Tingting Yuan

521-F16
YAL Virtual Journal

1
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
Problem Novel
08/26/2016

Summary: Silence is the cover of weakness. We are bound to meet obstacles in

growth. After going through the difficulties with your courage, you will see the
beautiful and warm spring.
When I first saw the cover of the book, I was attracted by the eyes which are full of
stories and the dead branches in front of the eyes. What kind of story it is that could
make me feel its loneliness, helplessness and sadness? With the name of Speak,
what does it want to say? What is hidden? What is not supposed to be said?
The main character, Melinda, is a girl who is in puberty. I feel the sadness of the story
and her rebellion when I read the first page of the book. This feeling is like a cold
wind, making me wonder what kind of problem makes the high school girl so
rebellious? It seems that she repels sort of everything and are incompatible with
anything, setting along at the bus, no friends staying with, with the wrong hair, the
wrong clothes and the wrong attitude, Im outcast, just like what she said.
As the story draws my attention, it answers my questions little by little. In a summer
party, Melinda was raped by upperclassman. So panic she was that she called 911.
Melinda couldnt say a word while holding the phone. When the police came, the
party was dismissed and some students were under control. As a result, she was
hated by her classmates and even her best friend left her. No one is willing to be her
friends. But she has no courage to tell them the truth.
Since then, Melinda chose to be quiet. Melinda was the one who was hurt, but since
people around misunderstood her and showed no concern instead of understanding
and comforting her, she was hurt even worse. And this grievance resulted in her
aversion as well as her silence. Faced with her parents, the poor girl was ignored
even when she abnormally kept quiet. Suffering from the estrangement of her
parents, the isolation of her classmates, the discard of her best friend, the verbal
attacks of people around, and even the incitement of the boy who had hurt her, she
was finally sank into depression.
The mainline of this book is the stories on Melinda, and it reflected lots of social
phenomena. Actually since students hold parties, the trouble caused by gathering is
increasing, letting along party itself a kind of sarcasm. Besides, the estrangement
between adolescents and parents as well as the meaning as a family are worth
thinking deeply.

Teenagers may find sympathy while reading here, and if you were misunderstood by
the public, what should you do? A main scene of the story is the painting room, where
Melinda loosens herself. She chose to express her grieve in her painting class, which
is the only way she could release her pain. And in this painting room she finished her
art THE TREE, a work that helped her open her heart.
I believe many teenagers are quite familiar with this book. It is written from the view
of first person, and its details are worthy of our attention. Meanwhile, this book is
related to teenagers daily life. There is no denying that there are many young people
who are going through the same tragedies like Melinda. Some may be depressed
and silent because of the family depression. As a result, this book could resonate
with different adolescents and help them loosen themselves. So this book is highly
recommended among teenagers that they will know what to do when something goes
wrong. This novel could also encourage teenage readers to break silence and self-
closed status to hear their own voice.

2
The Year of the Dog
Grace Lin
Diverse Culture
08/30/2016
Brief Summary: A young Taiwanese-American girl sets out to apply the lessons of
the Chinese year of the dog those of making best friends and finding her talent and
her own future.
The new year of the dog red book cover and golden front look very attractive.
When I saw the first page of the book, I feel very happy and it makes me miss my
family, since I have been away from my home town to NC state for more than three
weeks, to be honest I miss my home, so this book makes me feel warm. In addition,
this book also has a great impact on encouraging young adults to be positive and
never give up, so I think through reading the whole book thoroughly, the young will
find their own way to be successful.
The theme of the book is around Pacy, the author, when her mom told her that the
year of the dog is a gold year for making new friends, family and finding herself, Pacy
begins her exploration.
Gradually, she has made a new best friend Melody. They helped each other and had
lots of happy memories together, but everything just goes well except that she cant
find her talent, she had tried actress and scientist, but those are not her destiny, she
gets lost and even gets disappointed. Until, one day the book context she had help
her find her way to become an author which is to make a real Chinese book. This
phenomenon happens quite a lot during puberty, confusion will let teenagers down,
sometimes even make them lose faith to the future. We may lose our way when
chasing our dreams just like Pacy, but if we never give up, we will finally realize the
dream. so the book is perfect for young readers to get rid of their shadow and find the
answer.
At the same time, this book content is very warm and positive so it will give young
readers aspiration in their spiritual life. The main benefit of this book for young
readers lies in its humor and true story, our young readers will easily find some
similar experience in this book.

