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Review
Author(s): James Blasingame, Michael Jung, Bridgette Stahn,
Fran Bard, Kyle Williams and
Elizabeth Koebele
Review by: James Blasingame, Michael Jung, Bridgette Stahn,
Fran Bard, Kyle Williams and
Elizabeth Koebele
Source: Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 52, No.
8 (May, 2009), pp. 724-725
Published by: on behalf of the Wiley International Reading
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http://www.jstor.org/stable/27654335
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 52(8)
May 2009
? 2009 International Reading Association
(pp. 724-739)
Reviews
Books for
Adolescents
James Blasingame
Michael Jung
Bridgette Stahn
Fran Bard
Kyle Williams
Elizabeth Koebele

doi:10.1598/JAAL52.8.8
724
?|H
The Hunger Games
j?jl
Suzanne Collins. 2008. New York: Scholastic. 384 pp.
US$17.99.
^H
In Suzanne Collins' engaging tale about a dystopian future, life
has
^H
become very hard in the country of Panem (which very much re
DlffiJH sembles a future United States). Starvation is a very
real part of life,
^ and the tyrannical central government, which rules from a geo
graphically protected Capitol, keeps the citizens of 12 outlying
districts hungry
and subservient while exploiting their natural resources and
cheap labor. Citizens
are so worried about where their next meal will come from that
they seldom
bother to think about the totalitarian government which
oppresses them.
But life is not without entertainment in Panem. The annual
Hunger Games

provide excitement, encourage regional pride, and could mean
sudden wealth for
a small group of impoverished citizens. Every child between the
ages of 12 and
18 must take part in a national lottery. The "winners" of the
lottery, two from
each of the 12 districts, are taken on a luxurious trip to the
Capitol, where life
is very different from life in outlying districts. The 24 newly
famous teenagers
are the guest stars of several days of festivities, all of which are
televised, includ
ing pageants and interviews and "up close and personal"
profiles, which attempt
to make them the darlings and heroes of the general populace.
Then they are
dropped into a combat zone and fight each other to the death.
On television.
During the Hunger Games, all citizens of Panem watch in horror
and hope as
their own representatives struggle
to survive.
The book's 16-year-old protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, has
grown up in
District 12, the coal mining district, where life is already hard

but has been
even harder for Katniss since the death of her father. Unlike
typical 16-year-olds
(boys or girls), Katniss frequents the forbidden wilderness area
outside of town,
hunting game and gathering medicinal herbs, as well as edible
plants. She is the
sole provider for her family, has learned how to defend herself
from predators,
human and animal alike, and has considerable skill with the
tools of her trade,
which include bow and arrows, knives, and snares. She seems a
likely candidate
to survive the Hunger Games, outlasting, if not killing, all the
other "tributes,"
as
they
are called.
Katniss's chances at success are either complicated or enhanced
by the other
tribute from District 12, Peeta Mellark, a classmate from school
who may very
well have loved Katniss his whole life, if he's telling the truth.
He also may be

faking his affection for her to gain sympathy from sponsors and
viewers, who
can pay exorbitant prices to send special gifts to needy tributes
during the games,
such as much needed medicine or special weapons. Katniss
waivers between
04:39:33 UTC
killing and saving Peeta until the moment he proves
his real intentions. Regardless of Peeta's true feelings
for Katniss, only
one tribute can win according
to the
rules.
Collins's story is one part reality television show,
one part classical Greek hero story, and
one
part
ro
mance. Readers around the world are raving about

how engaging this story is and how they raced through
the book to find out what would happen next. There
are
heartwarming, gut wrenching, and
even comical
moments in the book, and both Peeta and Katniss are
sympathetic characters from the start, but the reader's
attachment to them grows
as the story progresses. One
of the most compelling things about the story, how
ever, is how familiar it seems. It feels very much like
the current brand of reality television in which the
"stars" are real people from dire circumstances who
have fabulous wealth dangled in front of them only
to have it snatched away at the last moment. In addi
tion, with the current tendency of television viewers
to get hooked on a certain program with cumulative
rather than merely episodic plots, readers will have
no trouble being hooked on the Hunger Games and
coming to view each of the young gladiators as a dis

