Digital Book Review

https://voicethread.com/share/14227909/

Written Reflection

For this YAL Blog Post #6 assignment, I was tasked with creating a digital book review, where I was able to conduct a “booktubing” (Semingson, Mora, & Chiquito, 2017); in order to complete this review I needed to take the following steps: first I thought about which young adult novel I would like to use, then I reviewed my choice and planned the book review script by creating a document detailing the elements described in the “Blog Post #6” assignment prompt. Since the digital book review is essentially “an interview where you talk through your favorite parts of a text” (Dr. Damico’s assignment prompt) I found this assignment to be rather comfortable; this is in part due to me having recently used my chosen text (Holes by Louis Sachar) in an assignment for another course where I paired it with a selection of literary canon. One aspect of the digital book review assignment which I found difficult (personally) was the multimedia aspect; I would have to humbly admit that creating and using multimedia platforms, or discussion posts, is slightly out of my natural comfort zone. Having said this, I do understand that utilizing and becoming comfortable with multimedia is inevitable for our profession, and I will adapt.

Furthermore, to achieve greater understanding of its possibilities, I believe it is necessary to draw similarities and comparisons between digital book reviews and face to face (in class) book reviews. For many of today’s technology-driven students, harnessing the technology and multimedia platforms to create fun, interactive displays and assignments might be the key to unlocking their interests towards classwork. On the other hand, when students are given unsupervised space, there is always a possibility of them getting sidetracked or distracted; when it comes to digital book reviews, the student is not physically in a classroom being monitored by a teacher. The independence mixed with the media aspect of the assignment might prove to be too tempting for some students, who might find themselves sidetracked with social media, or gaming. All this being said, I do believe that digital book reviews can be as effective, or more effective than face to face book reviews.  Not only do the digital reviews appeal more to the students due to their media platforms, but they relieve anxieties students might have in classroom situations, especially if they feel they don’t have enough knowledge of the subject to contribute directly.

When I consider myself in the classroom as a future educator, I can definitely see myself using digital book reviews, or “booktubing”, like I have for this assignment. In light of the worlds current events, specifically the COVID-19 global pandemic which has caused schools to resort to virtual learning, teachers must be ready and able to create multimedia versions of all classwork and discussions – including book reviews. Even if classrooms were operating as normal, without the given current events, creating a variety of content within my assignments and classroom discussions has proven to be an effective method of retaining the students attention.

Plot – Description – The main conflict surrounding the plot of The Sun Is Also A Star is the seeming inability for Daniel and Natasha to end up together. This conflict is exemplified by Natasha’s dad being pulled over for driving under the influence, which resulted in the police being alerted to Natasha’s families Visas’, which had expired. Unfortunately, that meant that Natasha and her family would be deported, just as love had entered her life. The “conflict” is resolved by the parents, but the majority of the book is our young protagonists living with the turbulence associated as their time together ticks away.

Plot – Analysis – As odd as it may sound, I personally think of the word “growth”, when I consider the conflicts experienced by Natasha and Daniel. Yes, “love” comes to mind, and understanding the concept of life’s fleeting nature, but “growth”, for both characters – a kind of maturation that comes only from experiencing adult situations for ones’ own self. I think, in the end, both Natasha and Daniel have come to terms with the type of love they share, within the constraints of their lives. That being said, when Natasha is on her way to grad school and they only have one hour remaining, I don’t believe they would have it any other way.

Plot – Implication – To some degree, yes these are normed conflicts our protagonists are experiencing. Personally, I do know individuals my age whose families and citizenships are reliant upon their Visas being up to date. The Sun Is Also A Star finds a way to relate to the student-reader difficult, yet beautiful emotions and experiences that they or a friend might encounter. The manner in which Natasha took control of any situation within her power, combined with the trust she embedded into her family, teaches youth an important lesson on how to manage trials in their lives.

Although some students may be apprehensive to reading, I believe all students enjoy reading “a good book”. I quotation those words because, “a good book” is completely subjective; students may not know what genre they enjoy, what plotlines excite their imagination, or even what medium with which they prefer to read. Students may be pleased to hear that there are multiple variations of texts and novels, some of which are more approachable than others, due to their illustrative, creative, even avant-garde approach to literature. I am of course referring to sequential art, graphic novels, and comics; all of which may be currently underappreciated within the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. I believe that these styles of literature are more valuable than ever for today’s student, especially in the secondary ELA classroom. Brian Kelley discusses the characteristics of these works, along with their importance in the ELA classroom in his SANE journal article, “Sequential Art, Graphic Novels, and Comics”. He concludes that “The purpose of works written as graphic novels ranges from evoking pleasure to informing and satirizing.” (Kelley 3). This sentiment embodies the variety of uses graphic novels have within the ELA classroom; they can entertain students who need to reconnect with literature, illustrate difficult themes with their images, satirize difficult or mature subject matter, and much more.  Kelley finds in his studies that the “emphasis on language is not displaced by additional emphasis on the image,” (3) or in other words, the image and text are interdependent.

                When we think of “This One Summer”, which we’ve read in our LAE4466 course with Dr. Damico, there are connections we can draw to Kelley’s findings, which can produce valuable in-class material for students. For example, now that we understand the role of sequential art, graphic novels, and comics in the ELA classroom, we could compile quick assignments for students such as post-reading discussion prompts. Let’s try to do that now, using “This One Summer”.

                1 – On page 75, Rose and Windy decide to play a game of M.A.S.H., was there anywhere else in the book you noticed the word “MASH”? If so, was it part of the narrative? Or included as emphasis on the illustrations?