3
My Life is My Message
Jason Quinn
A graphic novel
09/06/2016
Summary: A geezer set india peaceful and free with his belief and mental strength.

It is always been believed that reading is a serendipity and every single book read by me
is a serendipity for me. This time i chose a graphic book on the indian leader as well as
the Father of the nation who set the nation free--Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. And
this book is not the first graphic novel but the most worthy one.

Gandhi had a lifetime of frustrations. Born in India colonized by the UK, he had been
influenced by his familys vegetarianism, with no killing permitted. Although faced with
temptation and he wanted to break the rule to be a non-vegetarian and thus build his
body, he failed to abandon the rooted concept.
Gandhi had two significant journeys during his lifetime. The first one is for further lawer
education in the UK, which could make his parents proud. He travelled far to London, and
the culture abroad made him self-contemptuous. At the very first, he couldnt get used to
the new life because of the religious boundary. But since time went by, he gradually
understood other religions. Just like what he said, loving your enemies and turning the
other cheek, struck me as incredibly powerful
His second leaving was to South Africa, assisting in a large lawsuit. Having arrived South
Africa, Gandhi fought against racial discrimination after series of discrimination and
insulation. What touches me most is that he could have gone back after finishing his job,
but the natal government wanted to deprive all Indians of the right to vote, if this bull is
passed it will be the first nail in the coffin of their respect. So Gandhi decided to stay even
he missed his homeland very much. He began to unite Indians in South Africa to fight
together, and it shows the leaders sense of responsibility and patriotism. The spirit of
sacrificing oneself for the country is worth our respect. Gandhi devoted so much to the
equality of Indians in South Africa, but he is always holding the principle of non-violence
to respond to each hurt, because he believes peace and kindness can make people feel
warm.
This novel is quite fit for teenagers, especially for high school students since they are
relatively mature enough to understand the meaning of national spirit, of defending for
the country, and of unity. Apart from the inspiration for the adolescents, the book could
also show them the virtue of Gandhi. No matter what the situation is, what his attitude
towards the war is always like what he said, wherever there are wars, wherever you are
confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love. Facing on Enemies he said that no
one on the earth as my enemy. In his mind, there is always a belief, that is, satyagraha
which means mental strength or the road of truth. His being strong-willed, hard-bitten,
self-effacing is worth our thinking and learning.

4
Shadow of A Bull
Maia Wojciecbowska
Personal Choice
09/12/2016
Summary: Manolo faced his first important life choice which is about whether
he should do his fathers job or find his own way, following his heart?
This book is a teen literature about bullfighting written in ancient Spain.
Bullfight has been popular in the folk since the middle of 17 century. The th

