Whatcha readin'? Week 13
- Le Nerd Librarian
- Mar 31, 2019
- 6 min read
Finally some sunshine! But tsst tsst, I have homework!
I’m about to start shadowing the Carnegie Medal with my English-speaking book club, and since I like looking like I know what I’m talking about, I have to go through the shortlist beforehand.
That’s me, “always prepared” (I do work in Versailles after all, aka Boy Scout Central), the embodiment of the fonctionnaire éthique et responsable. A quand les Palmes Académiques? Just sayin’.
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So, from the Carnegie shortlist: Rebound and The Poet X.
Two novels… in free verse? YES PLEASE!
I mean, Songe à la Douceur by Clémentine Beauvais – a modern retelling of Eugene Onegin in verse (with rhymes!) – is a favorite of mine. [Now avalaible in English! In Paris with You (2019)].
Fun fact: Clémentine Beauvais is translating The Poet X into French. Her thoughts on teaching translation and her concept of Literary Translationese are fascinating.
Rebound
[Fiction (novel/poetry/comic), Lang.: English]
Kwame Alexander. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018. 416 p.
The cover had me worried there for a second: a book about basketball??
Except is isn’t. Not really. Or not just. And I loved it.
This is about grief, and family, and being unable to communicate, and friends, and high school, and... Life, the universe and everything, basically.
The poems are short, powerful, and what is left unsaid is as much a part of the story as what written on the page.
I think the few chapters which take the form of 2-page comic books are a nice break for kids, so that they don’t feel like they’re drowning in poetry.
Some of the thoughts on how our brains deal with death really spoke to me, like for example the fact that we sometimes forget that a person is dead. On the very day I was reading this I found myself looking for a student who passed away recently to give him a form. I felt so embarrassed to be reminded by the other kids in the class, so this was one of those rare times when you feel like you are reading exactly the right book at the right time.
The Poet X
[Fiction (novel/slam poetry), Lang.: English]
Elizabeth Acevedo. Harper Teens. 2018. 368 p.
I like this, but I don't love it.
I don’t know if it’s because of the poems themselves, but I couldn’t really identify with the character. I empathized, but I wasn’t really invested in the story the way I was with Rebound. What can I say? It’s nice, it has a positive message, likeable characters (even the mother I couldn’t bring myself to hate), but it didn’t work for me.
I will say this though, it has a lot of elements that can make for great book club discussions!
And now, some random French picks of the week:
La porte de la salle de bain
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Sandrine Beau. Talents Hauts, 2015. 95 p.
I picked this book at my local library because I recognized it from the publisher’s catalogue. I was a really nice surprise!
I’m always a bit reluctant to read novels from Talents Hauts, because they’re supposed to be about Novels About Important Issues and sometimes feel too didactic, the message too obvious (I’m thinking of D’un trait de fusain, about AIDS and Act Up Paris), like novels that only librarians will read.
But this one is nice, for once we have a girl who is unashamed about her going through puberty (the chapter titles follow the development of her breasts!) and her sexual awakening.
The tone is candid, but in a good way. The love between her and her mom is sweet and feels real. Even though I’m not sure that all younger middle school students will relate, the message was really refreshing.
The issue of abuse from her step-father is dealt with quite intelligently, even though some passages are tough to read. I read this on the train, and I had to take a break from Meudon to Pont du Garigliano !
La théorie du complot
[Novel, Lang.: French]
Arthur Ténor. Scrinéo, 2018. 176 p.
This is a story about the damage that rumors can do. But it’s also about the Paris attacks of 2015. And jihadist recruiting in schools. And why people buy into the most outrageous conspiracy theories. And how rumors spread online. And various reasons why people may start spreading such rumors. But also autism. And middle school crushes. And… You get the idea.
I like the idea of this book, and I think it’s important for kids to think about the reliability of the sources that they turn to, especially since the French equivalent of Media and Information Literacy is always forgotten or left out in school curricula. So why not try to sneak in some novels about the importance of trustworthy sources, the the ethics of journalism, and so on, on EMC (Education Morale et Civique) reading lists?
However, as much as I think it might be useful to have this novel of our shelves, I don’t think kids will enjoy reading it, and I don’t think this is the strong statement that we need. Why?
> This novel is too didactic.
It is very likely that Arthur Ténor was asked to write specifically about the conspiracy theories that (re)surfaced in the wake of the 2015 Paris attacks. The titles of the chapters feel like we’re reading the author’s bullet-point outline, or the sticky notes in an editor’s office after a brainstorming session to make sure that all of the important issues were covered.
This might be a good starting point for a debate, however, because the author includes several reflections on people’s need to look for a hidden truth, and he also makes his protagonist go through different phases to debunk his arguments about spreading any and all kind of information. The editor even provides us with free teaching ressources.
> Who was this novel written for?
The editor’s website says 12+, but some of the terms used and concepts referred to are way too complex to grasp for a 12-year old. Even I had to re-read some passages twice. I get distracted reading on the bus, but still. Besides, I think sixth grade is a bit early for an in-depth course about conspiracy theories and fake news. In this respect, I would say 14+.
On the other hand, the cover makes it seem like a book for children, and the characters are not developed enough for older middle school students. They’re also very irritating. All of them.
All in all, I think it will be difficult for this novel to find an audience.
> Making the main character the school’s manipulative autistic pariah is counterproductive. #Cringe
First of all, I don’t understand why the choice was made to create a protagonist who spreads rumors for fun (basically to see how dumb people can be), but never buy into them. Wouldn’t it have been more interesting to see a character question his reality, as well as the official, national master narrative?
The idea that truth is relative, that everyone thinks they’re in the right even though they might be brainwashed is something that students respond very well too. Particularly in the case of teenagers enrolled in cults. I have students asking me about what to read after After the Fire all of time. So why not start there?
No, here we just have a character who thinks he can outsmart conspiracy theorists but fails. But he never buys into the conspiracy theories and consistently thinks he is too clever to fall for any of them. Sure, he ends up getting in trouble, but there is no real arc for him.
Passons. But this is where this novel really lost me: For some disturbing reason, someone out there thought it would be a good idea to present the character as being somewhere on the spectrum, *therefore* unable to feel empathy and tempted to play with people’s emotions.
Say WHAT?! It’s unnecessary, it weakens the original message AND it’s insulting to people with autism, especially since this is never really addressed, but is just used as a misguided attempt to explain why he can’t connect with people and therefore enjoys manipulating them like an evil social scientist.
Needless to say, I think we can find better.
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