You: Books to Shows

You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

I've wanted to talk to everyone about You after I binge-watched it on Netflix, but it's hard to find people who have watched it, read it, or both. A friend loaned me the book in October with the disclaimer that she, a fan of psychological thrillers, bought it based on the back cover blurb alone. I'm always excited to have books recommended to me, and I don't judge reading tastes, so I was looking forward to it... and read it in about a day.

As soon as I started reading, I realized the language is pretty brutal and it’s VERY creepy. Overall I couldn't put it down and sought out the follow-up, so what does that say about me?

It was very twisted but I think a lot of the language was over-the-top, and while it didn’t seem out of character for Joe, it could have been taken out and he would come off just as creepy and horrible. Some of the situations in the book seemed like they were there for shock value - or at least the language used to describe them was for shock value. It made me like the story a little less.

But the show polished up the story and took out a lot of the language and scenarios that seemed to be too much. They added some characters, like the little boy, and added some scenes that weren't necessary, but I won't pretend to understand what makes good TV. I'm sure they had reasons for adding in the kid and the abused neighbor and all the drama that brought in.

I think this has been one of my favorite book-to-movie adaptations, because even though I didn't like the book much, I thought the story was interesting, and that was really given room to shine on screen. The writing was what brought down the book, in my opinion, so having a chance to revise the story really made it better.

As I mentioned, I read the sequel and have heard that it will be "season two" of the show, so I'll definitely be tuning in for that!

Did you watch You? Did you read the book before, or after, or not at all? What did you think of the book compared to the show? I love dissecting things like this, so leave your thoughts in the comments!

Zusak

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

I’ve had The Book Thief on my shelf forever but wasn’t in the mood to read it the two times I tried, and I was worried this book would be just as dark. I listened to this as an audiobook and absolutely loved it! Marc Aden Gray, with his Australian accent, was the perfect narrator since the characters are Australian. He seemed to have fun with the narration, changing his tone according to the story, and even changing his voice for different characters. This really helped pull me into the story. Most audiobooks I’d tried to listen to previously were read more straight-forward, so my mind wandered instead of paying attention to the story. I Am the Messenger made me think of radio shows from the time before TV, when families would gather ‘round to listen to a story, instead of turn on the TV and expect to be entertained. The audiobook was well-done, but I would have loved this story regardless of how I read it. There was a bit of suspense and mystery throughout the whole story, and I really identified with Ed. His story of accidentally foiling a bank robbery and then becoming an unwilling messenger of goodwill was intriguing. The ending, however, has to be one of my favorite book endings ever. I kept thinking about it - and that’s all I’ll say! Read it for yourself and you’ll understand why it might have ruined me for all other books! See my detailed review here.

This Is Where It Ends

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp is a book about a school shooting. It seems like I've been reading a lot of school shooting books lately... I won't say it's a trend, the way vampires were and zombies are, but I've been reading about it frequently. I like it, though, because there are so many different ways to portray it: from the victim's point of view; from a bystander's point of view; from the shooter's point of view, or all of the above. Plus more.

Nijkamp tells the story from the points of view of four different students. They share flashbacks about how they know the shooter, what their relationships were like, how they changed, and why they think this event is occurring. There is the girl who used to date the shooter, the girl who was bullied by him, the bullied girl's twin brother, and the sister of the victim. The way they relate to the shooter, both in flashbacks and during the action, is very emotional.

The action takes place in about an hour, starting with a high school assembly. This tight time frame really builds the suspense, especially with four narrators in different areas of the school.

For how well the four narrators are developed, the shooter is a flat character. I would have loved to have him as a narrator, to find out why he flipped and decided to shoot up the school. The way he was portrayed was pretty stereotypical, so that aspect of the book was a little disappointing. It's still an interesting, emotional read, if you're in the mood for such realistic fiction.

Other books about school shootings I've read recently include: Violent Ends edited by Shaun David Hutchinson, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, Diary of a Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde, Damage Done by Amanda Panitch, and The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs (reviewed for Cleaver Magazine).

Since You've Been Gone

Plot Summary
Emily was a nobody until Sloane came along and picked Emily to be her best friend. For two years, Emily was able to be included just by being at Sloane’s side, but when Sloane leaves without a trace, Emily is lost. Until a list arrives in the mail, a list like those Sloane would make before Emily went on a trip. A list of dares, of things to do in a new place. Emily is intimidated by a lot of the items on the list - kiss a stranger? Skinny dip? - but is determined to complete them all, because she’s sure they’ll lead her back to Sloane.

Critical Analysis
Though a lot of young adult books seem to have lists of dares involved, written by a friend who has left or died, this stands out as being very original. Matson has a great voice that makes the scenes seem realistic instead of hokey, and the ending is incredibly satisfying.

