Disturbia

Disturbia
Directed by D.J. Caruso
Screenplay by Christopher B. Landon
2007
Dreamworks SKG
Rated PG-13

Plot Summary:
While 17 year old Kale is driving, a horrible accident occurs, leaving his father dead. One year later and Kale is still devastated by loss, and increasingly troubled. After punching a teacher in the face he is placed on house arrest for the summer. With no cable or X-Box and tons of time, Kale becomes a studious voyeur of his neighbors. This results in a tentative romance with the girl-next-door, but leads to other less fortuitous scenarios with the man-across-the-way. With the region-wide hunt for a serial killer on the loose occupying the headlines, Kale becomes convinced it is his next-door neighbor.
Critical Evaluation:
The film's story and sympathies can be tied directly to the famous Hitchcock film Rear Window, wherein a man recuperating from injuries entertains himself by watching his neighbors from his apartment window. Like Scotty in the earlier film, Kale becomes convinced his neighbor is a murderer. The plotline reflects the suspense, tension, and boredom found when a man is left to his imagination and immobility. However, Disturbia is no mere homage, and Caruso very ably lingers on the fear and impossibility experienced when the rug is suddenly swept out from under you. Though Kale's suspicions are somewhat obviously confirmed midway through the film, the rhythm and the tension produce a highly likable and suspenseful murder mystery.
Viewer's Annotation:
Kale can't shake the tragic death of his father. When he is placed under house arrest for assault, he begins believing there is violence all around him. Is Kale right, or delusional?
Genre:
Mystery/Suspence
Director Info:
Caruso's most notable film prior to Disturbia, was his Salton Sea, a cult classic starring Val Kilmer. He has been a director-for-hire for various television shows, including The Shield and Smallville.
Filmtalking Ideas:
*Are Kale's troubles rooted in his inability to deal with the loss of his father?
*Does the film's trajectory ever allow any sort of catharsis concerning Kale's loss?
*Will a girlfriend and a solved murder resolve Kale's problems?
Viewer Level/Interest Age:
13 and up.
Challenge Issues:
Film is rated PG-13 for violence and language. Some scenes hint at very macabre scenarios, but little is glimpsed. This and the film's rating render challenges rationally answerable. Further, its presence is unlikely at a school library, while more likely to be found at a public library.
Why Include?:
I have always been curious about the top-selling, Vertigo knock-off, and I wasn't disappointed.

Nick &Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Directed by Peter Sollett
Based on a book by Rachel Cohn
2008
Depth of Field
Rated PG-13

Plot Summary:
Norah's been rocking out to various mixtapes sent by a heartbroken Nick to his former girlfriend for a while now.
The two finally meet one crazy night in Manhattan, Norah asking him to be her boyfriend "for 5 minutes." Nick agrees, and a bumpy night ensues...Norah's best friend gets so wasted she can't see straight. Nick's bandmates drive around for hours in search of the elusive late-night gig by everyone's favorite underground band Fluffy. And Norah and Nick keep dancing around each other and looking back at their old flames, unsure if they should move forward together or not.
Critical Evaluation:
The film moves quickly and erratically, mimicking the frenetic motion of the characters as they all search for Fluffy. Sollett consistently returns to the chemistry between Nick and Norah, even though a multitude of obstacles are thrown at their budding romance. The dialogue is snappy, the cultural references are hip. But it's just not as funny or as interesting as it assumes itself to be. Ultimately, whether Nick and Norah get together, whether Caroline sobers up, and whether anybody finds Fluffy is irrelevant.
Viewer's Annotation:
Norah's been pining over the d.j. of her "borrowed" mixtapes for months now. Finally they meet. But can Nick finally get over his treacherous ex-girlfriend in time to discover Norah?
Genre:
Romantic Comedy/ YA Fiction
Director Info:
Sollett's first feature film was the critically recognized Raising Victor Vargas. He is also the director of several short films, and television episodes.
Viewer Level/Interest Age:
13 and up.
Filmtalking Ideas:
*Why is Norah so attracted to Nick?
*Why can't Nick get over his ex-girlfriend?
*Why does everybody want to find Fluffy?
Challenge Issues:
Sex, drink, rock & roll.
Answer to challenges:
Film is an adaptation of a popular young adult novel, and is rated PG-13.
Why Include?:
The popularity of both novel and film made me curious, so thought I should check it out. Not overjoyed that I did.

