Wake

Title:  Wake

Author:  Lisa Mann

Publisher :  Simon and Schuster, Inc, 2008

ISBN:  978-1-4169-7447-5

Audience:  Ages 14 – 18.   I would suggest that the target audience is older and more mature teens.  The main characters are teenagers from families that were drastically impacted and changed by traumatic events.  The issues raised in this novel can easily cross all racial and socio-economic lines.

Summary:  Wake is a novel that is centered on the “not-so” normal Janie Hannagan.  Janie is a typical high school junior whose sights are firmly set on attending college.  She works part-time, does well in school and spends time with her friends, as long as they are awake.  Janie avoids anyone who is sleeping because she can, against her will, be pulled into the sleeper’s dream.  While there, she is fully aware of everything that is going on, including experiencing everything the dreamer does.  Outside of the dream, however, her body is paralyzed, blind to anything that is happening around her.  The novel takes us through Janie’s struggles to maintain a normal life when everything around her is anything but normal.  Once she comes to grip with what makes her different, she begins to accept who she is a little more.

Central literary elements at work in the story:  Lisa Mann gives us multiple characters in this novel about whom we want to know more.  We have the most background information on Janie, though even that is incomplete.  We get a small glimpse of eight year old Janie, as she first learns what she can do; however, the major character  development for her is Janie as a teenager who is raising an alcoholic mother.  Through Janie’s relationships, we are introduced to Carrie and Cabel, whose stories are made more interesting by the secrets they are keeping.  Even the more minor characters of Melinda, Mrs. Hannagan and Miss Stubbins all have secrets, but they are secrets that are not fully revealed as the novel ends.  The entire book is written from Janie’s point of view and though it is not written in first-person, it has the feel of a personal narrative.  Written in the style of journal entries, we follow Janie from minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day.  Even though we receive a few quick glimpses into the past, the bulk of the novel takes place over a period of one and a half years. Seeing the lives of the characters in what easily begins to feel like real-time makes the events of the book realistic and believable, even the most  bizarre elements of the story.

How the book presents gender, race, culture, economic status, age, etc:  Though Mann doesn’t seem to tackle race relations with this book, I think it is because the ethnicity of the characters is irrelevant.  They could really be anyone from anywhere.  Mann does, however, touch, only slightly, on the issues of the elderly, who happen to be Janie’s favorite people to be around because “they don’t sleep soundly”.  We get small glimpses into how a family handles the loss of a child, alcoholism and drug  abuse, division and prejudices that stem from economic difference and how a young  person deals with the possibility of being homosexual.  All of these issues are dealt with on a very surface level, some so slightly you might even miss them.  It almost seems that  any one of these things alone is too heavy to be fully handled alongside the challenge of  entering dreams; when all of them occur, it is impossible to address well.  What does partner well with the main plot of dream travel are the silent issues of emotional, physical and psychological abuse.  I referred to them as silent, because none of them are ever directly mentioned or addressed during the novel, but they all scream off the pages, almost from the very beginning.  They are played out in the actions and dialogue mainly between Janie and Cabel, and though neither of them talks about it (other than a small conversation near the end of the book) both characters wear the scars of their abuse.  The reader is also given this since that they both want to be anyplace other than where they are.

It also strikes me that the responsible authorities throughout this book, parents, teachers, even Janie’s co-workers and employer are largely absent.  They are present in that we hear their voices occasionally, see them in passing even; but they are all emotionally disconnected for the main characters, absent from their lives.  Although the parents are often not the primary focus of teen novels, it speaks loudly that the parents in this novel who are around seem to have checked out on their children.

Theological Conversation Partners:  One good partner for this novel could be Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Janie spends a lot of time trying to isolate herself from people.  However, we see a change in both her and Cabel as they open up to each other, sharing their secrets and relying on one another.  This bond begins to be shared with Mrs. Stubbins and Janie as well.  But that is a story for another book, Fade, which is the sequel to Wake.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. As we enter the dreams with Janie, each dreamer asks Janie for help, regardless of the nature of the dream.  What could be the significance of the dreamer unconsciously asking for help?
2. Once, Janie enters her mother’s dream.  She seems to be aware of this when she wakes and leaves the room.  Why for you think this is?
3. Believing there are no coincidences, Janie enters Carrie and Cabel’s recurring dreams over and over again.  Why is she drawn to these two people and them to her?
4. If God gifted you with the ability to travel into people’s dreams, what might your purpose be?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student LaDonna Harrison.

Son

Title:   Son

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  October 2012

ISBN:  978-0547887203

Audience:  Ages 10 and up

Summary: Son begins in the same controlled community and at the same time as The Giver. Twelve-year old Claire has been assigned to the role of birthmother. This means that at about age fourteen she will be artificially inseminated and officially designated a Vessel.  Her baby will be called a Product and she will never see it, know its sex or its name.  Claire has discussed this with the other birthmothers in her dormitory so she has some idea of what to expect.  But the delivery does not go as planned; a C-section is required; Claire cannot have another child.  She is soon sent to work in the fish hatchery but not before she learns that she had a male child and his number is 36.  Working at the fish hatchery gives her the opportunity to visit her son, to play with him, to love him without ever being identified as his mother.  She learns that he is scheduled for release and then, that he has been kidnapped by Jonas and taken from the community. Claire makes her escape simultaneously by a river barge.  With a gap of time and memory, Claire is washed up on the shore of a village, bounded by the treacherous sea and an insurmountable cliff..  Here she remains for seven years, regaining her strength and her memory, and determining still to find her son. Lame Einar, one person who reached the top of the cliff, helps her prepare for the grueling climb out and warns her that at the top awaits Trademaster, who cut off Einar’s feet because he refused to make a trade.  An arduous, dangerous climb brings Claire to the top of the cliff where Trademaster awaits her.  To find her son, she must trade him her youth, and she does so with no hesitation. Then as an old woman she watches her son, Gabriel, grow. No one knows who she is until she is near death and tells her story to Jonas, the community leader who brought Gabriel there over 14 years ago.  Jonas knows the nature of Trademaster and sends Gabriel to confront him for Claire is near death.  Gabriel goes without weapons, with  only his gift, the ability to enter another person’s mind and emotion and understand how the other feels.

