The Fault In Our Stars Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Green, John. 2012. The Fault In Our Stars. New York, NY: Penguin Group, Inc.   

ISBN: 978-0142424179

Plot Summary

Sixteen year old Hazel is learning how to live an ordinary life after her cancer has left her with failing lungs. Self-described as terminal since the age of thirteen when she was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Hazel feels alone in her world. Reluctantly, she attends a support group for children with cancer where she unexpectedly meets the newest support group member, Augustus. They soon become fast friends having shared similar experiences, thoughts, and feelings about their illnesses. They spend time talking on the phone, watching movies, and discussing literature together. When Hazel and Augustus read books recommended by one another, their relationship begins to develop into something more. Both curious about how one book in particular ends, and longing for more closure than the author provided, they reach out to the author probing him about his plans for a sequel.

As they fall in love, Augustus finds a way to travel to Amsterdam to meet with Peter Van Houten, the author of Hazel’s favorite book. Though meeting with the author turns out to be disappointing, Hazel and Augustus don’t let it keep them from delighting in the trip of a lifetime. Upon returning home to Indiana, an unexpected plot twist forces Hazel to come to terms with inevitable truths, tragic loss, and heartbreaking irony.

Critical Analysis

Author John Green articulates a beautifully written, modern-day, love story about two terminally ill teenagers. His strong development of characters and descriptive style engage readers almost instantaneously. Many themes emerge naturally, most of which contain difficult subject matter for teens, and will resonate with young adult readers.

Even though Hazel is a cancer survivor, readers will relate to her need for independence, strong will, and cynical humor. The author juxtaposes a physically and chronically ill character with an above-average intellect and savvy personality. Hazel is contemplative and ruminative, often struggling with feelings of guilt about burdening her parents. She has a graceful presence, sharp wit and is eloquently expressive. Her unique perspective on life will force teen readers to realize that nothing in life is guaranteed. Augustus’ character grounds Hazel’s tension by helping her embrace the present. He provides more than a distraction from her own issues. Augustus elevates Hazel’s spirit, challenging her to live life to the fullest and enjoy the simple rewards in life.

Green writes a descriptive novel told in first person of the main character, Hazel. The book is written in mostly dialogue, paralleled with Hazel’s narrative subconscious and inner psyche. Readers are able to create vivid images which are anchored by the author’s effective use of metaphors, similes, foreshadowing, and allusions throughout the realistic fiction novel. He does not shy away from raw and intolerable details about the inevitable truths of death and dying.

Themes of friendship, courage, love, injustice, and learning to live a full life are ubiquitous throughout the book. However, the most compelling of these is how the main character learns to live her life to the fullest. As we follow her character, Hazel experiences each one in that order. The story is so believable that readers will experience many of Hazel’s same emotions. She discovers an unlikely friendship; rallies with courage to fall in love; and in the end faces an ironic injustice. Hazel learns firsthand what it really means to live by turning tragedy into triumph, fear into comfort, and heartbreak into solace.

Awards & Review Excerpts

• 2013 Black-Eyed Susan Book Award
• 2013 Virginia Reader's Choice Awards
• 2013 Teen Buckeye Book Award
• 2015 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award
• 2015 Golden Archer Award
• 2015 Sequoyah Book Award
• 2015 Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award
• 2015 Young Reader's Choice Award
• 2014 California Young Reader Medal
• 2013 Indies' Choice Book Award
• 2016 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award

From Booklist: “Beautifully conceived and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible considerations—life, love, and death—with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty, and integrity. In the process, Green shows his readers what it is like to live with cancer, sometimes no more than a breath or a heartbeat away from death. But it is life that Green spiritedly celebrates here, even while acknowledging its pain. In its every aspect, this novel is a triumph.”

From Amazon.com Review:  “In The Fault in Our Stars, John Green has created a soulful novel that tackles big subjects--life, death, love--with the perfect blend of levity and heart-swelling emotion.”

From New York Times Book Review: “[Green] shows us true love—two teenagers helping and accepting each other through the most humiliating physical and emotional ordeals—and it is far more romantic than any sunset on the beach.”

