FICTION, FANTASY AND YA LITERATURE
THE GIVER
Lowry, Lois. 1993. THE GIVER. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0440237688.
Jonas is anxious about the Ceremony of Twelve, when the Elders announce which
assignment will be given to each new citizen-in-training. Jonas knows that Fiona, who spends most of her volunteer time at
the House of the Old, will likely be chosen as Caretaker. But his strengths and interests are not so clear. His father is
a Nurturer because of his love and kindness towards children. Jonas respects his father but knows he would not want that job.
So what will his Assignment be? When the day finally arrives he sees Fiona selected as Caretaker, no surprise there. His best
friend Asher, who has such a fun personality, is Director of Recreation. But when Jonas number comes up, Number 19, he is
skipped. The Elders skip him and move on to Number 20. When the ceremony is complete except for Jonas the Elders announce
that Jonas has not be assigned but he has been selected as the new Receiver. There is only one Receiver and it is
the position of most honor in the community. To be the Receiver, Jonas must possess intelligence, integrity, courage
and wisdom for it is a great burden to be the Receiver and it involves great pain.
Jonas must begin his training immediately with the current Receiver. Since
Jonas is now the Receiver, the current Receiver becomes the Giver, the Giver of Memories. Jonas must hold all of the memories
held by the Receivers from back and back and back, so that he can advise the Elders when new situations arise. As the Receiver
holds all memories, the community is spared the suffering of painful past experiences. The society is free from pain, free
from choice and free from any true feelings. Sameness has been determined preferable to the experiences of personal freedom.
As Jonas learns about the forgotten world and the price of Sameness, he alone must face the choice of accepting Sameness
or fleeing to Elsewhere.
This fantasy novel reveals a world that is devoid of personal freedoms and
true feelings but offers a safe and productive community. It provokes the questions, "How far would you go to maintain a safe
community?" and "What is an idyllic society?" Jonas is revealed through his thoughts and his actions while the other characters
are revealed primarily through their actions and dialogue. There is consistency in the story such that the "rules" of the
fantasy world are constant and create a believable story. The story follows a logical series of events that leads up to the
climax and finally Jonas decision in the end.
There is no moralizing in the story and the benefits of both worlds are expressed
as the readers can see the reasons for rules even as they may be shocked by them. There is a tension in the story such that
even as it seems all is well, the reader is wary of this perfect society. This is due to the secrecy that lingers from
the reader as well as the members of society who have been taught it is rude to question others. This is an intriguing novel
that could be used to stimulate discussions on societies and freedoms with young adults. I would recommend it for mature teens
age 14 and up.
THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS
Paterson, Katherine. 1978. THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS. New York: Harper Collins
Publishers. ISBN: 0690038380.
Gilly Hopkins is heading to her third foster home in less than three years.
The Dixons had moved to Florida and opted not to take Gilly along, then Mrs. Richardson, well, having to go into the hospital
for her nerves. Now it would be with Mrs. Trotter and William Earnest that she would find herself. William E was a little
"slow", Gilly picked up on that right away. Then there was Trotter, who was big and disgusting. She would not be
here long, she decides. Her mother, Courtney will surely come to rescue her lovely Galadriel soon, this was Gillys real name.
Trotter had several foster children over the years and now she also took care
of Mr. Randolph, the blind man next door who came daily for dinner. When Gilly accidentally finds some money in Mr. Randolph's
home, she decides to steal it to buy a bus ticket to California to get to her mother. But there is not enough. She has to
find more. Gilly decides to befriend William E in order to get his help. She offers to help Trotter clean the house, then
offers to clean Mr. Randolph's house so she can get in there and look for more money. While cleaning his bookshelves, she
searches but there is no more. So she finds another person from whom to steal and makes for the bus station. Thwarted
by the station manager, Gilly finds herself back with Trotter. She sends one more letter to Courtney complaining
of her living conditions and asking her to come and get her, for try as she might Trotter can not give Gilly what she wants
- to stop being a foster child. Or is that what she wants? Will Gilly ever face her anger and learn to appreciate what
she has?
Gilly Hopkins is a very believable character that embodies many of the traits
of children who are uprooted again and again through their childhood foster homes. She longs to be accepted and loved by her
mother and pushes away those that do love her because they can never be what she wants, her real mother. The reader learns
as Gilly learns that parents do not necessarily define a family but it is the love that binds them together that is important.
This story is contemporary realistic fiction that has very believable characters, revealed through dialogue and actions. The
time period would be in the late seventies as is apparent by attitudes towards minorities, objects such as the black and white
TV with rabbit ear antennas and the value of money at the time. Gilly's anger is portrayed throughout the book through her
actions toward her young, black teacher, Trotter, William E and Agnes Stokes. Mrs. Harris brings Gilly's attention to it and
helps her to recognize why she hates everyone. This is an interesting story that focuses on a very real ability to hurts oneself
through the action of trying to hurt others.
