Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Selznick, Brian. 2011. Wonderstruck. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780545027892

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Wonderstruck tells 2 stories intertwined with each other, one through words and one through pictures. After the death of his mother, Ben is struck by lightning, rendering him completely deaf. He leaves his small town of Gunflint Lake, Minnesota and runs away to New York City in an attempt to find his father. While in New York City, he meets a young man named Jamie who lets Ben stay in the American Museum of Natural History. Rose, whose part of the story is told through illustrations, also runs away from her home to New York City to find her mother, a famous actress. Though her mother rejects her, she stays with her brother Walter, an employee in the American Museum of Natural History. Though the stories of Ben and Rose are told 50 years apart, they eventually combine in a surprising way.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Wonderstruck explores the difficult themes: deafness, disabilities, death of loved ones, and the search for one’s identity. The majority of the text in Wonderstruck focuses on Ben’s experiences. Ben has dealt with many tragedies in his young life: the absence of a father, death of his mother, deafness in one ear, and finally total deafness due to a lightning strike. He gets teased very often by his cousin before he decides to go to New York in search of his father. Ben doesn’t know sign language and has a hard time reading lips, he communicates with his new friend Jamie by writing in a notebook. The reader can feel Ben’s frustration as he attempts to communicate with others and can also feel his fear when he doesn’t understand what people may be saying to him. Navigating around New York City is especially difficult for Ben, due to the massive numbers of people and traffic, as well as not knowing the layout of the city.

Most of the illustrated portions of Wonderstruck tell the story of Rose. Rose is deaf and is supposed to be learning how to read lips with a tutor, but runs away from her home to visit her mother, a famous actress. Rose’s mother rejects her and considers her an embarrassment, so Rose runs away to her brother Walter, who works in the museum at the Cabinet of Wonders, the room where Ben stays in the future. Walter finds a wonderful school for deaf children that Rose may attend, so she does not have to go back to being isolated. The action in Wonderstruck goes back and forth in time and between Gunflint Lake, Minnesota and various New York locations as the reader moves from the stories of Rose to Ben.

There are many specific connections between Rose and Ben, and all questions regarding their relationship and the significance of Gunflint Lake, wolves, the museum, and the Cabinet of Wonders are answered in the last few chapters when Rose and Ben’s stories intertwine. Both characters experience growth not only in their personal lives but also in their acceptance of and ability to handle their disability.

Selznick’s pencil illustrations are focused primarily on Rose’s story until Ben and Rose are finally together. There are close ups of Ben making the signs for “my friend” when referring to Jamie. Selznick also starts with a long distance drawing of wolves, and gradually over the next few pages draws close ups until the illustration is focused on the wolf’s glistening eye. This style of illustration is repeated several times, at both the beginning and end of Wonderstruck.

Selznick has included an extensive selected bibliography that contains sections on: deafness and deaf culture, museums and cabinets of wonder, 1927 clothing and objects, stage and screen, world’s fairs, lightening, Gunflint Lake, Hoboken, inspirations, documentary film, and finally websites he believes the reader will find useful.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee 2012-2013

Positive review in Kirkus: “Visually stunning, completely compelling, Wonderstruck demonstrates a mastery and maturity that proves that, yes, lightning can strike twice.”

Positive review in Publisher’s Weekly: “It takes several hundred pages and a big chunk of exposition to connect these two strands, but they converge in an emotionally satisfying way. Selznick masterfully uses pencil and paper like a camera, starting a sequence with a wide shot and zooming in on details on successive pages.

5. CONNECTIONS

* Official website for Wonderstruck: http://www.wonderstruckthebook.com/

* Scholastic official website for Wonderstruck: http://www.scholastic.com/wonderstruck/

This website includes a tutorial for finger spelling your name and a link for star navigation.

