Who Survives?

I remember having a conversation with a family friend a year or so after 9/11. We were talking about humanity and the good and the seriously ugly that comes out of humanity. And after we talked about some pretty ugly things, one being all the people who died on 9/11, I made a comment that quieted us both. I said (not verbatim), "Well, there wasn't a single call of vengeance or hate or anger that came from those buildings or those planes. They were all of love." I remember him pondering that for a moment and saying, "I guess humans aren't so bad after all." We lived through 9/11. We remember where we were that day. What we were doing. Who we were with. But our children and students don't. I am teaching middle school students who were born after that horrible day. They hear about the horror, but none remember it. So how do we teach them about a day we will never forget? David Levithan has the right idea with Love is the Higher Law. He talks about the people who survived that day. And you didn't have to be in the towers to be a survivor. 


Claire was sitting in homeroom when it happened. When she saw people bustling around and whispering to her teacher, she was scared something had happened to her mother. What she didn't expect was a tragedy that would take so many people's mothers and fathers. Jasper was sleeping. With his parents in Korea, he was using the time to indulge in late nights and later mornings and had disconnected the phone. For a family halfway around the world with their son in the middle of a terrorist attack, nothing can be scarier than him not picking up the phone. Peter is in Tower Records, picking out the next great album and day dreaming about his date that night with a cute boy named... Jasper. When he walks outside, he removes his headphones because any song he heard as he watched the second plane hit the towers would have been forever tainted by the horror he was witnessing. 


When the towers went down in NYC, many people died. But while many people survived, a small piece of them went down with the towers. Everything stopped in the city that never sleeps and certainly never stops. And three young adults all living very different lives found their lives intertwining and never losing sight of what their city lost: the facade of safety and imperviousness. Claire, Jasper, and Peter all survived in very different ways, but they carry the towers and what happened that day with them each and every day. 


The importance of this book is that it is not a dictation of facts of what happened that day. It is a personal, human story of three teenagers living through the scariest day of their lives. I think this is a story that teens today could not only relate to, but also get a better image of what happened that day. But the story doesn't stop with that day. It continues for days and years after, showing the true influence 9/11 made on those kids. What was particularly important for me was how different their reactions are. When we look at the way people deal with tragedy, we have to acknowledge the widely differing reactions and this book chronicled three of those. In particular, Jasper was unable to get it out of his mind while Peter just wanted to move on with his life. 


While this book wouldn't tell the whole story of what happened that day, it would be a great companion to any lesson on the subject for teens. It is very realistic and upfront about the lives of these three teens, a skill Levithan is a master at. He doesn't hide behind stereotypes and fluff, but rather delivers a story that will leave you different by the last page. This is a short story, a little over 150 pages, so it is good for an older reader who struggles to focus on longer books or as a part of a larger unit about this time period. Levithan does it again. He brings the humanity out of the shadows and into the light. 

I Dare You Not to Fall in Love

I had the honor of seeing David Levithan at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY this week. In fact, I survived nearly poking a hole in my gas tank, a very frustrated bout of roadside sobbing, and some ill wishes toward a local farm that left a veritable boulder in the middle of the road and was driving a tractor on the other side, causing me to ride over the boulder, in order to get to Oblong that night to see Libba Bray, Michael Northrop, David Levithan and E. Archer. While I was there, I had such a great time listening to these four YA authors, I picked up some of their books I hadn't read yet, including Levithan's Lover's Dictionary. I am so glad I survived such nonsense and got there. It was an amazing night and so far the books I snagged ROCK!

"balk, v.
I was the one who said we should live together. And even as I was doing it, I knew this would mean I would be the one to blame if it all went wrong. Then I consoled myself with this: if it all went wrong, the last thing I'd care about was who was to blame for moving in together."

"macabre, adj.
If you ever need proof that I love you, the fact that I allowed you to dress me up as a dead baby Jesus for Halloween should do it. Although, I suppose it would be even better proof if it hadn't been Halloween."

Lover's Dictionary is a strange book. It isn't your traditional novel by any means. In fact, it is arranged much like a dictionary with words A-Z listed at the top of the page. Then after the word and part of speech is a short story, reflection, or thought based off that word. All the "entries" center around the anonymous narrator's relationship. The beauty of this story is how honest, real, and amazing the relationship is. This isn't your average "romance" novel. This is a relationship in every real meaning of the term. It chronicles their meeting, their first few dates, realizing they love one another, moving in together, infidelity, and grief. The insecurities found in any relationship are described in such a real way it made me laugh, cry, and miss my fiance. This book is hard to describe because the impact it will have on you is so unexpected and heartwarming, you can't categorize it.

As I was reading this book, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it. I have a student who will be a senior and plans to take the SATs again. She has trouble with new vocabulary out of context, but it is hard to find a bunch of SAT vocabulary in one place. She is also very romantic and would love this story. I plan to take this book, have her read 3-4 entries a night, make a vocab card for the words, and then write her own entries for the words. I have a great feeling this will be a huge hit on so many different levels! I can't wait!