A Step from Heaven

A Step from Heaven
by An Na
Penguin Putnam
New York
2001
ISBN: 0142500275

Plot Summary:
Young Ju and her parents move from South Korea to the U.S. when she is a four. Shortly afterwards, her mother gives birth to a baby boy, and her father swells with an enormous pride Young Ju has never seen him possess. The parents are bursting with dreams of all the things they will do and have in their new country. But, as the years go by, Young Ju's family life does not progress according to their plans.
Critical Evaluation:
An Na uses the voice of Young Ju throughout the novel: as a child, an adolescent, and a maturing, confused teen. The voice never wavers in consistency and tone; Young Ju's struggle with comprehension and mastery of the English language is also portrayed with An Na's use of a kind of phonetic mish-mash of English and Korean. The unwavering voice produces a strong identification with the character, and her mother and brother's hopes and heartbreak.
Reader's Annotation:
Young Ju believes her parents when they tell her life in America will be better, easier. But absolutely nothing is better, and everything seems harder.
Genre:
Coming-of-age/YA Fiction
Author Info:
A Step from Heaven is An Na's first novel, and went on to win the Michael L. Printz Award in 2002. She has written two novels since, and currently lives in Vermont.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
12 and up.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Does the Park family achieve the American dream?
*Why is Young Ju's father so filled with anger and disappointment?
*Why doesn't her mother leave her father?
Challenge Issues:
Mature themes, however strong moral and emotional codes pervade the novel, making challenges unlikely.
Why Include?:
I have a strong faith in the selections made by those behind the Michael L. Printz Award, and haven't been disappointed yet.

Twilight

Twilight
Written by Stephenie Meyer
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
2008
Imprint Entertainment
Rated PG-13

Plot Summary:
In the middle of the spring semester, Bella moves to northwest Washington to live with her father. She glimpses the Cullen siblings from across the school cafeteria on her first day, feeling a strong pull towards the distant Edward. Bella cannot stop thinking about Edward, but she's uncertain as to why. Slowly, they begin to spend more time together, and Bella realizes she has fallen in love with a century-old vampire.
Critical Evaluation:
Shot in moody dark blues and icy whites, Hardwicke focuses her camera on Bella's wondering face and Edward's angry eyes. Each encounter between the pair is played out in extremes, mirroring the increasing passion Bella feels for Edward. The palpable chemistry between the two players is further heightened by the expressive score, sensitive voice-over, and unique beauty of both actors.
Viewer's Annotation:
Bella's uncertain as to what a future in Forks, Washington will hold for her. Then she meets Edward, and can't imagine a future without him.
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Author Info:
Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series is a world-wide phenomenon. She has since began another series, whose first book is The Host.
Catherine Hardwicke's first film was the attention-getting Thirteen. She has since directed the skateboard bio-pic Lords of Dogtown, and the uber-Christian The Nativity Story.
Filmtalking Ideas:
*Why does Edward seem repulsed by Bella?
*What is the history behind the Cullen's and Jacob's tribe?
*Why don't the Cullens bite humans?
*What are the feelings between Edward and Bella?
Viewer Level/Interest Age:
Swoonalicious for all ages.
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable, as there is zero sexual situations, little violence, and a lot of chastity.
Why Include?:
First I saw the movie, then I became obsessed with the books.

New Moon

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Based on the book by Stephenie Meyer
Directed by Chris Weitz
2009
Imprint Entertainment
Rated PG-13

Plot Summary:
On Bella's 18th birthday, something awful happens at the Cullen house, leading to the family's departure and Edward's desertion of her. Unable to cope with the loss of him, Bella sinks into an abyss of depression. Months later, with the help of her old friend Jacob, Bella begins to climb her way out.
However, she still cannot get over Edward. Seeing a vision of Edward while recklessly attempting to ride a motorbike, Bella discovers she can see him if she engages in dangerous acts. This leads Bella to begin a series of ill-advised stunts, unwise for someone with her lack of coordination.
Meanwhile, her friendship with Jacob deepens, leading her to discover a dark secret of the Quilete tribe.
Critical Evaluation:
The second adaptation of the Twilight series meticulously follows the lead of both book and previous film. The depression experienced by Bella (so wonderfully detailed in the book) is symbolized by her motionless figure, seated in front of her bedroom window, and the change of seasons swirling outside. The friendship with Jacob is slowly developed, allowing for a successful shift in identification from Edward to Jacob, and the metamorphosis experienced by Jacob is convincing though fully digitized.
Viewer's Annotation:
After Edward's departure, Bella slowly attempts to rebuild her life--with the help of Jacob. Jacob,however, has his own pain and secrets to overcome.
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Author Info:
Weitz is a British director whose previous films include American Pie and About a Boy. Weitz also directed the poorly regarded filmic adaptation of Pullman's beloved novel The Golden Compass, part one in the His Dark Materials trilogy.
Viewer Level/Interest Age:
13 and up; but as I can attest to, this series is appealing to any age.
Filmtalking Ideas:
*Why does Edward leave?
*What is wrong with Jacob, and why can't he tell Bella?
*What is the reason behind Bella's sudden love of danger?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable. Minor violence and zero sexual situations. Just lots of pining.
Why Include?:
Because I have waited for this film to come out since I saw the last one (on its opening night!)

