pinduli is a young hyena eager to explore the world around her. She leaves her mama’s side under the promise that she will soon return. In her explorations she meets several animals who are critical of her appearance. Pinduli does all she can to change the way she looks and ends up creating an adventure of her own.

Response: I really enjoyed reading and rereading this book because of its wonderful illustrations. Each page is so well crafted to show each interaction that Pinduli has though interesting angles and perspectives. I really enjoyed the smaller pen illustrations underneath the text depicting Pinduli’s mother being worried and going out to look for her. It is another side of the story that gets told without words.

Reviews:

Cannon, Janell. Pinduli. Sept. 2004. 48p. illus. Harcourt.

Gr. 1-3. Cannon, best known as the author/ illustrator of Stellaluna (1993), here introduces Pinduli, a little hyena who lives in East Africa. One afternoon, Pinduli encounters a pack of wild dogs that make fun of her ears, a bald lion that calls her fur a "prickly fringe," and a zebra that criticizes the haziness of her stripes After transforming her "flaws" as best she can, Pinduli inadvertently tricks these animals into thinking that she is the "Great Spirit." They confess their misdeeds and agree to make amends Children will find Pinduli's hurt feelings understandable and her quick thinking admirable. The artwork, executed in colored pencils and acrylics, uses a restrained palette in the large pictures depicting the main story on the right-hand pages. On the left, below the text, a series of small ink drawings create a visual counterpoint by showing what Pinduli's mother is doing while events unfold. A four-page end-note discusses the various species of hyenas and their characteristics. Though a bit purposeful, the story may give teachers and parents a starting point for discussing insults.--Carolyn Phelan

Phelan, C. (2004, September 1). Cannon, Janell. Pinduli. Booklist, 101(1), 129+.

Program: Have a display of different animals with different attributes listed and a pro’s and con’s list underneath each animal. Children and parents visiting the display area may participate in adding words underneath each category to think about why certain animals are the way they are, what makes them unique or gives them certain abilities for survival. Encourage all those who participate to check out the book and how the animals are made to feel about their particular traits.

Module 5: One Crazy Summer

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad.

Summary: Delphine, who is eleven, and her two sisters, Vonetta- nine, and Fern- seven, are headed from Brooklyn, New York to Oakland, California to see the mother that left them seven years before. For one month during the summer, they will be without the city, the father and the grandmother, Big Ma, that they have known and endure the standoffish nature of the woman who birthed them. As the eldest, Delphine tries to navigate her sisters through the strange new setting as they experience Oakland in 1968 against the backdrop of the Black Panther Movement. Their world is opened up as they figure out what it means to be in a time of revolution, to be young and to be the daughters of a mother they have never known.

Response: I absolutely loved reading this book and experiencing Oakland through the eyes of Delphine. The energy in her narrations translated genuinely of a young person who had to grow up a little too quickly to support her sisters. I felt present in the moments of nervousness when addressing her no-nonsense mother or when feeling guilty for having fun as a kid should do. I especially liked the way that she interpreted what was happening with the Black Panther Party, how it would affect her and her sisters and what she gained from the experience of community pride. I thought the dynamic between her and her sisters was enjoyable and felt real while propelling the events in the story.

Reviews:

One Crazy Summer By Rita Williams-Garcia.

