World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler

Kunstler, J. H. (2008). World Made by Hand: A Novel. Atlantic Monthly Press.

Plot Summary:  The world has slowed down considerably.  Since the world’s oil supply has run out cars and electricity are things of the past – people must survive on their own wits and by a new set of rules.  Robert Earle still lives in his home in Union Grove, New York.  While life is far from perfect, he has established a way of life that is sustainable for now.  Having lost his wife and son, Robert lives a somewhat solitary existence as he manages his own survival.  His town is in the midst of being reclaimed by nature and by the opposing factions that are forming as the dust settles from the environmental and societal meltdown.  When a new religious group moves into town and takes over the old town high school, the very delicate and tenuous balance that has existed in Union Grove threatens to be shattered.

Critical Evaluation:  While World Made By Hand is indeed a very adult book, it will be a perfect read for intellectually curious and forward-thinking teens.  Young adults who have made their way through the myriad dystopian books written for teens will appreciate the academic and thoughtful nature of this book.  Kunstler, who has written extensively about the coming environmental catastrophe, uses his keen eye to imagine a world changed by the science he has studied.  The book is scary but not far-fetched and will make for fascinating conversations with teens about over-consumption of finite resources and the repercussions of that behavior.  Additionally, Kunstler opens the door to thinking about power corruption, religious immorality and human nature.  While many teen dystopian fiction books place the action in a distant and vague future, Kunstler demands that the reader acknowledge that his vision is in the very near future, making for a far more thought-provoking and personal reading experience.

Reader’s Annotation: For anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to live without rules, without modern conveniences, or without the societal norms we’ve all become accustomed to…Kunstler shows us the bleak future that might allow us to see it for ourselves.

Author Information:  “Mr. Kunstler was born in New York City in 1948. He moved to the Long Island suburbs in 1954 and returned to the city in 1957 where he spent most of his childhood. He graduated from the State University of New York, Brockport campus, worked as a reporter and feature writer for a number of newspapers, and finally as a staff writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1975, he dropped out to write books on a full-time basis. He has no formal training in architecture or the related design fields.

He has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT, RPI, the University of Virginia and many other colleges, and he has appeared before many professional organizations such as the AIA , the APA., and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

He lives in Saratoga Springs in upstate New York.”

About | KUNSTLER. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://kunstler.com/about/

Genre: Speculative fiction

Curriculum Ties: Environmentalism, Limited resources, Sustainability, The end of oil

Booktalk Ideas: Adult titles for teens, Disaster, Dystopian society

Reading Level/Interest Level: Crossover/Grades 10 and up

Challenge Issues and Plans:  This book contains strong violence and some sexual situations.  The themes of environmental catastrophe and the end of oil might be objectionable to some parents.

If the book was challenged I would:

1. I would ensure that I am familiar with the material, including any part that might cause concern to parents/patrons.
2. I would actively listen to the concerns of the parent/patron in an effort to fully understand their point of view. I would ask clarifying questions and avoid any judgmental language.
3. I would offer my reasons for including the material in a non-confrontational but matter-of-fact manner.
4. I would offer a list of reviews and awards that informed my decision to add the material to the collection.
5. I would draw the parent/patron’s attention to ALA’s Library Bill of Right.
6. I would have handy for perusal my library’s collection policy.
7. If the parent/patron wished to continue with the challenge, I would offer an official challenge form that would be submitted to the library’s (or school’s) board of directors.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Lowry, L. (2002). The Giver (Reprint edition.). New York: Laurel Leaf.

Plot Summary:  Jonas, 11 years old, is about to be given his life’s assignment in the upcoming Ceremony.  The “Elders” have carefully watched Jonas, and all of the other kids born in the same year as him, to come up with the right job, one that plays on his strengths without adding any personal strife or ambition.  When Jonas is unexpected named the “Receiver of Memories” he is unprepared for the enormous change he is about to experience.  In Jonas’ community there is no pain or love or even color.  The community exists in a state of “sameness” that takes real feelings and experiences off the table in favor of a peaceful and uneventful existence. The only person who is able to remember (and therefore experience) the full spectrum of feeling is The Giver, who will be Jonas’ guide.  As Jonas begins to experience feelings of love and joy, and then pain and suffering, he sees his world in a new light.  When he learns the dark truth about his community’s heartless practices, he and The Giver make a plan for escape.  Can Jonas make his way out of a world of “sameness” and into the realm of true love and heartbreaking suffering?  Can he and The Giver save their own community in the process? 

