Forever by Judy Blume

First impressions

This book wasn’t bad, but it is not the best book I’ve read. The problems Katherine has and her thoughts about that are so elaborately described it becomes a bit boring. She makes every issue ten times bigger than it actually is. I’m not a girl so I don’t know whether every girl of that age does the same, but that made it less interesting for me to read.

The climax at the end of the book was surprising which is a positive thing. It shows that a first love doesn’t have to be forever although the main characters had different thoughts.

Insights after the discussion in class

Do the books present a realistic view of love?

Yes, I think it does. Young adults like Katherine would probably recognize the problems she encounters when being in a relationship. Katherine and Michael are both away for a period of time, which they think is not fair, especially Katherine because she couldn’t decide for herself. Teenagers in love want to spend time with their partner, and  if somebody won’t let them, they despise them for a moment.

Role models?

In Forever, the role model for Katherine is her grandma. She’s the one who starts talking to Katherine about pregnancy and STD’s. Katherine respects her grandma and she doesn’t neglect what grandma said to her. Katherine’s grandma is the only role model in the book, I guess.

What will appeal to teenage readers?

Everything that Katherine is going through will appeal to teenage readers, especially teenage girls.  Teenage girls will probably think and react the same way Katherine does.  A lot of teenagers have a relationship themselves so they can relate to the situations in the book.  Katherine and Michael love each other and starting to consider having sex, which is a natural thing. At first, it’s a bit awkward, but eventually they figure it out. Teenagers struggle with this situation as well, so this appeals to them.

Is there anything controversial in the books?

When the book came out, there was a lot of controversy about the books. In the seventies there was a sexual revolution going on, where teenagers explored their sexuality and threw off limited social rules.  Some schools banned the book because it was too explicit, Katherine used the birth control pill, and a character that may be homosexual.

Relating the Theory to the Book

Katherine is a typical adolescence and that is obvious in the book. Multiple characteristic features can be related to her such as: Intensified sexuality and idealism that is often grandiose as well as naïve. These features can be found in The Reader as Thinker by Christine Appelyard.

Intensified sexuality is the main theme in the book, and that is logical due to the feelings Katherine has for Michael.  Katherine and Michael both think that their love will be forever, which is a bit naïve to think because they cannot predict the future. Eventually, they figure out their love is not forever. This is a thing that young adults may have gone through themselves, so they can identify with the main characters which is an important element of the reader as thinker(Appelyard, p. 96). The young adults are a participants and spectators at the same time.  They think how they would solve problems Katherine faces in the book.

Another element is ‘Realism’(Appelyard, p. 96). This book is written by an adult woman, but it could have been written by Katherine herself, like a diary. Young adults read what she is going through, but she is not the only young adult who faces problems with relationships. Katherine could reflect a reader’s experience which makes the book interesting for readers who have gone through the same struggles.

The last element of the reader as thinker is ‘Thinking’(Appelyard, p. 96).  A reader is aware of his/ her own thoughts while reading the book. They try to either remember how they solved the same problem, or they imagine how they would solve it if they face the problem.

Age suitability

Forever is a book that is suitable for young adults of 14-18 years old. In this period of time, they encounter the same things as the main character, which appeals to them. Looking at the theory the book definitely suits young adults. Younger readers would not recognize it which demotivates them to read along.

727 words 

Sources:
 Appelyard, The reader as Thinker
Blume, J., (1975), Forever 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First impressions of the book

My expectations of the book were quite high, and I was curious whether the book would be how I hoped it would be. Fortunately, It was. I enjoyed reading the book because it was full of events in every part of the book.  The first part of the book explains how life is in district twelve and specifically the life of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. This part was boring and long-winded sometimes, but it was important for the understanding of the other parts of the book. “The Games” was part two and in my opinion it is perfectly written. The part is elaborate but that didn’t bother me at all, on the contrary, it pulled me in the imaginary world. 

Insights after discussing the book in class

In class we discussed the book by making mind maps and comparing them. The mind map of my group is down below. Our main themes of the book are: Separation, friendship, Higher Power, hunting, family and death.

A couple of my group members had some ideas for the mind map where I had not thought about myself. As you can see we put the mocking jay in the middle, because multiple times the writer refers to the mocking jay.  The mocking jay is the symbol for district twelve, where Katniss’ mother, little sister and Gale live. Katniss and Prim get along very well, which makes it hard for Katniss to think about the fact that she would probably not see her litter sister again. Gale, is the guy who hunts together with Katniss and her thoughts go out to him a lot too.  The symbolism of the mocking jay was not something I recognised that much while reading the book, but now I discussed the book in class with the others it is clear to me.

