WHIRLIGIG Paul Fleischman Driven to an unsuccessful suicidal car crash by a lack of social acceptance, Bent Bishop kills a young girl, Laura. To honor her daughter, Laura’s mother requests a lofty, seemingly ridiculous favor from Brent: Through a cross-country journey by bus, build and erect a whirligig in all four corners of the U.S.. Not only does the independence, repentance, and whirligig construction transform Brent, but the whirligigs inspire and comfort four distraught strangers. From Maine and Miami to Washington and San Diego, Brent's whirligigs play a role in helping ordinary people - like a schoolgirl, a street-sweeper, and a baseball lover - deal with everything from general dissatisfaction to grief. At one point, Brent reflects on this odd, but powerful, interconnectedness that has somehow given his seemingly pointless adventure value: “How strange, he thought, that he’d somehow caused this woman, whom he’d never met, to cry…We never know all the consequences of our acts. They reach into places we can’t see. And into the future, where no one can” (38). Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this YA title. Fleisman, P. (2010). Whirligig. New York, NY: Square Fish.
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“The world itself was a whirligig; its myriad parts invisibly linked, the hidden crankshafts and connecting rods carrying motion across the globe and over the centuries” (133).
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THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN Mitch Albom As the bestselling, go-to novel about how we are connected to - and impact - more people than we realize during our lifetimes, The Five People You Meet in Heaven spotlights Eddie, an ordinary, under-the-radar maintenance worker who dies in a tragic accident at the seaside amusement park. Thereafter, the book contemplates the way in which the afterlife welcomes new arrivals and grants closure to our earthly experiences: you meet five people whose lives your life impacted....for better or for worse. So Eddie finds himself in seemingly random - but ultimately meaningful - places, like a war zone, a diner, the middle of a river, and the very amusement park he had worked, listening to stories of unknown overlap. However, Eddie is focused on a single question about his death, a death brought about by his attempt to save a little girl. Did he save her? With this interesting and thought-provoking take on death, Albom mines the distinct possibility of human interconnectedness for literary gold. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Albom, M. (2003). The five people you meet in heaven. New York, NY: Hyperion Books.
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“Each affects the other, and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories,
but the stories are all one.” |
FREAK THE MIGHTY
Rodman Philbrick Although a work of children's literature, this slender, quick read showcases the benefit of - and the strength to be found in - interpersonal relationships and acts as a stark contrast to the parasitic social interactions in our class text, "The Artist at Work." It presents the possibility that mutualistic relationships are not only obtainable, but life-changing. Operating as a dynamic duo whose stories seem to have always been interconnected , Maxwell Kane and "Freak" - or Kevin Avery - knew each other at daycare, but become unlikely friends years later when Kevin moves back into the neighborhood. With leg braces and Morquio syndrome , Kevin gains more than Max's large stature - just as Max gains more than Kevin's incredible intelligence - from the friendship. Riding around on Max's shoulders, Kevin keeps a unique dictionary journal (Book = "four letter word for truth serum") while the two dabble in adventures that eventually put them face-to-face with Killer Kane, Max's murderous father. As an inspirational, tear-jerking portrait of the friendship's triumph over adversity and imperfection, Freak the Mighty speaks volumes about how we may be stronger together than apart. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Philbrick, R. (1993). Freak the mighty. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
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"I never had a brain until freak came along and let me borrow his for a while, and that's the truth, the whole truth."
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THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING J. J. Johnson In a unique format, sketched pie charts or quirky (yet insightful) illustrations begin each chapter of this YA novel. They perfectly complement the book's snarky narrator: Sarah, a girl still trying to make sense of her best friend's death even though - according to societal standards - time should have already healed those wounds. As her life crumbles, she befriends Emmett - Jamie's twin brother - and finds an unexpected solidarity in her newfound friendship with Roy, a misfit Christmas tree shop owner. A kaleidoscope pops up throughout the novel, acting as a symbol and metaphor for the way in which Sarah views life: broken and fragmented. However, her two new relationships begin to reveal the true interconnectedness of life. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Johnson, J. J. (2012). The theory of everything. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.
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"Since then it's like I'm living inside a giant kaleidoscope: some unseen outside force shifts the world; the floor wobbles; the jagged pieces of my days get jostled into new pictures, all glassy and triangular"
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NINE KINDS OF NAKED
Tony Vigorito For ambitious readers interested in chaos theory - which we saw in Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" - this thick, but quirky, adult novel focuses on several offbeat characters who are all interconnected by a singe event that reverberated through time and history. Diablo, a prisoner, spins a playing card, which stirs a wind that becomes a tornado in Illinois. Taking off the roof of a church, the tornado interferes with the holy birth of Elizabeth Wildhack. Elizabeth then meets Diablo years later on a New Orleans street where a hurricane threat looms. Is this severe weather connected to that initial wind? Why are Elizabeth and Diablo's lives constantly crossing paths? How can a card trick and a orange frisbee connect - and change - so many lives? With a quote from Sir Arthur Eddington (provided to the right) preceding the novel's title page, the book establishes itself as a contemplation on history's unseen connections upfront. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Vigorito, T. (2008). Nine kinds of naked. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.
