We've Got a Job to Do

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Levinson, Cynthia. 2012. We've Got a Job to Do: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March. Atlanta: Peachtree. ISBN 978-1-56145-627-6

2. PLOT SUMMARY

    

We've Got a Job to Do: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March by Cynthia Levinson is the true story of the 1963 childrens march on Birmingham.  Included within the text are stunning photographs which help to tell the story.  The book includes chapters on important players in the march, before and after effects of the march and the march itself.
 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

 

 We've Got a Job to Do: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March is incredibly well researched and written.  This is especially true considering the explosive nature of the content.  The civil rights era is still a hotbed topic for many Americans.  Cynthia Levinson manages to convey the events on the march and the feelings of the children and adults involved without being preachy or finger pointing.  The facts are clearly laid out and historical photographs are incorporated in a way that enhances the work and information. 

The selected participants give a human face to what is often overlooked or incorporated as one giant civil rights movement.  Often we forget that a movement has individuals with names and faces and stories. 

We've Got a Job to Do: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March  is not only the story of Birmingham, but also the story of many towns in the south.  However, the events of the first week of May 1963 are clearly detailed and the events of that week would help shape and change a nation.
 

4. AWARDS and INFORMATION

• -Starred review from Booklist
• YALSA award for excellent in nonfiction finalist 2013
• Starred review from Publishers Weekly
• Publishers Weekly best books of 2012
• Starred review from Kirkus

Accompanying website:  http://www.wevegotajob.com/index.html

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate



1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kelly, Jacqueline.2009. The Evolution of  Calpurnia Tate. New York: Henry Holt and Co.  ISBN 978-0-8050-8841-0

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Calpurnia Tate is an eleven year old girl in a family of six brothers.  Turn of the century Texas is not an easy place for a young girl with an inquisitive nature.  Exploring the world around her with her naturalist grandfather allows Calpurnia to discover many things about life with brothers, her grandfather, and who she is.  Amazing changes and surprises can happen in a girls life over the course of a year.

 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is, at its heart, a love story between a young girls and her grandfather.  The novel is about discovery.  Calpurnia discovers her love of science when she notices that the yellow grasshoppers surrounding her home are much larger than the green ones.  With that discovery, Calpurnia finds a deeper understanding of the world around her because of her grandfather and Charles Darwin's The Origin of the Species.  Her discoveries do not stop with science, but continue throughout the novel with questions of place in society and the world.

Ms. Kelly manages to produce likable and historically realistic characters.  The role of women at the turn of the century is clearly portrayed as are the expectations of men.  The year 1899 was a time of great change in the world.  The publication of Darwin made people question the world around them, their beliefs, and their place in the universe.  The Origin of the Species was so controversial that Calpurnia was actually denied access to the book at the local library by the librarian. 

Calpurnia is a precocious child who does not understand why she has to learn cooking and cleaning while her brothers do not.  She questions her role as a girl and weighs what she wants in a future.  The historical setting of the novel make these questions especially prudent and controversial. 

Ms. Kelly does readily acknowledge that she has taken liberties with Texas history and scientific notation.  Readers from Texas may notice the errors when they occur, but few other readers will.  The slight liberties taken with history do not in any way diminish the quality of the story. 

While there are many tertiary characters, their existence is simply to provide a frame of reference for Calpurnia and her grandfather.  Her mother provides the archetype of what a woman of society should be and what society expects Calpurnia to become.  Calpurnia's brothers represent the "normal" male of the era with very clear ideas about where a woman belonged and what her rights were, in that she had none.  Perhaps the most interesting character is Calpurnia's grandfather.  Because of his experiences in the war he is self sufficient and knows how to darn socks and cook.  Calpurnia finds these skills fascinating in a man as she knows of no others who can do them. 

Throughout the novel, Calpurnia finds so much that is changing and evolving.  But, the most important discovery is that of the love that she and her grandfather develop and share.