                2 – Page 270 depicts a party, yet it contains little to no narrative components. However, much can be interpreted or anticipated by its illustration. What can you see happening, currently, or in the next few pages, as a result of this page?

                3 – The last two panels on page 166 show an all too familiar scene for many kids, whether it is literally or metaphorically (a closed door between a child and a parent). What kind of emotions do these panels evoke from the reader? Specifically readers similar in age to the protagonist?

                4 – Page 144 is a wonderful example of graphic novels being able to illustrate common feelings we encounter during small moments in our lives, which would otherwise have to be done metaphorically. What about the illustration on page 144 would not be able to be represented if the text was simply a narrative?

                5 – On page 40, the second to last panel shows Rose blushing from being called “Blondie” by Dunc. What can the reader glean from this panel about her emotions or thoughts towards Dunc?

Three important points/ideas are…gender, sexuality, and discrimination. Gender refers to the anatomy of an individual at the moment of birth (male or female), while sexuality refers to the authenticity of ones adapted masculinity or femininity – furthermore, how they express that in their lives. And discrimination is unfortunately tied to these themes, as seen in the events unfolding around Richard and Sasha.

This reminds me of…the civil rights movements of the 60’s-70’s here in America. Human beings, brothers, sisters, civilians – no different from one another, faced with discrimination and hate because of their physiology. Skin color, gender, sexuality; aspects such as these should never be the root of such hate.

The author’s purpose is…to show the prelude, effects, and repercussions of such discrimination. Furthermore, the author shows how similar two people who are “so-different” really are.

What interested me most was…the build-up to the actual event which changed Richard and Sasha’s lives. Before I opened the book, I imagined it would mostly follow the repercussions, and how the protagonist’s lives continued. But the character development, followed by consequent bombshell moment, created a “peak moment” in the novel which was interesting for me as a reader.

I still don’t understand…if Richard would have assaulted Sasha if he didn’t have Lloyd as a friend. Personally, I’ve made mistakes, as unrelated as they may have been to another individual, that I would have not made if I had never emulated and befriended such an influencer.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=13qrooNiXvDDZYZm8ID4_BX3eI77eqCPk

Embedded link to my Google Drive audio recording of this assignment. – V.H.

When ‘Teaching Tolerance’ through literature in the classroom, there are many effective strategies which allow students to “discover the relevance of their reading within a larger context.” (www.tolerance.org) One such strategy is “thinking notes” – or text annotations that allow students to indicate agreement, objection, or confusion in relation to the text. Personally, I can see this strategy being very effective in the English Language Arts classroom, especially when teaching lessons on a novel such as All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. When reading All American Boys, it is difficult not to wonder, decide, and weigh-in on the events unfolding on the pages. After previewing “thinking notes” to the students during a small lesson, they will be able to create their own while reading the novel. What I would love to be able to do, is create classroom discussions where students can express their own “thinking notes” and construct similar ideas, or defend a position towards a particular textual event. As a teacher, I believe inserting classroom discussions concerning students “thinking notes” at critical points of interest within the text would allow students to see different perspectives, as well as identify main themes within the book. All American Boys creates dialogue for themes such as race relations, police brutality, and stereotyping; writing creates a greater sense of connection, between our thoughts and our actions. For students, writing down their thoughts on these themes, while they are reading, could be the catalyst for deeper discussion between peers in class, ultimately unlocking higher levels of understanding and empathy towards the subject matter. Ward, Day-Wiff, and Young touch on the importance of teachers in the classroom in this regard – “Educators must address tough topics and encourage their students to explore issues that don’t have easy answers.” (Civil Rights and Social Justice 137) Social justice issues are rarely answered easily, quickly, or quietly; all the more reason to introduce, and listen to the responses of the next generation, within a safe environment – the classroom.

Guzzo Diary Entry

“Man, what’s gotten into Quinn? I mean, I know we were there and all, but Paul was just doing his job! When it all went down, like, before we knew it was a kid from our school, Quinn wasn’t so “social-justice” about it all – now he’s turning his back on me, on Paul, on our family who was supposed to be his family too! Quinn isn’t even close friends with Rashad, why would he even try to defend him when it’s our friendship, our family, which is at stake? Honestly, I’m just pissed as hell at Quinn, and it’s like he’s not even trying to make anything better between us. It’s like he’d rather throw everything we’ve done together away just to defend someone he’s not even friends with, while taking down someone who has been there for him, through the worst times and the best. It’s whatever though, I’m over him, over our friendship, over it all. Paul is my brother, and I’ve got his back – the way it should be. Quinn had better stay out of my way during practice today. I saw him walking around school with that stupid t-shirt he made, letting people know he’s going to the protest. He wants some attention? He’s got it. If I get a chance during practice, I’ll give him more attention than he can handle.”

Teacher’s Perspective

In a middle/high school classroom where students have recently read/are reading a piece of Young Adult Literature, a “diary entry” assignment such as this can be very beneficial for students. One aspect of Young Adult Literature which is especially important for adolescent readers, is the aspect of identifying with the characters, who are speaking to them in a voice they understand and relate to. Diary entry assignments such as this can allow the student to explore feelings they may have about a character, or decisions that character makes. It could also allow them to explore perspectives which they wouldn’t normally relate to. For example, for this assignment (even though I chose the perspective of Guzzo) I did feel compelled to write from the perspective of Mrs. Fitzgerald, even though I have very little in common with her perspective and character.

Rediscover hope

Experience more wonder

Love the words written

-Victor Hopkins LAE 4464

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

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