Ender's Game

Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
1985
Tor Books
New York
ISBN: 0312932081

Plot Summary:
Ender is the youngest of three children. All manufactured, but for different reasons the older brother and sister did not turn out quite right--at least not for the government. Ender, on the other hand, is just about perfect. Shipped off to military training school when he is still a young boy, Ender learns early to fight back bullies, make allies with the other outcasts, and always strategize. Ender excels at battle games and in authority positions, and the military superiors decide that indeed Ender is the commander for whom they've been waiting. How Ender feels and what he ends up fighting against are rendered increasingly irrelevant by those in power.
Critical Evaluation:
Ender's Game immediately sets its tone as a post-apocalyptic suspense story. Sympathetically told, with lucid storytelling, intricately-wrought battle games, and an extremely fast pace, the novel makes for a quick, yet heartbreakingly thoughtful read.
Reader's Annotation:
One day Ender decides he's not going to take it from the school bully anymore. His action strikes the way on a course for which he will always remain uncertain.
Genre:
Science-Fiction/Post-Apocalypse
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Technically not cataloged as YA, however it reads as such.
Author Info:
Orson Scott Card is a prolific and heavily decorated science fiction author. Ender's Game won the Nebula Award for best novel in 1985, the Hugo Award for best novel in 1986, and was nominated for a Locus Award in 1986. It is the first volume in a six-volume series.
Booktalking Ideas:
*When does Ender's Game take place?
*Were Ender and his siblings synthetically made?
*Who is the world fighting against?
Challenge Issues:
Lots of detailed war games, yet sensitively told and never explicit. Challenges very unlikely.
Why Include?:
In the course of one week, it was recommended to me twice.

Bright Star

Bright Star
by Jane Campion
2009
Jan Chapman Pictures
Rated PG

Plot Summary:
Fanny Brawne and John Keats meet as neighbors in a small English town. They slowly begin to know each other, ultimately unable to resist the intensely emotional and sensual pull they feel towards each other.
Critical Evaluation:
Campion begins her film with the assumption of establishment: there is no introduction to the characters of Fanny and John. However, their relationship builds so slowly that the development of it and the individual characters becomes totally immersive. Their inclinations toward the other are juxtaposed with his words, her seams, and the budding flowers and drooping branches of the world around them. Indeed, it is as if the world is blooming for them. The historical knowledge of Keats' tragic end and with it the end of their love adds an element of constant regret and sadness, further magnifying the intensity of their love as it plays out on screen.
Viewer's Annotation:
Fanny Brawns and John Keats are seemingly opposites, one versed in the physical, the other in the ethereal. Yet what they create together transcends both.
Genre:
Historical Romance
Author Info:
Jane Campion has been an accomplished director for two decades. Her film The Piano was the first film directed by a woman to receive the Cannes' Film Festival's Golden Palm Award in 1993. She has directed films regarding everything from the life of New Zealand poet Janet Frame to film adaptations of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady to Susanna Moore's In the Cut.
Viewer Level/Interest Age:
Though superficially a film for poetic adults, the film's swooning romance should appeal to teenagers.
Filmtalking Ideas:
*Why can't Fanny and John marry?
*Why does John leave for Italy?
*Is Fanny an artist?
Challenge Issues:
The film is rated PG, challenges are basically impossible.
Why Include?:
I love the films of Jane Campion, and I strongly feel that a film such as this is an important educational and emotional work.