tinct and interesting personality, like those on reality
television.
This book is devoid of sex or bad language, but
brutal murders can make the story a bit disconcerting
at times, making it most appropriate for upper middle
school readers, high school readers, and adults.
Reviewed by James Blasingame, Department of
English, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
"jyg^n
Selkie Girl
ShK?^
Laurie Brooks. 2008. New York: Alfred A.
B1^,S
:
Knopf. 262 pp. US $15.99.
BP^HH4I Award-winning playwright
Laurie
Ky?MHBS:
Brooks weaves a magical tale about
Hp^CBPj acceptance
and belonging with Selkie
^m^^^&Jf Qirl9 a novel that draws inspiration
from the Scottish myth of the selkies?mythical seal

people who can transform into humans by shedding
their skins.
Elin Jean always knew she had a special relation
ship with the sea. Born with webbed hands that brand
her as a freak on the Shapinsay Island in the Orkneys,
she's always felt more comfortable swimming with
the seals than with the island children, who call her
"Selkie Girl." Even her love for her grandfather and
attraction to the gypsy boy, Tarn McCodrun, cannot
quell her longing to escape into the sea.
Then one day Elin Jean discovers a shocking
secret?her mother is a selkie who has been held in
captivity by her selfish father since he stole her magi
cal seal skin years ago. When Elin Jean discovers the
skin in a hidden drawer, she returns it to her mother,
who transforms into her seal form and swims away.
Feeling abandoned, Elin Jean follows her mother
into the sea and magically becomes a selkie herself,
albeit one with human fingers that mark her as an

outsider. While searching for her mother, Elin Jean is
adopted by the selkie folk who inform her of a proph
ecy foretelling of a child born of land and sea with the
ability to save the selkies.
Unwilling to believe she is "the one foretold,"
Elin Jean nevertheless decides to learn about selkie
culture and find the "knowin"'?the selkie word for
a better understanding of yourself and your place in
the world. Yet even after months of studying with her
teacher Arnfin and the Arl Teller, a wise storytelling
matriarch, Elin Jean still finds herself ostracized by
the younger selkies, making her wonder where she
truly belongs: on the land or in the sea.
But when Elin Jean's human father begins slaugh
tering seals in a vengeful attempt to punish his wife
for leaving him, Elin Jean realizes she must protect her
adopted family. As the islanders prepare for the cull, a
bloody tradition where men kill baby seals to thin the
population, Elin Jean joins the selkies on their annual

birthing journey to the beach where she must make
peace not only with her mixed heritage but also be
tween the humans and selkies.
~
Based on her award-winning play, Between the ?
Land and the Sea, Laurie Brooks' first book simulta- ^
<
neously reads like a timeless myth and a contempo-
-
rary coming-of-age novel. While many selkie myths j? o
end tragically, with the selkie mother abandoning her <g
children after regaining her true form, Brooks offers g
a hopeful ending where one can form a stable family >
while realizing as Elin Jean does that, "Belonging's
^
not a
place. It's inside you." 725
I Reviewed by Michael Jung, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
04:39:33 UTC
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jspArticle
Contentsp. 724p. 725Issue Table of ContentsJournal of

Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 52, No. 8 (May, 2009), pp.
652-739Front MatterCommentaryCensorship in Three
Metaphors [pp. 653-661]Reading for a Better World: Teaching
for Social Responsibility with Young Adult Literature [pp. 664-
673]Inquiry Into Urban Adolescent Independent Reading
Habits: Can Gee's Theory of Discourses Provide Insight? [pp.
676-685]English-Language Learners, Fan Communities, and
21st-Century Skills [pp. 688-697]Lana's Story: Re-Storying
Literacy Education [pp. 698-707]Investigating Content Area
Teachers' Understanding of a Content Literacy Framework: A
Yearlong Professional Development Initiative [pp. 708-
718]Research Connections: The San Diego Striving Readers'
Project: Building Academic Success for Adolescent Readers
[pp. 720-722]ReviewsBooks for AdolescentsReview: untitled
[pp. 724-725]Review: untitled [p. 725-725]An Interview with
Suzanne Collins [pp. 726-727]Books for AdolescentsReview:
untitled [p. 728-728]Review: untitled [pp. 728-729]Review:
untitled [p. 729-729]Review: untitled [pp. 729-730]Review:
untitled [pp. 730-731]Review: untitled [pp. 731-732]Classroom
MaterialsReview: untitled [pp. 732-734]Professional
ResourcesReview: untitled [pp. 735-736]Review: untitled [pp.
737-739]Back Matter
Popular Culture Association in the South is collaborating with
JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Studies in
Popular Culture.
Popular Culture Association in the South
From the Editor: Mixtures and Intersections
Author(s): Rhonda V. Wilcox
Source: Studies in Popular Culture, Vol. 35, No. 2 (SPRING

2013), pp. vii-viii
Published by: Popular Culture Association in the South
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From the Editor
Mixtures and Intersections
This is the first issue of Studies in Popular Culture to be
published
since we lost Michael Dunne, its editor for nine years (with
Sara Lewis

Dunne). I have long been an admirer of Michael Dunne; soon
after joining
PCAS, 1 learned to make sure to attend his sessions at every fall
confer
ence. Once, when I had to miss his session because of leaving
early to
celebrate my son's birthday, he kindly agreed to give me a copy
of his pa
per—the wonderful essay "Beavis, Butthead, and Bakhtin." That
title tells
you a bit about Michael's erudition and wit. Later, I learned
more about his
kindness. When I became editor of this journal, succeeding
Michael and
Sara, they did not just offer the usual platitudes of
encouragement; they
invited me into their home for the weekend, to give me a crash
course in
the work I would have to do. I cannot really put into words what
Michael
was to me and to many others in PCAS; for that, 1 refer you to
Sara. Flip
the pages back to the essay right before this one, if you have not
already
read "Michael Dunne and Popular Culture." This journal, our
parent or

ganization, and the field of popular culture studies all owe a
great deal to
Michael Dunne.
I am not sure which of this issue's essays Michael would like
best; they are an interesting batch. Most of them investigate, in
one way
or another, the curious lines that popular culture can cross—in
terms of
medium, genre, cultural place, and more. Lynnette Porter
discusses the
transformation of a popular work of drama based on literature—
a new
version of Frankenstein—as it moves through incarnations as
the orig
inal live drama, a recording that was broadcast to live
audiences, and a
replayed/edited version which some wish to make widely
available. New
technology raises questions of the nature of artistic aims and
shaping. Por
ter asks us to ponder: is this creature still alive? Jim Keller, in
his work
on the marketing of The Hunger Games, not only considers the
shift from
book to film but more particularly, the parallels in both to the

process of
Hollywood's system of selling. Games are played in both
territories. Cyn
thea Masson examines a similar phenomenon in an episode of
the Joss
Whedon series Angel: the episode "Smile Time" not only
incorporates a
strange and hilarious mixture of muppet-style puppets with its
normal live
actors, but also symbolically presents the business of television,
which
has puppets of its own. Isher-Paul Sahni takes us to the
unexpected junc
ture of Jackass and MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art; he
analyzes
the reasons for their joining, in the MoMA Jackass exhibit. Matt
Bailey
vii
04:47:18 UTC
reminds us of a very different cultural center, the mall; he
intersects cultur
al place and film narrative to demonstrate the mall's consumer

connections
to the hottest of current symbols, the zombie—as presented by
George
Romero. Carey Millsap-Spears presents a study of the
significance of the
double in another multi-formed work, the stage-musical-to-film
Sweeney
Todd. Finally, Lauren Chesnut explores Destination Truth, a
series with
one foot in muddy ethnography and another in colonialist
entertainment.
Our book reviews begin with a review essay by Ed Whitelock
on the 33
1/3 series of books on music.
As always, we give thanks to our editorial board and the many
oth
er scholars who also serve as blind peer reviewers for the
journal. Among
those not named on the masthead page who have helped with
reviewing in
the months leading to up this issue are Pam Bedore, Don Butts,
Marie Dal
lam, Ashli Dykes, Greg Erickson, Sarah Fogle, Jennifer Garlen,
Jeremy
Groskopf, Jill Hague, Jeremy Justus, Ty Matejowsky, Mary
Alice Money,

