TWU LS 5603 - Fiction, Fantasy & YA - CALAMAITY JACK

Hale, Shannon, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale. 2010. CALAMAITY JACK. New York: Bloomsbury.  ISBN 9781599900766

PLOT SUMMARY

In this graphic novel, Jack of the Beanstalk story and Rapunzel are united in fighting a crime wave in Jack’s hometown. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The main character, Jack, experiences a transformation from a life of scheming and trickery to becoming a good person, who wants what is best for his mother and his hometown.  Rapunzel is Jack’s love and she is the force that changes Jack after his mother is taken by the giant.

The story is organized in four parts in chronological order beginning with a look at Jack as a small child.  The journey starts with a variation on the beanstalk story with a giant being killed by Jack, Jack’s mother being taken by the main giant character, Blunderboar,  and Jack requiring action to rescue his mom. Jack fled the scene out to the West and found his friend, Rapunzel.  She returned with Jack to the town, Shyport,  to find it overrun with giant ants.  The illustrations are incredibly important in establishing the setting with its vibrant colors, close-up pictures that include the facial expressions of the characters, and action scenes that show the characters in mid air, traveling on a train or swinging from Rapunzel’s hair.

The theme is the personal journey and struggle of Jack’s character from doing what is self-serving to doing self-less acts to help his mother and town. This action packed story draws the reader in with the quick wit language in the dialogue bubbles and the character’s thoughts in the rectangles. 

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist 10/01/09

Publishers Weekly 01/04/10

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books 02/01/10

School Library Journal 01/01/10

Horn Book 10/01/10

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) 12/01/09

Kirkus Review 12/01/09

Wilson’s Junior High School 10/01/10

Booklist (October 1, 2009) - Shannon and Dean Hale have done an excellent job stretching the bones of the traditional fable into a high-action coming-of-age story that will keep young teen readers excited and engaged.

Kirkus Review (December 1, 2009) - Readers will relish this gleeful mix of fairy tale, adventure and romance.

CONNECTIONS

Hale, Shannon, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale. 2008. RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE. New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781599900704

·         Partner this book as the prequel to this book.

Kneece, Mark, Rod Serling, and Rich Ellis. 2009. THE TWILIGHT ZONE: WILL THE REAL MARTIAN PLEASE STAND UP? New York: Walker & Co. ISBN 9780802797261

·         Partner this book as another action graphic novel.

Hinds, Gareth. 2007. BEOWULF. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBN 0763630233

·         Partner this book as another graphic novel with a traditional literary character

TWU LS 5603 - Fiction, Fantasy & YA - SPEAK

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2001. SPEAK. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN 014131088X

PLOT SUMMARY

This young adult novel about a freshman girl, Melinda, and her struggle to come to terms with a rape is a look at friendships, isolation, and eventual understanding.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This Young Adult book deals with a secret date rape that occurred at a summer party and is hidden by the fact that all the students know is that the main character, Melinda, called the police to break up the party. She is an immediate outcast as she starts high school with no friends and very little personal interactions. Anderson portrays all the characters typical in a high school setting from the popular boy character, the pretty girl, the move-in, the recluse, the exchange student, and the coach/teacher. The relationship between Melinda and Heather is typical of high school girls; Heather is new and wants friends and Melinda has lost all of her friends and needs Heather. The dynamic of the every outgoing Heather is in contrast to the closed up, secretive Melinda

The book is divided into four large sections entitled “marking periods” that correspond to grading weeks in high school. There are smaller subsections in the book that are in a diary style with headings and then narrative underneath.

In the beginning, readers are immediately drawn in with the description of the first day of high school from worrying about your clothes, your hair, to the bus ride and finding your locker and finding people to eat lunch with at school.

The progression from the first day of school through the prom season is easy for readers to follow.  The daily classes and social climbing is also included in the book.

Anderson’s writing is a dialogue and narrative trade off.  The dialogue is very typical of high school students’ language and their interaction with adult teachers like Mr. Neck and Mr. Freeman. From the dialogue in Melinda’s head to the trivial school search for a mascot, Anderson weaves this amazing web of the inside/outside world using Melinda’s silence and the ever babbling school building buzz. The art class is really therapy to expose Melinda’s quiet inner secret.  Mr. Freeman works relentlessly to try to get Melinda to express herself through art and finally he is the one that Melinda trusts and she finishes the book by saying, “Let me tell you about it.”

Throughout the book, Anderson uses the word “IT” to describe the accused rapist, until Melinda reveals his name in the latter part of the book to Rachel by writing Andy Evans.

