Okay, ask me.
1. Schooled
2. The Secret Hour
3. Beautiful Creatures
4. The Hunger Games
5. The Schwa Was Here
Don't recognize these titles? You would if you were under 16 years old. Yes, I am addicted to young adult fiction.
You might not think this is a problem, but I've had my issues. I don't remember how to read books written for adults. I don't even want to read them.
While my adult friends were reading books like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I was reading The Hunger Games. We couldn't talk. I went to pick up Santino from his friend Jeremy's house. Jeremy's dad welcomed me into the house but politely excused himself. "I'm reading a real page-turner so can we talk some other time?" The page turner was that Tattoo book. Was everybody in the universe reading that book? Like The DaVinci Code, I felt like I was missing out on some collective behavior phenomenon because I was quagmired in the world of teenagers with magical powers.
This problem started in September when Santino started reading like a crazy person. And I mean really crazy. He is so engrossed in the worlds he's reading that he talks about characters like they're friends of ours. "I can't believe what Katniss just did," he said. "Oh, is that a girl in your class?" I asked innocently. "No, mom, Katniss is a character in The Hunger Games." Well, if he was going to be friends with all of these people, I had to meet them myself.
Because his enthusiasm (or insanity) is so infectious, I started reading everything Santino read. I also had to read it to relieve his frustration. This started with The Lightning Thief. Santino desperately wanted to talk about the book but didn't want to spoil it for me, especially when he started to read the four sequels in the series.
Oh, it's been a good ride, especially since my students have gotten into some of these same books. When I read Twilight, I had nobody with whom to share my ideas on the book. Having read so many well-written vampire books by Anne Rice, Twilight was a huge disappointment. I was grateful when one of my students, Josie, started reading it.
As an English learner, Josie really struggles with speaking the language. Nevertheless, she loves to read big, thick books that immerse you into a world for hundreds of pages. As she read Twilight I would ask her constantly what she thought. Her response was consistent: "I don't like it." I would nod in agreement--but why? "I don't like Bella," she said. Wow, I couldn't have agreed with her more, and we discussed Bella's character at length.
Finally I could share my ideas with someone else. Still, I wanted to compare it to the Anne Rice vampire characters. Couldn't do that, though. Anne Rice is clearly for grownups, so the Edward vs. LeStat discussion will just have to be tabled. I crave a good solid discussion about a book with an adult. A grown-up. Santino comes close, but he is still too young to read some books with adults as a target.
Now that the year has ended, I'm going to miss having those conversations with my students. I'm starting a book club with Santino and a couple of my friends on the staff of our school that are interested in sharing my young adult fiction addiction. But until our club is up and running, I'll just have to call myself a book club of one.
No comments:
Post a Comment