Feb. 2010.224p.Amistad Gr. 4-7

Eleven-year-old Delphine has only a few fragmented memories of her mother, Cecile, a poet who wrote verses on II walls and cereal boxes, played smoky jazz records, and abandoned the family in Brooklyn after giving birth to her third II daughter. In the summer of 1968, Delphine's father decides that seeing Cecile is "something whose time had come," and Delphine boards a plane with her sisters to Cecile's home in Oakland. What they find there is far from their California dreams of Disneyland and movie stars. "No one told y'all to come out here," Cecile says. "No one wants you out here making a mess, stopping my work." Like the rest of her life, Cecile's work is a mystery conducted behind the doors of the kitchen that she forbids her daughters to enter. For meals, Cecile sends the girls to a Chinese restaurant or to the local, Black Panther--run community center, where Cecile is known as Sister Inzilla and where the girls begin to attend youth programs. Regimented, responsible, strong-willed Delphine narrates in an unforgettable voice, but each of the sisters emerges as a distinct, memorable character, whose hard-won, tenuous connections with their mother build to an aching, triumphant conclusion. Set during a pivotal moment in African American history, this vibrant novel shows the subtle ways that political movements affect personal lives; but just as memorable is the finely drawn, universal story of children reclaiming a reluctant parent's love.--Gillian Engberg

Program: Have a Black History in fiction book talk during the month of February and incorporate this book as well as others to discuss the movements that have taken place over the last several decades and how youth groups have always taken part in them.

Module 5: The Tequila Worm

Canales, V. (2005). The tequila worm. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Summary: Sofia grows up in McAllen, Texas with her Catholic Hispanic family, including her younger sister Lucy, her parents, cousins and many other extended family members and friends. As she grows, she is inspired by books and her studies to learn about the life outside of her small town. When she gets the opportunity to go to a boarding school in Austin, Texas, she must find balance between her pursuit of knowledge and her connection to family.

Response: I have mixed feelings about this book only because I felt like the perspective of the main character, Sofia, lacked self-understanding. At times I felt like the conversations that she had and her responses to what her family would say to her were portrayed in a condescending manner. This made it difficult for me to connect with her experiences throughout the book. What did really bring me into the book were the vivid descriptions of her world- from the details of her Tia’s makeup and giant storytelling bag, to the slow and thorough process of her and her father cleaning and cooking beans. These moments were captivating and made me feel as if I was right there witnessing everything.

Reviews:

The Tequila Worm

VIOLA CANALES. Random/Lamb

(202p) ISBN 0-385-74674-1

This tender first novel suffers somewhat from an awkward structure. Narrator Sofia, whose life story hews closely to the author's own Texas barrio-to-Harvard Law trajectory, begins by relating quotidian childhood experiences as vignettes. Three successive chapters go from first communion to dyeing Easter cascarones to trick-or-treating. A quarter of the way into the novel, she is suddenly 14 and has been offered a scholarship to a boarding school in Austin, Tex., 350 miles from her home in McAllen. The loosely connected anecdotes then shift to a conventional narrative thread about convincing her parents to let her attend. What will keep readers enthralled are the details of Sofia's home life--from the sobremesa, a "sacred time" after dinner in which the family reconnects through conversation, to the worm of the title, a critter soaked in mescal that acts as a "cure for homesickness" when eaten. Readers may well feel unprepared for both a death at novel's end and Sofia's out-of-the-blue neighborhood activism--but the characters are real and engaging, the vignettes funny and enlightening, and Sofia's lack of cynicism is refreshing. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

The Tequila Worm. (2005). Publishers Weekly, 252(46), 49-49.

* Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. 2005. 176p. Random/Wendy Lamb, $15.95 (0-385-74674-1); lib. ed., $17.99 (0-385-90905-5).

Gr. 6-9. From an early age, Sofia has watched the comadres in her close-knit barrio community, in a small Texas town, and she dreams of becoming "someone who makes people into a family," as the comadres do. The secret, her young self observes, seems to lie in telling stories and "being brave enough to eat a whole tequila worm." In this warm, entertaining debut novel, Canales follows Sofia from early childhood through her teen years, when she receives a scholarship to attend an exclusive boarding school. Each chapter centers on the vivid particulars of Mexican American traditions--celebrating the Day of the Dead, preparing for a cousin's quinceanera. The explanations of cultural traditions never feel too purposeful; they are always rooted in immediate, authentic family emotions, and in Canales' exuberant storytelling, which, like a good anecdote shared between friends, finds both humor and absurdity in sharply observed, painful situations from weathering slurs and other blatant harassment to learning what it means to leave her community for a privileged, predominately white school. Readers of all backgrounds will easily connect with Sofia as she grows up, becomes a comadre, and helps rebuild the powerful, affectionate community that raised her.--Gillian Engberg

Engberg, G. (2005, October 15). Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. Booklist, 102(4), 47.

