Extra Credit: Common Denominator

Cover:

Pitch: A novel about teen romance is a familiar story, yet one that grabbles with individual maturation while being thrown into the middle of romance is popular by demand. Given that today many teens are continuously faced with new obstacles, this novel represents the inner turmoil that comes with societal expectations. While by design this novel resembles other stories in its genre, it meets the demand of the adolescents by providing a discourse on the effectiveness of communication and intention, whether it be for the individual or in terms of the romance. Common Denominator is needed in the adolescent market because it demonstrates compromise, and the elements of real world situations are relatable to teenagers in a multitude of ways. This novel builds upon Fifteen by Beverly Clearly, and like its predecessor, Common Denominator is a timeless classic. However, in addition to the development of the romance plot, it succeeds to discuss the maturation of the adolescent.

Back Blurb & Fake Reviews:

Isabelle Rivers, a 17-year-old Williams High School student, has harbored a crush on Finn Davingport for the past two years. Although she has told herself time-and-time again that she is not defined by her relationship status, she cannot help but feel inadequate in herself. Her best friend Stacey has been encouraging her to be confident and to take the lead. Who says girls cannot ask out boys? However, Isabelle is not sure if Finn is even remotely interested.

Finn Davingport, an 18-year-old Williams High School student, has had his head in his books with dreams of becoming a dentist. All the girls chase and fawn over him hoping that he will take notice in them, however, none of them are genuine in their intentions. Until he meets Isabelle, a girl he thinks is "something else." His best friend Nathan has other ideas, reminding him that he has his future to think about, but Finn cannot seem to get Isabelle off his mind.

Will Isablle have the courage to speak to Finn? Will Finn make the first move? Or will they meet in the middle over their mutual feelings? Will they work out, or will reality tear them apart? 

"Elizabeth Vlasyuk has done it again in Common Denominator, a story about facing your feelings while trying to discover who you are. Isabelle and Finn are two souls searching for that common denominator!" - Rainbow Rowell, Goodreads Author of Eleanor & Park

"A story full of inner battle. To love or not to love, and to be or not to be. Two teenagers learning how to communicate their intentions through the mess that is High School." - Jerry Bernard, The Critic Novel

Character details:

Extra Credit: "Camp Fire" by Alexandra Lampner

Zen sits in the, now, never known Garden of Eden

Pitch:

Camp Fire needs to be published for adolescents today because it challenges the only world that Generation Z has ever known. In the realm of technology, adolescent novels tend to play with dystopian aspects of technology taking over the world. Camp Fire however, tells the opposite tale. It reveals that there was a natural disaster due to climate change, and it destroyed all of the technology and information that ever existed. This destruction effectively created the second beginning of time. Anyone with knowledge pertaining to the old world is too senile to share, so the truth about the old world is only available through urban legends. A post-technology world in which religion and social constructs have been destroyed is a world in which there are entirely different societal norms because no beliefs have been formed. The main character of the novel, Zen, is asexual, and her friends are queer. Because this new world does not see them as part of an LGBTQ community (the new world did not oppress or condemn them,) they are as socially able as their straight counterparts and are perceived as such. This normalizes queerness/asexuality and shows adolescents that it’s one’s environment that shapes LGBTQ individuals as others -- Camp Fire shows that they do not have to feel like an other. Zen is asexual so the trope of a female protagonist needing saving or love is defied. Like other adolescent novels, the protagonist does defy an institution, but it is more complex because her parents are founders and recognize corruption, creating a strong relationship between adolescent and parent. Camp Fire is unlike other novels because of its unexpected storyline and its ability to challenge how religion, government, and technology have shaped Generation Z’s perception of the world.

Back of book:

Technology was lost in the Great Fire. There was a fire that swept continents -- some people think terrorists were involved and others think it was Armageddon. Now, the year is 2127 and screens are history. Only old people remember the screens. Only great grandparents can tell the story of what it’s like to swipe yourself into love -- nobody’s stories are that romantic anymore. The fire killed everything and a small private group, Camp, began to make decisions in society. Zen, a 17-year-old asexual female, is the child of two of the founders of Camp. Because Zen’s parents are insiders, they don’t let Zen go to school despite her desire to “learn.” Zen’s parents say that schools try to take young people’s insight, write it all down, and rebuild humanity as the Great Fire destroyed everything the world had worked for. But, Zen’s parents do not trust Camp, and want Zen to remain pure. Zen has two friends, Amelie and Craig, both of whom identify as queer. Amelie and Craig’s parents do not make them go to school because they trade goods all day and never consumed information themselves. Camp realizes that the world is void of information and knowledge, and that people will have to relearn and rebuild humanity. How humanity will be rebuilt is technically up to Camp, but Zen and her friends identify another path to restoring scorched earth and faith in the world.

