English 325 - Anna Luck

Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson 03/19/18 Wintergirls , by Laurie Halse Anderson, is written in a very personal way. It almost seems like a journal, but not entirely. The different chapters are not written in a journal entry format, but the personal thoughts of the character, Lia, come through. There are parts of sentences that are crossed out and replaced by a different name. For example; “ My throat wants it my brain wants it my blood wants it my hand does not want this my mouth does not want this” (p. 20). I think these moments in the story where important thoughts are crossed out add more to the characterization of Lia than the rest of the story. We learn early on that she is a calorie counter, and that she has anorexia. Her best friend Cassie died before the story starts, and she continuously mentions that Cassie called her thirty times before she died. The theme of this story that stood out to me was struggle. We see the main character spiraling from the first chap...

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, ...

Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys Post 1 01/25/18 7:50pm The YA novel, Between Shades of Gray  by Ruta Sepetys was a work of historical fiction, yet I found myself constantly having to remind myself of that fact. The characters were created by the author. The experiences the characters had in the story were obviously based on historical research. It was truly an amazing read. I found myself hooked. I read the entire book in two days. It was fast-paced, and I found myself caring about the characters, which is truly important for a YA novel. It explored many themes. The most prevalent theme was hope. We see hope shown in Lina's mother, Elena. Throughout the story, until her death, she is full of hope that she and her family will get out. She believes they will be able to go home. She assures Jonas and Lida of this every occasion she gets.When Elena dies, Lina seems to take on the task of being hopeful. Everyone around her is dying, and she worries about surviving ...