The theme of this book is that to stay silent is to suffer and to speak is to reveal and save.  Melinda’s silence has made her unrecognizable to her family and friends.  Once she speaks up and releases the secret, she is vindicated and saves others.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Book Links ALA 01/01/07

Publishers Weekly starred 09/13/99

Booklist 09/15/99

School Library Journal starred 10/01/99

Books for the Teen Age (NYPL) 04/01/99

Wilson’s Junior High School 01/09/10

Horn Book starred 09/01/99

Wilson’s Senior High School 10/01/07

Kirkus Review (1999) - The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget.

School Library Journal (October 1999) - This is a compelling book, with sharp, crisp writing that draws readers in, engulfing them in the story.

CONNECTIONS

Lynch, Chris. 2005. INEXCUSABLE. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689847890

·         Partner this book as another on the same subject of date rape

McDaniel, Lurlene. 2007. HIT AND RUN. New York: Delacorte Press.

ISBN 0385731612

·         Partner this book as another high school experience

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2007. TWISTED. New York: Viking.ISBN 0670061018

·         Partner this book as another by the same author with a male main character

TWU LS 5603 - Fiction, Fantasy & YA - WHEN YOU REACH ME

Stead, Rebecca. 2009. WHEN YOU REACH ME. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 0385737425

PLOT SUMMARY
A daughter, Miranda, is helping her mom prepare for a contestant spot on the $20,000 pyramid, while watching a friendship disappear, and watching a stranger appear all while receiving mystery notes. The link to the notes and her friends are revealed in the last part of the book.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This late 1970s novel, a sixth grade girl, Miranda,  confronts the end of her friendship with longtime buddy Sal, new friendships with school friends Annemarie and Julia, a romantic conflict with Colin, a father-like relationship with Jimmy -the owner of a sandwich shop, and a seemingly troubled bully student, Marcus.

Miranda is typical of a sixth grade girl in her relationships with both Annemarie and Julia, as she encounters jealousy, compassion and empathy for the other girls. Her relationship with Sal is more complicated stemming from their childhood friendship and the appearance that Sal has been bullied by Marcus. 

The story line of the mother auditioning for the $20,000 pyramid along with the New York middle school teachers and students are realistic in their characterizations. The city setting allows the sandwich shop, garages, and the tenant housing to serve as a venue for the secondary characters.  The main characters are fully developed through the circumstances and so the reader connects with each character and becomes bothered by the “laughing man’s” recurring appearances throughout the book.

The general theme is the timeless “good overcomes evil” and that there is an angel from the future watching over her and her friends. The mother character who has worked so hard as a legal assistant works hard and gets to opportunity to better her life and career.

This book is laid out in very short chapters. A 1^st person narrative from Miranda and the dialogue is very much in the style and the age of the characters. There is an alternating format of chapters about the mom storyline and then Miranda and her friend’s story line. Most of the chapters have the word “things” in the title (a play on the 20,000 pyramid clues). “things you keep in a box,” “things that go missing,” and “things you hide” that have a double meaning in the preparation for the game show and the events that are unfolding in the lives of Miranda and her friends.

There is an even balance of male and female characters between Miranda, her mom, Annemarie, and Julia versus the male characters of Sal, Colin, Marcus and the “laughing man.” The story reflects the culture of the 1970s where some moms had both careers and families and there were single families sharing responsibilities of raising a community of children.

Stead has established an amazing point in this book where you stop and begin flashing back to the prior events and want to re-read the beginning of the book. This book forces the reader to re-evaluate the relationships and the things that appeared to be problems in relationships like the  Marcus and Sal relationship or the “laughing man” who appears to be homeless and watching Miranda and her house.

This is a great book about relationships, unexpected events, and surprises.

 “Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It’s like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten.” – spoken by Miranda.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Book Links ALA 01/01/10

Newbery Medal/Honor 01/18/10

Booklist starred 06/15/09

Publishers Weekly starred 06/22/09

Horn Book starred 07/01/09

School Library Journal starred 07/01/09

Kirkus Review starred 06/01/09

Wilson’s Junior High School 01/09/10

Kirkus Review starred (June 1, 2009) - Some might guess at the baffling, heart-pounding conclusion, but when all the sidewalk characters from Miranda's Manhattan world converge amid mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say, "Wow...cool."

School Library Journal (July 1, 2009) - This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers.

CONNECTIONS

Sleator, William. 2001. MARCO’S MILLIONS. New York: Dutton Children's Books ISBN 0525464417

·         Partner this book as another time travel book

Shusterman, Neal. 1999. DOWNSIDERS. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689803753

·         Partner this book as another Fiction book set in New York City

L'Engle, Madeleine. 1962. A WRINKLE IN TIME. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

ISBN 0374386137

·         Partner this book because it is mentioned in the book and is read by the main character