4. AWARDS and INFORMATION

Newbery Honor Award

I Hunt Killers

I Hunt Killers





1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lyga, Barry. 2012. I hunt killers. New York: Little Brown.  ISBN 978-0-316-12584-0

    

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Jasper, or Jazz as he prefers to be called is the teen son of a notorious serial killer.  His father taught him how to think like a killer with the intention of Jazz joining the family business.  Now that his father is behind bars Jazz fights to have a conscious and live a normal life.  But how do you unknow how a killer thinks and feels?  Then a body is discovered in a field missing fingers and without any clothes.  Jazz is sure it is a serial killer.  Now he must find a way to work with the police and catch the latest threat to small town Lobo's Nod.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Barry Lyga manages to create a dark and disturbing world which readers will happily immerse themselves.  Jazz is a well thought out and developed character who, due to circumstances beyond his control, does not have a fully developed conscience.  Lyga manages to allow Jazz to be both likable and slightly scary.  Due to the nature of the story and the gruesome plot of dead bodies with missing fingers, it is easy to forget that Jazz is a 17 year old boy.  His insight into the mind of a serial killer due to his fathers teachings makes the character seem much older at times.  However, his social awkwardness and poorly developed internal sense of right and wrong balance out the adult knowledge base and bring him back into the teen realm quite nicely.

There are several secondary and tertiary characters within the novel that act as Jazz's support system.  His best friend and partner in crime Howie is extremely important.  Because of Howie's hemophiliac medical condition he could bleed to death from a simple injury.  The delicate balance which has to be maintained and the control which Jazz must use in his dealings with Howie make Jazz a better person who is more aware of what a small amount of physical damage can do to a person.  Jazz's girlfriend Connie, an African American theater lover, acts as a "jiminy cricket" for Jazz and provides him with the normal perspective on his actions.  Also important for Jazz is Sheriff G. William Tanner.  After catching and putting Jazz's father in jail, the sheriff acts as both a watchman and surrogate father figure for Jazz.

The technical aspects of the book are disturbing but really well researched and act to allow the reader to follow the morbid, murderous aspects of the novel.  The dark twists and turns and surprises which continuously appear are more often found in adult crime fiction than in YA literature.  The combination of a teen protagonist and the adult content of the novel make for an interesting read. 

4. AWARDS and INFORMATION

• There is a sequel to the novel titled Game
• I Hunt Killers has been purchased for development as a TV series.

Fracture

Fracture

 



 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Miranda, Megan. 2012. Fracture. New York: Walker Books.  ISBN 978-0-8027-2309-3

    

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

 Delaney was dead.  Her heart was not beating and her lips were blue when Dekker pulled her out of the icy water and breathed life back into her.  After awakening from a coma her brain scans show massive damage.  And yet she is fine.  But now she feels death around every corner.  But she is not alone.  Troy also awoke from a coma with the gift.  But is it a gift or a curse?  Can they feel death or cause it?   

 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Megan Miranda's Fracture is a young adult supernatural story.  The supernatural element comes from a tragic accident in which Delaney falls through the thin ice of a lake and is not pulled free for eleven minutes.  Delaney languishes in a coma for six days before she awakens.  The naturally resulting medical brain damaged does not cause any impairment and  Delaney is able to speak, walk, and function normally with one small exception, she can feel death. 

 

Delaney is a fairly well rounded main character.  She is not perfect.  In fact, she is a bit clumsy and curvy and sees herself as brainy and definitely not athletic.  Her imperfections make her likable and enhance the novel.  Her relationship with Dekker and her parents are established enough to make the reader interested in what happens between them, but not developed enough to create a sense of urgency about the outcome of any differences. 

 

Dekker is only mildly developed as a character.  His role is that of best friend/rescuer/love interest.  The best aspect of Dekker is his uncertainty about how to handle almost losing Delaney and where they go from this point.  His guilt is well written and understandable.  And, Dekker is not infallible which he proves with his relationship with Tara. 

 

Delaney's relationship with Troy feels forced.  The fact that they both were in comas and have a connection to death is the only thing that truly keeps them together.  Further, the relationship is not healthy and the fact that Delaney is scared of Troy one moment and attracted to him the next does not help move the storyline or lend any feelings of empathy to the situation.

 

The title of the novel is especially representative of the story.  Delaney falls through a fracture in the ice.  Her life is fractured from the experience as are her relationships with Dekker and her parents.  Her ability to determine reality is slightly fractured as she discovers the nature of her gift.  And unfortunately, the story feels fractured and disjointed at times.

 

4. AWARDS and INFORMATION

• -Starred review from Publishers Weekly
• -Indiebound Winter 2012 Kids' Next List selection
• -a Boston Globe Best Young Adult Books of 2012 pick
• -a 2013 IRA Young Adults’ Choices Reading List selection
• -a Best Children's Books of The Year pick from the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education