Nobel Prize winner Hemingway once said: bullfighting is the only art form that
put artists under the threat of death. This novel not only introduces the
bullfighting but also teaches teenagers how to make a wise decision when
facing choices.
Manolos father is a famous bullfighter who was killed by a bull. People expect
Manolo to be a good bullfighter as his father. However, Manolo finds himself
cannot be a bullfighter because of his fear. He has been afraid of bulls since
he was 12. As it is said in the book: one day coming home from school boys
was walking with spotted a mule-drawn wagon one of the wheel has broken
off and the driver of the wagon had gone to get help, boys climbed to the top
of the hay and jumped down but not Manolo, he just cant do. It was at nine he
first knew for sure he was not brave. As the son of a famous bullfighter, he
should be born to be brave and be a outstanding bullfighter. But his fear
makes him confused.
Later on, some bullfighters start to training him and people are all in hope of
him. No matter how they training its obvious his interest is not in hand. In the
process he looking for his own life much painfully. Until one day Manolo met a
doctor, when he saw the doctor did an operation to help a patient, he realized
this is what he wanted to do. He has strong interest and passion in it, he think
save a life are more important than kill a bull. At that time he decided that he
want to be a doctor. But he cannot conquer the fear of bull in his heart. This
feeling keeps bothering him. Under the encouragement of his best friend,
Manolo realized the only way to solve the problem is to overcome this fear. So
he finally faced a bull and released his fear of bull. But Manolo didnt choose
bullfighter as his career, instead, he turned out to be a doctor.
This book really teaches its readers a lot in terms of overcoming the childhood
issues. At the first stage, the issue will bother you and stops you doing things
you want. Many young adults have the same kind of confusion. So when they
read this novel, they find themselves in the story. As to how to cope this
situation, the author showed a direction, not an easy one but an effective one.
In his opinion, the best way to overcome your weakness is to become
stronger.
Secondly, the book also teaches teenagers how to make decision on their
own. Young people dont lack of opportunity, they lack the wisdom to make
wise decision. The writer shows us how to make a right decision in a difficult
situation. As we can see, the key is to find your true heart. Basically, if you
believe what you are doing, you will not has confusion. Therefore, you will be
a brave person when chasing your goal simply because you want to.
Overall, this book has its value in teaching young adult how to set up their
goals. However, some violent description maybe too heavy for young children
to read. So I think its more suitable for young adults.
5
Beyond Magenta
Susan Kuklin
LGBTQ
09/20//2016
Summary: Although We live in the same world, we have different physical
appearance and inner side. The key to maintain a harmonious living condition is our
acceptance and tolerance.
I have some hesitation at the beginning of the reading because Im not sure whether I
can reach the inside world of the children. However, as an educator as well as a
teacher, I think it is my duty to learn more about the unusual group of kids. By
reading the stories of these six children, I have quite a lot of thoughts in my mind.
Nowadays, it is quite common to meet children who are homosexual and bisexual
psychologically. They are trying to find a way out under the public voice.
The writer of the novel interviewed and followed the living condition of six different
children. Based on the interview content, the author made up a story about
transgender teens, The story is mainly about the teenagers life change from the
beginning when they realized they were different from the others to the fact that they
finally accepted themselves as who they are. The six characters have different
destinies. The first character has a learn idea about his sexual orientation. Jessy
knows what kind of life and future she wants. She says, Ive always loved my body,
and now I love it even more because it fits how I feel this sentence was found in
page1). Christina, the second character, wants to become a girl when he was young.
And he received much negative criticism from his family and school. But he says
learn your pronouns because I dont want to have to slap somebody tonight Mariah
said that transition everyone goes through one kind of transition or another We go
through transitions every day. Except mine is maybe a little more extreme. We can
easily get their ideas and thought psychologically--the six children want to integrate in
the society every day and every moment.
The truth is that they have already been accepted by society. For example, in Japan,
transsexual operation is legal since 1998. In Europe, the marriage right of
transgenders have been admitted and protected by law in all EU countries. In China,
the Department of Police also allow transgenders to change their passport gender.
However, this does not mean that the transgenders are treated equally by the mass.
In many situation, they are facing discrimination from others. So the meaning of
introducing this book to young people is to show them the true reason why people
choose to change their gender. When more teenagers understand the usual
behavior, the situation of transgenders will get better.

So, as a teacher, i wont reject these students and also i will leading a right way for
my students to understand these transgender students, so there is no discrimination.

6
Through the Woods
Emily Carroll
Thriller
09/26/2016

Summary: Sometimes, people will be afraid, because the answer of unknown.

In Through the Woods, Emily Carroll writes five tales of terror, which share a
common topic: the deep, dark woods and the monsters. Her description focus on a
lone eye, or a wide-brimmed hat, or the glistening teeth of a wolf in the dark. Through
the Woods collects dark fairy tale-like stories which are atmospheric and dark, most
importantly, full of horrific implication.

In Our Neighbors House, three sisters are left by themselves when their father goes
out hunting. He tells them if he is not back after three days, they are to pack their
bags and walk to their neighbors house. Except the sisters disagree, and decide to
wait for their papa, and one by one disappear.

A Ladys Hands are Cold, is a Bluebeard type of retelling, with the ghost of a
murdered woman wailing for vengeance from within the walls of her home.

In His Face All Red, a man who is jealous of his brother a brother this man knows
cannot be alive. When you finally learn the meaning of the title, its a wonderful and
terrible!

My Friend Janna follows two unlikely best friends; Janna is a medium, while the
narrator of the tale helps Jana swindle the bereaved who come to her for answers
from beyond the grave.

The Nesting Place A younger sister visits her older brother and his wife, only to
discover that his wife is not what she seems.