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"Something unknown is doing we don't know what" - Sir Arthur Eddington
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BEFORE I FALL Lauren Oliver Combining several cinematic plotlines - the 2004 movie, The Butterfly Effect, with Ashton Kutcher, and the 2004 movie, Mean Girls, with Lindsay Lohan - Before I Fall depicts a popular senior, Samantha Kingston, whose rose-filled "Cupid Day" at Thomas Jefferson High concludes with her death in a car accident. Reliving her last day - February 12th - seven times, Sam becomes more aware of how her privileged social class affected others. Sam begins to disassociate from her wealthy, conceited friends - Lindsay, Elody, and Ally - whose latest bullying victim is Juliet. Tapping into cognitive science through Sam's accurate experiences with the five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining. depression, and acceptance - the YA novel reveals how the slightest decisions can not only change the course of a day, but the course of a life. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Oliver, L. (2011). Before I fall. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
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“It amazes me how easy it is for things to change...Just one false step, one pause, one detour, and you end up with new friends or a bad reputation or a boyfriend or a breakup... maybe all of these different possibilities exist at the same time, like each moment we live has a thousand other moments layered underneath it that look different.”
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THE ACCIDENT Kate Hendrick Split into three sections, each narrated by a different main character, the book follows the lives of three desperate, struggling teenagers connected by a rainy night and a car crash. Sarah Starke moves to a new school. Wil McAlpine lives with a distant mother, and the family dynamic shifts when Lauren - his older sister - returns home. Eliat Singleton grew up in foster care, and now struggles to raise her two year-old child. Each copes in different ways, but running away flickers across the minds of all three characters. To cope, Wil retreats to his room and dives into books. Eliat parties and drinks in her room almost every night. With their lives reaching critical turning points as the chance of rain in the drought increases, the book embraces pathetic fallacy to explore how moments can transform lives. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this Australian work of YA fiction. Hendrick, K. (2013). The accident. Melbourne, VIC: Text Publishing.
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"All we can do is live knowing that we are part of the bigger picture, and that stuff happens but we can't let it ruin us."
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V FOR VENDETTA Alan Moore & David Lloyd The reason for V for Vendetta's inclusion on the list is probably the least obvious. However, the graphic novel sets a distinct tone and frames its dystopian tale when it opens with the following narration: "Her transactions, her decision, are insignificant. They affect no one...except her" (10). It's stated almost as an idea to be challenged and tracked throughout: Will Evey Hammond impact others? Does her presence - her self-proclaimed "stupid life" (31) - in the story matter? Would the story be different if she weren't a character? Furthermore, the domino effect illustrated on the title page of "Book Three: The Land of Do-As-You-Please" and the allusion to our class short story, Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder" (207, 210), reveals that the graphic novel digs into our unit themes more than one would guess. In a totalitarian England, "V" combats political oppressors through terrorism and absurd, psychological acts. Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Moore, A., & Lloyd, D. (2005). V for vendetta. New York, NY: Vertigo.
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“Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell.”
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STUNG
Bethany Wiggins If the excerpt from Stung that we read in class sparked your interest, consider picking up the YA novel as your next independent reading book or as a summer read! Set in a futuristic world, this work of science fiction postulates humanity's descent after the extinction of honeybees. The global, dystopian repercussions of the species disappearance envisioned not only reinforce individual worth and interconnectedness, but emphasize the importance of human accountability in species conservation. Awakening with a tattoo on her right hand, Fiona finds herself in a world divided into three populations: the happy and healthy people behind the wall and the Militia who protect the wall; the beasts and the Raiders outside of the wall; and the sewer-dwelling Fecs. The beasts are those who received the bio-engineered cure for the worldwide pandemic that occurred when the honeybee population collapsed. The science is clouded by the typical teenage love story of YA novels (which is why we only read a relevant excerpt in class), but it always looms as the story's backdrop. If intrigued by this tale - which is reminiscent of both Sleeping Beauty and I Am Legend - be sure to check out thesequel, Cured. Wiggins, B. (2013). Stung. New York, NY: Walker Books for Young Readers.
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If intrigued by The Scientist's article, "Loss of Bees Bad for Plants," check out this work of YA science fiction!
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ENDANGERED Eliot Schrefer Ever since visiting her father in America, Sophie is highly attune to the horrible conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She dwells on the rotting concrete, the bullet holes within bullet holes, and the mistreated animals, like the parrots stuffed in cages or the dog with flies swarming its hurt leg. Learning from her animal rights activist mother that the lives of animals are just as valuable as human ones, Sophie bonds with Otto, a baby monkey, at her mother's bonobo sanctuary. However, an armed revolution shatters the peace of Kinshasa, and an attack on the sanctuary sends Sophie and Otto into the jungle alone. The book revolves around questions about individual worth and relationships when they involve people and animal interactions, not ones confined to the human population. What are the sacrifices we make to help others? What does love look like when it costs something? Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Schrefer, E. (2012). Endangered. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.
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"....and I figured dying humans were more important than dying animals. But it had always been my mother's philosophy that the way we treat animals goes hand in hand with the way we treat people..."
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PARASITE Mira Grant Building upon this unit's discussion of symbiotic relationships between organisms - mutualistic, commensalistic, and parasitic - Parasite's futuristic tale is yet another take on a medical-scientific breakthrough that backfires. The Intestinal Bodyguard is a genetically engineered parasite that's implanted inside the human body to ward off illnesses, allowing man to stay healthy and live longer. However, just when the majority of people have a Bodyguard living inside them, the parasites cause an odd sleepwalking sickness. Just as the tapeworms were purposefully given a time span by their manufacturers so that everyone has to regularly purchase a new ones, Sal Mitchell suspects that the parasite's adverse effects are no accident, but a conspiracy. Follow the Intestinal Bodyguard's shift from a commensalistic relationship with man to a parasitic one! Click on the book cover to the right to be linked to the Amazon page for this title. Note that it is the first installment in a series.
Grant, M. (2013). Parasite. Orbit. |
Pair with Joy Williams's short story, "The Girls."
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