Resources
Read more by Morgan Matson!
+     Matson, Morgan. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young
          Readers, 2011. Print.
After her father dies, Amy is moving across the country with her mother. She decides to drive from California to Connecticut, but there’s a hitch - her mother’s friend’s son is coming along. Amy was looking forward to taking a trip by herself - will she be able to drive across the country with a guy she doesn’t even know?
+     Matson, Morgan. Second Chance Summer. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young
          Readers, 2013. Print.
Taylor has always run from her problems, but when her family goes back for a summer at the lake house their haven’t visited for years, she has to face her former best friend and first crush.

Related Activities
Sloane makes Emily lists of things to try when she’s traveling. It’s an attempt to pull Emily out of her shell, to push her beyond her comfort zone. What tasks on the list intimidate your teens the most? What would your teens include on lists for their best friends? Have them write up a list, or take suggestions for a list all the teens who visit the library can do! If you know your teens really well, write personalized lists for them and slip them into a book they check out! Use Sloane’s list for Emily as a jumping-off point, but if you make the tasks more school and library related, you can keep tabs on the teens and they’ll have fun sharing what they’ve accomplished.

Read it for yourself!
Matson, Morgan. Since You’ve Been Gone. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015. Print.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name

Plot Summary
Rain is a photographer who fell in love with her best friend, Galen. When Galen dies in a car accident, Rain loses herself and her creative passion. She skips Galen’s funeral and sinks into a 6-month-long depression. The only thing that makes her come up for air is the chance to photograph an Indian camp for the local paper. Rain is one of the few Indians in her small town, but doesn’t feel connected to the culture since her father is white. After photographing the camp and learning that even her former friend, an African-American, is proud of the Indian blood in her lineage, will Rain find a passion for her people?

Critical Analysis
The themes of the book are photography and Native Americans, but neither topic is explored to its full potential. The storyline of Galen’s death is the only one that is satisfactorily resolved; the others fade out before they’re completed. Rain is a flat character; teens would more than likely find it hard to relate to her. She’s interested in photography, but doesn’t seem passionate about it, and nothing else about her personality sticks out. Rain’s grandfather, who is only present via postcards sent from Vegas, is more interesting than the main character herself. This book is more appropriate for younger readers, probably topping out at age 12, though Rain herself is 14. The book is also only 14 years old, but comes across as extremely dated; the story isn’t strong enough to be classified as timeless. Some of the sentences were awkward and wordy, making it hard to comprehend what was being said, and making the reader very aware that they’re reading a story. Overall, the book wasn’t too engaging, so I wouldn’t recommend it even for younger readers.

Related Activities
Rain is a photographer, using a 35mm camera and developing her own film. If your library has the financial resources, it’d be fun to host a pinhole camera makerspace— find instructions here, from:
          343GUILTYSPARK. How To Make A Pinhole Camera. Instructables, n.d. Web. 5 July 2015.

For those who don’t have the resources, you can still have fun “developing” photos. Have teens use their camera phones and the library’s iPads to take journalistic photos of each other in the stacks and around the building. Print them off and send home copies, hang them up, and post them on social media to show what’s going on at the library. You can even make the photos look like they came from a pinhole camera by using a needle to poke a hole in a small square of cardboard and tape it over the camera lens to let less light in. Teens will have to be more conscious of how they frame photos with these limitations!

Resources
Edward Curtis was an early 1900’s photographer who wanted to document American-Indian tribes before they disappeared. See his work here:
          Native Americans: Epic Photojournalism. NetFoxNews.com, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 5 July
               2015.
In 2005 Aaron Huey, a modern photojournalist, documented people living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. See his photos here:
          Teicher, Jordan G. A Photographer’s Moving Tribute to the Pine Ridge Reservation.
               Slate.com, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 5 July 2015.
Aaron Huey created a space for people of the Pine Ridge community to upload their own photos and stories as an interactive storytelling project. View it here:
          Huey, Aaron. Pine Ridge Community Storytelling Project. Cowbird.com, 20 Mar.
               2012. Web. 5 July 2015.
Aaron Huey also gave a 15 minute TED talk, found here:
          Huey, Aaron. America’s native prisoners of war. Ted.com, Sept. 2010. Web. 5 July 2015.

Professional Review
Edwards, Carol A. "Rain Is Not My Indian Name." School Library Journal 47.6 (2001): 156. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 5 July 2015.

Read it for yourself!
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Rain Is Not My Indian Name. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Print.