The subject of another group’s mind map was ‘Rebellion’ . They said that Katniss’ actions are rebelling against the higher power, which is the Capitol. A couple times she makes a decision that would not be appreciated by the capitol and its Gamemakers . When I thought about it in class, I could remember one specific situation where she makes a decision  that rebels against the capitol and its habits, the point where Katniss decides to eat the berries together with Peeta at the end of the Game. Katniss and Peeta put the Nightlock in their mouth , avoiding the fact only one of them can survive, instead neither one of them would survive, leaving the Game without a winner. Although Katniss rebels a lot throughout the story, this was not something that was the most important part of the story.

Relating the Theory to the Book

The Hunger Games can be related to the theory very well. According to Donald Maass, a great novel for children should include the following(Reader, p. 22):

-          An intriguing character

-          A dramatic, meaningful plot

-          A captivating setting

-          An appropriate theme

-          An accessible, straightforward style

The Hunger Games  got it all. Katniss is an intriguing character. She goes through a lot at the same time, and we as readers, read what she thinks and feels. Also, we can see that Katniss develops throughout the book. She is not a static character, but a dynamic one. I can imagine that teenage girls look up to Katniss. She is strong, intelligent, but most of all, independent. She can take care of herself and in the games  and smarter than everybody else.

The plot is dramatic, because Katniss has to miss her family and friends during the games, and a friend she made during the games, Rue, died which is dramatic part of the story.

The setting couldn’t be more captivating. The Arena where the game takes part, has been described so extensively, that the reader gets drawn into the setting. The book activates everybody’s imagination.

“Ideally, a great children's novel leaves the reader stronger, wiser, and better able to cope with whatever real-world challenges he may face.”(Reader, p. 21). Children who read the book think that they can do everything that Katniss did in the book. Katniss faced some difficulties in the book but she survived, and children think the same. When they face difficulties they would probably be able to handle it.

The style of the book is perfectly for young adults. It is not hard to read and straightforward.

Age Suitability

I think this book is perfect for teenagers, and not for children.  I would say that the book is suitable for 14-18 year-olds. This is because teenagers  face the same problems as Katniss, so they can relate to the main character. Furthermore, the book is not suitable for kids in primary school due to all the murder and death in the book. Teenagers wouldn’t see this as a problem.

809 words.

Sources:
 Reader, p. 21

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

First Impressions of the book

My first impression of the book was good because the story is exciting and vivid. “ A great story involves great events”.( Reader, p. 21) To make a story that children love to read, the plot has to be written well. The plot in the story of Peter Pan is well written because boring moments are rare. When there is a small part that is a bit boring, it is almost instantly followed by  an exciting scene. Furthermore, there are some dramatic scenes that give meaning the storyline. The dramatic scenes together with the action scenes makes the story dynamic and interesting.

 I knew a bit what to expect because I knew the story already before reading the book. I saw the Disney film when I was a child which helped me to create an image in my head.

The use of vocabulary made the book difficult to read sometimes. There were words in the book I had never seen before, but they weren’t of high importance. A couple of words which I had never seen before: reproachfully (Chapter two), and contrivance(chapter 5).  Although I did not  know these words I was still able to follow the story.

Also, I didn’t figure out that Nana was a dog until I saw the movie! Nana is not only a dog, but also the nurse of the family which confused me and I guess some others too.

Insights after discussing the book in class

The discussing in class made me aware of a couple things present in the book that I didn’t notice myself.  Peter is a child who never grows up, but he acts sometimes very mature. Throughout the story, Peter is the leader of the group which is interesting because he isn’t a grown-up.  I didn’t realise this while I was reading the book.  After class, I read a couple chapters again and then it was obvious to me that Peter acts as a mature person as well as a child.

Relating the Theory to the Book

This week’s theory was about what makes a great novel for children. Multiple features of what makes a great novel for children can be found in Peter Pan.  As I mentioned before, the plot is a bit dramatic and gives the story meaning. Besides an interesting plot the story has “An intriguing character and a captivating setting” (Reader, p. 22)

Peter and Wendy both are quite intriguing in my opinion and Neverland seems like an amazing Island where you can be a child and don’t have to grow up.

Age suitability

The story is suitable for children from 7-10 years old. Pirates, fairies and mermaids are present in the story and I think that children love that. Fairies occur in fairy tales which appeals to young children because in general, they like these stories.  However, the pirates are violent which can frighten children to some extent and Peter Pan is not the nicest person either. He talks about killing Hook and the other pirates. I think the majority of the children will love the story even when there’s violence.

The tricky part of the book is probably the vocabulary. I came across a lot of words I didn’t know so the same can be expected of a young child. They will probably struggle with some words but I don’t think this will there global comprehension of the text, so that is why I think children from 7-11 years are capable of dealing with this text that they will probably like too.

598 words.

Sources:

Barrie, J.M., (1911), Peter and Wendy