Eleanor Hersey Nickel, Ian Peters, Shelley Rees, Erin
Waggoner, and Kris
Woofter. We offer sincere gratitude for the work of these
scholars, because
we believe the work we do is important. We are, after all,
following in the
footsteps of Michael Dunne.
Rhonda V. Wilcox
Gordon State College
Studies in Popular Culture 35.2 Spring 2013
04:47:18 UTC
Contentsp. viip. [viii]Issue Table of ContentsStudies in Popular
Culture, Vol. 35, No. 2 (SPRING 2013) pp. i-viii, 1-167Front
MatterFrom the Former Editor: Michael Dunne and Popular
Culture [pp. v-vi]From the Editor: Mixtures and Intersections
[pp. vii-viii]It's Alive! But What Kind of Creature is National
Theatre Live's "Frankenstein"? [pp. 1-21]Meta-Cinema and
Meta-Marketing: Gary Ross's "The Hunger Games", an Allegory
of Its Own Making [pp. 23-42]"Break Out the Champagne,
Pinocchio": "Angel" and the Puppet Paradox [pp. 43-67]More
than Horseplay: "Jackass", Performativity, and the MoMA [pp.
69-94]Memory, Place and the Mall: George Romero on
Consumerism [pp. 95-110]"How about a pie?" Mrs. Lovett,
"Sweeney Todd", and the Double [pp. 111-127]Neocolonial
Scenarios in the Syfy Channel's "Destination Truth": Scientific

Discovery, Tourism, and Ethnography [pp. 129-154]Book
Review EssayShake, Rattle, and Write: Continuum's 33 1/3
Series [pp. 155-161]Book ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 161-
163]Review: untitled [pp. 163-164]Review: untitled [pp. 164-
167]Back Matter
National Council of Teachers of English is collaborating with
JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The English
Journal.
Teaching Young Adult Literature: Acid-Washed Jeans, a
Moussed-Out Mullet, and Eternity
Cologne: The Challenges of Growing Up
Author(s): Mike Roberts
Source: The English Journal, Vol. 100, No. 6 (July 2011), pp.
103-107
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
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Mike Roberts, Editor
Teaching Young
Adult Literature
Acid-Washed Jeans, a
Moussed-Out Mullet,
and Eternity Cologne:
The Challenges of
Growing Up
It was 1987.
I was in eighth grade, and the
Spring Fling dance was rocking
the South Bonneville Junior High
gym like it had never been rocked
before.
My main objective up to that

point had been to simply look
good, and one glance in the mir
ror confirmed in my oh-so-tainted
mind that I had accomplished
this (think acid-washed jeans, a
moussed-out mullet, and about
nine sprays too many of Eternity
cologne). But in the back of my
mind, I knew that night had the
chance to be something special,
so as I walked through the green
© Dynamic Graphics/ Photos.com
and-yellow balloon archway lead
ing into the gym, I challenged
myself to step up my game and do
something I never thought possi
ble: I was going to ask Sarah Hin
ton to slow dance.