For grimm story lover, this book is brooding, haunting Through the Woods is the kind
of horrific novel that hits all of the right notes. This charm of Emilys writing is that she
didnt focus on describing ghost, instead, she created horrific atmosphere, which
makes the reader imagine the images of ghost themselves. Actually, people are more
sacred of the unknown things than the visible things. Emily knows this point and
successfully terrified her readers.
Although the book is full of horrific description, it can be recommended to teenagers.
For one thing, this book reveals the dark side of the world in the form of tales.
Teenagers are mature enough to see the dark side. But bloody facts are too heavy
for them. So Emilys novel is an easier form for young readers to think and learn
about the cruel reality. Teens benefit from reading the stories.
On the one hand, these stories satisfy their curiosity. Also, the book prepared them to
accept the ruthlessness of the real world. Second, it is undeniable that Emily
succeeded in inspiring her readers imagination. Young readers actually can develop
their own imagination through reading this book because Emily uses abundant of
indication to guide the readers to think the situation themselves. As it is said there are
thousand Hamlet in a thousand peoples eyes.

7
Fahrenheit 451
Science fiction
Ray Bradbury
10/08/2016

Summary: So the density of printed books is controversial based on what has been
discussed. One direction is books will be replaced by digital media, which has been
seen more and more nowadays. Paper books will still popular or maybe more
popular among people but is depends on how people recognize the importance of
books

Fahrenheit 451 is the threshold of burning paper. The name of book presents several
meanings. The book talks about a fireman named Guy Montag whose job is to fire
books because books are banned in the ear he lives which is the future life. Montag
works like a robot everyday until one day he talked to his neighbor-a girl named
Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse has a different attitude towards books. She doesnt
agree with the government book policy. She likes chatting a lot. Talking to Clarisse
makes Montag rethink the purpose of his job. More importantly, he begins to think the
necessity of reading books. After Clarisse disappeared in his life, Montag realized
that his job is not what he believes anymore so he quit his job and joined the scholars
who live in the virgin forest. He as well as the others decides to memorize the content
of the books themselves, hoping one day, these books will be showed to the public
again. After reading this book, I have several concerns.
First, will digital media replace printed media? Undoubtedly, it is much easier to get
information and knowledge from the Internet these days. So many people predict that
there is no need for paper books because we can totally rely on digital devices to do
study and research. However, what I worried is that people might lose their right to
read and think when they have no freedom to choose the type of media they like.
When all the knowledge is transferred into digital devices, willy-nilly, readers have to
follow the way the information is carried. This new reading method will affect the way
people think. For example, when I read my textbook on my Kinddle, I always want to
make notes while reading.But because of the inconvenience, I have to either find
another notebook or give up my noting habit. Similarly, when people do reading
through their smartphone, the blue light makes their eyes sore. They just follow the
information mechanically, let alone the think themselves.
Second, thinking makes people less happier. This is the oriental point of burning
books because the government believes the more people think, the less they are
satisfied. While books make people think, it doesnt mean we should burn books to
avoid thinking. Compared with happiness, I think the ability of thinking is more
important. Without thinking, human society couldnt develop civilization like now.
From the historical point of view, all the great thinkers were unhappy and dissatisfied.
But thats the point. If they were happy, they wouldnt think and develop their
philosophy theory systems. Then the weakness of the society would not be
improved. The whole society stops developing. So its fair to say that the purpose of
reading is not for fun. The process of reading is a difficult one and it means to remind
people to think and recall their lives from time to time. Similarly, the purpose of
education isnt suppose to make students happy but to push them to learn and to
develop themselves for their lifetime.
Finally, the science technology makes the relationship between people colder.
Modern technology has received so much praise since it creates tons of profits.
However, we shouldnt ignore the basic physical contact needs between people. We
rely on high-tech devices to get in touch with our families and friends. But this way
can never compete one face-to-face meet because our brain will produce dopamine
while being physical. If we choose digital devices, we behave like robots, which
means we couldnt get much human feelings from this kind of contact.
Therefore, this book not only reminds us to think the purpose of reading books but
also makes its readers rethink the pros and cons of having technology in our lives.
More importantly, the book teaches us to always remember who we are and what we
need.

