Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why




Summary
            Clay Jensen receives a package on his front porch when he gets home from school one day. In the package, he finds seven cassette tapes and the sides are labeled from one to thirteen. When he listens to the first tape, he can’t believe that he is hearing the voice of Hannah Baker. The reason this seems impossible is that Hannah Baker is dead, because she recently committed suicide. On the first tape, she explains that the tapes contain information about the thirteen people who lead to her death. She reveals that the tapes are being passed around and that if they don’t make it to all of the people, then a second set of tapes will be released to the authorities. She explains on the first tape “When you are done listening to all thirteen sides- because there are thirteen sides to every story- rewind the tapes, put them back in the box, and pass them onto whoever follows your little tale. And you, lucky number thirteen; you can take the tapes straight to hell. Depending on your religion, maybe I’ll see you there.” Clay can’t understand why he ended up on the tapes but he has to find out. As he listens to the tapes, he uncovers the events that lead to Hannah’s death and he finds out the effect that he had on her life.

Themes
            The main theme in the novel is suicide and the fact that it should not be an option and the ways that people can help to prevent it. It also discusses the fact that people need to be more aware of the effects they can have on the people around them without even realizing it.

Other Additional Sources

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Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie



The story of: an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lessons

Summary
            This is a story about the lessons that can be learned in life. The book is told by Mitch Albom, and is a personal narrative about the professor that influenced his life and the lessons that he learned from him. The professor, Morrie Schwartz, had a big impact on Mitch’s life, but he learns the most after Morrie begins dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease. As Morrie’s body slowly betrays him, he gives advice and knowledge to those around him. He talks about the biggest questions in life, including: family, friendship, love, and death. Morrie’s death teaches Mitch about what it’s really like to live.

Themes
            There are many different themes in this novel. The biggest are love, family, and death. However, this novel can teach students many other lessons. Other themes include: acceptance, communication, values, openness, and happiness.

Other Possible Resources

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Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game




Summary
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is a murder mystery novel that keeps the reader on edge trying to discover the culprit. The story includes unique and interesting characters that all have secrets the y are trying to keep.  Samuel W. Westing is the owner of Westing Paper Products, which is the largest company on the shore of Lake Michigan, somewhere in Wisconsin. When Mr. Westing dies, he leaves a will to his sixteen heirs which has them looking at each other to find the person accused of murdering Mr. Westing.  All sixteen heirs live in an upscale apartment building called, Sunset Towers. The heirs are partnered up and each given a set of clues and $10,000. The winner of the game will receive a $200 million fortune. In the end, the “murderer” is discovered and she turns herself in.  It is then discovered that Mr. Westing didn’t really die and his one true heir continues to take care of him.
Themes
This book is fun and endearing. It keeps the reader interested as they try to discover the murderer. There is enough absurdity in the book to keep it from being too serious. Themes include: interpretation, personal identity, and family.

Other Possible Resources

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders


Summary
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was a revolutionary novel at the time it was written.  This novel was written by Hinton when she was just sixteen years old. She wrote from the standpoint of a teenager which made it much easier for other young adults to relate to the novel. The novel follows Ponyboy, a young boy being raised by his two older brothers since the death of his parents.  Ponyboy and his brothers are Greasers from the poor east side of town. They treat the rest of their gang like family, and have frequent run-ins with the rich Socs from the rich west side of town.  One night, Ponyboy’s close friend takes things too far when the Socs jump them at a local park and this changes their lives forever.
Themes
This book is relatable to anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t fit in. The language is easy to read and full of modern slang. The main themes of this book are the importance of family and friends, standing up for what you believe in, finding your place in this world, not judging a book by its cover, and realization that everyone has struggles and feels alone sometimes.
Other Possible Resources

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Friday, September 7, 2012

Introduction

     I am creating this Blog as my Senior Project for my graduation from the Teacher Education Program at Weber State. I plan on using this as a place that I can explore Novels that  I could use in my future classroom. I am hoping that other teachers might be able to use the information that I provide. The information that I want to provide is: a summary of the text, the grade level that it could be used for, historical topics, possible themes, and useful links. 
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