“For her first YA novel, Lampner has managed to bring a technology consumed generation back to reality, and back to the beginning of time.” – Jane Teller, Adolescent Literary Review

“Camp Fire is masterfully written for all. It questions history’s implications and suggest that history, very well, may not repeat itself.” – David Jones, The New Yorker

“Spunky and gay, this illustrates an unexpected picture of an alternate reality. Young people and older alike will pour over Camp Fire’s wild plot and societal critique.” – The Atlantic

Zen spends a lot of time with her two grandparents because when she was growing up, her parents were always working and they thus took care of her. They met on tinder, which was dated by 20 years at the time, and Zen thinks that their story is a great love story. 

Extra Credit Novel Idea

Cover:

Pitch: Teachers! Great for your summer reading list! Building upon Judy Blume's Forever, Klippel embraced the fluidity of the female body and put it into this novel, while creating a non-authoritative adolescent voice. This allows for the adolescent audience to feel more comfortable while reading. Steph, the main character, is an underclassman at Lecanto High School. She doesn't want to stick to one strict template for feminity, although her mother wants her to. This novel teaches adolescents to love their bodies and to not follow society's set guidelines for what they should and should not do with their bodies and lifestyles. With the rise of women in sports, this novel is needed to remind young women that they can be both strong and beautiful, without having to choose between the two. This is told by the simple dichotomy of Steph's choice between focusing on the homecoming dance versus getting on the varsity wrestling team. The use of parental pressures is something that will be both relatable and realistic for adolescent readers. Another facet of adolescent situations Klippel addresses is sexual identity. Though this isn't the main plot of the novel, Steph begins to discover her romantic and sexual interests. This novel would be a great addition to any LGBTIA readings you may have already included in your list. All in all, check out Steph. at your local library, purchase it at your local bookstore, and be sure to order in bulk in case you want to incorporate the novel into your lesson planning for the school year!

 Character breakdown:

Back cover summary: Steph Cantlie, a fifteen year old at Lecanto High School, is excited for wearing both her homecoming dress and her wrestling leotard for this fall semester. She has been training hard all summer with the help of Ben, Nina, and TJ, her best friends. But when her mother begins to shame her physique and lifestyle choices, Steph begins to feel as if she has to choose between the homecoming dance and a sweaty wrestling mat. Her decision-making process is even more complex as she soon finds out that one of her best friends has hidden feelings for her since middle school. What will Steph choose? Will she be able to address her own feelings that she has been hiding?

Excerpt: "'Good form!' said Nina as Steph tackled the dummy in her step-dad's musty garage. Nina watched in admiration as Steph walked toward the mini-fridge to grab a Gatorade. 'I'm so proud of you. Coach Reynolds would be crazy if she didn't choose you.' Steph just nodded and smirked, too tired to audibly respond. She suddenly became self-conscious of the sweat dribbling down her neck and collecting into a huge spot on her sports bra. 'Thanks everyone! For everything, dudes.' She smiled in appreciation at all her friends, now surrounding her with the fanning of last week's newspaper. As TJ walked into the house to get her a new towel, someone felt a pang of jealousy as they watched Steph's eyes follow his form sauntering away.'

Category B, Prompt B

This novel focused on representing a new type of superhero. This superhero has not really been covered before, up until this point. She is a young American-pakastani muslim who fights crime and patriarchal expectations. The memes I picked focus on representing issues the character faced because of those facets of her identity. Despite these issues, we see these factors not limit her success and we see her persevere to meet the demands of the superhero lifestyle. The first meme highlights the feminine aspect of the novel. The second meme shows the irony in the superhero genre of female superhero expectations. The third meme references the gendered expectations that come along with stereotypes of the protagonists religion. The fourth meme is a reference to stereotypical expectations of women that men have, which reminded me of some situations that happened to the protagonists. Overall, this text helped highlight that women can fight those problematic expectations and there is no certain way a superhero woman is suppose to look.

