Module 5: Fantastical Fiction

 Module 5: Fantastical Fiction

Book 1: His Dark Materials: Serpentine by Philip Pullman

1. Bibliography

Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials: Serpentine. Illustrated by Tom Duxbury. Knopf Books for Young Readers. October 2020. ISN-13: 978-0593377680

2. Plot Analysis

Lyra Silvertongue and her daemon, Pan, go on a quest to find answers about how their separation in other books and other experiences such as war will affect their relationship, as humans and daemons should never separate. Together they travel to find the person that might give them answers, Dr. Lanselius, and once there, they don’t really get the direct answer they're looking for, rather they seem a bit more confused than when they first arrived. However, on their way back, as they open up honestly and talk about their emotions and worries, both Lyra and Pan realize that they need each other no matter what and don’t want to separate emotionally or have hatred towards each other. Through this coming of age emotion that Lyra realizes, she is able to put her walls down and her doubts aside and fully try to trust her companion.

3. Critical Analysis

I chose this book because I had read The Amber Spyglass a long long time ago, but remembered how interesting it was to read about a multiverse of humans and this connection they had to a daemon that was like their best friend and sort of like their voice of reason. I saw that this was the next book or “companion book” in the series and wanted to give it a try. The book opens with Lyra being curious about Pan’s past. Curiosity at the beginning of the book is important because it immediately gets the reader’s attention. This curiosity leads to an obvious search for answers of why witches or humans and their daemons separate and what happens in the process as well as the aftermath. The extreme imagination of curses and laws sets a great attribute to this fantasy fiction for young adults. It seems like it has all the qualities of a fantasy book right from the start such as the use of different worlds, having various spirit worlds and different universes, having special powers, a console of the witches, changing forms, etc. In addition to these interesting, capturing qualities, the settings are full of emotional descriptions, which aren’t always seen in books. Mostly, the settings are simply visually described with imagery, but the settings and places and seasons in this book are described with memories and deep melancholy such as when they describe the plants, the buildings, the weather, the roads, the flowers that are in season, Syberia, and other referenced historical oral stories. Another aspect of this story was the referencing of other stories and allusion to other witches and daemons. Lastly, the author’s note was such a beautiful take on the story. Sometimes, the author’s note provides no extra context of the book that might help the readers, but this one does a great job targeting Young Adults! 

4. Review

The Nerd Daily Review: For the moment, Serpentine did the trick of keeping our interest alive until then and reminding us that there is still so much to find out about Pullman’s universe. Lyra’s journey back north and her meeting with an old friend has some bitterness about it. Lyra has lost something of her plucky, positive attitude in The Northern Lights. Still, there are also glimmers of hope; hope of connection with oneself and others, and of better understanding of one’s world.

All in all, Serpentine is a very well-written piece, with good dialogue and beautiful imagery. 

5. Connections

While this book was a short book full of fantasy, it is full of emotional and real world connections! First of all, the mentioning and criticizing of the witch clans can compare to problems among politics and disagreements in households. Now, when it comes to the connection to a special daemon, it sort of reminded me of having a pet, a companion who is loyal, except these daemons are cooler because they can talk! This feeling of loyalty comes with the desire of wanting to protect their friends/loved ones. It also comes with the feeling of guilt when being away from one another (daemon and human). Now I want to also bring up that Lyra, no matter how pressing she may be with Dr. Lanselius or how observant Pan might be in trying to figure out answers to a question of the past, realizes that really it has to be her own experience that gets her and Pan through it. She doubts herself and her own capabilities, as many young readers will be able to relate to. This experience comes with such beautiful teamwork with the daemon and special human friendship. It’s big on trust between two friends and companions, showing us about loyalty, bickering, competition, secrecy, all among friendships. It shows the importance of communication among friends to our readers. And ultimately, it helps model to our readers  to be proud and thankful for their love and friendship between humans and their pets, friends, or in the book’s case, their daemon. A sort of coming of age and realization of her character and her emotions and personality. 