Truth & Beauty

Truth & Beauty
by Ann Patchett
Harper Collins
New York
2004
ISBN: 0060572140

Plot Summary:
Lucy and Ann meet in college, beginning a long, intimate friendship that somehow manages to weather torrid affairs, crazy parties, writers' workshops, life-long battles with cancer, and suicide attempts.
Critical Evaluation:
A wonderfully-wrought autobiographical tale of the long friendship between two writer friends. Written after the death of one, the other attempts to explain both the cycle of the friendship, and the death of it. The prior knowledge of the story's end never alters the need sprung from the book's beautiful story to reach its conclusion.
Reader's Annotation:
After being friends with Lucy for so long, Ann can't imagine life without her. But for Lucy, it's often imagining life that's the hard part.
Genre:
Memoir/Biography
Author Info:
Patchett's third novel, Bel Canto, won both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in 2002, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Truth & Beauty was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Entertainment Weekly. It was also a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and won the Chicago Tribune's Heartland Prize, the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Alex Award from the American Library Association.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Adult Crossover
Booktalking Ideas:
*How does Lucy's illness determine her feelings towards living?
*What does their friendship provide for both partners?
Challenge Issues:
An adult book awarded by the ALA Alex committee, so verifiably appropriate for teens.
Why Include?:
Because Patchett is a wonderful writer, and the book is a symbiotic partner to Grealy's Autobiography of a Face.

Jesus Land

Jesus Land: a Memoir
by Julia Scheeres
Counterpoint
New York
2005
ISBN: 1582433380

Plot Summary:
Julia is a young white girl living with her extremely religious parents in rural Indiana. She has two black adopted brothers. The family's fundamentalism and the boys' blackness are the source of constant pain for the siblings at school. Incessant racism surrounds them always. When Julia and the younger David start fighting back they are shipped to a religious boot camp in the Dominican Republic. Nothing is ever the same forever afterwards.
Critical Evaluation:
A searingly honest and emotionally painful autobiography that flinches away from nothing. Every childhood stone is unturned, as Julia rehashes she and David's painful abandonment, and how it led to the pain she now must still confront daily. A beautifully written book, so successfully written I couldn't wait to finish it and put it away forever.
Reader's Annotation:
"Sinners go to: Hell./Rightchuss go to: Heaven./The end is neer: Repent./This here is: Jesus Land."
Genre:
Autobiography
Reader Level/Interest Age:
ALA adult crossover book.
Author Info:
Julia Scheeres is an award-winning journalist living in San Francisco. Jesus Land is her first book.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Why is Julia and David so close?
*How do their parents justify the children's expulsion to the Jesus camp?
*Has Julia recovered from her childhood traumas?
Challenge Issues:
Religious guardians might be offended (i.e. defensive) regarding the book's themes and the religious experiences recounted. However, it is a non-sensationalized, critically acclaimed, personal account of Julia and David's experiences, eschewing explicitness for heartbreak.
Why Include?:
I had read it some time ago and it broke my heart. I thought it would make for a diverse addition to my otherwise fiction-obsessed blog.

Gemma Bovery

Gemma Bovery
Written and Illustrated by Posy Simmonds
Jonathan Cape
London
1999
ISBN: 0224052519

Plot Summary:
A graphic reimagining of the infamous Madame Bovary, Gemma Bovery recounts the remaining days of a miserable dreamer whose name recalls the otherwise miserable earlier (anti)heroine. Transplanted to Normandy from her beloved England, Gemma at first attempts to enjoy her new life, but old dreams refuse to die. Condemning her husband to cuckold, Gemma engages in an unfortunate affair with a bad ex-boyfriend, and engages in other tawdry exploints.
The local baker reminisces on the effects of Gemma on the imagination and the libido.
Critical Evaluation:
Like Tamara Drewe, Simmonds utilitizes a narrative multiple perspective, allowing the story to be glimpsed from a diversity of characters. Also told in flashback, Gemma's tale becomes a whodunit of intrigue and sex, adding humor and spice to the Bovary construct.
Reader's Annotation:
Try as she hard as she might, but Gemma just can't manage to be a good girl. Does it cost her her life?
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Literary Revision
Author Info:
Posy Simmonds is the author of numerous comics for The Guardian, graphic novels, and illustrated children's books. Nominated in 2001 for Gemma Bovary, in 2009 Simmonds won the French Association of comics, critics, and journalists Prix de la Critique for Tamara Drewe.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Teens and up.
Booktalking Ideas:
*How similar is Gemma to Emma Bovary?
*Does the baker feel love towards Gemma or sympathy towards her poor husband?
*Are Gemma's evil ways responsible for her untimely demise?
Challenge Issues:
A lighthearted tale of love and adultery, no foreseeable challenges.
Why Include?:
Thought it'd be fun to read the graphic version of such a canonized work. It was.

