Review 3: Coming of Age

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York: MTv, 1999. Print

Annotation: Letters to a stranger, a wallflower blooms through hardship and a forgotten painful memory.

Justification for Rejection:
Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, at the start of the novel, I thought it was a little dull and seemed to drag on. A lot of the information was too ambiguous; you had no idea of what was going on. The main character and narrator, Charlie, became unreliable and unrealistic as he struggled with trying to “participate” in school activities. Unreliable because there were so many conflicts within him that you struggled to figure out which one is the real Charlie. But half way through the novel I couldn’t put it down, I began to understand Charlie’s doubts, and the ambiguity became something you try to solve within Charlie’s letters. I traveled with Charlie, his friends and family as they all come to term with secrets they kept, and sacrifices because of them which sets in motion the realness of the writing. The novel is a great read, I would recommend it to anyone, yet I still want to move this in the rejection pile.

The strength the novel has does not out way the flaws. There were way too many themes and clichés packed into the novel. Charlie in a span of one year deals with, suicide, drugs, abusive relationship, sexual orientation, sex, alcohol, and one-sided love, and not one of them is resolved or taken as a serious issue. By the end of the book it becomes too cliché that you figure out how the story ended without finishing it, there was no big shocker at the end. The novel would have been remarkable if there weren’t so much packed in a year, if it was to span three years it would be more reliable and interesting to see rather than acceptance after finding out the forgotten memory and it’s not simple you can easily accept after founding out. The novel needed more focus on Charlie and less on clichés.


Genre Category: Coming of Age

Review 2: Graphic Novel

 Ono, Natsume, Joe Yamazaki, and Anne Ishii. Not Simple. San Francisco, Ca.: Viz Media LLC, 2006. Print.

Annotation: “What I really want…is to feel the warmth of the people who should be closest to me.” A journey about one man’s search for a family, a sense of home, a place where he belongs.

Justification for Nomination: Natsume Ono’s Not Simple is a profound graphic novel that is an emotional roller coaster of a ride. Ono did a fantastic job in moving the story along with ease in panels and well told. Not Simple is different and distinctive in that it’s a tale of family tragedy, is an excellent addition to the coming changes of graphic novels. Not simple is told through Jim’s narrative of Ian’s journey in finding a family.

The graphic novel reading is initially subtle, not a lot is said point blank but the way words and action are managed around the panels help convey the subtle meaning without saying out to the audience. Ono fearlessly approaches difficult real-world issues that a few years ago would not be brought into light nor did people knew existed. What is unique about this manga is that is doesn’t follow the chronology of beginning, middle and end, instead you start with the end, then go through the beginning, and end with the middle. It may spoil your reading to know the ending but with this reading you found yourself wanted to know the how; how did or what happen to make the end result like that.

The art work is particularly striking; the graphic doesn't look like anything else on the racks, certainly not what the world thinks of when they think manga. The writing is phenomenal in a way that moves the reader expertly through the story and with both the characters you are immediately placed in their world. Ono's figures are daring and rely on gesture rather than detailed transcription, the faces and bodies communicates a extremely wide range of emotions. Her storytelling moves the reader effortlessly through the novel, each panel is deliberated in that the author places white or black spaces to pause or move the story along with ease. Not Simple is heartwarming book; it’s moving, affecting, and unique.

Genre Category: Graphic Novel, Realistic/edgy

Review 1: Printz Award or Honors

Zusak, Markus. I Am the Messenger. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Print.

Annotation: “If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, then maybe everyone can.” Four different aces drastically spirals an underage cab driver on a journey to help strangers in tough situations but within those strangers he finds his own journey to self-discovery. 

Justification for Nomination:

       Like most YA novels, I Am The Messenger portrays a young adult dealing with life and their own self-discovery in who they are.

       Mark Zusak’s I Am The Messenger, creates a timeless protagonist name Ed Kennedy, a nineteen-year-old taxi cab driver and all-around average guy. In fact, he's the epitome of average -- faithful friends, stinky dog, dead-end job, no thought of the future, a mother who despise him and a girl who loves someone else.  After catching accidentally foiling a bank robber’s escape plan, Ed Kennedy is deemed a hero in his town and that is when his first ace arrives in the mail making Ed “the messenger”.  Each ace he gets in the mail is different and each has messages for him to undertake and deliver.  These series of task transform him from a self-absorbed hoodlum to a genuine hero.

       Zusak’s imaginative plot brings a sense of tension and surprise throughout the novel.  Zusak plays with a abundance of themes in his novel from coming of age to love, hope and discovery.  The characters and the world that Zusak portrays in the novel creates world that brings about real life issues out in the open. It deals a lot with the protagonist struggling with his identity in life, just like young adults and even adults now, who are at lost to who they are. Zusak wrote the novel in a way that not only you are traveling with Ed’s messages but you are also living and finding your own messages in life.

       All in all this is an enchanting novel to read, one that I couldn’t put down until I finished it. From the very first page to the last the journey with Ed Kennedy is everlasting.




Genre Category: Realistic Fiction