There is some references to intimacy in the book, but it isn't anything graphic. I think the relationship is clearly a mature relationship, but since this is actually adult fiction, that is understood. Therefore, I would only use this book with 11th and 12th grade students who were mature enough for the content (although the content is relatively tame). I just can't wait to share this book with everyone I can get to read it. It was so beautiful and sad at the same time. It was like Levithan looked right into all our relationships and splattered them on the pages! You won't be able to put this story down!

Do You Dare?

If you want to start your Christmas shopping early, run right out and get Dash & Lily's Book of Dares for a young person in your life (or an older person who loves a good YA read). It's a great story anytime, but it takes place over Christmas, which makes it a perfect choice in December. I read it in the weeks before Christmas, and it made me all warm and holiday-spirit-y inside. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List, teamed up again to write alternating chapters of this novel.

Dash is home alone for Christmas. He lied to his mother, telling her he was spending Christmas with his father.  He lied to his father, telling him he was spending Christmas with his mother. As a result, both parents booked vacations with their "post-divorce paramours." Since his parents haven't spoken in 8 years, this situation leaves him with a lot of time to spend alone, doing what he loves most, hanging out in the Strand bookstore. Although he is a popular kid who could be spending time with his friends and their families, he actually embraces the opportunity to spend the time alone. He hates Christmas and looks upon his self-imposed hermitage as an escape from the holiday hubbub.

Lily is home with her older brother Langston for Christmas. Their parents fled New York City for a second honeymoon. Grandpa, who lives upstairs, is on his way to Florida to propose to his Snowbird girlfriend. Langston sees their parents' absence as an opportunity to hole up with his new boyfriend Benny. Lily, however, LOVES Christmas, from the caroling (she organized her own caroling society), to the shopping, to the movies, to the baking (she and her mother baked all the cookies ahead of time  to be enjoyed when the family is together again). Even though their family plans to celebrate Christmas on New Year's Eve, when everyone has returned, Lily is devastated. She is abandoned and alone on Christmas.

At this point enters a red, Moleskine notebook, one of the key players in the story. 

Langston and Benny develop the notebook scheme as part of their quest to find Lily a boyfriend and keep her busy while they enjoy their time together. Although Lily is in no rush to find a boyfriend, her disappointment about being alone for the holidays and her curiosity allow her to relent.  The initial questions in the notebook are designed to weed out all but suitable suitors, those who would be interesting and literate. “Are you going to be playing for the pure thrill of unreluctant desire?” 

Dash finds the notebook when he is browsing the shelves at the Strand, his favorite bookstore. It was right next to his favorite author's books (J.D. Salinger) and bore a note written in black Sharpie that inquired "DO YOU DARE?"  Now, really, wouldn't you?  Dash answers some of the questions that have been left in the book, which lead him on a scavenger hunt of sorts, until he reaches a page that reads:

So here we are.

Now it's up to you,

what we do (or don't) do.

...

If you do all these things,

you very well might hear from me.

Thank you.

Lily

In the next several days, Lily and Dash lead each other on a chase around the city. They leave clues with their friends and family and hide the notebook in various New York landmarks. In the meantime, they develop an epistolary friendship as they leave pieces of themselves in the pages of the red, Moleskine notebook. They grow fond of each other as they JUST MISS meeting each other several times. There is a lot of discussion of whether they should meet, or whether they are each other's soul mates in real life or in idea only. Should they meet? Do they really understand each other better than anyone else? Would their friendship hold up in the real world?

Unfortunately, when they do meet, it is under Shakespearian circumstances. The despondent Lily, having given up on a relationship with Dash, strikes up a relationship with Edgar Thibaud, an old acquaintance from elementary school who turned out to be cute and charming (but ultimately still a jerk). She gets drunk accidentally at a party with her caroling friends and almost literally runs into Dash as she is about to waste her first (drunken) kiss on the charming-but-heinous Edgar Thibaud. Although Dash does the honorable thing by escorting Lily home safely while Edgar remains at the karaoke party, he cannot hide his disappointment that this flesh-and-blood Lily does not resemble the dream girl of his notebook. The despondent Dash, having given up on a relationship with the Lily-of-the-Notebook, attends a New Year's Eve party where he sleeps with his ex-girlfriend Sofia, who recently moved to Spain but is visiting for the holidays.

And now what? Are Dash and Lily meant to be? Are they doomed by the failure of their real selves to meet the expectations of their "notebook selves?" Can the network of friends and family who helped bring them together, and then tear them apart, bring them together again? And what will happen when the parents come home?

Cohn and Levithan are talented at capturing what it means to be a young adult who is trying to find his or her self withing the labyrinth that is adolescence. Their voices are authentic, and they create a magical charisma between the main characters. For those who understand this reference, reading Dash & Lily's Book of Dareswoohoo, but it's not particularly graphic, and the characters learn from the choices they make. Although it is very much a book about relationships, it's not a "girly" book, and I think plenty of boys would find it engaging. I'm not familiar enough with the New York City landmarks to get much out of them, but they will appeal to anyone who knows the city. Read it. I double dog dare you.