8
World without fish
Nonfiction
Mark Kurlansky
10/21/2016

Summary: How our life could be without fish. Overfishing pollution

global warming, we need to supposes several ways to avoid this
consequence.

It sounds unbelievable when I first read the name of the book. In my

mind,a world without fish will never happen to me because fish has
a longer history than human beings. Plus, from what is known, there
are 31,300 different types of fish in the world. How can these fish
disappear in fifty years?
Most of the fish we commonly eat. Most of the fish we know, could
be gone in the next fifty years. According to the writer, in the
future, we wont be able to eat fish that we are familiar with on the
dinner table. I am a fish person, I like eating cod and salmon. If I
wont have opportunity to eat the fish I like, I certainly wont be
happy about my diet. However, the reality is that the price of fish is
increasing in the last few decades. It used to be affordable for
people to have fish everyday. Now, many families do not rely on fish
as their main course because of the cost. Also, the options are
narrower than before. We used to have many different kinds of wild
fish as a meal. But now, what have been sold on the fish market are
mostly domestic, which means the fish we eat are no longer from
the deep ocean. Naturally, the nutrition value of domestic fish
decreases. Sometimes, the fish are even polluted due to the sea
pollution. So the tendency of fish extinction is quite clear but I still
cannot believe we wont be able to have fish in such a short period
of time.
Nevertheless, considering overfishing, pollution and global
warming. The entire system of ocean life could completely unravel.
The ocean pollution has been noticed by the whole world for a long
time. We have already taken measures to tackle it.For example, in
America, we have fishing ban to rescue wild fish. In most
countries(apart from Japan, Russia, Canada etc.) hunting whale for
business is banned. These laws and regulations have their effects on
protecting sea creatures.However, Being mammals, we tend to do
a better job of protecting fellow mammals than protecting fish. It is
ironical to say that the more sea mammals are rescued, the less fish
we will have because sea mammals hunt fish for food. So this
protection action actually increase the extinction of fish. But to
make it clear, Im saying that we should stop protecting sea
mammals. The key factor of fish extinction is not mammals, but
human activities. For example, while driving boat to have a sea
tourism, I always see several tourists leaving their rubbish to the
ocean, sometimes clothes, sometimes bottles, sometimes phones or
accessories. I believe nobody means to hurt the ocean but the
action or the fact that you being in the ocean is a disturbance of the
ocean ecosystem. Last summer, I went to Kota Kinabalu, a seaside
city famous for diving, on the Mengalum island, I saw a turtle body
on the beach with a plastic bag in its stomach. Local people say
turtles eat plastic bags because they think they are jellyfish. So,
thats why government call for the protect of sea mammals.
The key to success for all life on earth is biodiversity. The
protection of fish is not as the same as the protecting of sea
mammals. There are many scientific methods involved in the
protection. For example, biologically, The most highly evolved
animals in the sea are mammals. Then come the fish that have
backbones and fins., which means the priority of ocean protection
is the creatures which on the higher rank. However, if there is a
problem in the foundation of the ecosystem, the up species will also
get affected. So when we talking about ocean protection, we should
consider more about the biodiversity protection.

However, this book i want highly recommend for students,

especially for high school who are more mature to have strongly
seen of responsibility to protecting the biodiversity world. This is one
book which can awaken the human being and our young generation,
from now to protecting our biological world.

9
Flipped
Wendelin Van Draanen
Romance
10/28/2016
Summary: After reading the book, this is really not only a story
about the first love, this should be a story about growing up, like a
most moving and warming textbook, to teach what is good and the
moral.

