The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book

Citation:

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. ISBN: 9780060530928

Plot Summary:

                The Graveyard Book opens with a toddler escaping from his crib to go exploring during the middle of the night as a murder “the man Jack” is killing his family with the specific attempt to get the child. The toddler slips out of the house and makes his way to a graveyard where he is found and adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens. He is then name Nobody “Bod” Owens. Bod is raised by the ghosts and in-between living in the graveyard. He attempts to go to school, but is bullied which brings too much attention to him. The ghosts and beings are protecting him from the man Jack and his various attempts to murder Bod over the years. These beings also become his teachers. Bod becomes friends with Scarlett Perkins; however her parents convince her that he is an imaginary friend and then move to Scotland. Later, though she moves back after her parents get divorced and she and Bod renew their friendship. Scarlett wants to learn more about Bod’s family so she approaches a historian who lives in his old house, unknowingly leading Bod to the man who murdered his family. She and Bod face off for a final battle against the man Jack, but is so traumatized that Silas wipes her memories and convinces her mom to move back to Scotland. The story ends with Bod out growing the graveyard and his ability to see ghosts.

Critical Analysis:

                The Graveyard Book was written by Neil Gaiman and was the first book to ever make both the author and illustrators shortlists. This book is told in an increment of two year time periods as Nobody “Bod” Owens grows up in a graveyard and thwarts the murder that killed his family. Each chapter is its own short story and could be read as standalone story. The main character is an adventurer who befriends all sorts of characters from werewolves to ghosts and humans. The writing captures the different years of the main characters childhood. The different characters are brought to life through the imagination of the author even though he never comes out and says directly what they are, you can infer from the context clues.

Reviews:

Booklist: "This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel's ultimate message is strong and life affirming..this is a rich story with broad appeal."

Kirkus Reviews: "Wistful, witty, wise-and creepy. This needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child." 

School Library Journal: “This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages.”

Connections:

-          A monster calls by Patrick Ness

-          Day of the dead celebrations and history

o   http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html

o   http://latino.si.edu/dayofthedead/

-          Halloween

o   http://www.halloweenhistory.org/

All review courtesy of Amazon.com

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska

Citation:

Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN: 9780525475064

Plot Summary:

                Looking for Alaska is written in two parts, before and after. The story opens with Miles “Pudge” Halter leaving Florida for Culver Creek Boarding School in rural Alabama. Once there he meets Chip “the Colonel” Martin and Alaska Young. The “Weekday Warriors,” those who go to boarding school during the week but go home to Birmingham on the weekends initiate Pudge by duck taping him and throwing him in the lake. While throwing him in the lake is not unusual, duck taping is and soon Pudge and his friends are in an all out prank war with the “Weekday Warriors.” As the year progresses Alaska and the Colonel take Pudge out of his comfort zone by engaging him in smoking and drinking which ultimately leads to Alaska’s demise. However even though Pudge has a crush on Alaska he dates Lara Buterskaya a Romanian immigrant, who is also part of their group. Pudge falls hard for Alaska and a night of drinking leads to them having a romantic interlude. After Alaska’s untimely demise the group is left to pick up the pieces and put together her last night. Did she commit suicide or was it a drunken driving accident? After Alaska’s death the Colonel and Pudge frantically try to piece together what happened that lead Alaska to commit suicide. They exclude Tamuki and Lara which divides the group as they spiral into depression. Looking for Alaska ends with a letter from Tamuki to the Colonel and Pudge explaining some of Alaska’s last night.

Critical Analysis:

                Looking for Alaska is an incredibly well written book with the characters reflecting teenage thoughts and feelings. The most interesting part of this book is the fact that you never really know why Alaska died, was it from the drinking or did she commit suicide. John Green leaves this for you to decide. The character Pudge is intuitive and sensitive with inner monologues reflecting a teenager’s view. The Colonel has an arrogance and brash sense of humor that stems from his poor background and being the mastermind behind Alaska’s pranks. Alaska’s character has no other words than being an enigma. You are often left with the feeling that even she does not know what is going on in her own head.