What's in a Name?

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a collaborative novel by two of my favorite authors, John Green (author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns) and David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist).  I ordered it the second I was made aware of its existence, and I loved every minute I spent with Will Grayson and Will Grayson.

High school junior Will Grayson hasn't cried since he was seven and watched the movie All Dogs Go to Heaven.  He believes that crying is "totally avoidable if you follow two very simple rules:  1.  Don't care too much. 2.  Shut up." He asserts that everything bad that has ever happened to him resulted from his failure to follow those rules. The truth is that his rules also keep him from making meaningful connections with people, which, if you ask Will Grayson is just fine with him.

Will Grayson did have a social group once; for a short time he was legitimately popular, but he is now a social pariah because of Tiny Cooper.  Will and Tiny have a friendship that dates back to fifth grade, and although Tiny is a loving and caring kind of guy, being his friend is social suicide.  Tiny is the catalyst behind Will breaking Rule One AND Rule Two and his "honest-to-God Group of Friends" ending up "Never Talking to Me Again."

As Will describes, "Tiny Cooper is not the world's gayest person, and he is not the world's largest person, but I believe he may be the world's largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large." The actions that demoted Will Grayson to Outcast?  After a school-board member complained about gays in the locker room, Will "defended Tiny Cooper's right to be both gigantic...and gay in a letter to the school newspaper that I, stupidly, signed." When Will's friends attack him for his defense of Tiny, he walks away from the Group of Friends and is left with Tiny, openly gay, openly mammoth, openly emotional, and in love with someone new every ten minutes. Tiny his friend "Possibly Gay Jane" (Will and Jane meet when Tiny forces Will to join the Gay Straight Alliance) comprise Will's social life. And he's okay with that. He gets up in the morning, goes to school, interacts with his parents, doesn't care too much, and keeps his mouth shut. It's sort of easy, he thinks, until the GSA receives funding from the Student Council to stage Tiny Cooper's musical Tiny Dancer, a memoir about Tiny that features prominently a character named Gil Wrayson, who is more than loosely based on Will.  For Will, this is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

Meet Will Grayson. We'll call him the "Other Will Grayson," or OWG, for simplicity's sake since that's what the Will Graysons do.  OWG lives in another state and has no relation at all to Will Grayson.  OWG has a single Mom, a vaguely labeled "friend" named Maura who wants him to admit he's gay, and not too many other alliances in his own public school. OWG is in love with Isaac, who he met in an online chat room. He spends every waking minute thinking about Isaac or IM'ing him. Finally, OWG and Isaac agree to meet. When OWG shows up at the meeting place, Isaac is nowhere to be found.  What follows is an almost Shakespearean meeting on a curb in Chicago:  Will Grayson is abandoned by Tiny and Jane at a concert when his fake ID only proves him to be 20, and they go in without him; he meets the lovelorn and abandoned OWG who is stood up by the nonexistent Isaac.  What ensues is comical and heartbreaking in turns as we tease apart whether or not "Possibly Gay Jane" is gay (not), whether or not she and Will Grayson love each other, whether a relationship between OWG and Tiny Cooper can survive Tiny's mammoth personality, whether Will Grayson can survive Tiny's putting him in the spotlight, whether Will Grayson will break his rules, and whether Tiny Dancer will be a masterpiece that catapults Tiny Cooper to Broadway fame.

I loved this book from the first page and would have read it from cover to cover if I had had the time. I found the characters completely likable. I was a little in love with both Will Graysons, for different reasons. Although it could seem confusing to have two characters with identical names, the authors' different styles distinguish the characters enough from each other that it never really becomes confusing.  Will Grayson writes in complete sentences, in narrative form; OWG writes only in lower case and primarily in dialogue. At times it is confusing to the characters. When Tiny starts dating OWG, there is a bit of confusion about who is Will Grayson and who is Other, but it adds to the comedy. The authors capture a lot of the trials and tribulations that face adolescents today as they struggle to do what is right when doing the right thing could turn you into the school's biggest loser. Social groups change in an instant; someone always gets hurt. Much like what I have seen of "real life," the characters in Will Grayson, Will Grayson struggle to identify who they really care about and how to keep those people in their lives. We hope they will make the right decisions and come out of it better people in the end.

This is a great book for 9 - 12th graders who will be comfortable enough dealing with Tiny Cooper's gigantic gayness. The language is accessible; reading this novel is not going to catapult anyone's lexicon of SAT vocabulary words to the next level, but it may help them develop their own notions of friendship and love and what can happen when you are willing to take the chance to care and speak up. There are some slightly illicit scenes where underage adolescents use fake ID's to gain entrance to bars for concerts and one scene where a totally heartbroken Tiny Cooper gets drunk and passes out, but the characters are such reasonable people that I felt, even as I parent, I could take their actions in stride. These are good kids, testing their wings, figuring out what love is all about, making mistakes, and learning from them. Will Grayson, Will Grayson gets two thumbs up from me.