#5 Ties That Bind, Ties That Break

                                                            









Namioka, Lensey. Ties That Bind, Ties That Break.New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf. 1999. Print.



Annotation:
As a young child, Ailin Tao, is determined not to have her feet bound as she has witnessed two older sisters before her.Realizing the conforming limitations placed on females by Chinese society, Ailin forges a new path which requires her to make difficult decisions, in turn creating her own new destiny.

Justification for Nomination:
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break  is an historical YA novel which takes place in Nanjing,China a few years before the outbreak of the Chinese  Revolution. During the early 1900's in China, the tradition of female feet binding was  practiced by upper class families wanting to produce  'respectable' daughters. A young woman with small dainty feet was particularly attractive to their prospective husband. Marriage and a life of domesticity was the ultimate goal for most Chinese girls from reputable families.

The main character of this YA book, Ailin, is appalled by the idea of having her feet bound as her two older sisters have done. She does not understand the sense of this agonizing tradition and would much rather lead the active life she sees  her male cousins enjoying.As she enters adolescence, Ailin begins to realize that Chinese society of her time does not allow women, who deviate from the traditional path, many other respected options.

 Author, Lensey Namioka, concisely constructs a first person narrative which incorporates specific details of  Chinese culture within every page of the novel. Descriptions of  Chinese  food, clothing, education and  religion are all integrated into the daily rituals of Ailin's life. Young readers learn that in the Chinese culture "a person is one year old at the moment of birth and another year is added to everyone's age on New Year's Day."  Namioka's, Ties That Bind, Ties That Break educates as well as culturally transforms the reader!

Characters with strong beliefs and principles give authenticity to this novel as well. The protagonist, Ailin, is surrounded by well developed characters, such as Father, Grandmother, Big Uncle, Second Sister, her English teacher , Miss Gilbertson and a good friend, Xueyan. Toward the conclusion of the book,  Ailin moves to America and the reader is introduced to James Chew, a Chinese American. Ailin, who is sixteen at this time, begins a more adult relationship with James-one based  on mutual admiration and respect.Namiko shows the progression of Ailin's maturity in this male/female relationship.

This historical novel constantly asks questions of identity--Who am I?, Where do I fit in? How do I represent myself on this planet? With courage and advice from other significant adults, the young person forges a unpredictable but definite path through adolescence and into adulthood. I recommend Lensey Namiok's, Ties That Bind, Ties That Break because it shows us that no matter what culture we live in, lessons of self discovery never lose their value.

Genre Category: Historical Fiction/ Coming of Age/ Problem/ Realistic

# 4 The Pigman & Me

Zindel, Paul. The Pigman & Me. New York, Harper Collins Publishers,1991. Print.




Annotation: "Eight hundred and fifty-three horrifying things had happened to me by the time I was a teenager. That was when I met my pigman, whose real name was Nonno Frankie."


Justification for Nomination:
 This autobiography by Paul Zindel, well known author of the popular YA novel , The Pigman,and The Pigman's Legacy, focuses on a very important year in his adolescence. This is the year he meets Nonno Frankie Vivona, who actually becomes Zindel's real life 'pigman'! Zindel ,growing up without a father,  desperately needs a male role model. In this book , Zindel retells humorous and heart- warming encounters  experienced with this discerning father figure, Nonno Frankie,as well as other memories of his mother and the year they lived in the small community of  Travis,Staten Island, New York.

 Paul's mother,raising  two children on her own, moves the family from one apartment to the next, and it is  when the family moves into the small town of Travis that Paul finally finds a bit of stability. Zindel describes the true accounts of his life as he, his mother and  sister, Betty, move into a newly purchased home which they share with another single mom, Connie and her twin toddler boys.It is here where Paul Zindel meets Connie's father, Nonno Frankie (his' pigman').

Paul Zindel relies on his skillful writing  to create a sometimes humorous, sometimes heart wrenching glimpse into an extremely important year in his life. His novel also includes family photos and special moments of his life growing up in Staten Island. Jennifer Wolupopski, a Polish girl in the neighborhood, becomes  Zindel's best friend and they share many talks in his favorite hang-out, the apple tree.

 The use of humor and the fluid writing style are tools which Zindel uses to extend this personal message to a teenage audience. His chapter headings are cleverly descriptive and get right to the heart of the matter. For example, Chapter 2, The Day it Rained Cockroaches is just as comically descriptive as Chapter 8,School Should Be a Big Pot of Juicy Meatballs! 


Above all, Pigman and Me, is a book about friendship, self discovery and possibilities. Nono Frankie , when not cooking fantastic Italian meals, becomes a true friend to Zindel. Nono Frankie teaches Paul how to fish for 'killies', how not to become a zombie and how to win his first fistfight.

Even more importantly, this autobiography/memoir also points out the importance of  realizing how many opportunities there are in life. Teens can learn by observing the choices others have made, in order not to make the same mistakes in their future. Zindel presents the reader with a difficult , but pivotal time in his adolescence. Life's secrets are never easy to uncover, but having a pigman by your side never hurts!

Genre Category: Autobiography/Memoir/ Coming of Age/

#3 Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes

                                                                  

Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes. New York: Harper                       Collins, 1993. Print.