Book 2: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

1. Bibliography

Shusterman, Neal. Scythe. Walker Books Ltd. February 2018. ISBN-13: 978-1406379242

2. Plot Analysis

The Scythe provide crucial service for society keeping a public record of deeds, feelings, who they kill, they pick their robe color based on their personality. The scythes try to make it seem like they do something normal and try to pretend they’re doing something good for their society. Based on two encounters with them, the ivory cloaked Scythe offers an invitation to both Rowan and Citra to be his apprentice for a year at the opportunity to become a scythe. Although they both dread and hate the idea of being a Scythe, they ponder the pros and cons and decide to take the risk if it means safety for him and his family. The Scythe Faraday takes on a mentor role to the two teenagers. Faraday shares stories about his experiences in gleaning and gives life advice to the teens. However, one day, Faraday dies falling from a building, so Citra and Rowan are separated to new apprentices, Curie and Goddard, who is a bit of an excessively violent borderline psychopath. As they try to remain friends, they struggle in standing up for what they feel is right, finding the truth about the actual fake death of Faraday, and trying to decide between morals of right or wrong and being enticed to participate in a world of killing. The moments and experiences leading up to the Conclave fight that will determine “who wins and who dies,” there are a lot of life lessons from compassion to trying to stay away from liking death and killing others the life of apprentices and scythes tugs at their moral consciousness, and they must learn to handle that along with relationships they meet along the way.

3. Critical Analysis

POV from journals of various characters such as those of HS Curie, Goddard, Rowan, Volta, etc. which allow us to really dive into the minds of the scythes because in these mandatory journals is where a scythe can reflect on their emotions, the rules, their daily lives, and explain the world they live in. Some of the rules are very well explained to the reader, which makes it easier to understand and follow the story. This dystopian society has a very equal and neutral order. For example, scythes aren’t allowed to glean only specific races or be too violent, otherwise they will be punished. They can only kill based on a statistic of a natural disaster or an event or disease such as drunk driver teens, mass gleanings, etc. The rules include killing, in a humanly form, by choice to keep society in order rather than letting them die at the hands of human nature such as diseases, accidents, etc. with the exception of fire, which is the only natural thing they can’t seem to replicate or perfect. Lastly, I want to critique the ending of the book, which leaves so many questions unanswered, leaving the readers wanting more! I want to read more about Rowan, or now Lucifer, and his stories in helping by killing overly violent scythes. I want to know what happens with Faraday! What does he do now? And I want to know more about what Citra, now Anastasia, will set out to do. 

4. Review

Kirkus Reviews: Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.

On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophical questions.

A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

5. Connections

People don’t want to die. They are scared to be chosen to be gleaned, just like most humans are scared of death. Teens can connect with being burdened with the mental stress of being forced to make a life changing decision. Mentor relationship with the Scythe and the teenagers. It’s like he’s teaching them about “real life.” Another aspect they can connect to is keeping a journal and following the rules that they must always have in mind. Empathy is huge here. The teenagers feel empathy for the people and families that are gleaned and they’re torn at the idea of being responsible for distributing these gleanings. However, they must learn to put their emotions aside and “Do the job.” It’s like they’re torn between what they want to do and what they must do. The scientific/technical aspect of killings such as martial arts, weapons, firearms, poisoning, etc. Another connection is competition for a spot or position. They know that only one of them will be allowed to stay a scythe while the other must be gleaned. Also, the discussion that life used to be about taking risks and living life to the fullest and trying their best is recurring throughout Curie’s journals. She mentions that there was passion. Now there’s just fear of being gleaned by the scythe and just living life in fear. Things now in this new world in 2042 are now jaded and bland and just going through the motions of life. There’s no more depth or belief. This friendship between Citra and Rowan allows for many emotional connections such as competition, attraction, genuine friendship, anger, disagreements, etc. Overall, their desire to want to make a difference in the world they live in is a common teenager emotion.

