Musical Theatre and Reading--How could I NOT love it?!?

Another must-read book I have gleaned from this class: My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger! Focusing on multigenre novels, this particular story is told through journal entries, English assignment, text conversations, instant message conversations, memos, and transcripts of meetings. This massive collection of forms creates a really intense sense of community as these characters deal with coming of age in many different ways. The three main perspectives of T.C., Alé, and Augie each have to come to terms with their pasts and becoming stronger adults. T.C. has been dealing with the death of his mother since he was only six and is now acting as a hero figure to a boy living in a foster home for deaf children, Alé is expected to join the family "business" of foreign diplomacy while also being the new girl in school, and Augie seems to be the only one who doesn't realize he's gay. Even with all of these huge issues, this story at its essence is about how much love can save us. The voices are strong, real, and bring so much youthful hope (even from the adults' eyes). The ending includes a great surprise that I won’t give away here, but definitely made me smile from ear to ear!

I loved this book for its humor, adept weaving of so many genres into one seamless story, and hopeful message, but above all, this novel handled minority perspectives in the most effective way I could imagine. The minority perspectives in this novel aren’t treated with gloves on, nor are they defined by that one aspect that makes them a minority. T.C. has two aunts married to each other, but it is never questioned or forced; it simply is. At one point, Augie’s father ruminates, “And while I was tucking him in, I realized that we’d never had the ‘I’m gay’ conversation. Has this generation finally made it superfluous? If only.” The big surprise ending has nothing to do with race, sexuality, gender, or ability; it is simply about these characters’ interests and personalities. If we expect prejudice to fade, we should be able to recognize differences without making them someone’s defining characteristic. This really was a magnificent book that I can imagine in my future classroom.

Suggested Grade Level: 9th grade

Appropriateness: emotional issues, length (400+ pages)

Classroom use: discussion of sexuality and minority perspectives, and/or multigenre writing

Race and Relatability

We Were Here by Matt de la Peña brought up some really harsh feelings in my Adolescent Literature class, it was pretty shocking. The story itself deals with Miguel, a young boy of mixed Mexican heritage, living in juvenile hall after committing a mysterious crime. This mystery drove the story for me, so I won't give any spoilers here, but it definitely contained the emotional heart of the story in my opinion (not so for my classmates, apparently...). The judge demanded that Miguel keep a journal during his time in the boys' home, so the entire story is taught in a very personal strong voice in the form of journal entries. Miguel, stuck in juvi, tries to better himself by working through the library, making for some really great text pairing options with its mention of several really great classics. Making friends with Rondell and Mong, each with some obvious severe problems of their own, Miguel decides to run away to Mexico, hoping with his new friends to escape to a better life. The journey, however, is one more about self-discovery than it is about a physical destination, so it should come as no surprise that the boys never make it to Mexico; life very rarely turns out as we plan as teenagers.

I am frustrated by how much race played into the development of these characters--there were some really strong voices and interesting story elements, but almost every discussion about Miguel, Mong, and Rondell starts with their racial status. Our classroom discussion this week got very heated because of this, I feel, when I wish we had focused on the mystery of Miguel's crime even though the perspective is so directly first-person in this journal format. I didn't think about it until I read one other blogger's point, but the issue of race with Rondell is really handled poorly--he is obviously mentally challenged, a sort of modern day George from Of Mice and Men, with a slow wit but loving affability. His particular strengths include basketball and strong loyalty. Combine all of these traits, and you have an African American character nearing caricature status and tiptoeing into very offensive territory. From what I've seen of Matt de la Peña's other two novels, he tends to focus on race in young adults in a way I think has been done more effectively by other YA authors. There are some really compelling elements to this story, but it definitely pushes some buttons that I'm not sure it means to push. I'd recommend it outside of class to boys looking for a more rough-around-the-edges narrator, but otherwise I'd stay away.

Suggested grade level: 10th grade
Appropriateness: racial issues to be handled sensitively, violence
Classroom use: outside of class only