Young Adult Fiction

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Corporation
Copyright date: 2008
Number of pages: 374 pages
Awards: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, Cybils Awards for Fantasy & Science Fiction Award, Hal Clement Award, California Young Reader Medal: Young Adult Award
Genre: Adventure fiction, Science fiction, Drama, Action

A short summary:

Suzanne Collins’s latest trilogy that includes The Hunger Games has gained much popularity. The Hunger Games is set in our world, but in a post-apocalyptic time. The Capital is the cruel government of the 12 districts of Panem. All of the citizens hate the Capital because of the oppression, poverty, and violence that they suffer. One boy and one girl (aged 12-18) are chosen from each district to fight on live television until only one child remains. As boys and girls die, the hatred for the Capital is only strengthened. Character Katniss Everdeen volunteers in place of her younger sister Primrose for District 12. Peeta Mellark, who is in love with Katniss, is chose as the male tribute. The ultimate struggle comes when Peeta and Katniss have to decide if they want to kill each other in the end. The districts watching the Games have now witnessed an act of rebellion and they want more. Thus, a second revolution is about to be born, which leads to the next books of the trilogy.       
Suzanne's website: http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

Cover:

·         Is the cover attractive? The cover is fairly plain. The title is intriguing.

Story:

·         Are the stories interesting to children? This trilogy is certainly an interesting read. They are highly recommended and intrigue the readers, making them want to read more. The action in the book is definitely able to capture the interest of boys and the hints of a love story captures the heart of girls. It is a very suspenseful book and leaves the reader guessing what will happen next.

Organization:

·         Do the spacing and placement of the words make the passages easy to read? The styles of the book makes it easy to read. The style certainly doesn’t take away from the plot.

Characters:

·         Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? The reader will find it very easy to relate to the main characters. The book is a nice, easy, and casual read for everyone to enjoy because of the suspense, style, and characters.

·         Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? There is a variety of characters who depict leadership roles in this book.

Themes:

·         Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? The book keeps the reader guessing with unpredictable twists and turns as the story progresses. The book is full of action and excitement. It seems that at the end of every chapter there is always a new twist and turn.

·         Are there lessons to be learned? There are a variety of opportunities for the reader to learn lessons as they read. There are many important messages throughout the book, such as self-sacrific, perserverance, standing up for youself, and dignity.

Settings:

·         Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? The story is vivid and allows the readers to put themselves in the novel.

Illustrations:

·         Are diverse populations represented in the illustrations? There are diversity in the book. But, no illustrations to show so.

·         Are the illustrations large, clear and bright? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

·         Do the illustrations invite the reader to explore the text? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

·         Do the illustrations explain and enhance the context? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

Other Considerations:

·         Will the stories encourage discussions? There are an abundance of opportunities for discussions to develop in the book. There are a variety of underlying messages that encourage the readers to think and question.

·         Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? This book is appropriate for young adult readers because it is laid out in a manner that is easy to follow and understand.

Reading level scale

7	highly difficult
6	difficult
5	moderately difficult
4	challenging
3	above average
2	Average (for 10-16 year old readers)
1	highly readable

 

The Hunger Games: Rating = 4/5

 classroom application:
In the Hunger Games trilogy is loaded with opportunities to discuss propaganda techniques for marketing and advertising. One big activity the class could do would be creating a commercial as if they were trying to get sponsors for a tribute in the Hunger Games. This would easily relate to Super Bowl season because during that time there are so many great commercials that the students could identify different propaganda techniques.

 

 

Title: Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Copyright date: 1998
Number of pages:  240 pages
Awards: John Newbery Medal, National Book Award for Young People's Literature, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
Genre: Adventure Fiction, Satire

A short summary:

A popular book among youths today is Holes. The main character is a kid names Stanley. He has been mistaken for a crime that he did not commit. He has to go to a boy’s juvenile detention center called Camp Green Lake. At the camp, the boys spend their days digging holes to build character. The boys soon figure out they are digging for more than to just build character. So, through the course of the redemption story, Stanley tries to dig up the truth.

Louis Sachar's website: http://www.louissachar.com/

Cover:

·         Is the cover attractive? The cover is interesting and suspenseful.

Story:

·         Are the stories interesting to children? This book is great for young readers. It may be too complicated for children below the 4th grade because they may miss some of the amazing descriptions that Louis uses. It is a book that is hard to put down. It is a unique read and provides a high standard for young adult literature.

Organization:

·         Do the spacing and placement of the words make the passages easy to read? This is a longer book with no illustrations. It is laid out in a manner that is easy for young readers to maneuver through. The motifs in the story pull together in an ending that is very pleasing. It is a great book about hope, justice and vision for the purpose of suffering in our lives.

Characters:

·         Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? There is diversity in the book. In fact, that is one of the main themes.

·         Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? There aren’t many female characters in Holes. The ladies that do appear tend to be powerful.

