Month: January 2022

Focused on the educational and societal normalities of high school, this article, written by Robin A. Moeller, explores the involvement of both genders within graphic novels and how graphic novels are stereotyped by society. At an unnamed high school, Moeller conducted a study which included fifteen student volunteers, 8 females and 7 males, to read three graphic novels and discuss their thoughts in a group discussion. She initially wanted to explore the relation to perceived gender differences in graphic novels and how students would view graphic novels being used in a school context. The results of this research showed that stereotyping gender in graphic novels is more complex than it seems. Both genders, male and female, enjoy reading graphic novels equally; the only reason why it is stereotyped in the first place is because of society’s views on what a “nerd” should look like. If these judgements are introduced to a child at a young age, then they’re going to continue to have these views on what people are supposed to look like and how they’re supposed to act.

In regards to the possible educational purpose behind graphic novels, it was found that students had mixed opinions on whether or not they should be allowed in certain classes. The main feedback was that some graphic novels for an english class would be beneficial but at the same time odd; students are used to traditional ways of learning with novels. In terms of school libraries, having more graphic novels added would not make much of a difference; students agreed that it would be nice to have as an option but they weren’t sure if they would actually check the graphic novels out and read them. Getting graphic novels more involved as part of a school’s curriculum would however be worth looking into, especially if it would broaden society’s enclosed vision of what type of person is “supposed” to read graphic novels.

Moeller’s perspective throughout the article is a neutral position; she is merely the conductor of the study. However, her initial curiosity that sparked her study is highly admirable in the sense that she noticed gender differences in graphic novels, providing proof that she was engaged throughout the study because she was unearthing information that she actually wanted to unearth. Before reading this article, I had not even thought of gender differences surrounding graphic novels. There just never seemed to be a problem or a distinct separation of the genders surrounding graphic novels that pulled my attention. However, after reading this article, I do understand better what Moeller meant; there are differences in the reading world with genders. Children even recognize the differences as is proven with Moeller’s study. Gender differences in YA literature is a relevant issue that needs to be discussed more. It is relevant at this day and age because of how society is becoming more and more developed in terms of acceptance and equality. As society is changing, it’s important for there to be equality in everything, including books!

Citation:

Moeller, Robin A. “‘Aren’t These Boy Books?’: High School Students Readings of Gender in Graphic Novels.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 54, no. 7, 2011, pp. 476–484., https://doi.org/10.1598/jaal.54.7.1.

In the titular article, Mathieu Donner examines the role the adolescent body takes on in fiction directed at adolescents themselves. This is a reflection of the readers, he believes, an early way to introduce critical analysis of the systems that perpetuate the complex and ultimately harmful depictions of the body in other media, directed at both children and adults. He uses examples, such as Rick Yancey’s ‘The 5th Wave‘, or David Leviathan’s ‘Every Day’ to show how characters’ bodies are common metaphors for the socio-cultural issues being addressed within the works. It is within that, through works with supernatural elements specifically, that he takes apart the metaphors inherent to a transformation beyond the ordinary. Especially with books directed at young readers, who are just starting to be ready for heavier topics, they can identify with the disturbia, and recognize why it exists within themselves.

Donner takes a firmly socialist left stance, naming specific systemic issues that create the requirement for deconstruction in text. Performance of gender, race, the distinct traumas inherent to minority oppression. This, through the modicum of the adolescent body, a sensitive subject at best, is how he advocates for broader social change.

While I agree with his ideology, there are a couple of places where he projects thematic significance where it doesn’t belong. ‘Every Day’, though it can fit with the rest, does not have the overt politics of the rest. The premise being that A has no identity of their own, waking up in a new body could just as easily be a shiny new supernatural character design as an exploration of how sovereignty over our bodies and the identities that come with them make us who we are.

Otherwise, Donner constructs his arguments well, using quotations and references throughout, and has a distinct, if broad, message.

Works Cited:

Donner, Mathieu. “Introduction: Reading the Body, Reading (YA) Fiction.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 28, no. 3 (100), [Brian Attebery, as Editor, for the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts], 2017, pp. 339–43, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26508547.

“Building Readers’ Empathy and social Capacity through Exposure to Diverse Literature.”

Diverse books are used to help promote diversity in YA literature. This encourages reading, writing, and open discussions around diversity. This movement started in 2014 and was used to help promote children’s books reflecting around diversity.

This article talks about diversity in books and what it does to readers. It is important that children form conversations from every social interaction. Reading books about a diverse culture help children abstract social information that can be generalized. It helps others become more socially capable, but it also helps value social knowledge to the reader. With this said, diverse books help readers become emotionally involved in the story, allowing an understanding of cultural backgrounds, and race. Studies have shown reading diverse books change readers attitude about people similar to the story.

It is really important to become involved in our world and learn more about different cultures. Not everyone has the same beliefs, race, cultural background and it is important to acknowledge this. You could say something without understanding the subject and it could come off as offensive to one who may be involved in that culture, so it is important we read these diverse books to help being involved.