Connections

• Compare and contrast The Fault In Our Stars with books such as:
• Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. ISBN: 1451696191
• Forman, Gayle. If I Stay. ISBN: 014241543X
• Ask students to write about what the title means to them.
• Students can conduct a character analysis of the main character, Hazel.
• Assign students to write about different types of connections: text to self, text to text, text to world.
• Use Google Earth to provide support and context for the setting of the book that occurs in Amsterdam.

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.

Rules Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Lord, Cynthia. 2006. Rules. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.   ISBN: 978-0439443838

Plot Summary

Rules tells the story of twelve-year-old Catherine and her first person account of what it is like to live with an autistic, younger brother. Like most kids her age, Catherine just wants to fit in, hang out with her friends, and live a semi-normal life. This proves to be difficult since she can’t catch a break from looking after her brother, David. David struggles to acquire social skills, and often embarrasses Catherine. Despite his disability, she loves David unconditionally. Catherine tries to help David by creating “rules” so he can navigate adolescence, and not fluster Catherine in public. When Catherine meets Jason, a paraplegic boy in a wheelchair, she is forced to reconsider her own meaning of normal.

Critical Analysis

In her first novel, author Cynthia Lord creates unforgettable characters, a plausible plot, resonating themes, and uniquely tells the story from the point of view of a “tween”. Young readers will connect to Catherine, the main character, because she often feels invisible, as if she has been overlooked. Catherine is expected to look after her younger brother, David, more than she would like. She wants to be free to come into her own and socialize with her own friends. Somehow, however, David is always getting in the way. Her character will strike a chord with teenage readers since they will relate to her resentment of a younger sibling.

The plot of Rules is relevant and plausible. With the introduction of the character of Jason, readers will be engaged and wonder what kind of relationship will be developed between Catherine and Jason. The setting is able to transcend a specific place in the United States. Taking place in the summer, young readers will relate to the lack of structure in daily schedules and further the relevancy of the plot.

Many themes will resonate with readers, the strongest of these being compassion, empathy and communication. Catherine continuously shows compassion and empathy for two characters. She shows compassion to David by trying to help him understand social norms. She doesn’t always want to step in to guide him, but she does so because she loves her brother. Despite her internal struggle to help her brother or not, she always makes compassionate decisions to maintain his dignity. Catherine shows empathy for Jason, a character who uses a wheelchair for mobility. Jason is also non-verbal, and uses communication cards to interact with people. Catherine tries to imagine what it would be like if she was unable to speak or walk. She creates new communication cards for Jason so he is able to broaden his base for expressing himself. Readers young and old will learn a great deal about compassion and empathy from Catherine’s character.

Rules is told in short chapters. Each chapter title is one of Catherine’s rules for David. Author Cynthia Lord weaves together humor with heartbreak, blending a balance of dialogue and narration. Since the story is told in first person, from Catherine’s point of view, the reader comes to know Catherine as she reveals her inner thoughts, feelings and struggles. Another unique quality of Rules is that some of the dialogue is revealed through communication cards. To achieve this, the author uses single words separated by periods, and written in bold print. This indicates when Jason’s character speaks. Catherine must empathize and infer some of his words in order to engage in conversation. This is a distinct way of incorporating dialogue, and developing the characters.

Overall, Rules is an enjoyable read containing dynamic characters, and an engaging plot. It will force anyone who reads it to ask themselves difficult questions about how they would handle situations in which Catherine finds herself. Because the author avoids typecasting the roles of her characters, both boys and girls will equally enjoy reading Rules.

Awards & Review Excerpts

• 2007 Newbery Honor Book
• 2007 Schneider Family Book Award
• 2006 Mitten Award
• 2009 Great Lakes Great Books Award
• 2008 Maine Student Book Award
• 2009 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award
• 2008 Kentucky Bluegrass Award
• 2007-2008 Great Stone Face Book Award
• 2008 Buckeye Children’s Book Award

From Publishers Weekly: “Appealing . . . entirely convincing. . . . A rewarding story that may well inspire readers to think about others' points of view.”

From School Library Journal: “Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.”

From Kirkus Review: “Middle-grade readers will recognize her longing for acceptance and be intrigued by this exploration of dealing with differences.”