Program: Have this book available as part of the Dia de los Muertos display. Have an event where participants, young and old, can bring some sort of token or items that represents a part of their family history, and share the stories in small groups.

Module 4: I, Juan de Pareja

Treviño, E. B. (1978). I, Juan de Pareja. New York: Yearling Book.

Summary: Juan de Pareja, a slave, tells the story of his life and how he comes to work for the great Spanish painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez. Juan tells of his trials through life as a slave, the kindness of his master, and his desire to paint under the tutelage of his master even though it is illegal for a slave to do so. Through serving and supporting his master in Spain and in travels to Italy, Juan gains understanding of the world around him and his role in it.

Response: I found it interesting reading a piece from the perspective of a Black slave that was written during a time (1965) when perspectives in the U.S. on ethnic groups of color were still limited. I thought it to be well written and interesting as it pulled from the historical context of the life of Juan de Pareja as he may have lived it in serving Velazquez as his master. All of his emotions are appropriate- his attitudes towards kindness and viciousness are that of one who understands himself as a whole human who happens to be bound by the shackles of slavery. I especially like the introduction of Lolis, the slave that attends to the wife of Velazquez when she is aging and ill, because Juan is confronted with the realities of the lived slave experience from someone else. He is always approached with moments in his life that help him grow and understand the world around him.

Review:

In I, Juan de Pareja, Elizabeth Borton de Trevino unites two favorite strands of her previous work — her love for the Hispanic people and her interest in their artistic heritage. In 1959, she had already attempted a novel about El Greco, The Greek of Toledo, but I, Juan de Pareja describes the complex relationship between two vastly different painters. Taking as her starting point the famous Velazquez portrait of Pareja which now hangs in the Museo del Prado, the author utilizes portraits of both artists to illustrate crucial moments in their lives. There generally is no historical basis for her interpretation of the genesis of the paintings, but the weaving of historical data, authentic artistic works, and fictional narrative is ingenious and well conceived. Of special merit is the final glimpse of Philip IV, painting, with Juan’s help, the red cross of Santiago on Velazquez’s breast in his masterpiece Las Meninas.

The year of the publication of I, Juan de Pareja, 1965, was one of racial turmoil in the United States. In the afterwords, Borton de Trevino alludes to this strife and expresses the opinion that her story of two men, one black, one white, foreshadows all that can be achieved in the present.

Yet there is no moralizing tone in the novel. The author lets the situation and actions of her characters — the slave afraid to be sold, the princess refusing to be in the same room with a black man, the cruel conduct of a gypsy who is himself an outcast — speak for themselves. If there is any tendency toward sententiousness, it lies in the pronouncements of Velazquez concerning his art.

Besides its interpretation of a past relationship used to prefigure possible harmony in the present, I, Juan de Pareja is original in its treatment of a Hispanic theme. Credible books on historical Hispanic figures are rare indeed, let alone one dealing with two painters of the seventeenth century. The author wished to open children’s (and adults’) eyes to the richness of Hispanic culture. This book is well read with copies of both Velazquez’s and Pareja’s paintings in front of the reader.

Essay by: Charlene E. Suscavage

Suscavage, C. E. (1991). I, Juan de Pareja. Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction Series, 1-2.

Program: Have a display with the painting of Juan de Pareja by Velazquez and ask children who come in to create a back story for the painting. Why was it painted? Who is the man in the painting? What do his clothes say about him? The expression on his face? Encourage them to read the book after creating the story to see how it compares to what they imagined. All written ideas will be posted with the picture.