And moments later, when
Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again"
erupted from the speakers, I knew
it was on.
Challenges.
They've always been around,
but it seems as if today's students
face more of them than ever before,
and unfortunately, they often are
much larger in scale than simply
deciding who they are going to
ask to dance.
The good news is that the lit
erature for today's adolescents has
evolved in a way that tackles these
issues head-on. Not only do they
expose the challenges of life, they
also provide teens with solutions

and coping strategies for these
inevitable "bumps in the road."
Three novels that effectively
address these tough-to-handle sit
uations are Suzanne Collins's The
Hunger Games, Sherman Alexie's
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part
Time Indian, and William Gold
ing's classic Lord of the Flies.
The Hunger Games by
Suzanne Collins (grades 7+)
In this dystopian novel, Kat
niss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark
THE
HUNGER
GAMES
SUZANNE
COLLINS
are selected to participate in the
Hunger Games, a televised fight

to-the-death battle between geo
graphical districts. Beyond the
gripping storyline and action
filled plot, The Hunger Games uses
a strong female protagonist to
present a wide range of challenges,
including physical, emotional,
and mental battles.
As an introductory activity,
bring in the weekly grocery ads
and, in groups, let students decide
what they would buy if given $100
right now. Next, have them share
their lists and the logic behind each
purchase. Then, after explaining
the concept of rationing and nutri
tion (two challenges within the
novel), have the students reevalu

ate and reshare their choices. Ide
ally (although not always) the list
changes from favorites such as
candy and soda to essentials such as
canned fruit and bottled water. This
activity is effective in that it forces
students to look at the same issue
English Journal 100.6 (2011): 103-107 103
04:44:06 UTC
Acid-Washed Jeans, a Moussed-Out Mullet, and Eternity
(spending $100 on groceries) from
two different perspectives. The first
list they create serves as what they
want. The second list reflects what
they need. It's a simple activity, yet
the challenge of understanding

want versus need is a crucial one,
especially with today's "I need the
latest and greatest" teen mentality.
Next, early in the novel, show
students a map of the United
States that you have divided into
13 "districts," reflecting the geo
graphical districts from the novel.
From here, break the class up
into 13 groups, assigning each
group to a district. Once divided,
have students research both the
strengths and weaknesses of their
district, including geographic
location, population, and avail
able natural resources (to name a
few). This could also make a pro
ductive link to a geography class,
and for those really looking for a
challenge, I'm sure there's a lesson

connecting the 13 districts in the
novel to the 13 original colonies
in the United States.
The Hunger Games also offers a
range of informal and formal writ
ing opportunities. Students could
write a chapter or letter from the
perspective of one of the other
minor characters at any point in
the novel. This will help students
reflect on unspoken challenges that
each character confronts. Students
could also write about the skills
they would bring to the Hunger
Games if they were selected. This
assignment has the unique feature
of allowing students the chance to
share a talent with their classmates

that they might not otherwise
talk about. Regarding more for
mal writing, a paper analyzing the
many similarities between today's
reality television and the Hunger
FIGURE 1. The Hunger Games Lesson
Lights! Camera! Action!
The Hunger Games. . . The Movie!
Tired of the same old directors creating the same old movies?
Hollywood is
looking for some fresh faces, and they just called you!
The Assignment
Your job is to create the lineup for the movie version of The
Hunger Games.
You must also select the five key scenes from the book that you
insist be in
the film version.
Character Actor
Katniss
Peeta
Haymitch

Gale
Prim
President Snow
Effie
Cinna
Rue
Caesar Flickerman
Five key scenes and brief explanation of why they must be in
the movie:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Games (and the consequences of
this form of "entertainment") is
ripe for the picking.
Finally, as a closing activity,
allow students to have some fun
by asking them to serve as director

for the film version of the novel.
In this role, students must decide
what actors will play each of the
major characters, which characters
will be left out, where the movie
will be filmed, and what five key
scenes must be included in the film
(see fig. 1). This activity can also
be adapted to specific television
shows where students link traits
of the characters in the book to
those on their favorite shows. You
can't tell me your students won't
be jumping over each other to
explain how Katniss resembles
Snooki or how Peeta has the same
traits as the Situation (for all you
Jersey Shore fans out there—you
know who you are!). You will be
amazed by how much effort and
thought goes into this!