Annotation:

Eric Calhoune or Moby( as most kids at school call him) and Sarah Brynes are best friends. Both of them are picked on in high school  for their differences; Sarah has hideous scars on her face from a supposed childhood 'accident' and Eric is grossly fat.Crispy Pork Rinds  is the name of the  paper they write together; "Sarah Byrnes is crispy, I'm a porker, and rinds are the part that's left-that no one pays attention to" is how Eric explains the meaning of the title. As Eric joins the swim team and begins to lose weight, he is determined to hold on to the one thing that means the most to him-their friendship.

Justification for Nomination:

Staying Fat for Sarah Brynes by Chris Crutcher is a book which almost every teenager will be able to relate to in one way or the other. It is filled with so many adolescent themes;searching for identity, peer pressure, gaining emotional independence and understanding family relationships are just a few. Reading the brief  blurb summary on the book's back cover does not prepare the reader for the enormity of teen issues found inside this novel. Most of the action takes place at high school and at Sacred Heart Hospital where Sarah is in the psychiatric unit. Her father's abusive behaviour has forced Sarah into silence and Eric desperately wants to help her escape this terribly defeating situation.

Throughout the book, there are a variety of supporting characters who have well developed roles. Dale Thorton is the neighborhood bully who was never able to pass eighth grade, Steve Ellerby is  Eric's loyal friend who drives him around town,and Mark Brittian, a conservative christian is one of Eric's rivals on the swim team. Sarah Brynes, however, has been Eric's closet friend since grade school and he is determined to keep it that way. This is the reason he wants to stay fat, hence, the book's title-Staying Fat for Sarah Brynes-becoming thin could change his image and jeopardize their friendship!

Crutcher also provides a sampling of very supportive adults in these teens lives. Mrs. Lemry, the  fair and compassionate high school teacher and swim coach, Carver, the Vietnam vet and boyfriend of Eric's mother  and Mr. Ellerby, Steve's father and Episcopal minister are part of the adult cast of characters who bolster the narrative. Crutcher delivers moral messages through the adults actions which helps structure the dynamic plot. He also touches on  larger issues of abortion and religion by incorporating them into Mrs. Lemry's senior Contemporary American Thought Class(CAT) discussion groups. 

I recommend this YA book to teens and adults because it shows that self discovery is a process not a destination. Importantly, teens can make a difference in their own lives, as well as others, by having the courage to reach out to others in need. On more than one occasion, Crutcher writes the phrase,"Boy, ain't it a trip where heroes come from" to point out an admirable act of courage delivered by one of the characters. 

Staying Fat for Sarah Brynes is a story of friendship, accountability and courage.Chris Crutcher never lets us forget what being a teenager really means!

Genre Category: Realistic/ Problem/ Edgy/ Coming of Age

# 2-Hidden

            

Frost, Helen. Hidden. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. Print.                                      

               

Annotation: Two girls, Wren and Darra, share a very traumatic experience early in their young lives and come away with different perspectives of that event. Darra's father steals a car and locks it in his garage, unaware that Wren is hiding in the backseat. Darra is the only one aware that Wren is there. Six years later,they are coincidentally brought together again at Oakwood Summer Camp. It is at camp, assigned to the same cabin, where the girls reluctantly begin to uncover feelings from the past and imagine possibilities for the future.     

Justification for Nomination:
Helen Frost has done it again! -written another well crafted and spell binding YA work! Hidden captures your attention from the very first page by Frost's skillful use of cuttingly clear descriptive verse and  interior monologue. The opening page vividly describes Wren's fear of being in the backseat of her mother's car as it is stolen. Her mother, running in to pay for gas, will not know the whereabouts of her child for several days.It is only Darra, the daughter of the kidnapper, who eventually realizes a girl, her age, is trapped within their locked garage. Frost masterfully alternates between chapters describing Wren and Darra's memory of the event.

It is not, however, until the last part of the novel, that Wren and Darra re-encounter each other as teenagers. Cabin Eight at Camp Oakwood is where they begin to relive and acknowledge feelings of guilt and blame which they have been harboring for the past six years. It is not until the girls are forced to participate in the same Lifesaving swimming class that they begin to really 'talk' to each other. A water game introduced by their counselor, called 'Drown Last', puts them into direct contact with each and produces dramatic results!

Through the clever use of verse, the reader is able to envision different perspectives of the same incident which Wren and Darra  experienced as eight year olds. In the beginning of the novel, each girl's thoughts revolve around their parents reactions. By the end of  the novel, these teenage girls have different concerns; their main interests now center on the reaction of their peers and on their own opinions. Frost realistically illustrates the developmental differences between an eight year olds thoughts and those of a fourteen year old. The author brilliantly illustrates the pivotal points of change within the adolescence's development. As Wren and Darra become teenagers they achieve more emotional independence from their parents, develop social skills and expand their sense of community.

Furthermore, I was swept away by this amazing novel in verse! The lyrical rhythm and flowing structure has a magnetic quality which doesn't let you go! The white spaces between the text highlight the flowing transitions and emotional intensity of the dialogue. Frost consistently creates page after page in this manner. Additionally, at the end of book, she explains an alternate way to read the novel through specific placement of her verse- a 'hidden' meaning to an already rich and compelling story!

I nominate Hidden wholeheartedly! Frost's work has it all; depth, craft and aesthetics! This novel in verse creates a multi layered plot with the intensity that young adults, and adults, crave. Helen Frost has delivered a perfect little package.

Genre Category:  Verse Novel / Realistic Fiction/ Coming of Age