* Other books written by Brian Selznick:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret. ISBN 9780439813785

The Houdini Box. ISBN 9781416968788

The Boy of a Thousand Faces. ISBN 9780064410809

The Robot King. ISBN 9780060244934

Review: Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shihab Nye, Naomi. 1999. Habibi. Simon Pulse, An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 9780689825231

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Liyana Abboud, daughter of an American mother and Arab father, receives a shock one day when her father announces the whole family will be moving back to his home country of Palestine, in order to get to know his relatives and ancestry. Liyana, her brother Rafik, mother Susan, and father Kamal leave St. Louis behind them and move to small home halfway between Jerusalem and Ramallah near a refugee camp. Liyana struggles to understand her father’s relatives and learn their pastoral way of life, just as she attempts to recognize both her American half and her Arab half. She is shocked by the violence she sees everyday as well as the strict rules girls living in Jerusalem must adhere to. Liyana’s loneliness is forgotten once she meets Omer, a young Jewish man who becomes a close friend, and possible romantic interest.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Nye has based Habibi on herself and her family. Like Liyana, Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother and struggled to find her identity straddling 2 different worlds. There are so many cultural details in this novel, that it can be somewhat overwhelming to the reader who may be trying to absorb every word. Nye not only educates the reader on the Arab-American teen experience in America, but also in the Middle East. She discusses Muslim issues, Jewish issues, and many other authentic cultural markers of Palestinian citizens. Language plays a crucial role in Habibi and is used to show affections as well as cultural misunderstandings between characters. “Habibi” is an Arabic word meaning “my beloved” or “my dearest one”, and is used regularly in the novel by Liyana’s parents and relatives as a term of endearment. Other than Liyana’s mom Susan, all other characters and relatives have names common to the Palestine region.

Although Rafik fits in to his new environment easily, playing with his cousin Muhammad and learning to speak Arabic quickly, Liyana experiences extreme culture shock. Coming through customs at the airport, her family is targeted by Israeli airport agents to be thoroughly searched, an incident that is common to Palestinians according to Liyana’s father. To get to her grandmother Sitti’s village in the West Bank, they must drive through a military checkpoint manned by armed soldiers. While this is a common enough occurrence in the West Bank, for Liyana it is a shocking reminder that she is far removed from her comfort zone.

Liyana must get used to the new traditions that are common in Palestinian families. At Sitta’s, the entire large extended family sit on the floor and talk at length while waiting for dinner to be ready. They drink maramia (herbal tea), and eat lamb, rice, and pine nuts off a communal plate. Once Liyana’s father, a doctor, moves back to Jerusalem, he is inundated with requests for money and items his family members need. Sitta asks him to sponsor her pilgrimage to Mecca, and other family members expect money to be given to them since he is much wealthier and came from America. According to Liyana’s father, monetary requests and demands are extremely common especially coming from female family members.

Religion is addressed constantly in Habibi and is part of the general theme of acceptance and tolerance for others. Liyana’s extended family is Muslim, and prays on small prayer rugs when a call to prayer is heard from the local mosque. She has extremely in depth and honest conversations with Odem about the arguments between Jewish and Arab people in the city of Jerusalem. Odem’s mother is wary of his relationship with Liyana, but Liyana’s grandmother welcomes him with open arms. His presence in her home gives her confidence that someday Arabs and Israelis won’t fight and Palestine will be peaceful once again. Liyana asks her father why he doesn’t pray the way his family does, and he answers that he prays that way “in my heart.”

Habibi is an excellent novel for younger teens that have an interest in learning more about the Middle East and difficulties assimilating to that culture. With themes of cultural identity and religious tolerance, this novel should be in every school and public library.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

ALA Notable Children’s Book

NYPL Book for the Teen Age

Starred review in Publisher’s Weekly: “A soul-stirring novel.”

Review in Kirkus: “Some of the passages become quite ponderous while the human story- -Liyana's emotional adjustments in the later chapters and her American mother's reactions overall--fall away from the plot. However, Liyana's romance with an Israeli boy develops warmly, and readers are left with hope for change and peace as Liyana makes the city her very own.”

Positive review in School Library Journal: “Though the story begins at a leisurely pace, readers will be engaged by the characters, the romance, and the foreshadowed danger. Poetically imaged and leavened with humor, the story renders layered and complex history understandable through character and incident.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Other books about the Arab-American teen experience:

Bamberger, Davis. Young Person’s History of Israel. ISBN 9780874413939

Bode, Janet. New Kids in Town: Oral Histories of Immigrant Teens. ISBN

9780590441445

Hafiz, Dilara. The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook. ISBN 9780979253126

Mahdi, Ali Akbar. Teen Life in the Middle East. ISBN 9780313361326

* Other books by Naomi Shihab Nye:

Words Under the Words: Selected Poems. ISBN 9780933377295

19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. ISBN 9780060504045

A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. ISBN 9780060581893

What Have You Lost? ISBN 9780380733071

Review: Pink by Lili Wilkinson

Pink by Lili Wilkinson

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wilkinson, Lili. 2011. Pink. New York: HarperTeen. ISBN 9780061926532