The Absolutely True Diary
of a Part-Time Indian by
Sherman Alexie (grades 9+)
Arnold "Junior" Spirit lives on
the Spokane Indian Reservation,
104 July 2011
04:44:06 UTC
Teaching Young Adult Literature
The
/
A f; CO I tritely
, Trim '
ptnrry
r{ t
''iii" X P«rrC-Tiro<s
Jlnfiffr, _
SHERMAN
ALEXIE
apt iy iiitN foRsty

and after seeing his mother's
name in one of his school books,
he decides to transfer from his res
ervation school to Reardan High,
the all-white school 20 miles
away. On arriving and discover
ing that the only other Native
American there is the school mas
cot, the challenge of keeping his
identity begins. This is a funny
and emotional novel (including
some hilarious drawings), and
students will connect with Junior
as he battles to remain true to his
past while striving to improve his
future.
As a starter activity, write the
phrase "Little pieces of joy in my
life" (Alexi 176) on the board, and

underneath it, write down a few
things that make you happy—
and please include your students
on this list! After explaining your
examples, have students create
a list or, even better, have them
come up to the board and write
down an item or two that gives
them joy. Anything from books
to movies to songs to food is fair
game, but challenge them to be
specific in their selections; don't
write food—write Wendy's triple
cheeseburger! And let them know
that repeats are not allowed; there
are enough pieces of joy in the
world to avoid repetition. You
can make a great segue from this

activity into a discussion about
how even when life beats you up,
there are still pieces of hope that
often get overlooked (one of the
themes in the novel).
Next, show the picture of
Junior (page 57) and have the class
explain the conflict he is going
through based solely on what
they see. Following this discus
sion, have students draw cartoon
versions of themselves that illus
trate two different sides of their
personality or culture. This can
include home versus school, sports
versus academics, or alone versus
with friends (to name a few). After
they've drawn their pictures, give

the students a chance to share and
explain their self-portraits. This
is an effective activity in that it
allows students to understand that
everyone has different layers to
them. This is also a great chance
for you to model that even teachers
have lives outside of school. And
if you're looking to add a little
music to the unit, play Johnny
Cash's "Ira Hayes" after this activ
ity. It's a true narrative that per
fectly illustrates the two sides
of Native American Ira Hayes's
heroic, yet sad, life.
Like The Hunger Games, there
are writing activities related to
the challenges within the story.

The beauty of these questions is
that they can be used at any point
throughout the novel. And while
I know it may go against your
teaching instincts, it is OK to
assign a paper before finishing the
book! Possible writing prompts
include the following:
1. How much should a per
son's responsibility to
family or community over
shadow individual goals?
2. How do your race, class,
culture, and gender deter
mine the type of person you
are or will become?
3. Junior leaves the reservation
to get a better education.

Discuss a tough decision
you made and how it
affected you.
Finally, The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time Indian would
be a perfect link with an Ameri
can history class where Native
American experiences are stud
ied. Topics for discussion might
include life on a reservation, res
ervation health and education sta
tistics, and why reservations were
created in the first place. If there
are history teachers in your school
who are looking to incorporate
more literacy into their classes,
this would be a great choice. Why
should English teachers have all
the fun?

IyRD OF THE FIIES
WILLIAM GOLDINC)
Lord of the Flies by William
Golding (grades 8+)
After their plane crashes on an
island, a group of young boys is
forced to work together to sur
vive. But as time passes, the chal
lenge of remaining civilized gives
way to the beast that lives inside
English Journal 105
04:44:06 UTC
us all, and the struggle for power
and survival begins. The book is
filled with various conflicts, and

today's teens will connect with the
internal battles between right and
wrong that Ralph, Jack, Piggy,
and the rest of the boys endure.
If your students are like mine,
they pretty much think they know
everything about everything.
Because of this, I like to start my
Lord of the Flies unit off with an
outdoor survival test. There are
a lot of these online, some more
complex than others, but I like to
keep it simple by sticking to some
pretty basic questions (see fig. 2).
This activity connects with both
the setting and the plot of the
novel in a much more engaging
manner than simply doing a book
talk or introduction of the story.