Connections

• Use the Literature Circle Questions at the back of the book to spark meaningful discussions with students.
• Recommend that teachers use this book as a read-aloud since if offers many opportunities to discuss characters’ choices and motives.
• Recommend parents read this book with older siblings of children with autism.
• During or after reading the book, ask students to develop their own set of rules.
• After reading the book, ask students to create a set of communication cards to add to Jason’s communication book.

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.

Babymouse: Queen of the World! Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Holm, Jennifer L., and Matthew Holm. 2005. Babymouse: Queen of the World!. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.   ISBN: 978-0375832291

Plot Summary

Babymouse: Queen of the World! is a graphic novel about the adventures of a young mouse with a vivid imagination. The main character, Babymouse, becomes bored with her life. She follows the same routine each day, each week. Suddenly, she decides she wants to branch out and live a more glamorous and exciting life. Babymouse finally gains the attention of a popular girl in school, and eventually receives an invitation to her slumber party. Babymouse believes this will be the event of her lifetime. She fantasizes about the escapades surely to take place at the slumber party. However, when she arrives Babymouse discovers the party is less than what she expected. She learns a valuable life lesson about the importance of being herself.

Comic-style illustrations, creativity, and humor abound in the first book of the Babymouse series. Once they have read Babymouse, readers will be eager to read other books in the series following  Babymouse on her imaginative journeys and adventures.

Critical Analysis

Sister and brother, Jennifer and Matthew Holm, team up as author and illustrator to create a humorous, low fantasy graphic novel series, Babymouse. In the first installment of the book series, main character Babymouse is introduced as a whimsical, creative, and imaginative middle-school-aged mouse. She has typical struggles of “tweens” her age as she tries to win over peers and fit in with the popular crowd in her quest for a glamorous and exciting life. Like some children her age, Babymouse ultimately wants to gain recognition and be included. Young readers will be engaged with the story and identify with Babymouse and her desires.

Subtle, timeless themes will resonate with young readers. Good versus evil is certainly a theme that stands out more than others. Babymouse thinks she wants to become friends with Felicia Furrypaws. She sees Felicia Furrypaws as a queen: glamorous, popular, and beautiful. However, only when Babymouse gets to know the real Felicia does she realize that she is rude, bossy, and a cheater. Babymouse learns to be content with herself, and realizes she does not need to change in order to impress people and be happy. In the end, she comes to realize who her real friends are, and she doesn’t have to look far to find them.

Jennifer and Matthew Holm combine their talents to create a hilarious and unique style of writing and illustrations. Together, they create a dynamic plot by merging words and illustrations. Simple black and white illustrations feature pink accents for emphasis. Cartoon-style drawings, often flanked with witty captions and onomatopoeias, support the simple text and sequence of the story. As readers follow the main character, they also enter into the realm of Babymouse’s alter-ego through vignettes as she fantasizes about being queen of the world.

Awards & Review Excerpts

• 2006 American Library Association Notable Books for Children Award
• 2006 Gryphon Award
• 2006 New York Book Show Award
• 2006 Pennsylvania Young Readers Choice Award, Nominee

From Booklist: “Cute, smart, sassy Babymouse is fun and funny, and this book, like its predecessors, will draw reluctant readers as well as Babymouse fans.”

From Publishers Weekly: “The Holms make humorous allusions to novels and movies, and interject sympathetic remarks from an offstage narrator.”

Connections

• Recommend this series to reluctant readers.
• Create a display of books by author Jennifer Holm, including some of the Babymouse series.
• Use this book as a resource to help teach social skills to students.
• After reading Babymouse, have students create their own comic strips.
• Compare and contrast this book with another graphic novel series by the same author and illustrator team such as:
• Holm, Jennifer. Squish #1: Super Amoeba. ISBN: 978-0-375-84389-1

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.

Turtle in Paradise Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Holm, Jennifer L. 2010. Turtle in Paradise. New York, NY: Random House.  ISBN 9780375836909

Plot Summary

Author Jennifer Holm’s award-winning historical fiction novel, Turtle in Paradise, tells the story of a young girl, Turtle, living through the Great Depression. Turtle lives with her mother in New Jersey. Her mother cleans houses for a living in exchange for a place to live. When her mother’s latest employer won’t allow kids to live in her house, Turtle is forced to leave her mother and she is sent to live with her aunt and cousins in Key West. She soon discovers several unexpected surprises. Florida is like nothing eleven year old Turtle has ever seen before. She learns about family secrets, unearths a treasure map, and comes to understand that her idea of a home is nothing like what she had once thought.