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

After transferring to Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence, Ava feels like a new person. She can have a fresh start away from her overbearing and sophisticated girlfriend Chloe, and away from the stigma of being in a lesbian relationship at her old underperforming high school. Ava’s progressive parents have always been excited by the prospect of Ava being in a lesbian relationship and don’t understand that Ava is not exactly sure who she wants to date. Ava re-invents herself at Billy Hughes as a pink, sparkly, feminine teen who wishes to date any number of the handsome, popular boys. After failing at musical tryouts, Ava meets up with the stage crew, a group of misfits and “weirdoes” happy to be themselves. Ava is torn between her feelings for male stage crew member Sam and her girlfriend Chloe, and lies to them both about her confusion. She has to come clean to the people she loves and be honest with herself about that kind of person she wants to be.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Australian writer Lili Wilkinson has created generally relatable characters dealing with typical teenage issues like dating, school pressure, bullying, sexual pressure, and sexual identity. The time period of Pink is not described but it assumed to be modern day Melbourne, Australia. Ava and her friends spend most of their time at school, shopping at the mall, or at trendy coffee shops like many modern teens.

Some descriptions of character personality traits seem a bit far-fetched, but that may be due some cultural differences between Australian and American teens. The focus of Pink is not on the typical elements that can be found in a culture, but rather how teens from various backgrounds interact with one another. Wilkinson has 2 characters in her novel as examples of how gay characters can be homophobic to one another for being “too gay.” At Ava’s new school, there are 2 openly gay teens. Jules, a member of the stage crew with Ava is described as well-groomed, dressed all in black “like Johnny Cash.” Wilkinson describes Miles, the other openly gay teen, as extremely flamboyant and in your face. Jules explains to Ava that there are 2 different types of gay: normal gay like himself and ghey (with an h) in which men wear women’s clothes, groom too much, and have a feminine walk like Miles.

Chloe, Ava’s girlfriend is extremely adult and sophisticated, almost unbelievably so. She is described as wearing all black, with dark black eyeliner. Chloe reads mature, adult literature, drinks coffee, and smokes cigarettes constantly. Ava and Chloe frequent a trendy coffeeshop Ava mockingly calls the “lesbian bat cave” and it is described by Ava as being “scattered with semo-goth emo lesbians drinking thick black coffee”. Sadly, Ava’s stage crew members are written as stereotypical nerdy kids that can be seen in many teen books and movies. The overweight, dorky kid, the female Star Trek nerd with braces, and the studious Asian boy are all stereotypical kids in the stage crew at Ava’s school.

Ava’s actions in the story do have major consequences for her, which is great for teens to read. When she lies to her Chloe about her new school and cheating on her with a boy, Chloe breaks up with her and Ava’s friends are also disappointed in her. They are not upset that she is struggling with her sexuality, but rather that she lied to them all and didn’t trust them with the truth. While Pink has some great messages of self-acceptance, the storylines wrap up a bit too neatly. Cynical teen readers may not enjoy the stereotypical characters, but will appreciate Ava’s search for her true identity.

4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Stonewall Honor Book 2012

Starred review in VOYA: “A witty, refreshing look at high school and adolescence that obliterates stereotypes along the way. Laugh-out-loud funny, endearing, and heartbreaking.”

Positive review in Booklist: “Written with a great deal of snarky wit, this Australian import never gets overly heavy despite all the hand-wringing. A refreshing addition to the LGBT oeuvre.”

Positive review in School Library Journal: ““An entertaining story about teen angst, sexual identity, and high school relationships from a promising debut author.”

5. CONNECTIONS

* Teacher notes for Pink: http://www.allenandunwin.com/_uploads/BookPdf/TeachersReview/9781741758344.pdf

* Other books by Lili Wilkinson:

Pocketful of Eyes. ISBN 9781742376196

The Not Quite Perfect Boyfriend. ISBN 9781742377650

Scatterheart. ISBN 9781846470776

* Other books for teens with themes of sexuality identity:

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ISBN 9781451696196

Kerr, M.E. Deliver Us From Evie. ISBN 9780780751279

Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. ISBN 9780375832994

Myracle, Lauren. Kissing Kate. ISBN 9780142408698

Peters, Julie Anne. Keeping You a Secret. ISBN 9780316009850

Wright, Bil. Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy. ISBN 9781416939962