Flipped is a romantic novel which told in two voices. The first time
Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli,
he ran. Thats how the two neighbours see each other until the
eighth grade. Gradually, Juli is realizing Bryce isnt as wonderful as
she thought, on the other hand, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is
an amazing girl. Despite their feeling, these two teens manage to
see beyond the surface of things and come together, making for a
comic and poignant romance. The tricky part of the book is its
ending. In the book, Juli didnt go out to plant trees with Bryce,
however, in the movie, they went together.
When recommending this book to teenagers, teachers also should
remind them avoiding seeking for a happy ending because in the
book, there are many uncertainties. But everything in this book is
loaded with all kinds of cuteness such as the setting, the premise,
and the whole idea of this book.
For example:Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in
gloss...." He turned to me. "But every once in awhile, you find
someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever
compare. Those words have successfully make people feel the
heart of the two characters. This book also involves students to
have enough patience to read carefully. There are many places that
author didnt clarify like the ending, which might make students or
young readers very confused to read. But the book exactly teacher
us how to see love and what attitude should we hold when we meet
our dream lovers.
The other reason to recommend this book to students is its writing
skill. For example, My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And
for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. You know, like the
world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and
you're floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you
from drifting away is the other person's eyes. They're connected to
yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while
the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.
This part sounds like a piece of lyrics from a beautiful romantic
song.More than that, this part also explored the uncertain and
changeable feelings when one falls in love with another one. I think
this kind of feeling is common in all of us. By that I mean, when
people are in a relationship, especially young people, their mood
and feeling tend to be unstable. Most time, they doubt, guess,
depressedbecause of their lovers words or certain behaviours. So
when young adult read this book, they can learn how to handle this
kind of feeling in their lives.
Lastly, this book is very entertaining to read. Many students ready
this just for fun. But most students treat it as a love handbook
because they found so many things in common in the books. So
when they meet the same situation, they just read the book and
imagine if he or she was the role, what will she or he do? With the
positive guidance, teachers worry less about teenager misbehave
outside school. Also, as I mentioned, as a love handbook, Flipped
has its influence in school campus. I personally believe they way Juli
and Bryce stays with each other is very respectful. So this book will
also teach teenagers how to handle their relationship in a proper
way.

MIDTERM: Wonderful job so far, Tingting. Youve chosen good books, and
your entries capture well both the storylines of the books, but also the
connections youre finding between young adults and your own teaching. I
hope the reading has also been meaningful to you personally and that
youll continue to read for pleasure beyond the class. You have 9 of the
required 10-12 books for the semester! Cheers, Dr. Young

10
Iggies House
Judy Blume
African American
11/10/2016
Summary: Racism has been a problem that caused attention and
discussion for over 100 years. Yet it is still worth discovering what
type of literate making contribute on the discuss of the problem.
Iggies House provides a new perspective.
Iggies House wasnt talking about the Iggies. It tells a story about
Iggies neighbour Winnie trying to befriend a black family. After
Winnies friend Iggie moved to Tokyo, a black family the Garbers
moved to Iggies old house. The Garbers was the only black family
in Grove Street. So the prejudiced neighbour Mrs. Landon tired to
run the Garbers out of the town. Winnie realised the racist subject
her neighbour and even her mother carried while she tried to make
friend with the Garbers. She was disappointed in her mother for
being racist to the black family. In the end, she made up her mind to
get close to the Garbers.
Since the book was published in 1970s, it is a little out of date in
my opinion. Not only the story but also the topic itself is dated.
Racism is now treated as a shallow and stupid attitude in the whole
world. But I can clearly feel how prejudiced people can be in the
1970s. Also, the way the book described the racism is from a
perspective of a young white girl. Winnies aim is not only just to
make friend with the Garbers, she also tries to help the black family
get accepted by the other white families. Winnies awareness
doesnt come from her parents or her neighbours. The reason why
she is friendly to the Garbers is because the Garbers is living in her
close friends old house. Winnies affection to her old friend helps
her accept the Garbers more quickly than the other white people.
The stories happened between the Garbers and the white
neighbours have been discussed many times in modern society. We
all accept the fact that people are equal despite their colours. So the
plot of the book doesnt attract me that much but the description of
the old days indeed makes me recall that it is not easy to have the
equal world we build today.
On the other hand, the book doesnt suit for young children. So I
wouldnt recommend this book to kids under 8. But for teenagers, it
is a good book to read. They could learn how to handle the racist
words or behaviours in their life. For example, when coloured
children get harassed in school or by their neighbours, they could
act like Winnie by not being cold to allow things to go worse but to
stop this wrong behaviours. Also, this book could be used to teach
students what is racism and how to treat people from different
background in the class. Teachers could show students the situation
coloured people have been through and are being through. Students
will have a better understanding why they shouldn't be racist and
why they need to stop others including their parents and friends
being racist.
11
Whale Talk
Chris Crutcher
YAL Sports Fiction
11/15/2016

