Module 1: Introduction to Young Adults and Their Literatures

Module 1 Introduction to Young Adults and Their Literatures

Book #1 Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

1. Bibliography 

Thomas, Angie. Concrete Rose. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2021. ISBN-13 978-0062846716.

    2. Plot Summary 

The plot of the book follows Maverick Carter who faces the struggle of living in a low income household, his dad is in prison, and his mom has to work two jobs to maintain the family. Maverick is then faced with the challenge of being a father at the mere age of 17 years old. He struggles with keeping up with the gang leader image his father had, dealing drugs and leading a dangerous lifestyle, or leaving that all behind to be a responsible father to his incoming baby. It is later revealed that Maverick's daughter, Star, goes on to be the protagonist of The Hate U Give, also written by Angie Thomas.

    3. Critical Analysis  

 This book intertwines two major stories and plots that develop around the life of the main character Maverick. The way the chapters are divided into different parts helps bring out the various struggles shown throughout the story when faced with dealing with murder, grief, gang life, becoming a father, and taking responsibility all throughout different parts and settings and scenarios of the book.

    4. Review Excerpt

Kirkus Reviews: This literary DeLorean transports readers into the past, where they hope, dream, and struggle alongside beloved characters from Thomas’ The Hate U Give (2017).

The tale begins in 1998 Garden Heights, when Starr’s parents, Maverick and Lisa, are high school seniors in love and planning for the future. Thomas proves Game of Thrones–esque in her worldbuilding ability, deepening her landscape without sacrificing intimacy or heart. Garden Heights doesn’t contain dragons or sorcerers, but it’s nevertheless a kingdom under siege, and the contemporary pressures its royalty faces are graver for the realness that no magic spell can alleviate. Mav’s a prince whose family prospects are diminished due to his father’s federally mandated absence. He and his best friend, King, are “li’l homies,” lower in status and with everything to prove, especially after Mav becomes a father. In a world where masculinity and violence are inextricably linked to power, the boys’ very identities are tied to the fathers whose names they bear and with whose legacies they must contend. Mav laments, “I ain’t as hard as my pops, ain’t as street as my pops,” but measuring up to that legacy ends in jail or the grave. Worthy prequels make readers invest as though meeting characters for the first time; here they learn more about the intricate hierarchies and alliances within the King Lord gang and gain deeper insight into former ancillary characters, particularly Mav’s parents, King, and Iesha. Characters are Black.

A resounding success. (Fiction. 13-18)

   5. Connections

Students are able to connect to the aspect of belonging to someone or something. They struggle with dealing and handling loyalty, gangs, responsibility, maturing, coming of age, and big decisions. Young Adult readers are able to connect with these topics that are presented throughout the prequel. 

Book #2 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

    1. Bibliography

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Bk. 1. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. 2008. ISBN-13 978-0439023481.

 

    2. Plot Summary

The story follows Katniss from one of the most impoverished districts in a dystopian nation called Panem. The Captiol hosts Hunger Games every year in which 2 people from each district must go and fight for their lives to win in a publicly viewed gladiator like battle. Katniss volunteers in order to replace her sister from going to the Hunger Games. In these games, Katniss makes allies with other characters such as Haymitch, Peeta, and Rue and is faced with life threatening challenges such as burns from shooting fireballs, Tracker Jacker stings, hunger, cold, fighting other enemies trying to win the games, and trying to appeal to the watchers and sponsors. Ultimately, Katniss and Peeta are able to team up and dismantle the system of having only one winner, allowing them both to go back home as victors of the games.

    3. Critical Analysis

This book does a great job in capturing different settings of the story, which are also symbolic of the different experiences and struggles faced. More specifically, the emotional struggles that readers, especially teens, but any reader might face are very well portrayed in the story. There are a lot of identity/internal struggles present in the text, and the problem solving for the story helps with the understanding and representation for readers.

    4. Review Excerpt

Kirkus Reviews: Katniss Everdeen is a survivor.

She has to be; she’s representing her District, number 12, in the 74th Hunger Games in the Capitol, the heart of Panem, a new land that rose from the ruins of a post-apocalyptic North America. To punish citizens for an early rebellion, the rulers require each district to provide one girl and one boy, 24 in all, to fight like gladiators in a futuristic arena. The event is broadcast like reality TV, and the winner returns with wealth for his or her district. With clear inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and the Greek tale of Theseus, Collins has created a brilliantly imagined dystopia, where the Capitol is rich and the rest of the country is kept in abject poverty, where the poor battle to the death for the amusement of the rich. However, poor copyediting in the first printing will distract careful readers—a crying shame. [Note: Errors have been corrected in subsequent printings, so we are now pleased to apply the Kirkus star.]

Impressive world-building, breathtaking action and clear philosophical concerns make this volume, the beginning of a planned trilogy, as good as The Giver and more exciting. (Science fiction. 11 & up)

    5. Connections

Students are able to connect to the teenager characters who fight major internal and external battles. Readers and audience can understand a lot of the emotional distress and experiences that the characters face as they face other challenges as well. For example, survival, whether it's a physical or an emotional trauma, readers can relate to the characters also experiencing this challenge to survive any given situation. Another relatable challenge is the facing of poverty, which is one of the root causes of having the Hunger Games. Lastly, managing relationships is a major challenge in the book as well. Readers can connect to the players and characters in the book that face the romantic challenges as well as friendship challenges.

Book #3 The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

    1. Bibliography

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Harper Collins imprint Blazer + Bray. 2017. ISBN-13 978-0062498533

    2. Plot Summary

The book follows a young girl named Star, who struggles with identity crisis of being Black, but also going to a very white and privileged high school campus. While driving home from one of the parties in her neighborhood, a cop pulls over her black friend who is driving. There is a major misunderstanding and stereotype with her black childhood best friend, Khalil, which leads to his death. This terrible experience leads to a major awareness of her identity and the struggle that comes with being proud of her black culture and standing up to the social challenges that come with being black, racism, and police brutality. Star is able to learn not only to advocate for her friends and culture, but learn how to juggle her identity and her cultural personality.

    3. Critical Analysis

The book does a great job in tackling social awareness with a very important and relatable issue of Black Lives Matter. The way it is written and addressed in a realistic fiction story helps put a perfectly relevant and controversial topic that is very modern and recently experienced in our society to light in our teenage readers. The settings, people, background, and the systemic issues that come with racism were well addressed in this story, allowing for open conversations and discussions about the book and real life issues.

    4. Review Excerpt

Kirkus Reviews: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds she exists in: one at Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school.
This story is necessary. This story is important. (Fiction. 14-adult)

Walking the line between the two becomes immensely harder when Starr is present at the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a white police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death becomes national news, where he’s called a thug and possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. The police’s lackadaisical attitude sparks anger and then protests in the community, turning it into a war zone. Questions remain about what happened in the moments leading to Khalil’s death, and the only witness is Starr, who must now decide what to say or do, if anything. Thomas cuts to the heart of the matter for Starr and for so many like her, laying bare the systemic racism that undergirds her world, and she does so honestly and inescapably, balancing heartbreak and humor. With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.

    5. Connections

Helps students with representation of a black person trying to not only love and be proud of her family culture, but also try to get ahead and away from any negative stigmas that come with it. Identity is a major factor here, as the main character struggles finding the "right" way to live, when ultimately, she learns to mesh both or multiple identities that make up a person.