Critical Evaluation:  Many critics have pointed to the obvious gaps in Lowry’s most famous and widely-read book.  While it is true that the plot is often conveniently pushed and pulled in ways that are entirely motivated by the author’s purpose, the message remains powerful.  The Giver is not a book meant to be read for details and plot twists, but rather one that asks its reader to ponder the larger issues of autonomy, privacy and the experience of being a living, breathing human being.  Younger readers will be unexpectedly touched by Jonas’ painful journey toward knowledge.  Lowry has the ability to elicit emotion even from the most obtuse reader, making Jonas’ story so universal and personal all at once that it’s almost impossible not to identify.  Adult readers (and perhaps older teen readers) will pick up on significant plot gaps, but even with with those in mind, the visceral experience of reading the book will sweep most readers away.  This book will lead to discussions about autonomy, racism and privacy.

Reader’s Annotation:  Jonas has never experienced love, true joy, or even pain…then his community elders name him the “Receiver of Memories” and he is plunged into a world of color, sheer happiness, but also unbearable suffering.  Will he be able to be part of his community of “sameness” or will the realization of what might exist drive him to break free?

Author Information:  “I was a solitary child, born the middle of three, who lived in the world of books and my own imagination. There are some children, and I was this kind of child, who are introverts and love to read — who prefer to curl up with a book than to hang out with friends or play at the ball field. Children like that begin to develop a feeling for language and for story. And that was true for me — that’s how I became a writer.

My books have varied in content and in style. Yet it seems to me that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, is a fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells of the same things: the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.”

Lois Lowry’s Biography | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/lois-lowry

 

Genre: Science fiction, Dystopian, Speculative fiction

Curriculum Ties:  Personal freedom, Choice, Privacy

Booktalk Ideas:  Sameness, Would you want to live without pain?

Reading Level/Interest Level: Grade 6/Grade 6-12

Challenge Issues and Plans:  This book deals with euthanasia, suicide and anti-authoritarianism. 

If this book was challenged:

1. I would ensure that I am familiar with the material, including any part that might cause concern to parents/patrons.
2. I would actively listen to the concerns of the parent/patron in an effort to fully understand their point of view. I would ask clarifying questions and avoid any judgmental language.
3. I would offer my reasons for including the material in a non-confrontational but matter-of-fact manner.
4. I would offer a list of reviews and awards that informed my decision to add the material to the collection.
5. I would draw the parent/patron’s attention to ALA’s Library Bill of Right.
6. I would have handy for perusal my library’s collection policy.
7. If the parent/patron wished to continue with the challenge, I would offer an official challenge form that would be submitted to the library’s (or school’s) board of directors.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Shusterman, N. (2007). Unwind. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Plot Summary: Connor is scheduled to be unwound – his parents have chosen to donate him for his organs.  Following the Heartland War, which was fought over abortion, a compromise was reached whereby parents can either have their children unwound between the ages of 13 and 18, or they can “stork” them as babies, by leaving them on someone’s doorstep.  Knowing that escape is his only chance for survival, Connor makes a daring run for his life.  After pulling Lev, another kid set to be unwound, from a car, and meeting Risa, a ward of the state set to be unwound as well, the three set out to save their own lives.  Lev is a tithe – as the tenth child of religious parents, he has been given willingly for unwinding.  Since he has know his fate since birth and considers it an honor, he tries to turn himself and his fellow runaways.  After learning that his pastor has hidden Lev’s identity to keep him safe, Lev changes his mind and the three continue on their daring escape.  Meeting fellow refugees along the way, Connor, Risa and Lev learn more about the politics of unwinding and the powerful underground movement to end the inhumane practice once and for all.

Critical Evaluation:  Unwind provides an excellent platform for conversations surrounding choice (of any kind), freedom and authority.  Shusterman does a good job of presenting an issue – most obviously in this book, abortion – and holistically exploring the topic without deciding anything for the reader.  Young readers who have strong feelings either way about this hot topic will not feel alienated by reading Unwind.  Alternately, teens who just want to read an innovative and fast-paced dystopian novel will delight in Shusterman’s tight plot which seamlessly moves through several major shifts in a very short amount of time.  The plot and characters are so thoroughly drawn that the book can be read on multiple levels, giving diverse but equally compelling outcomes with each reading.  This book is accessible enough for reluctant readers though it is not an “easy” read.  The material is interesting enough to captivate readers from the get-go, and will keep them engaged until the final page.