Works cited:

Colvin, Sharon. “Literature as more than a window: building readers’ empathy and social capacity through exposure to diverse literature.” Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 39, no. 6, Feb. 2017, pp. 24+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A484156262/ITOF?u=maine&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f27304b0. Accessed 12 Jan. 2022.

“To Slang or Not to Slang,” is an article about slang in literature and if it was either appropriate or not. The article mostly talks about Spanish slang and if readers would understand it. The problem or conflict with this is the fact some people think it’s a bad writing choice as some readers may not understand the slang.
Marva Hinton enjoys using “Spanglish,” as she natively speaks Spanish. Marva advocates for the support of usage of slang as it’s how she writes naturally.
From reading this article the fact I barely understood some of the examples make me not want to read her books although I like how it fits a certain crowd of people. Myself, I don’t know if I would be particularly interested in reading a book I would have to look up slang terms for other languages often unless I was learning the language. 

     Works Cited

Hinton, Marva. “To Slang or Not To Slang: Defending Authentic Language in YA and Children’s Literature.” School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 13, Dec. 2018, p. 28. EBSCOhost,

Books are filled with variety of topics. When you look at characters in books they tend to be skinny models. Many writers include fat characters to provide instruction about bullying or to show weight loss journey. This article focuses and dives deep into Fat shaming.

This article focuses on how books with heavier bodies as characters are story tellers on weight loss or bullied. These characters tell their stories and end up being happy and loving their body or are miserable. Writers use unkind words to describe characters who have a heavier body. Unkind words encourage others to say these harsh things. It’s not just the writing that is fat phobia, covers of books can also be disrespectful. Covers tend to have “skinny” models who have the “perfect body” this is offensive to people who don’t fit the standards of the cover. The article mentions it is hard to find vocal advocates for fat acceptance books. This article dives into how being fat isn’t about eating habits there is genetics that play effect.

It is sad to see these struggles. It is really unfortunate that young readers have to go through these struggles in books. Kids need to learn about the genetics that play effect in weight. You can be really thin or have a heavier body and be very healthy. Diversity is lacking books about these things. I really liked how this article made so many good points about their reasoning to fatphobia in novels. I also enjoyed how they educated people about genetics and how wrong it is to shame people.

Works Cited:

Nolfi, Kathryn L. “YA Fatphobia.” The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 87, no. 1, Jan. 2011, p. 55. EBSCOhost, discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=fcc11ea5-9a81-3629-a539-e62827fdc466.

The article “A Postcolonial Primer with Multicultural YA Literature” explores postcolonial criticism in YA literature and author Malo-Juvera’s urge for nonwhite students to connect literature with the normalized oppression they face in real life. 

He hoped for his nonwhite students to understand for themselves the inherent root of colonialism, as opposed to simply correcting their learned beliefs, and to realize that in holding those oppressive beliefs, they are only harming themselves. In the article, Malo-Juvera analyzes the works of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Mexican Whiteboy, and American Born Chinese as example postcolonial texts used to introduce the concept to students. 

I found this article to be a fascinating take on postcolonial criticism and how it goes hand in hand with the oppressive force of whiteness, and the idea of using literature as an introduction to a larger conversation. Especially for students, who are incredibly influenced by the media they surround themselves with––one of the reasons why positive representation is so important.

The ability to critically consume literature and media is necessary in understanding Malo-Juvera’s point of postcolonial oppression. To understand and unlearn it, you must go back to its root, which oftentimes were these very works of literature that Malo-Juvera shared. I think that if this was taught more often, it could be extremely beneficial to nonwhite students’ views of themselves, and to see beyond the harmful white perspective that they are taught.

Work Cited

Malo-Juvera, Victor. “A Postcolonial Primer with Multicultural YA Literature.” The English Journal, vol. 107, no. 1, National Council of Teachers of English, 2017, pp. 41–47, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26359516.

Frankly in Love by David Yoon is a lighthearted contemporary story of Frank Li, a Korean teen living in California navigating high school relationships, future plans, and family conflicts. His (generally) smooth life as a self-proclaimed nerd is disrupted when Frank becomes infatuated with a white girl, whom his parents are disproving. To solve his dilemma, Frank acquires the assistance of Joy Song, a friend of the family and a fellow Korean who coincidentally has a problem similar to Frank’s. As they embark on their fake-dating scheme, they confront struggling romantic relationships, family conflicts, and the looming prospect of college. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Frankly in Love. As a senior in high school, I found many of the obstacles that Frank faced relatable and amusing, but I can understand how older readers could be uninterested in the plot. Furthermore, Yoon touches on insightful themes such as racism, familial struggles, and finding your identity both as an adolescent and an Asian American. Specifically, exploring the perception of identiy from the perspective of a young Asian raised in America was exeptionally enlightening. In this sense, Frank’s story surprised me with it’s juxtaposition of emotional depth and light-hearted comedy, something I really enjoyed. Additionally, I thought that both Frank’s relationships and problems were painted pretty realistically, yet in a manner that was both entertaining and emotionally touching. 