Ms. Marvel B/A

Nicole LaReau

For Kamala's Instagram handle and account, I decided to focus on how the radical changes in her life are creating changes within her perspective on the world. Besides the changes that are ever-present in a teenage life, Kamala also undergoes radical changes in becoming a superhero.

I made Kamala's instagram handle "komplete_kamala" because she is seeking her true self. It is through this search for identity that she becomes Ms. Marvel. These changes lead to her sense of being completely herself.

Kamala's first post is of the foggy night in which she transforms into Ms. Marvel and meets the Avengers. I chose this moment to document because this is the crux of her young life and therefore of the series.

The second Instagram post is of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. I wanted Kamala to create a metaphor (albeit a very literal one) for the point of transformation that she has reached in her life. Because she emerged from a cocoon, I chose a butterfly.

For Kamala's third and final Instagram post, I chose a closed door. This might have been an odd choice of photo, however I wanted to communicate Kamala's ongoing transformation in thinking and maturity. She is grounded by her parents after she returns home from her night out with friends, but she is still hopeful that her transformation into Ms. Marvel is what she has been waiting for.

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1 - Category B, Prompt D

A major turning point in Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1 occurs in issue #4, when Kamala defies her parents and, after finally confiding in Bruno, begins working on a flexible supersuit that will allow her to confidently fight crime. She's now committed to her second life as a superhero and takes on the mantle of Ms. Marvel (after favorite hero Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel's previous identity).

There are two major fight scenes after this point: one at the end of issue #4, and one in the beginning of the All-New Marvel NOW! Point One bonus material. During one of these scenes, I'd play "Battle Symphony" by Linkin Park, off their new album One More Light (2017).

[lyrics available here]

This would be a serious, uplifting/inspirational interpretation of the song (much like "Iridescent" in Transformers: Dark of the Moon or Soundgarden's "Live to Rise" in Marvel's The Avengers). The major theme of these passages is that Kamala believes in herself and believes fully that she is doing the right thing by safeguarding Jersey City against villains like the Inventor. 

To get to this point, however, took a lot of courage and willingness to get past her the pain of her first, failed attempts. 

I been searching for an answer

Always just out of reach

Blood on the floor

Sirens repeat

I been searching for the courage

To face my enemies

She also had to defy those who would just worry (like her parents) or those who ostracize her (like the cool kids).

They say that I don't belong

Say that I should retreat

The biggest reason to include this song (perhaps even in a trailer) would be the inspirational, powerful chorus.

I hear my battle symphony

All the world in front of me

If my armor breaks

I'll fuse it back together

Battle symphony

Please just don't give up on me

And my eyes are wide awake

If I fall, get knocked down

Pick myself up off the ground

If I fall, get knocked down

Pick myself up off the ground

Identity in Ms. Marvel

Identity in Ms. Marvel

In the first chapter we are introduced to the Khan family. I found the conflicting ideologies surrounding identity very interesting. For example, Abu, Yusuf Khan scolds Kamala’s older brother for spending “all day praying”, insisting that he should be looking for a job. It is interesting that Aamir is apparently more religiously devout than his father. We can see this by his expressions of faith--wearing traditional Muslim clothing, praying before eating--and his desire to find employment that does not “offend Allah” as Yusuf’s banking job does.

While Yusuf is evidently less religious than his son, he still seems to cling to traditional patriarchal ideologies of Islam.  For example, when Kamala asks to go to the party on the riverfront, her father is immediately dismissive, saying, “it is not safe for a young girl to be out late at night with strange boys, drinking, God knows what, thinking God knows what”. Not only does he express a desire to control her physical person (suggesting she invites a friend over to do homework/watch movies), but also her thoughts. Kamala believes his strict parenting is because she is a female, which outrages him, resulting in her being confined to her room until she “finds [her] manners”. While, both Aamir and Kamala have ideological differences with their father at the dinner table, Yusuf seems to be more troubled by Kamala’s rebellion because she is a female.

I found Yusuf’s ideas surrounding identity to be a synthesis of American and Islamic ideologies. For example, he sees work ethic as a measure of masculinity, praising Bruno for working and getting “top grades”. Conversely, he seems to believe that females should be submissive and protected from negative outside influence, which is made evident by his desire to keep Kamala in the house on Friday night. I thought it was interesting that Yusuf places importance on education for both males and females (praising Bruno for grades, suggesting Kamala get ahead by doing homework on Friday), but still believes man’s place is in the world, and woman’s is in the household.