Reader’s Annotation:  Being a teen is hard enough without your parents having the right to give you away for parts.  Connor has just found out that his mother and father plan to do just that – have him “unwound” and given piecemeal to other people in need of eyes, lungs, skin, etc.  Now he must run for hid life or risk losing everything. 

Author Information:  “Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.

In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country.

Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal’s novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.”

Neal Shusterman: Bio. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2014, from http://www.storyman.com/bio/

Genre: Dystopia/Science fiction

Curriculum Ties: Politics, Choice, Survival

Booktalk Ideas: Controversy, The political future

Reading Level/Interest Level: Grade 8/Grades 8-12

Challenge Issues and Plans:  This book deals with abortion, parental abandonment and anti-authoritarianism.  There is also a limited amount of violence.

If this book was challenged:

1. I would ensure that I am familiar with the material, including any part that might cause concern to parents/patrons.
2. I would actively listen to the concerns of the parent/patron in an effort to fully understand their point of view. I would ask clarifying questions and avoid any judgmental language.
3. I would offer my reasons for including the material in a non-confrontational but matter-of-fact manner.
4. I would offer a list of reviews and awards that informed my decision to add the material to the collection.
5. I would draw the parent/patron’s attention to ALA’s Library Bill of Right.
6. I would have handy for perusal my library’s collection policy.
7. If the parent/patron wished to continue with the challenge, I would offer an official challenge form that would be submitted to the library’s (or school’s) board of directors.

Feed by M.T. Anderson

Anderson, M. T. (2012). Feed (Reprint edition.). Candlewick.

Plot Summary:  Titus and his friends are spending Spring Break on the moon.  Out clubbing one night, the teens unknowingly have their feeds – the implant that allows a constant flow of ads, information, songs, etc. to enter their brains – hacked, rendering them nearly useless.  They wake up in a hospital when efforts are being made to repair their dysfunctional feeds.  A girl they’ve just met, Violet, reveals to Titus that she plans to mess with her feed in an effort to hide her true thoughts.  By giving the feed conflicting information, Violet feels that she might have some of her brain to herself.  With a burgeoning romance with Violet in effect, Titus must decide if he wants the status quo life, dominated by his feed, or if he wants to to risk everything for the freedom to think for himself.  

Critical Evaluation:  M.T. Anderson takes on the massive and important themes of consumerism, environmental disintegration and authority, all while keeping a keen eye on his riveting characters and plot.  Teen readers will immediately connect with the well-crafted portrayal of the teen language of the future, which will force them to look at their own use of language and its evolution.  Though Feed was written over ten years ago, Anderson’s book is aging well, avoiding any current trends and technology, while still hinting at the connection to our own times.  This book will spark cross-generational discussions about where technology is coming from and where it is heading. Teens will also find themselves thinking about the insidious nature if advertising, which is only slightly exaggerated in Feed.  Titus and Violet’s well-realized and fascinating love story will resonate with young readers, many of whom will identify with the struggle of making difficult decisions between being brave and being normal.  Violet’s fate is a wonderful depiction of the relationship between gigantic corporations and their teen consumers.  While Feed can be read as a fun and quick sci-fi read, it is indeed so much more than that.  Anderson strikes the perfect chord that will allow teen readers to hear the message while still enjoying the book.

Reader’s Annotation: Titus and his friends just wanted a good party on the moon.  When their feeds are hacked they experience life without a constant barrage of information mainlining to their young brains.  When Titus meets Violet, he is forced to rethink society’s reliance on the almighty feed.

Author Information:  “MT Anderson is an accomplished writer who has written a wide variety of titles, including works of fantasy and satire for a range of ages. Anderson grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated in English literature at Harvard University and Cambridge University, and went on to receive his MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University.

Feed was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the L.A. Times Book Award for YA fiction in 2003. It was additionally a finalist for the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. Anderson has also written a number of children’s picture books.

MT Anderson currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.”

M T Anderson’s Biography | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/m-t-anderson

Genre: Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Internet safety, Technology

Booktalk Ideas: The future is now, Dystopia, Think for yourself

Reading Level/Interest Level: Grade 7/Grade 9-12

Challenge Issues and Plans:  This book contains strong language, some violence and is critical of authority.