I’ll Give You the Sun

Plot Summary
Jude and her twin brother Noah have grown up being NoahandJude, sharing thoughts, souls, and dreams. When the twins turn thirteen, things start changing. Their mother wants them both to attend a prestigious art school, which triggers a competition between the twins. Dynamics within the family and with Jude and Noah’s friends begin to twist, and the twins are keeping secrets from each other. Initially they want to keep each other safe, then they try and hurt the other.
     The story is told in alternating viewpoints across the span of three years. Noah narrates chapters when he and his sister are thirteen years old, just starting to explore their world and what is outside of their insulated twin life. Jude’s chapters are when the twins are sixteen, coming into their sexuality and understanding the world at large. Both characters are drastically different, their voices ringing true and unique with each chapter, though the reader can sense their twin connection. The twists of drama in the story will push the reader to read just one more chapter!, desperate to reach the fantastically satisfying resolution.

Critical Analysis
The characters in I’ll Give You the Sun are very unique, but in an approachable way. The reader is immediately immersed in Jude and Noah’s worlds, seeing things through their eyes, needing to read both sides of the story to learn what is really going on. Changing narrators, especially across the span of years, can sometimes be difficult to pull off, but Nelson has done this flawlessly, and teens will not feel lost in the story as the voices and times change. In fact, using both twins to tell the story is the book’s major strength. Getting into both Jude and Noah’s heads rounds out the action, and the span of three years switching back and forth each chapter keeps the reader in the dark about interesting things happening in the twins’ lives. While the story is strong enough to work even in a straightforward narrative format, the alternating viewpoints makes the book very alluring for teens.
     This book is great for the typical Young Adult reader, aged 12 to 18—and beyond! The depth of emotion in the story makes it easy to relate to whether the reader has experienced events from the book, or is living vicariously through the characters. Jude is a great role model for girls as she regrets past decisions that once made her proud, and strives to change herself for the better. Noah is struggling with his sexuality, trying to decide if he should be true to himself, or try to avoid bullying and disappointing his father. Regardless of teens’ sexuality, this book is a great way to show different sides of a situation that often gets overlooked in fiction.

Related Activities
I’ll Give You the Sun is a beautiful book that tackles a lot of complicated issues. As a librarian, I would have a program about the book in general, with activity stations teens could explore according to their interests.
     The Art Station. Noah and Jude are both artistic in different ways—Noah creates gorgeously realistic sketches and paintings, while Jude prefers to work with her hands in sand, clay, and stone. The Art Station has sketch pads, pencils, pastels, and paints for teens to draw whatever’s on their mind. There are also lumps of clay and kinetic sand they can use to sculpt. If no inspiration strikes, there is also a jar of prompts from the book teens can pick from. The slips of paper have scenes and topics from the book, as well as the titles of Noah’s art that could serve as a great jumping-off point to creating some beautiful works of art.
     The Twin Tank. Jude and Noah had a lot in common, but they are drastically different people. The Twin Tank is a creative writing station for teens to write about an event—real or fictional—from their point of view, then rewrite it as their twin might have seen it. Their twin doesn’t have to be the opposite of the teen, but they definitely won’t be the same! This gives teens a chance to step out of their own lives and see things from a slightly different view.
     Rule the World. Throughout their lives, Jude and Noah have been trying to rule the world. They barter with the sun, moon, sky, grass, flowers, trees, and other elements of earth to get small gifts of favors from each other. Break teens into partners or small groups and give them small symbols of the earth to barter with (either paper cutouts of each element, or scale model figures). Put a topic or item up for grabs and let them get to it! After ten or fifteen minutes, ask each teen or group to talk about what they traded and why.

Resources
Noah is a young teenager when he realizes he’s gay. He struggles with his identity, wanting to keep a secret to avoid teasing and to keep from disappointing his father. It takes time, and many mistakes, before Noah feels comfortable with who he is—but things don’t have to be that way. Teens have many resources at their fingertips, like:
- Gay-Straight Alliance
- It Gets Better Project
- StopBullying.gov
- Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network: Student Action

Professional Review
Devore, Linda. “I’ll Give You the Sun.” Library Media Connection 33.6 (2015): 66. EBSCOhost.
     Web. 14 June 2015.

Read it for yourself!
Nelson, Jandy. I’ll Give You the Sun. New York: Dial Books, 2014. Print.

I Am the Messenger

Plot Summary
Underage cab driver Ed Kennedy accidentally foils a bank robbery, thinks nothing of it, then is surprised to be chosen as some sort of messenger. Playing cards are delivered to the shack where he lives with his dog, the Doorman. Ed has to decipher the meaning of each card, then complete the task associated with each of the names or addresses on the card. Nothing is explained to him - he has to decipher the purpose of each task on his own. He knows he has to complete everything before a bigger truth is revealed to him, but he can’t stop wondering who put him up to this, and why they picked him.