Book 3: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

1. Bibliography

Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Quirk Books. Philadelphia, PA. 2011. ISBN: 978-1-59474-574-4

2. Plot Analysis

Yakob, a young, curious, ordinary boy has a close relationship with his grandfather who would always spend time with him, sharing stories of creatures and his life and his experiences. Unfortunately, his grandfather is near death with what looks like a violent death. During his last few words, he whispers to Yakob, warning him with his last breath of words… something “about the bird and the loop and the grave” (41). After his death, he has recurring nightmares and as an attempt to “fix him,” his parents send him to a shrink. Visiting with his dad, Jacob tries to reach the children’s home, despite others’ warnings about going, especially by himself. His goal is to find out more information about his grandfather and family unanswered questions and the things that occurred in that home. In the house, he discovers it’s an orphanage of children and was bombed years ago. The children remain alive in their world and, although they are different and have special powers and he is confused, Jacob goes from one world to the other in order to understand how peculiar that world is in which time and animals and forms are all different. Alongside Emma, Jacob is able to help the children and learn about his grandfather and himself, realizing he himself is a peculiar child. He is faced with the decision of staying in his “normal” world with his dad and staying with Miss Peregrine and the peculiar children. At the death of his friend Martin, Jacob and some peculiar children travel to the “normal” world to try to fight against the hollows, who in this journey. must fight against his own therapist Dr. Golan. Ultimately, through the life-threatening challenges, Jacob realizes the importance of friendship and familiarity and protection and sees a sort of purpose for himself if he stays among the peculiar children.

3. Critical Analysis

“Monsters” “enchantment” “miraculous powers” are just some of the imaginative and make believe people, scenarios, and stories shared from the grandpa. Setting: gardens, ponds, wilderness such as snakes, racoons…” I love that this book includes pictures. I’d like to address and critique the pictures themselves: they are dark, weird, gloomy, scary, and unique. As an adult, it feels eerie to see these pictures, so I can imagine how much more intense it might feel for the young adult readers. The pictures perfectly match well with the tone of the story. It has a sort of suspicious and spooky vibe. Some of the pictures include magic tricks, peculiar things such as a kid with the body of a dog, a man with two faces (one in the front and one in the back), orphans, mysterious letters, etc. In the world before the 21st century, Miss Peregrine explains the different types of worldly forms such as hollows, peculiars, wights, and ymbrynes. 

4. Review

Kirkus Reviews: Riggs spins a gothic tale of strangely gifted children and the monsters that pursue them from a set of eerie, old trick photographs.

The brutal murder of his grandfather and a glimpse of a man with a mouth full of tentacles prompts months of nightmares and psychotherapy for 15-year-old Jacob, followed by a visit to a remote Welsh island where, his grandfather had always claimed, there lived children who could fly, lift boulders and display like weird abilities. The stories turn out to be true—but Jacob discovers that he has unwittingly exposed the sheltered “peculiar spirits” (of which he turns out to be one) and their werefalcon protector to a murderous hollowgast and its shape-changing servant wight. The interspersed photographs—gathered at flea markets and from collectors—nearly all seem to have been created in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and generally feature stone-faced figures, mostly children, in inscrutable costumes and situations. They are seen floating in the air, posing with a disreputable-looking Santa, covered in bees, dressed in rags and kneeling on a bomb, among other surreal images. Though Jacob’s overdeveloped back story gives the tale a slow start, the pictures add an eldritch element from the early going, and along with creepy bad guys, the author tucks in suspenseful chases and splashes of gore as he goes. He also whirls a major storm, flying bullets and a time loop into a wild climax that leaves Jacob poised for the sequel.

A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end. (Horror/fantasy. 12-14)

5. Connections

The very first and probably the most important connection young adult readers can find in this book is the love and friendship between a grandson and grandfather. Sometimes, teens can’t relate to their strict parents who don’t understand them,” but actually bond with their grandparents who have hundreds of years of experience and stories to share. Another connection is the common feeling of curiosity. I think it’s such an important topic and theme in this book that is underestimated. Adults sometimes grow bored with their lives and forget how curious and interested we were about everything, especially spooky stuff when we were teens. Now when it comes to Jacob, there is a lot of courage in him. It takes courage to want to know more about your family history and learn about your family identity. He goes through the challenges of getting the answers he years so much for.