Tamara Drewe

Tamara Drewe
Written and Illustrated by
Posy Simmonds
Houghton Mifflin Co.
2008
New York
ISBN: 9780547154121

Plot Summary:
Loosely based on the 19th century Thomas Hardy novel, Far From the Madding Crowd, Tamara Drewe details the exploits of a writers' colony in the provincial English countryside. Shook up by the return of a much-improved former resident, the various members of the colony and town relate the ways their lives change (for the better?) with the injection of a temptress.
Critical Evaluation:
Previous knowledge of the Hardy tale does not affect the obvious pleasure experienced while reading this light-hearted, intelligent, fluffy novel. The various players' perspectives all add up to an inability to truly choose sides, making the novel's morals and morays much harder to decipher than originally believed. A treat.
Reader's Annotation:
When Tamara Drewe returns to Stonefield, life changes for everyone. A little sex, a little intrigue, and lots of deceit.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Literary Revision
Author Info:
Posy Simmonds is the author of numerous comics for The Guardian, graphic novels, and illustrated children's books. Nominated in 2001 for Gemma Bovary, in 2009 Simmonds won the French Association of comics, critics, and journalists Prix de la Critique for Tamara Drewe.
Booktalking Ideas:
*How do the multiple viewpoints add to a the reader's viewpoint of the story?
*Who is the most sympathetic character?
*Are Tamara and Beth victims of their circumstances?
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Teens and up
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable.
Why Include?:
Because I believe that Simmonds' revisions are great fun, literary, and inspirational.

Isadora Duncan

Isadora Duncan:
A Graphic Biography
Written and Illustrated by
Sabrina Jones
Hill and Wang
New York
2008
ISBN: 9780809094974

Plot Summary:
From a very young age, Isadora Duncan was filled with a sense of purpose, and a desire to dance her dreams in front of all who cared to watch. Dance halls were not to her liking, however, and what Isadora really wanted was to change the way people looked at movement in dance, and the perceptions of the female body as something to be contained and deformed. Isadora Duncan: a Graphic Biography, follows Isadora from her teenage years as a budding artistic dancer to her untimely death at the still-young age of 50.
Critical Evaluation:
Sabrina Jones' drawing style is vividly expressed through a style that utilizes strong lines, willowy movements, and expressive features. The graphite severity of the outer edges of her figures allows for a feeling of passionate investment in each drawing; while the humor that often accompanies a scenario provides a lightness to the boldness of the lines. Jones' love for her subject is never in doubt, and her love is contagious simply through viewing.
Reader's Annotation:
Isadora Duncan loved to dance, but she found ballet to be rigid and deformative. Her discovery of the arts of ancient Greece and European sculptures of the nude human figure inspired her to invent a totally new form of dance that celebrated the female body and expressed an organic, joyous movement. Duncan's discoveries and her schools of dance changed the world of dance forever.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Biography
Author Info:
Sabrina Jones was a founder and editor of the Girl Talk and World War 3 Illustrated series. She has written several other full-length graphic novels, mostly concerned with labor and working-class political issues and histories. She rocks!
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Teens and up.
Booktalking Ideas:
*The Duncan family is artistically very evolved. How did they become this way?
*How does Isadora's strong self-confidence help shape her dance career?
*Where does Isadora's resolute autonomy come from?
*Is she a feminist?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable, although Duncan was very risque in her time.
Why Include?:
I have loved the art of Sabrina Jones for 15 years now, so when I discovered she had crafted a novel on the life of Isadora Duncan I couldn't believe my luck!

Myrtle of Willendorf

Myrtle of Willendorf
by Rebecca O'Connell
Front Street
Asheville, NC
2000
ISBN: 1886910529