Critical Analysis
     Character.
Ed Kennedy is a perfect character, because he is so imperfect. He lied about his age to get a job as a cab driver after his dad died from alcohol abuse. He lives in a shack - and drinks coffee- with his dog, the Doorman. He regularly plays cards with three friends, one of whom he’s in love with. His life seems to have no purpose, and this doesn’t really bother him until he realizes there’s more out there. The messages he interprets show him that he is a good person, and deserves to live a good life. He is easy to identify with regardless of the reader’s age, but I think young adults will really take a shining to him. His friends are also complex, interesting characters with great backstories the reader learns right along with Ed.

     Plot.
The book opens on a bank robbery; Ed and his friends are inside, on the floor, watching the incompetent thief trying to get his hands on the money. Ed foils the robbery, somewhat accidentally, and just as incompetently. He is, however, lauded as a hero in his hometown, and enjoys a bit of fame as a result. Once the attention dies down, he returns to his job as a cab driver and wonders what is the point of his life. When playing cards are delivered to his shack with brief instructions, Ed finds himself delivering messages he learns on his own. It seems to be an unlikely plot, but after Ed’s name being all over the news due to the robbery, it’s not hard to believe that someone would pick him to do good all over town. Ed realistically struggles to decipher each message, and learns something from each, while still suffering through his own problems.

     Setting.
Ed and his friends live in a small town in Australia. It’s easy to picture the small town, especially if you’re hearing Marc Aden Gray’s Australian accent in the audiobook! The description is shown by Ed being able to walk from his shack to his job, as well as many other places in town, but needing to drive to a few places that seem to be out in the country. This setting is perfect for the story, because it’s believable that people in a small town would hail Ed a hero for stopping a thief, but Ed himself wouldn’t know everyone he was delivering messages to.

     Theme.
When we first meet Ed, he is wasting time by living his life passively. He works as a cab driver, a job he only got because he lied about his age. He lives in a shack with a smelly dog, and spends most of his time with the same three friends - one of whom he’s in love with, but never makes a move. Ed’s transformation is slow, which makes it realistic. He learns life lessons with each message he delivers, and he looks at his own life differently and tries to figure out what he wants. There is no sudden epiphany, and the ending is left open for him to grow even more. I think this approach is best because there is no heavy-handed moral or lesson that will make young adult readers feel preached to, but they can relate to Ed’s gradual change of heart.

     Style.
Zusak’s writing style is casual and conversational, which fits the story and theme perfectly. There is some Australian slang thrown in, which is one of the main reasons I’d suggest listening to the audiobook. Hearing the dialect spoken aloud helps the book read smoother, and helps the reader understand the slang with context clues. Ed’s dog “talking” to him seemed a little far-fetched for this book, because that’s the only magical or fantastical element, but it didn’t ruin the story.

Personal Response
I listened to this as an audiobook and absolutely loved it! Marc Aden Gray, with his Australian accent, was the perfect narrator since the characters are Australian. He seemed to have fun with the narration, changing his tone according to the story, and even changing his voice for different characters. This really helped pull me into the story. Most audiobooks I’d tried to listen to previously were read more straight-forward, so my mind wandered instead of paying attention to the story. I Am the Messenger made me think of radio shows from the time before TV, when families would gather ‘round to listen to a story, instead of turn on the TV and expect to be entertained.
     The audiobook was well-done, but I would have loved this story regardless of how I read it. There was a bit of suspense and mystery throughout the whole story, and I really identified with Ed. The ending, however, has to be one of my favorite book endings ever. I kep thinking about it - and that’s all I’ll say! Read it for yourself and you’ll understand why it might have ruined me for all other books!

Reviews & Awards
I Am the Messenger is a 2005 Printz Honor Book. School Library Journal raves: “Zusak's characters, styling, and conversations are believably unpretentious, well conceived, and appropriately raw. Together, these key elements fuse into an enigmatically dark, almost film-noir atmosphere where unknowingly lost Ed Kennedy stumbles onto a mystery - or series of mysteries - that could very well make or break his life.”
     I love reading different reviews; it’s like listening to a book club discussion! Booklist disliked the ending, saying “Zusak is too clever by half. He offers too few nuts-and-bolts details before wrapping things up with an unexpected, somewhat unsatisfying recasting of the narrative.”

Connections & Activities
The ideal audience for this book is high school and up. Since these readers have major life changes around the bend, push this activity outside of the library or classroom. Have readers think about the messages Ed delivered - the safe ones! Most were good deeds. What good deeds could students do to change the course of their own life, or at least broaden their worldview? Deliver meals to the homebound? Read books to preschool children? Visit senior citizens at the retirement home? Volunteer at a soup kitchen? The possibilities are endless!

Read it for yourself!
Zusak, Markus. 2006. I Am the Messenger. Narrated by Marc Aden Gray. New York: Random House Inc. Listening Library. Audiobook.