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
Rowling, J.K. 1999. HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. New York: Scholastic
Books. ISBN: 0439136350.
Harry, Hermione and Ron return to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
as third year students in the House of Gryffindor. Ron's rat, Scabbers, has taken ill over the summer vacation so he takes
him to the Magical Menagerie to be checked out. The witch there tells them Scabbers has already outlived most rats and will
likely die soon. Hermione buys a cat named Crookshanks, which takes an immediate disliking to Scabbers. The new school year
also brings a new professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin, and the news of a dangerous escaped convict
Sirius Black, who had been a close friend of Harry's father before betraying him to Voldemort, leading to Harry's
parent's deaths. No one had ever escaped from Azkaban, the horrible prison guarded by the Dementors, creatures that cause
others to feel and remember only bad things until most usually go mad.
When the Dementors come to Hogwarts to look for Sirius Black, Harry finds
that they have an unusually strong effect on him causing him to faint and see horrible visions about his parents death.
The year starts off busily as Ron and Harry help Hagrid who has been appointed as the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher,
while Hermione takes twice as many classes as everyone else. No one can figure out how she can attend two classes at the same
time. And Crookshanks continues to attack the sickly Scabbers whenever he can, causing an uproar in Ron in Hermione's friendship.
When the Fat Lady is attacked by Sirius Black the school begins to fret that Black has come for Harry.
The often-ill Professor Lupin offers to help Harry learn to defeat the power
of the Dementors by using the boggart, which conjures up someones worst fears for them to face. When Malfoy is attacked in the Care of Magical Creatures class, his father brings charges against Hagrid and his hippogriff,
Buckbeak. It must be determined if the creature is dangerous and whether it should be disposed of. With the help of a Marauder's
Map and Hermione's secret hourglass, the threesome set out to save Buckbeak and discover the truth about Sirius Black.
This fantasy novel is another fun adventure with the witches and wizards of
Hogwarts. The characters have deep and vibrant personalities and show the reality of the struggles in friendship. Their dialog
is easy going and believably that of young teens. The plot is dynamic with several stories within the story and steady building
to the climax and conclusion. The setting is in the magical world of Hogwarts, which offers new and interesting discoveries
in each new novel while still remaining true to previous stories. The hidden tunnels, talking paintings, ghosts and Whomping
Willow are all ways that the magical atmosphere is maintained. The strong theme of friendship and good against evil is easily
followed without being boring. This is one of the most entertaining fantasy novels I have ever read.
MAKE LEMONADE
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. 1993. MAKE LEMONADE. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN: 059048141X.
Fourteen year old LaVaughn needs a part time job to help save money for college. When she comes across an
ad at school "Babysitter Needed Bad", she pulls one of the dangling tabs of paper with the phone number. Jolly is just seventeen
and has two kids, Jeremy and Jilly. They are dirty, sticky, slobbery children living in squalor. Jolly needs help, it is clear.
LaVaughn agrees to take the job if she can get her mother to agree to it. She does not tell her mother about Jolly's age or
the condition of their home so her mother agrees so long as her grades do not slip. Every day after school LaVaughn, takes
the bus to Jolly's home to watch the kids while Jolly works the evening shift at the factory. When Jolly comes home upset
and shaken, LaVaughn learns that she had been sexually harassed by her boss and when Jolly stabbed his hand with a pencil,
he fired her. So now there is no job, two kids and no job. LaVaughn's mother says that Jolly's got to get a hold, bootstraps
go two ways either up or down. She looks at Jolly and her home in disgust, causing LaVaughn to be defensive of her.
If Jolly goes back to school, she can get Welfare and free childcare, but Jolly does not want to go back to
school. LaVaughn takes her to Steam Class (Self-esteem Class) and the teacher offers some words of advice to get Jolly back
on her feet. While Jolly struggles to get a hold, LaVaughn struggles with the thought she might be taking advantage of Jolly
by taking money from her so she can go to college and not end up like her. It is not until little Jilly chokes on a plastic
spider that Jolly's true strength emerges and even LaVaughn's mother has nothing but praise.
The setting for this novel is in poverty, with one girl's struggle to get out of it and another's struggle
just to keep it together. The desperation of the teenage mother, Jolly, is believable and all too real to anyone who has seen
this situation. Being uneducated and poor with a life full of responsibilities is tough business and Jolly's moments of helplessness
and even the lack of desire to help herself are clearly frustrating to LaVaughn. LaVaughn struggles with wanting to help Jolly
but still help herself at the same time. The descriptive of the filthy home, the dirty children, the smells and the reactions
from other characters all work together to create a complete picture of Jollys home life. The story is written in poetry form,
giving more of a sense of broken thoughts that are in actuality the way humans think. The reality of teen motherhood and poverty
are conveyed without any moralizing or preaching from the author. The story is told as it is seen through the eyes of the
characters. This is an interesting read for anyone.