Plus, I'm always amazed at how
much my students know about
this kind of thing.
In addition to the challenges
faced within the story, Lord of the
Flies also is a great tool for helping
to solidify students' understand
ing of symbolism. Pretty much
everything in this novel has a deeper
meaning, and to support this, I
have students create a symbol
ism log where they keep track of
what the people, objects, or events
from the novel represent. To sup
port various learning strategies,
students can create visual repre
sentations, written explanations,
or a combination of both. Another
option that stresses the symbol

ism in the story can be found by
going to the Lord of the Flies Educa
tional Productions website for the
Nobel Prize (http://nobelprize.org/
educational/literature/golding/) for
an interactive review of the sym
bols and motifs used throughout
the novel. This review can be effec
tively implemented for both small
and large-group reviews.
Finally, as a closing activity, the
conflicts presented in the story,
including character-versus-self and
character-versus-nature, align per
fectly with those presented in Tom
Hanks's Cast Away. Specifically,
the physical and mental struggles
faced in both stories make for an

ideal Venn diagram project/discus
sion. And if showing full-length
movies isn't your thing, there's
always "Das Bus," The Simpsons
episode from the ninth season
based on the novel.
Connecting Books with
Contemporary Teens
While it's true that most teens
won't ever fight 'til the death,
be the only Native American
at school, or get marooned on
an island, they do know what it
means to face challenges on a daily
basis. Each of the above novels
will help adolescents, when faced
FIGURE 2. Survival Quiz
Houston, We Have a Problem
A Survival Quiz

1. Your airliner has crashed in the mountains. You're one of
several survivors.
You should:
a. Climb to the top of the nearest mountain and build a signal
fire
b. Make short trips; a road may be nearby
c. Stay put and wait for rescue
2. It's cold and you have no fire. To keep warm, you should:
a. Remain motionless to conserve energy
b. Exercise vigorously
c. Cover your head
3. You suspect that searchers may be in the woods looking for
you. You
should:
a. Scream several times
b. Build a fire and make smoke signals
c. Try to find your way toward the rescue party
4. A search plane flies overhead. To attract a plane's attention,
you should:
a. Use the mirror in your compact as a signal
b. Wave your most colorful piece of clothing
c. Climb to the top of a tree
5. Your airliner has crashed in deep snow and the temperature is
below zero.
The warmest place you can be is:
a. In the plane's broken fuselage
b. Under the snow

c. Inside a tent made of seat cushions and parachutes
6. You suspect it may be many days before you're found. Your
greatest con
cern is:
a. Lack of food
b. Lack of water
c. Lack of shelter
Answer Key to Survival Quiz:
1. C (It's big and can be seen from above.)
2. C (Most of your body heat is lost through your head.)
3. A (It gets the attention of the searchers.)
4. A (It will catch the pilot's eye.)
5. B (It's about 32 degrees, well above the surrounding negative
temperature.)
6. B (You can only last four to five days without water.)
106 July 2011
04:44:06 UTC
Teaching Young Adult Literature
with the inevitable struggles that

occur during the teen years, to
better understand how to man
age these difficulties that life often
throws our way.
Oh, and for those of you won
dering what happened with Sarah
Hinton, my eighth-grade would
be paramour, here's the short (yet
still slightly painful) version.
Alan Spears: that's what
happened.
By the time I had meandered
my way across the dance floor to
make my move, he had already
shuffled Sarah off to the dance floor.
In a perfect world, this would
be the part where I told you that
even though I was down, I wasn't

out. And then I'd probably tell
you that on the very next slow
song, I walked right up to her and
finally got my dance. But I didn't.
In fact, I never got that dance—
Sarah moved away at the end of
that school year (insert sigh here).
Besides, I was waiting for that song
on that night with that girl—you
can't re-create that kind of thing!
Challenges.
Sometimes you get the best of
them, other times they get the
best of you. But like Junior says,
when the bad times come, you
just have to think of "those little
pieces of joy" and just keep plow
ing forward.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I
have to go put on my acid-washed