When she arrives in Florida, Turtle meets her Aunt Minnie and hostile cousins who want nothing more than for her to go back home. As she begins to become more comfortable in her new temporary residence, she meets a grandmother she never knew existed and a mysterious boat captain she believes to be her father. Over time, her quick wit and wisdom wins her cousins over, and she is invited to join their “Diaper Gang.” When she and the gang decide to follow a treasure map, they become stranded and encounter a deadly hurricane. Will they live to bring home their buried treasure? Will Turtle and her mother be reunited? Will they ever have a home to call their own? Readers young and old will be captivated as they read Turtle’s story of adventure, mystery and suspense.

Critical Analysis

In this historical fiction novel, author Jennifer Holm creates plausible characters, universal themes, distinct style, and authentic plot. The main character in Turtle in Paradise is an eleven year old girl with realistic desires and problems. Turtle is a practical and sensible child who wants nothing more than to live in her own home with her mother. Readers will empathize with Turtle as she is confronted with many problems. Turtle must find a way to get along with the new people in her life. She often feels like her mother doesn’t listen to her insightful advice. Turtle’s problems, and how she resolves them, are easy to identify with and applicable even in the present.

Many universal themes are woven into the plot of Turtle in Paradise. Acceptance and family are two of the strongest themes. Turtle comes to accept that home is not necessarily a physical place, but where you are surrounded by the people you love. Her quest to establish her own sense of what home means leads her back to her roots where her ancestors lived for generations. Similarly, Turtle discovers what it means to be a part of a family as she develops a symbiotic relationship with other characters.

Throughout her writing, Jennifer Holm captures the thoughts and experiences of a young girl living through the Great Depression. Her writing style reflects the time period through the dialogue between characters, and the development of significant characters. She uses descriptive details to help readers visualize the setting. Holm offers a balance between real events and creative writing.

Perhaps one of the the strongest qualities of Turtle in Paradise is the authenticity with which the story is based. Holm bases her story on the lives of her own mother and relatives who, for generations, lived in Key West, Florida. Her characters and plot are crafted after real events and people. She supplements her novel with an Author’s Note that cites her primary sources of information. Here, she educates readers about her inspiration for the creation of her story. Included in the Author’s Note are actual photographs of the real people and places referenced in her book. Furthermore, a Resources page provides a record of citations, and websites that are listed for additional reading and research opportunities. It is apparent Jennifer Holm is a trusted authority in the development of this captivating historical fiction novel.

Awards & Review Excerpts

• 2010 100 Magnificent Children’s Books
• 2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award, AudioBook and Book
• 2010 Booklist Editors Choice: Books for Youth
• 2011 John Newbery Medal
• 2011 Golden Kite Award, Fiction
• 2011 Best Children's Books of the Year
• 2012 Cochecho Readers' Award

From School Library Journal: “This richly detailed novel was inspired by Holm’s great-grandmother’s stories. Readers who enjoy melodic, humorous tales of the past won’t want to miss it.”

From Kirkus Review: “Holm’s voice for Turtle is winning and authentic—that of a practical, clear-eyed observer—and her nimble way with dialogue creates laugh-out-loud moments. Sweet, funny and superb.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Infused with period pop culture references, a strong sense of place, and the unique traditions and culture of Key West natives (aka “Conchs”), this humorous adventure effectively portrays Turtle as caught between her mother’s Hollywood-inspired dreams and the very real family and geography that offer a different kind of paradise.”

Connections

• Discuss the Great Depression, its causes, and effects.
• Pair Turtle in Paradise with nonfiction texts about the Great Depression.
• Use Google Earth to help students understand the setting of the book.
• Complete a timeline of major events from the novel.
• Discuss the entertainment references made throughout the novel by showing video clips and examples of each. This will help support readers’ understanding of the time period.
• Show students some of the websites referenced in the back of the book to build some background knowledge of the setting.
• Supplement the novel with images of vocabulary terms: conch, sponge, turtle kraals, scorpion, hurricane, rheumatic fever, dinghy, pomade.

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.