English 325 - Anna Luck

02/28/18 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie The layout of Sherman Alexie's story is very much like a journal or diary. The character recounts events, and the story continues along in an everyday manner. The themes of this YA novel are overcoming adversity/struggles, and loneliness. The main character, Junior, has to overcome the effects of hydrocephalus, having been born with excess spinal fluid on his brain. The struggles include having a lisp and a stutter, as well as having ten extra teeth. additionally, he faces bullying from white kids at his school that he attends, and he faces bullying on the reservation because he attends a public school for white kids. He doesn't fit in in either place. This causes loneliness and isolation. When he does make friends at the white school, they struggle to understand his struggles as a Native American. This novel contains a lot of tragedies in the second half. Junior's grandmother is killed by a d...

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B - Teresa Toten 02/08/18 Pages 1 - 93 The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B is a really interesting story, straight from the beginning. A common theme I have seen in this story so far is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The main character Adam has OCD and is a part of a support group of teens who all struggle with OCD as well. There is a new girl named Robyn who Adam is obsessed with. He "falls instantly in love" with her and declares on many occasions (through narration) that he would do anything or be anything for her. Out of context of the story, this seems really concerning. But readers must remember that Adam has OCD. This makes the concern from the reader shift from concern for Robyn, to concern for Adam. There is another subplot of Adam trying to figure out what kind of letters his mother has been receiving in the mail. She tears them up and tells Adam that they are nothing to worry about. This sets Adam off into a counting episode, ...