Themes:

·         Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? This book intrigues the reader and gives lead way to many great discussions of a variety of topics.

·         Are there lessons to be learned? This book is inspiring and provides hope to the reader because it teaches loyalty, the importance of true friendship, and the importance of not judging other by misfortunes of their lives.

Settings:

·         Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? The novel takes place mostly at the boys’ juvenile detention center that is in the middle of a desert in Texas.

Illustrations:

·         Are diverse populations represented in the illustrations? There is diversity presented in the book. No/limited illustrations to depict it.

·         Are the illustrations large, clear and bright? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

·         Do the illustrations invite the reader to explore the text? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

·         Do the illustrations explain and enhance the context? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

Other Considerations:

·         Will the stories encourage discussions? This book intrigues the reader and gives lead way to many great discussions of a variety of topics.

·         Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? This a great book for young readers. It is a different read that is full of adventure and questions that have the reader wanting to read more.



Reading level scale

7	highly difficult
6	difficult
5	moderately difficult
4	challenging
3	above average
2	Average (reading level= 5th grade interest level= 6th-8th grade)
1	highly readable

 

Holes: Rating = 4/5

classroom application:

There are many opportunities for activities and lessons in this book. One example could be an activity called "Important Character Selfie" where the student chooses a significant event and character from the reading and using the template provided to them, they draw and color a "selfie" that the character could have snapped during the event. On the template, they must write what happened at the time of the selfie. Another great activity could be a "Character Mind Map." For this activity, the students choose an important character and even from the reading. Inside the head of the character, they write and illustrate things that the character would be thinking during the event.

 

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Copyright date: 2009
Number of pages: 375 pages
Awards: ALA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, Charlotte Zolotow Award, Florida Sunshine State Book Award, Kentucky Bluegrass Award
Genre: Young-adult, Science Fiction, Post-apocalyptic

A short summary:

The Maze Runner is a fast and compelling read. The action is non-stop and leaves the reader wanting to read more of the series. The main character, Thomas, wakes up in an elevator and can only remember his name. He can’t remember anything of what happened prior to his waking up. When he gets out of the elevator he finds himself in the glade. He finds others in the glade, all of whom have no memory of their life before entering the glade. The gladers try to solve the maze that surrounds the glade in hopes of finding a way out of the glade. A girl appears saying “everything will change” and the gladers seek to solve the mystery of the maze and remember their lives prior to the strange world they have entered.
James Dashner's website: http://dashnerarmy.com/

Cover:

·         Is the cover attractive? The cover is beautiful and captures the attention of an onlooker. It shows a story that is full of mystery and danger.

Story:

·         Are the stories interesting to children? The Maze Runner is perfect for someone who loves to read, but doesn’t want to be dragged down with long words and difficult premises as they read. As the readers read the book, they are easily able to discover a way to project a movie that is directly translated from the words on the page.

Organization:

·         Do the spacing and placement of the words make the passages easy to read? The linguistic creativity is amazing.

Characters:

·         Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups? The is diversity in this book, which is a pleasant surpise to the reaaders.

·         Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles? There are few female roles in this book. The females have little to no purpose in the story, except to develop the male characters.

Themes:

·         Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to question, and to consider? The plot is a little unstable towards the end, but there are no engregious holds that keep if from being plausible, if not believable. The book ends with a cliffhanger, which is genius because it keeps the reader wanting to read the next book (if there is).

·         Are there lessons to be learned? There are definitely lessons to be learned from this book, such as trust, importance of physical, mental, and spiritual strength and the importance of knowing what good leadership looks like.

Settings:

·         Do the stories reflect a variety of settings? The setting entices the reader’s imagination and is vivid enough to make the world come alive. The imagery is clear and often poetic. The story is paced in a manner that is easy to follow.

Illustrations:

·         Are diverse populations represented in the illustrations? There is racial diversity in the book, which is pleasantly suprising. Little/No illustrations to depict this.

·         Are the illustrations large, clear and bright? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

·         Do the illustrations invite the reader to explore the text? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

·         Do the illustrations explain and enhance the context? N/A. No/limited illustrations.

Other Considerations:

·         Will the stories encourage discussions? There are many great opportunities for discussion while reading this book and many resources online to help get discussions rolling.

·         Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand what is presented? The book is an easy, enjoyable and quick read. It is a spectacular book, but a little violent for really young readers. It has great action and suspense that intrigues teens. It parallels a lot of personalities we see in teens in our world today.

Reading level scale

7	highly difficult
6	difficult
5	moderately difficult
4	challenging
3	above average
2	Average (reading level =5th grade, target audience= 7-12
1	highly readable

The Maze Runner: Rating = 4/5

classroom application:
 Throughout the reading discussions will play a vital role in comprehension for the class. Its a good idea to focus on character connections as well as how setting impacts the actions of the characters. Possible lessons that can derive from the reading would be character development, character connections and point of view, and predicting.