If this book was challenged:

1. I would ensure that I am familiar with the material, including any part that might cause concern to parents/patrons.
2. I would actively listen to the concerns of the parent/patron in an effort to fully understand their point of view. I would ask clarifying questions and avoid any judgmental language.
3. I would offer my reasons for including the material in a non-confrontational but matter-of-fact manner.
4. I would offer a list of reviews and awards that informed my decision to add the material to the collection.
5. I would draw the parent/patron’s attention to ALA’s Library Bill of Right.
6. I would have handy for perusal my library’s collection policy.
7. If the parent/patron wished to continue with the challenge, I would offer an official challenge form that would be submitted to the library’s (or school’s) board of directors.

Wool by Hugh Howey

Howey, H. (2012). Wool Omnibus Edition. Broad Reach Publishing.

Plot Summary:  200 years after the last big human uprising, society is existing in a silo plunging to over 150 stories underground.  The sheriff, Holston, begins to question the death of his wife several years prior and the events surrounding.  His wife chose to go outside, to the toxic and deadly environment of the above ground world.  In a society where wishing to go outside is criminal, Holston has scarcely been able to grieve for her, let alone understand her death.  Each person who goes outside is asked to clean the few windows that connect the silo with the world outside with wool.  Holston watched as his wife cleaned the glass, waved good-bye and quickly crumpled to her death, and has since wondered why nobody refuses to clean.  He will find out soon enough, when he himself decides to leave the silo in his wife’s footsteps.

With the sheriff gone, Jahns, the Silo’s mayor, and Marnes, her deputy, must descend into the depths of the silo to find a new one.  As they climb down, layers of the silo and its civilization are revealed.  When they finally find their new sheriff, a mechanic named Juliette, they start a series of events that will change the silo society forever.

Critical Evaluation:  The phenomenal self-publishing success story of Wool rest entirely on the shoulders of Hugh Howey.  His flawlessly edited and imaginative narrative takes the reader along for a thrilling and enveloping ride through an all too realistic looking future.  Though this book was not specifically written for teens, not does it feature many teen characters, young adult readers will respond to the themes of misplaced authority and societal corruption.  Teens who have only read young adult dystopian fiction will be thrilled to find this subtle but no less terrifying companion to their normal reading list.  Howey not only develops his characters well, he also makes the idea of them all living their day-to-day lives in an underground not only plausible but downright believable.  His salt of the earth characters are a refreshing change from the more futuristic seeming characters in most post-apocalyptic fiction.  This book will please sci-fi lovers and will also appeal to readers who typical choose realistic fiction.

Reader’s Annotation: It’s been 200 years since people lived above ground.  The last human uprising resulted in civilization moving to a giant silo underground…but people are people, and some things never change.

Author Information:  “Born in 1975, I spent the first eighteen years of my life getting through the gauntlet of primary education. While there, I dabbled in soccer, chess, and tried to write my first novel (several times).

My first stories detail the life of a character that I’ve been mulling over for quite some time. Her name is Molly Fyde, and she draws inspiration from the awesome women in my life.My Wool series became a sudden success in the Fall of 2011. Originally just a novelette, the demand from Amazon reviewers sent me scurrying to write more tales in this subterranean world. The resulting Omnibus has spent considerable time in the Amazon top 100, has been a #1 Bestseller in Science Fiction on Amazon, and was optioned by Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian for a potential feature film.

When I’m not writing, I like to go for hikes with my family, take a stroll on the beach, and keep up with my reading. I currently live in Jupiter, Florida with my wife Amber and our dog Bella.”

About Me | Hugh Howey. (n.d.). Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.hughhowey.com/bio/

Genre:  Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Environmentalism, Social hierarchy, Power

Booktalk Ideas:  Imagine living your entire life below ground, What would you do?, Daily life in the future

Reading Level/Interest Level: Crossover/Grades 9 and up

Challenge Issues and Plans:  This book deals with the topics of anti-authoritarianism and suicide.

If this book was challenged:

1. I would ensure that I am familiar with the material, including any part that might cause concern to parents/patrons.
2. I would actively listen to the concerns of the parent/patron in an effort to fully understand their point of view. I would ask clarifying questions and avoid any judgmental language.
3. I would offer my reasons for including the material in a non-confrontational but matter-of-fact manner.
4. I would offer a list of reviews and awards that informed my decision to add the material to the collection.
5. I would draw the parent/patron’s attention to ALA’s Library Bill of Right.
6. I would have handy for perusal my library’s collection policy.
7. If the parent/patron wished to continue with the challenge, I would offer an official challenge form that would be submitted to the library’s (or school’s) board of directors.