Plot Summary:
An outcast in high school, and continuing on as an outcast in college: that's how Myrtle sees herself and is pretty convinced that's how everybody else does too. She might be a good artist, and she's definitely smart, but she just can't seem to figure out how to balance a sense of independence with a healthy need to be loved. Eating takes up that latter need, and Myrtle feeds herself whenever she can, whenever she's anxious, whenever she's alone.
Critical Evaluation:
A message novel with good intentions regarding the overwhelming problems of self-hatred and female body image distortion. O'Connell's humor concerning Myrtle's ambivalence towards witchcraft and goddess worship is nicely wrought, and a pleasant counterpart to Myrtle's otherwise overwhelming anxiety. The descriptions of food and its propensity towards comfort are sensitively written, but the person of Myrtle is sufficiently annoying that O'Connell's talents are somewhat forgotten.
Reader's Annotation:
Myrtle is spending her summer in off-campus housing with her roommate Jada that drives her crazy. All Jada wants to do is wear make-up, diet, and make-out with her boyfriend. All Myrtle wants to do is eat and be left alone.
Genre:
Issues/Feminism
Author Info:
Rebecca O'Connell is a librarian in Pittsburgh. Myrtle of Willendorf is her first novel.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
15 and up.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Why is Myrtle so bothered by her roommate Jada's looks?
*Why did Myrtle stop talking to her old friend Margie?
*Is Myrtle happy in her own skin?
Challenge Issues:
Some hinted-at sexual situations, but due to the obliqueness of their description, challenges are unlikely. Further, the novel's larger message of self-worth will likely counteract any skepticism.
Why Include?:
It's cover art and leaf description proved alluring.

Epileptic

Epileptic 1
by David B.
1996-1998
L'Association
Paris, France
ISBN: 2844140858

Plot Summary:
Pierre-Francois is a young child in rural 1960's France. He has a sister, Florence, and an older brother, Jean-Christophe, who suffers from severe epilepsy. As the children age and Jean-Christophe's condition worsens, the family engages in a series of major moves and lifestyle changes in attempt to help heal Jean-Christophe.
Critical Evaluation:
David B.'s sensitive autobiography of growing up with his addled brother manages to walk a tightrope of empathy and anger. His brother's inability to see outside of his condition ultimately disables the family from seeing outside of it either, and David B. reveals the multiple dramatic decisions the family made in attempts to heal Jean-Christophe. These changes are staged in relief to those greater historical changes that both preceded their childhood and occurred simultaneously. Throughout, David B. interweaves personal family tragedies and ongoing nightmares in a simplistic line-drawn fashion, supporting his words, and adding to his expressions of emotion.
Reader's Annotation:
Jean-Christophe has an obsession with dictators and a predilection for falling into seizures when anxious. His family engages in a series of moves to communes, macrobiotic doctors, and anti-psychology, all in attempt to cure him. Looking back on these years, Pierre-Francois slowly uncovers the pain his family bears because of the struggle against epilepsy.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Autobiography
Author Info:
David B. is a well-known French graphic novelist and artist. He was a co-founder of the comics publisher L'Association. The Comics Journal named him "Cartoonist of the Year" in 1998.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Mature Teens and up.
Booktalking Ideas:
*How does the outside world's responses to Jean-Christophe's condition effect the family?
*Why are brothers so obsessed with violence and war?
*How are their parents' choices influenced by the changing ideologies and culture in France?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable.
Why Include?:
Epileptic is a famous autobiographical comic series, and I have been wanting to check it out for some time.

The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries
Season 1: Episodes 1-10
Created by Kevin Williamson, based on the novels by L.J. Smith
2009
Alloy Entertainment
CW Network

Plot Summary:
"For a century I have waited for her...." says Stephan in the show's opening moments. He meets Elena, and for both it is as if their lives never existed before the discovery of the other. Stephan's brother appears shortly thereafter, proceeding whenever possible to throw a deadly wrench (or fang) to any activity he can. Elena does not know the brothers are vampires however, or that they lived in Mystic Falls one hundred and fifty years ago. Her gradual discovery of their secret, alongside she and Stephan's deepening bond, possesses the potential for hours of delicious, romantic television torture.
Critical Evaluation:
Williamson's ear for teenage dialogue, polished production values, and the romantic intensity of the Smith series combine for fun and suspenseful television. The serialization allows for a gradual buildup of chemistry, mystery, and tragedy, that would not be allowed in a shorter format. The makers' obvious insistence that the story be played straight, sans irony, allow the characters and fantasy elements to deepen and thrive.
Viewer's Annotation:
Since her parents' tragic deaths, Elena has been sleepwalking through her life. Then Stephan shows up, and Elena begins to believe in happiness again; that is, if his brother Damon will stop feeding off of humans and leave town for good.
Genre:
Paranormal Romance/YA Fiction
Author Info:
Kevin Williamson, producer of the Scream films and the Dawson's Creek television series the primary impetus behind the serialized production of L.J. Smith's well-known YA series. Smith is also the creator of The Forbidden Game series, Dark Visions series, Night World series, and The Secret Circle series.
Viewer Level/Interest Age:
Gothic appeal and tormented romance appeals to all ages (though probably mostly females).
Showtalking Ideas:
*Why does Elena look so much like Katherine?
*Is Damon as evil as he seems?
*Can Stephan ever truly be happy?
Challenge Issues:
The occult, paranormal violence, sexual situations.
Defense to challenges:
The television show airs on the non-cable channel CW at 8 p.m., making any grievance against it basically futile.
Why Include?:
My obsession with all things vampire encompasses literature, film, and television.

