NolanEN285

I read that there's been a lot of controversy over some of the accuracy of Beah's story. While this is interesting, I think it opens the door for valuable features of memoirs to consider. Can memory ever be 100% accurate since they are told subjectively? #285WLU10

@JacobLasby Absolutely... on one hand you have a moving tween memoir that portrays an upbringing that won't be relatable to most tween readers but on the other hand I love how in contrast Beah's story showcases universal and innocent qualities such as their love for music #285WLU10

Beah’s text really holds a lot of respect for its audience. He doesn’t shy away from telling the details of his story while others might have tried to lessen the the severity of the details he knows tweens can handle it as he did himself #285WLU10

@ChrisXu_ This is a great insight and I found myself wondering the same thing. I think by not capitalizing her poems, it gives them a very unique and personal touch that borders on informality in a good way. It felt like reading diary entries! #285WLU9

I love how Woodson wrote this novel in verse style. The way memory functions is so strange but can be so emotional. Using poem verses to express memory instead of traditional prose highlights that emotional subjectivity so well! #285WLU9

@AlexandraGeitz I personally love this trend! I think even aside from what it does for Bod's character development, trends like this allow for fascinating and creative aesthetics that satisfy and inspire the reader's imagination. #285WLU8

"A clock began to strike somewhere close at hand: the chimes of midnight, and they came" (157). I loved these passages building up to the living and the dead dance because they balanced a sense of eeriness and beauty that can be so wonderful in Gothic literature. #285WLU8

I like how episodic The Graveyard Book is. It's refreshing to read a tween novel that is spanning a number of years of childhood. I think this timespan makes Bod's coming of age arc more powerful than the other texts we've read up to this point. #285WLU7

@AlexandraGeitz @SamanthaPrior8 I was thinking the same thing and it actually reminded me of the children in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Perhaps these authors are compelled to portray an impressive ability to learn among children as fantasy for the readers instead of valuing pure authenticity. #285WLU7

One thing that stood out to me was how intelligent Scarlett and Bod were at the age of five when they encounter the 'indigo man' and how they realize that it is just a decoy meant to scare people away. I forgot for a moment that they were young as they seemed older. #285WLU7

@carter_heer Oh I agree with you for sure. No youngster should ever be playing GTA

@En285Nolan #285WLU6 IMO, it's the parents' duty to make sure their children are consuming the proper media. If Little Timmy is playing GTA V instead of Super Mario Bros, then someone made a mistake. It is interesting how parents seem to have shirked that responsibility, though.

Linn addressed the dangers violent video games have on tweens. Similarly, Graham mentions concerns parents had in regards to rock n roll manipulating their kids. I wonder how these two forms of media contrast with eachother and how they've impacted generations of youth. #285WLU6

@MarkFahim3 Agreed. Reading Linn's bit on how many tweens engage with violent video games daily had me wondering why parents seem not as strict about video games vs. movies. If what she says about Grand Theft Auto III was in a movie it would be much more off limits to tweens #285WLU6

Susan Linn did not seem opposed to the idea of un-monitored screen time, however Susan believed that most of the popular video games are violent which can change the behavior of a developing child. Parents should pay attention to the type of play rather than play in general.

@ryankennedy9480 Yes! Feels anti-magic at times. I think about Harry Potter for example where characters are consistently using magic for convenient purposes. Here it was interesting to see how magic could be manipulated into trapping Ella and preventing her from simple conveniences. #285WLU5

While reading EE, I wondered why Mandy was so hesitant to use magic for anything beyond the smallest tasks, thinking surely there was a middle ground. It may be good that she didn't, otherwise Ella may never have found her own agency. Perhaps she knew this all along. #285WLU5

I like how Lucinda cannot break the obedience curse. Not only do I think it's a good message that Ella has to figure it out on her own, I also found that narratively it was more exciting as I had more anticipation and curiosity as to how she was going to break the curse #285WLU5

@tlynne098 I definitely see how kids could relate to Ella. The curse of having to do what everyone tells you to rings not just the notion of following rules, but also succumbing to peer pressure. I love how this book so directly confronts the negatives of not having independence #285WLU4

This novel represents the tween struggle to come into one's own identity while being limited by governing figures. Ella creates her own identity while under the rule of her curse, and when she breaks free she is able to fully embody her own identity without limitations.#285WLU4

I think one could see similarities between Ella and the Baudelaire's in Unfortunate Events. Both tragically lose at least one of their parents and are forced to be in the care of despicable people and both stories force them to remain hopeful and determined. #285WLU4

@hyyh285 Yes they definitely deal with problems children that age wouldn't be accustomed to. It's always striking to me how they're able to solve such complicated problems through books they read regarding law and mechanical engineering. #285WLU3

I like how towards the end, for me at least, it always feels like there might actually be a happy ending for the Baudelaire's. Even though they sadly couldn't move in with Strauss, at least Count Olaf was ridiculed on stage! #285WLU3

The ending is hilarious to me. Harriet says the most horrible things about her classmates, Ole Golly tells her to lie, then she is somehow rewarded as editor of the newspaper. #EN285WLU2

@BrenStanton Really good point! I've never read Answered Prayers but from what I've heard the controversy around Capote's book specifically with his brutal honesty and no filter about famous people seems similar to how Harriet describes her classmates and more #EN285WLU2

Harriet's descriptions of others with brutal honesty reminded me of Truman Capote's Answered Prayers. In ways, it shows Harriet as someone who does not distort the truth, but someone who can give an honest perspective on the perceptions people can have on one another. #EN285WLU2

I like how hard it is for us to identify with Harriet and how the book consistently reminds us of her mean tendencies even after her notebook is discovered. I'm not used to the protagonist being this unpleasant in a book like this. #285WLU1