I would recommend Frankly in Love to anyone looking for a feel-good coming of age story. It’s a comedic quick read, certainly not the stuff of classics, but surprisingly profound in its themes. I think it would resonate well with high school students especially, as Frank is a lovable, nerdy, and relatable protagonist.

Geared towards educators, this article revolves around a “rubric” formulated by Ann E. Ebe, which contains seven characteristics of writing: ethnicity of characters, familiarity of setting, relevance of time period, age of main characters, gender of main characters, exposure to the particular genre, and relationship to the reader’s schema. By keeping these things in mind while choosing a book for a student, especially one that is less active in education, educators can better students’ participation and investment in class as well as reading in general. The article refers to a hypothetical character “Miguel,” aged 15, bilingual, and new to America. He is an example of a student in need of a culturally relevant novel to bridge the gap between himself and his education.

The authors of this article posit that cultural representation boosts educational participation. A critical aspect of their stance on how books can help young readers is the idea that the integrity of a culturally relevant text relies less on ethnicity or gender and more on how it directly relates to the reader’s life and experiences. The tone of the article is encouraging, even helpful, looking to advise other teachers or mentors in helping kids become more invested in their education.

As someone who is a student, not an educator, this article seemed more interesting than helpful. Although it did not satisfy my original interests/inquiries about cultural representation in YA literature, the article did bring up an intriguing topic: how to involve students in reading through works culturally relevant to their own lives. I found Ebe’s rubric an interesting strategy for educators. However, it seems a bit formulaic; as I perceive reading as a more liberating experience, free of rubrics and requirements. From a personal standpoint, I read as an outlet from my actual day to day life, and while I enjoy seeing aspects of myself in protagonists from time to time, I usually read for the escape. Despite this, I understand how books reflective of students’ lives and experiences would further their investment in their education.

To conclude, while “Lingua Anglia: Bridging Language and Learners” was not what I expected, it was an insightful read. I think it’s a great concept that educators should explore, especially those who teach ESL or English to young teens.

Work Cited:

Hickey, Pamela J., and Caroline B. Hopenwasser. “Lingua Anglia: Bridging Language and Learners: Engaging Miguel: Culturally Relevant YA Literature.” The English Journal, vol. 103, no. 2, National Council of Teachers of English, 2013, pp. 105–07, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24484202.

This article covered the topic of mental health and the stigmas that often come with mental illnesses. Although we as a nation have made lots of progress with being more accepting of those that suffer with issues like depression, PTSD, and anxiety, there is still a lingering lack of awareness on the symptoms and effects of these illnesses. The authors of this article, Pauline Skowron Schmidt and Ashley Corbett, are in complete support of educating individuals on what it means to have a mental illness through resources such as YA books. They even listed a few titles like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, which are books that help to make mental health something that we can all understand.

I think this article did a really nice job of capturing the importance of educating ourselves on mental health and I am in complete agreement with the authors on this topic. Although we as a society have reached a point where we accept that mental health is a prevalent issue, we often don’t take into account what that actually means. Taking this lack of understanding into consideration, it would be extremely beneficial if we could see books as being resources for education. Being someone who has their own struggles with mental health, I still find that my knowledge on the subject grows whenever I am able to delve into a story about someone else’s struggles. I hope that in the future people will be more open to using books as a way of learning about what it’s like to suffer from a mental illness.

Schmidt, Pauline Skowron, and Ashley Corbett. “Carpe Librum: Seize the (YA) Book: We’re Not Crazy: Overcoming the Mental Health Stigma in YA Literature.” The English Journal, vol. 105, no. 6, National Council of Teachers of English, 2016, pp. 92–93, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26359266.

“But even in a sea, every life rippled far beyond it’s end.”
― Joan He, The Ones We’re Meant to Find

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He is a futuristic dystopian novel that tells the story of Cee (Celia) and Kasey, two sisters who have been separated. The chapters alternate between their points of view, and tell the story from two perspectives. Cee finds herself alone on a deserted island, with a single memory of her sister. Meanwhile Kasey is trying to find Cee, despite everyone telling her Cee has died.

I found this book slow in the beginning, but the pace does pick up and the plot gets deeper. Readers who enjoyed The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Shrefer would likely enjoy The Ones We’re Meant to Find, as both books have a similar plot and overall mood.

There are many themes in this book that readers can connect with. Romance does play a part, although the main focus of the story is the bond and connection that Kasey and Cee share as sisters. Another important element is climate change – this book is set in the future and Kasey and Cee live in an eco-city that was built for people who are taking care of the earth, where they have clean air and water, but the rest of the world has become dangerous and difficult to live in.

Overall I did like this book, but I didn’t love it. However I can very much see how a lot of people would love it, and I would recommend The Ones We’re Meant to Find to any reader who enjoys sci-fi, dystopia, romance, and thrillers.