jeans. ^
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True
Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New
York: Little, 2007. Print.
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games.
New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies.
New York: Perigee, 1954. Print.
Mike Roberts teaches eighth-grade English at Rowland Hall
Middle School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Beyond the classroom,
he
has spent the past several years presenting to teachers and
librarians from across the country about the benefits of using
young adult literature in the classroom. For more information
about this column or future suggestions, please email him at
[email protected]
Standardization, in the Spirit of William Blake
Testmaker, testmaker,
Dost thou know who made thee?
Funny, one of the words on the test

Was widget.
Widget!
Which tells me that thou, testmaker,
Knowest naught of irony
Thou a testmaker and I a widget
We are called by . . . well, money and oneness, I
suppose
Or by no name
By which we may reconcile
Who gave thee power and bid thee standard
O'er the future
Gave thee a license
A measure
By which we may reconcile
Gave thee knowledge, which to test
Didst he who made the curriculum make thee?
Or did thou make he,
Who made the comprehensive plan?

School a "vale" I knowest not
A community fraught with equivalence
A process by which I sink, or slake
A society under surveillance
Testmaker, testmaker, dost thou know who made thee?
Testmaker, testmaker, I'll tell thee . . .
That is, I'd tell thee if I didn't have to measure
Standard 4.2.36.22.33253, my vocation.
I quit thee,
I quit thee.
—Corey Rose
© 2011 Corey Rose
Corey Rose taught English in a juvenile correctional facility
in Florida. His curricular designs feature ethics-based teaching
built around thematic units. He believes that young adults often
exercise bad judgment not because of "poor" ethics,
but
because they have not yet constructed any personal system of
ethics. Themes that arise in his

class often include belief,
identity, belonging, and choice. Email him [email protected]
English Journal 107
04:44:06 UTC
Contentsp. 103p. 104p. 105p. 106p. 107Issue Table of
ContentsEnglish Journal, Vol. 100, No. 6 (July 2011) pp. 1-
124Front MatterFrom the Editor [pp. 12-13]"EJ" Extra: A
Snapshot of Writing Instruction in Middle Schools and High
Schools [pp. 14-27]Ethics in the English Classroom"EJ" in
Focus: A Literacy Education for Our Times [pp. 28-
33]POETRYRecital—English Class [pp. 33-33]Ethics in the
English ClassroomEthics as a Form of Critical and Rhetorical
Inquiry in the Writing Classroom [pp. 34-40]Assessing Internal
Group Processes in Collaborative Assignments [pp. 41-
46]POETRYTestimony [pp. 46-46]Ethics in the English
ClassroomAn Ethical Dilemma: Talking about Plagiarism and
Academic Integrity in the Digital Age [pp. 47-53]Classrooms
That Discourage Plagiarism and Welcome Technology [pp. 54-
59]Reading the Literature of War: A Global Perspective on
Ethics [pp. 60-67]Lives beyond Suffering: The Child Soldiers of
African Wars [pp. 68-77]GENERAL INTERESTFraming the
Text: Using Storyboards to Engage Students with Reading [pp.
78-85]Mentoring Matters: Many Voices, Many Choices: Women
Who Mentored and Inspired Dana Rodriguez [pp. 86-
89]POETRYAdvice, Unsolicited [pp. 89-89]Off the Shelves:
Looking for Answers to Big Questions: Religion in Current
Young Adult Literature [pp. 90-94]Professional Writing in the
English Classroom: Good Writing: The Problem of Ethics [pp.
95-98]Research for the Classroom: Seize the Data: Embracing
Information [pp. 99-102]Teaching Young Adult Literature:

Cologne: The Challenges of Growing Up [pp. 103-
107]POETRYStandardization, in the Spirit of William Blake
[pp. 107-107]Speaking My Mind: "Namaste": A Spiritual
Approach to Grading [pp. 108-109]POETRYEducation That
Hurts Society [pp. 110-110]Back Matter

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