The Heartbreak Diet

The Heartbreak Diet
by Thorina Rose
Chronicle Books
San Francisco, CA
2008
ISBN: 9780811860574

Plot Summary:
Thorina lives a comfortable life, married to a photographer, and mother to two boys. Steadily, she begins to notice that her husband is less engaged, and spending a lot more time out of the house. Eventually, he admits to being in love with someone else, and Thorina's life is suddenly upheaved.
Critical Evaluation:
A graphic novel designed to express a world where the drawings and text bleed into each other, both reflecting synchronized visions of the other. Neither format supercedes the other, and the drawings quietly illustrate the emotions described. There are several illustrations that stand in relief to the story itself--portraits of famous women and particular statements they were known for making--which serve to refocus the viewer back onto the book's images, reminding never to forget that a story isn't just words.
Reader's Annotation:
Thorina lives a comfortable life with her husband and two young sons. Sure, her husband's kind of turd, but you can't have everything, right? As Thorina slowly comes to realize--no, you can't.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Romance/ChickLit
Author Info:
Thorina Rose is an author and illustrator. The Heartbreak Diet is her first book. In 2004 she was nominated for a SFMOMA SECA award.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Teens and up; an illustrated novel fun to read for anyone.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Is this a book about body image?
*Why does X leave his family?
*Does Thorina truly love X, or is she just comfortable?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable.
Why Include?:
Eyed it on the shelf, an illustrated sad romance is always very enticing.

Chicken with Plums

Chicken with Plums
by Marjane Satrapi
Pantheon Books
New York
2006
ISBN: 9780375714757

Plot Summary:
The story of Nasser Ali Khan's final days, interwoven with flashbacks to his formative years, and flash forwards to his family's later generations. After another nasty fight with his wife Nahid, she breaks his beloved musical instrument Tar in a fit of rage. His instrument broken, Nasser Ali slowly spirals downwards into a fitful depression resolving itself in a will to die. Though this resolution comes early, the remaining novel circles around his life, his family, and the history of modern Iran.
Critical Evaluation:
Satrapi's stories are always vividly rendered, the woodcut-style of the accompanying drawings possesses a depth and simplicity all at once--producing emotional effects that are universally felt and aesthetically understood upon immediate reading.
Reader's Annotation:
Nasser Ali Khan loves his tar more than anything, or anyone. After its destruction, Nasser Ali himself engages in a painful decline.
Genre:
Graphic Novel/Historical Biography
Author Info:
Marjane Satrapi is a best-selling author, her Percepolis series--detailing her childhood in post-Shah Iran, won numerous awards and received widespread acclaim and popularity. In 2007, the premier Percepolis was transformed by Satrapi into an animated film, which was later nominated for an Oscar.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
Middle school and up. Its format will be enticing to teens, and its content interesting and informative for all ages.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Why does Nasser Ali Khan choose death?
*What effects does this choice have on the rest of his family?
*Why doesn't Nasser Ali see how important his life is to those around him? Further, how can his total narcissism not have pointed the way to any such realization?
Challenge Issues:
Absolutely none foreseeable...and, it's good for you!
Why Include?:
I am an avid reader of Satrapi's stories, and this project provided me with an excuse to enjoy it on semester time.

Green Angel

Green Angel
by Alice Hoffman
Scholastic Press
New York
2003
ISBN: 0439443849

Plot Summary:
Green has always generally felt like the black sheep of an otherwise supernaturally beautiful family. Farmers all, Green is particularly gifted with a green thumb. Then, one day as the family goes into the city to market, Green stays home to weed, and everything changes forever.
Critical Evaluation:
A wonderfully opaque book, Green's tale is told in simplified description and pared-down emotion, mirroring Green's gradual breakdown into apathy and despair. The chapters are aligned according to "Heart," "Soul," "Treasure," and "Rain," marking a trail from numbness to pain to torrential feeling to redemption.
Reader's Annotation:
After a seemingly natural disaster destroys her family, Green shuts down from all she knows and feels. She literally paints herself into a corner, painting the exits shut. But the natural world does not seem to want Green dead...
Genre:
Dystopia/Romance/YA Fiction
Author Info:
Alice Hoffman is the author of countless books for young adults and adults. Her books have been translated into film, and into over 20 different languages. Practical Magic and Aquamarine were both made into films.
Reader Level/Interest Age:
A young adult book, but with emotional themes and stylistic tendencies so mature that it will appeal to most poetry readers.
Booktalking Ideas:
*Why does Green change her name to Ash?
*What do the thorns, bats, and ivys signify?
*What does Diamond bring to Ash's life?
Challenge Issues:
A dark book, but no challenges foreseeable.
Why Include?:
The book jacket appealed to me; and Hoffman's name is well-known.

Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko
Written and Directed by Richard Kelley
2001
Pandora Cinema
Rated R

Plot Summary:
Donnie is an emotionally troubled boy with a propensity for sleepwalking. His family worriedly pressures him to take his meds and talk to his shrink; which he seems to do, for the most part. One day, part of an airplane engine crashes into Donnie's bedroom. Concurrently, a large bunny named Frank begins making overtures and suggestions to Donnie, most of which involve small-scale vandalism and destruction. Frank's visits to Donnie steadily increase, along with his countdown to Halloween, the day he says the world will end.
Critical Evaluation:
Despite its rootedness in a suburban neighborhood and a small private school, Donnie Darko immediately signals its grander ambitions with its opening aerial shots and grand musical score. The film's combination of confused boy and abstract existential philosophy plays to unique ends, allowing for an indulgence that graces both while refusing trivialization. Kelly very obviously bites off much more than he can chew, but the faithful emotion and polished style he brings to the material affords a grace that is unsurpassable.
Reader's Annotation:
A bunny keeps whispering to Donnie that the world is about to end. But between his encounters with Grandma Death, Stephen Hawking's worm hole theories, and his infatuation with the troubled new girl, he's not sure what to believe. Then it all starts to come together...
Genre:
Science-Fiction/Bildungsroman
Reader (Viewer) Level/Interest Age:
A teenage, post-apocalyptic cult movie.
Author Info:
Richard Kelly went to college with my sister in Radford, Virginia. Donnie Darko was his first film, debuting to apathy, building to intense B-movie fandom. Kelly has since directed two films, both of which garnered mixed, confused reviews.
Filmtalking Ideas:
*Who is Frank and why does he choose Donnie?
*What role do the 2 sympathetic teachers play in Donnie's life?
*Does his mother understand his plight? And, what about his therapist?
*Why is the old lady on the hill referred to as Grandma Death?
Challenge Issues:
The film is rated R for language, violence, and "some" drug use. However, the drugs are prescription anti-depressants, the language is typical, and the violence is minimal. The themes are mature and dark though, and probably of interest only to older teens and morose adults.
Why Include?:
Because I love this film and believe it to be an important document recording teenage anxiety, confusion, and possible schizophrenia.

The Bride's Farewell

The Bride's Farewell
by Meg Rosoff
2009
Viking Peguin
New York
ISBN: 9780670020997

Plot Summary:
On the morning of her marriage to her childhood friend, Pell steals away, taking only her shawl, her beloved horse Jack, and her tiniest brother, Bean. Pell is determined to carve out a new life for herself, minus the pain, poverty, and despair of her childhood surroundings. She possesses a strong talent for blacksmith and horsemanship, but with few chances and even fewer coins in her pocket, Bean, Jack, and Pell are soon plunged into an even less certain world than the world of Nomansland.
Critical Evaluation:
A highly imaginative and emotional story, written with a sparseness of dialogue, and a simplicity of description. Rosoff manages to evoke a world distant and fully realizable at once; in turn, producing a heroine full of contradiction, opposing desires, joy and pain.
Reader's Annotation:
Pell has lived her whole life succumbing to the demands and desires of others. One early morning, she steals away into the countryside, determined to discover what her own desires might be.
Genre:
Gothic realism/Romance
Reader Age/Interest Level:
14 and up into 100!
Author Info:
Meg Rosoff didn't turn to writing fiction until well into her 40's, yet her first novel, How I Live Now, still managed to acquire numerous awards and loads of critical acclaim. The Bride's Farewell is her fourth novel.
Booktalking Tips:
*What makes Pell suddenly depart from Nomansland?
*Are her desires for an independent life a realistic ambition for a solitary young female in the 19th century?
*What does Pell share in common with Esther and her children?
Challenge Issues:
None foreseeable.
Why Include?:
After reading How I Live Now, I will forever be a Meg Rosoff fan and avid reader of her writings.