Hello YAL world! The topic that I would like to address in my blog tonight is the appropriate use of YAL books. There are many many books out there in the world that can have different kinds of influences on young adults depending on their situation. So far in class we have read three books; "By the Time You Read This I'll be Dead", "Boot Camp", and a non-fiction book of our choosing. My non-fiction book that I chose was "The Zookeeper's Wife". In each of these books, and many more, there is a level of appropriateness that can be addressed as to whether or not our young adult students should be exposed to. There are a number of different reasons why each book is or isn't appropriate for young minds, but in my mind every book, no matter the content, can be used in some way or other in the classroom.
The book, "By the Time You Read This I'll be Dead", is a perfect example of that controversial topic; suicide. If you have read this book then you understand why it would be questionable as to whether or not our students should read this book. I think that no and yes are both right answers. For someone who is looking for a means to self-harm, this book would not be appropriate considering the content inside it. However, it may also open their eyes to understand that there is another way out other than suicide. This book could also be influential to other students who are not considering suicide. It opens up a door into the mind of a student that is. There are so many students that feel left out, bullied, ostracized, and alone. This book brings to light how those people feel, and allows other students to understand that feeling. It would also allow the bullies of the classroom to understand how their words do hurt people in ways they could never imagine. A great movie that would go along with this is "A Girl Like Her". If you have not seen this movie, it is a good movie. It not only highlights the effects of bullying on students, but also why bullies do what they do. I believe these two mediums would be very effective in exposing students to the reality of suicide and what they can do to prevent students from feeling alone. This would also be a great topic for parents to address with their students. If I were doing a lesson play on this topic, I would have the parents read this with them at home, skipping whatever parts they deem necessary to skip, and discussing it with their kids. This would allow my parents to be comfortable with the topic we are addressing as well as feel part of their student's education. I would also allow an alternative book if a parent was totally against this one. I would not suggest that a student read this book on their own unless it is with their parents at home.
"Boot Camp" and "The Zookeeper's Wife" are descriptive but not near as graphical as "By the Time You Read This I'll be Dead". Both of these books focus on isolation and the differences of people. I would use both of these books as well as another book called "Fearless" in a unit together and divide my students up in to groups or book clubs to read one of the three books. "Fearless" is like "Boot Camp" though it doesn't involve as much abuse. "Fearless" is about a girl who is trapped in this institution for troublesome girls. The town believes this institute is a school, and their girls are getting the education needed to become a proper citizen. In "Boot Camp", a boy gets sent to this 'school', which is really more like a prison, where he gets beat often and sometimes near the point of death. The camp was meant or troublesome kids, but he was innocent. Both books include the theme of conformity and isolation along with staying true to who you are. I would teach a unit of conformity and how society puts everyone into boxes and categories. Society isolates anyone who is different and views these people as outsiders or troublesome people. They use peer pressure to make these students succumb to their ways. "The Zookeeper's Wife" may not be about a boot camp or secret school, but it does address WWII and the holocaust. This too is linked to conformity as the Nazis believed that they were the superior race and everyone else was garbage to be burned and thrown away. Comparing the characters from all three books allows the students to see the connection that this happens to everyone, and that being different is not bad. Also by combining these three books, it exposes these students to look at the bigger picture in literature as to the themes and ideas behind the stories. Though all these books may have some graphic content, or expose your student to something different, I believe that when use in the proper direction, they could all be very effective and useful teaching material for our young minds.