Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel

Plot Summary
Sixteen-year-old Leila Azadi likes girls. Really likes girls. But she can’t tell anyone. She’s already struggling to fit in at school due to being an Iranian-American in a sea of white students. And she’s already disappointing her parents by failing science and not becoming a doctor like they want her to; throwing an announcement about her sexuality into the mix would devastate them.
     When an exotic new girl starts at Leila’s private school, Leila feels less alone. Sask. is from Switzerland, and gorgeous, and immediately befriends Leila. But it feels like something more than friendship… Leila has never felt this way before. She ditches soccer to try out for the school play alongside Saskia. But Leila still isn’t ready for anyone to know she’s a lesbian, and she isn’t sure Saskia is the best person to keep her secret…

Critical Analysis
Leila’s voice is honest and true—teens will find comfort in Leila’s world, even as she is experiencing emotional turmoil. The school environment Farizan portrays is equally as relatable, making this a valuable contemporary book for teens. Leila represents two minorities—mixed-race Iranian-American, and lesbian. Elements of Iranian culture that are incorporated into the story in the form of Leila’s father and social events the family attends are shown with respect and intelligence, so the reader comes away learning about the culture. The lesbian culture is also shown, with Leila falling for, and then striking down, stereotypes. None of those elements are heavy-handed, so the reader doesn’t feel like they’re getting hit over the head with political correctness, yet takes away tolerance and acceptance at the end of the book. The enjoyable, realistic depiction of two minorities make this book a necessity for contemporary young adult collections.
     This book will appeal to teens because the story is easy to get caught up in, but to be superficial, I have to say the pink cover might be a turn-off. This book would be great for girls and boys to enjoy, but every edition I could find a photo of had the signature pink cover. When it comes to an attention-grabbing color, pink is it. But when it comes to a book you’d want to be caught reading in high school, regardless of your gender, pink looks fairly immature. If teens can get past the cover and read the jacket copy, however, I think they’ll be hooked.

Related Activities
Much like her character Leila Azadi, author Sara Farizan is the daughter of Iranian immigrants, likes girls, and dislikes science and math. Other authors have also incorporated a lot of themselves into their fiction, like Sherman Alexie in The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian. Invite teens to create a character using aspects of themselves and their personalities that they find unique or are especially proud of. Characters can be sketched, revealed in a short story, or even shown by a list of traits.
     Leila had a secret that she wasn’t ready to share, but found that things weren’t so bad in the end. Have teens write down a secret on a small slip of paper. They can disguise their writing or write with their other hand if they don’t want to be identified. Teens can roll up or fold their secrets and place them in a jar, which will be sealed so not even the librarian can open it! It’s surprising how much lighter you might feel after getting your secret out - even if no one knows it.
     If you’re lucky enough to have an especially open group of teens, share the secrets instead of sealing the jar! Have the teens leave the room and post all of the secrets on a bulletin board. When the teens come back in, they can read all of the secrets—silently! No calling out guesses or accusations of who wrote what.

Resources
Iranian immigration to the United States is a relatively new political phenomenon and constitutes one of the highest status foreign-born groups in the United States (Ansari). Encourage teens to read more about this fast-growing population with a variety of fiction and nonfiction books.
     Amirrezvani, Anita and Persis Karim. Tremors: New Fiction by Iranian American Writers.
          Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2013. Print.
     Ansari, Maboud. The Iranian Americans: A Popular Social History of a New American Ethnic
          Group. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2013. Print.
     Dumas, Firoozeh. Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America. New York:
          Random House, 2004. Print.
     Dumas, Firoozeh. Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of a Global Citizen. New York:
          Random House, 2009. Print.
     Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. New York: Random House, 2008.
          Print.

Professional Review
Patten, Amy. “Farzan, Sara: Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel.” The Horn Book Guide 26.1
     (2015): 106. Literature Resource Center. Web. 27 June 2015.

Read it for yourself!
Farizan, Sara. Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Young
     Readers, 2014. Print.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Plot Summary
Arnold Spirit, more commonly known as Junior, lives on a Spokane Indian reservation with his parents and a close knit group of friends. Though life on the rez can be hard, Junior makes the best of it by keeping a cartoon diary. “I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited” (Alexie 5). No subject is off limits, even Junior’s birth defects that resulted in a large head, seizures, a lisp, a stutter, and thick glasses, and get him bullied by other kids on the rez.
     Despite all of his setbacks, Junior is a smart guy, exited to start geometry on his first day of high school. But when he discovers the class textbook is the same one his mom used, Junior knows the reservation is only holding him back. He transfers to Reardon, a school in a nearby rich, white farm town, where he can get the most out of his education despite being the only Indian kid. Junior struggles to fit in and make friends while balancing his life on the reservation, where most people have turned their backs on him. When Junior gets a chance to play his old team on the basketball court, he has to confront his old and new identities and decide who he really is inside.

Critical Analysis
Junior is a realistic, likable character that will draw readers in with his conversational tone. Everything, for example the medical explanations of his disabilities, is explained in simple terms that any reader can understand, yet it does not feel like the writing has been dumbed down. Reluctant readers will especially love the balance of illustrations with the humorous writing style. That being said, the book has been challenged for offensive language and being sexually explicit ("Frequently challenge books of the 21st century"), and seems best suited for teens age 14 and up. In fact, teens will probably relate to Junior’s attempts at fitting in with a new school while still being himself at home, and will be draw to the controversy that is created when he must face both populations at the same time! The story is overall heartwarming and inspirational, and is a good book for any teen who is ready to read about experiences they have faced or will be facing in high school.

Related Activities
Junior keeps a diary by drawing cartoons of his family, friends, and things that happen to him. He says “when you draw a picture, everybody can understand it” (Alexie 5). He says that drawing bridges gaps that languages can’t; that everyone can understand a drawing. Have your teens start a cartoon journal. They can draw a “cast of characters” of their family and friends — real life depictions or caricatures. They can draw things that have happened to them that make them happy, angry, or afraid. If your group is feeling especially open, hang up the drawings at the end of the program (with signatures covered or on the back). Encourage conversation about what they see in others’ drawings: can they tell what is being depicted? How does it make them feel? Have they experienced something similar? This could encourage a sense of community without teens having to raise their hand and speak up with everyone looking at them. Even if the group doesn’t feel like putting their art on display, starting a cartoon journal might really help them get their thoughts and feelings onto paper without the frustration of searching for the exact right word.

Resources
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a frequently challenged book based on many different criteria, which can be seen on the ALA’s "Frequently challenge books of the 21st century" list. One of the reasons this book is challenged is because of “cultural insensitivity”, probably due to the fairly negative, stereotypical presentation of Native American culture Alexie portrays (though it is fictionalized from his personal experiences). Encourage teens to research Native American culture after they finish this book, and compare and contrast what they learn with what they read in Alexie’s books.
     A great site to learn about Native American legends, like the one Junior’s dad shares about Turtle Lake (Alexie 223), is First People of America and Canada.
     Teachers and librarians can also find great print and online resources on the Native American Children’s and Young Adult Literature page from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Professional Review
Garrett, Emily. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” Library Media Connection
     26.4 (2008): 75. EBSCOhost. Web. 21 June 2015.

Read it for yourself!
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Illus. Ellen Forney. New
     York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007. Print.

Consider listening to this book, narrated by the author, which won the 2009 Odyssey Award!
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Recorded Books, 2008. CD.