Summary: like it or not, education divided students into the top

group and the bottom group. The high-grade students get all the
praise from the teachers and parents. How do bottom student
survive and more importantly, how do they compete with top
students? In Whale Talk, the author gives us an answer.
Whale Talk is a young adult novel created by Chris Crutcher. The
book tells a story of the main character T.J. who is an adopted Asian-
African-European-American teenager leads the swim team to
compete with the schools elitist athletics program.
In this book, there are two characters that impressed me. Chris
Coughlin, an intellectually disabled student. He is bullied by other
students in a horrible way because of his disability. But his character
is really positive. In his swim team, he is always the one who is full
of hope and courage. Due to his positiveness, he is finally accepted
by his teammates. It is really encouraging to see these different kids
making friends with each other. More importantly, they learned how
to accept others as who they are. When I read this book, I am
thinking of how to teach my students to work together better. The
truth is senior students are regarded as a group of students who
stay in a high position. So the seniors think they are the boss of the
team regardless of other students contribution. I think this is unfair
but its hard to teach them. This book shows the high school
students a good example of how to work together when you and
your teammates are from different background.
Another character that I like is T.J.s father. T.J.s father is a brave
man. He recovered from an incident happened in his past. His
marriage with his wife Abby, a child-abuse lawyer, saved his life.
When John Paul Jones was young, he accidentally killed a child in a
driving incident. Later, he became a community volunteer. With the
influence of his early childhood issue, T.Js father has now developed
a reliable father and consultant for teenagers like T.J.. No matter
what difficulties T.J.had in school, John always had his way to
comfort him. More importantly, he really supported T.J.s decision.
When T.J. decided to lead the swim team, John gave his total support
and help. Without his help, T.J. and his teammates couldnt achieve
the final triumph. So when I read this book, I wish this book could
also be purchased by the parents, especially the fathers. When they
read what John has done for his son, they would understand more
about their influence in their kids heart.
12
The Captive Maiden
Melanie Dickerson
YAL Series
11/25/2016
Summary: when it comes to fairy tale, it is regarded as kids
literature. The Captive Maiden shows the readers an innovative
Cinderella story. In this book, love is not always romantic, but full of
danger and adventure, where the readers learn how to be
responsible from.
The Captive Maiden is a fairy tale written by Melanie Dickerson. This
books talks two protagonist Gisela and Valten. Gisela had a happy
childhood before her father died. After her fathers death, she lives
like a servant with her stepmother. She was asked to take care of
her fathers horses every day. When she heard one of her visitors at
childhood Valten is going to find a wife. She thinks this could be her
opportunity to get rid of the family. She succeeded in catching
Valtens eyes and these two soon fell in love with each other. Their
romantic is not all beautiful and smooth, they overcame quite a lot
challenges together. Their behaviors make themselves the right one
for each other.
I like the way Melanie Dickerson portraits the two protagonist. He
uses straight and exciting plot to create another Cinderella
tale.Gisela is not just a weak girl that need protects from her hero.
Her knowledge about horses makes her attractive to Valten. She is
also a daring woman who has courage to pursue her love and
happiness. When she was treated badly by her stepmother, she
always thinks of getting out of the control of her stepmother. That
courage eventually helped her find Valten, her Mr. right. But she
need to be brave enough to catch Valtens attention. Her confidence
makes her trust her judgement. When I read this book, I would like
to share Giselas story with my girls in the class. I want them to
understand what is real confidence. Most time, girls are eager to
gaining courage like boys. But what they need to learn is that
confidence comes from courage and courage come from knowledge.
When Giesa decided to get in touch with Valten, she used a way of
recalling Valtens childhood memory, so that Valten would notice her
and begin to know more about her. Therefore, when girls are
developing their confidence, they need to learn how to build up a
proper conversation.
As to the other protagonist, Valten. I think he deserved to be called
the hero of Gisela. He doesnt have strong feeling towards Giesa to
begin with, but when he gradually knows about her, he started a
serious relationship with her. When Giesa was in danger, he protect
her bravely. Moreover, his noble manner and principles makes him
very attractive to his audience. So from this aspect, I would like to
discuss how to behave properly with my boys in class. I will let them
read Valtens behaviours first and then let them discuss what they
will do in that circumstance. It would be very interesting to hear
teenagers from 21 century to judge another teenager in ancient
days.