Reviews:

School Library Journal: “Green's dialogue is crisp, especially between Miles and Chip. His descriptions and Miles's inner monologues can be philosophically dense, but are well within the comprehension of sensitive teen readers. The chapters of the novel are headed by a number of days "before" and "after" what readers surmise is Alaska's suicide. These placeholders sustain the mood of possibility and foreboding, and the story moves methodically to its ambiguous climax. The language and sexual situations are aptly and realistically drawn, but sophisticated in nature. Miles's narration is alive with sweet, self-deprecating humor, and his obvious struggle to tell the story truthfully adds to his believability.

Publisher’s Weekly: "Readers will only hope that this is not the last word from this promising new author." 

Kirkus Reviews: “What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green’s mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge’s voice. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in Alaska’s vanilla-and-cigarettes scent."

Connections:

-          Other books by John Green

o   The Fault in Our Stars

o   An Abudance of Katherines

o   Paper Towns

-          Suicide awareness

o   www.save.org

o   www.suicide.org

All reviews courtesy of Amazon.com

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

Citation:

Krosoczka, J. J. (2009). Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books. ISBN: 9780329714536

Plot Summary:

                Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute opens with Hector, Terrence, and Dee musing about the daily lives of their lunch ladies. The graphic novel opens with the Lunch Lady stopping a robbery. The children, also known as the Breakfast Bunch, are addressing the question of what she does when Hector is targeted by the school bully Miloe, but before he can steal Hector’s lunch money, a substitute teacher stops him! Now, who is the substitute, and who is he subbing for? Why Mr. O’Connell, the math teacher, but that just does not make sense because he is never out sick and he never gives them this much homework. Mr. O’Connell was the favorite teacher of the year, but not with this new substitute. The Lunch Lady and Betty have a secret lab in the boiler room where they test out new gadgets and monitor the school. The Lunch Lady decides to inspect the substitute’s classroom while he is in the teacher’s lounge and she finds a disc! The Lunch Lady decides to follow the substitute after school, and the Breakfast Bunch decides to follow her after school too. They follow the substitute to a warehouse and find that he’s not human, but a robot Mr. Edison invented. The Breakfast Bunch follows the Lunch Lady into the warehouse room only to be confronted by a heap of robots. Then Betty captures Mr. Edison and Hector saves the day by turning off the robots with his remote for his science project.

Critical Analysis:

                Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is a children’s graphic novel that delves into the depths of what does the Lunch Lady do when she is not serving meals at school. The pictures and captions capture the feel of a school and the Lunch Lady’s sayings like “good gravy!” and “cauliflower!” adds life and character to her. The pictures are ink drawings that tell the story are phenomenal because of the simplicity and the story they are sharing. This book will teach children to wonder about what teachers and others they interact with do in their spare time when they are not at school. This is the first graphic novel I have ever read and now I am going to read the whole series!

Reviews:

Booklist: “This tongue-in-cheek superheroine graphic novel will hit the spot for chapter-book readers. Lunch Lady and Betty, her assistant in both the cafeteria and her role of wrong-­righting supersleuth, investigate the strange case of an absent teacher, his creepy substitute, and a plan to grab the Teacher of the Year Award by truly foul means. Three little kids join in the action as Lunch Lady, equipped with a variety of high-tech kitchen gadgets like a spatu-copter and a lunch-tray laptop, tracks a cleverly disguised robot to his maker’s lab, where a whole army of cyborgs require kicking, stomping, and the wielding of fish-stick nunchucks. Yellow-highlighted pen-and-ink cartoons are as energetic and smile-provoking as Lunch Lady’s epithets of “Cauliflower!” and Betty’s ultimate weapon, the hairnet. There is a nice twist in the surprise ending, and the kids’ ability to stand up to the school bully shows off their newfound confidence in a credible manner. Little details invite and reward repeat readings with visual as well as verbal punning.”

Connections:

-          Lunch Lady series

-          Platypus and the Police Squad: the Frog who Croaked

o   Jarrett J. Krosoczka

o   ISBN: 978-0062071644

-          Babymouse series

o   Jennifer Holm

All review courtesy of Amazon.com