Literary elements at work in the story: While the novel begins in a dystopian community, it enters a wider world and becomes a struggle between good and evil, a timeless battle that transcends the genre.  Claire’s physical preparation for the trip and the climb up the cliff match the ordeals of any dystopian heroine.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  In the original community, giving birth is a low status role.  There is a consciousness of which jobs are prestigious. The village where Claire is washed ashore makes some distinction in gender roles.  It is a poor village, somewhat primitive, with no social classes..  Though the quartet is futuristic, beyond the first section of the novel, this could well be Europe in the dark ages. . In the village where Claire finds her son, outsiders are welcomed, handicaps are accepted.

Theological Conversation Partners: At least four themes run through this novel: the first is the power of  love and empathy; the second is the power and nature of evil; the third is individual gifts and their use in the community; and the fourth, the power of story and memory. There is a tendency to idealize Mother Love; Jesus has words to say about familial love that conflicts with the demands of his Kingdom. This story, however, is about parental love that will not let go. Evil is considered a force rather than a person.  Gabe’s realization that Evil will starve without the misery of its victims is reminiscent of Screwtape waiting to devour Wormwood. The weapons used to fight evil are a firm resolve not to kill, the ability to identify with and experience Evil.   Gifts are given for the benefit of the community and they disappear when no longer needed.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Would this story work as well if a father were searching for his son?  Why or why not?
2. How does Claire’s community guarantee that mother’s will not bond with their infants?  Why is this desirable?
3. Claire is consumed by the desire to find her son; no sacrifice is too great.  Can the love of a parent for a child be selfish or unhealthy?
4. How many aspects of unselfish love are exhibited in the story?
5. Gabe has the gift of “veering.”  How does this enable him to know that he had a mother?
6. Why did Claire wait so long to tell her story to Jonas? What happens when she does?
7. What is Gabe’s first weapon in going to meet Trademaster?
8. How does Gabe’s gift of veering enable him to defeat Trademaster? What is the cost of this identification with Evil?
9. Trademaster is considered to be a force rather than a person.  Does this square with the biblical view of evil?
10.  In the Apostle’s Creed we say, “He descended into Hell.”  Think about Gabe’s experience of identifying with Trademaster.  What light does it shed on this phrase?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

Messenger

Title:   Messenger

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995670

Audience: 12 and up

Summary: Matty, a lively boy entering adolescence, lives with Seer, his blind guardian, in Village, once a welcoming and healing place for all. But this is beginning to change.  People are growing selfish; they want to close the village to any newcomers who, they say, have too many needs.  Seer and Leader suspect the baleful influence of the Trade Mart and Trademaster.  People are trading their inmost selves to get such things as a Gaming Machine or a better appearance.  When Village votes to close its gates, Seer knows that he must send for his daughter, Kira, who lives in another village and who is lame.  She had stayed there to use her gift with needle and thread to embroider a new life for the violent, cruel village in which she lived.  Matty, who hopes his real name will be Messenger, is sent to tell all nearby villages that Village gates are closing.  He goes first to Kira to bring her to her father.  Matty has discovered that he has the gift of healing and he offers to heal Kira before they start for Village, even though he knows how much vitality and strength this will take from him.  Kira refuses and they start back through Forest, only to find it has become hostile to them.  Branches stick them; vines entangle them; the stench makes breathing almost impossible.  Matty is called to use his gift in a costly, remarkable act of healing that restores Forest and Village and restores Kira to her father.

Literary elements at work in the story: The genre is dystopian fiction. The tension and danger of most such novels takes a slightly different form here. The gifts used in the story’s conclusion veer into fantasy or magic rather than dystopian fiction.  Evil is represented by a consumerism that encourages selfishness and that affects the natural world.  The trip through the forest that Matty and Kira make is vivid, frightening, horrifying.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? The reasons people of the Village give for closing their gates express racial and cultural prejudice and prejudice against those handicapped. Neither gender nor economics affect the story.

Theological Conversation Partners: Messenger opens up a number of topics for theological exploration: evil, suffering, ecology, responsibility, stewardship of gifts, identity, community. In the two previous  communities, an evil pattern of life was already established. Here Lowry telescopes the results of materialism, consumerism, selfishness into a rapid change in the entire character of Village. Is this an adequate concept of evil? Explore Genesis 2 and compare. Lowry and the Bible personalize evil.  Compare Trademaster with Satan or the devil.  Kira claims her lameness as part of her identity-“Who I am.” Does our faith encourage us to accept handicaps as identity, as something to keep?  When does my healing take from the community-a question that lurks in discussions of medical care today.   Biblical characters are given new names-Abraham, Jacob, Peter. Compare this with the names given in Village. Matty is reminded to use his gift carefully, not to squander it.  This is in contrast to the story Jesus told about the Master who demanded that his servants invest their gold coins. (Luke 19: 11-27, Matt. 25:14-30)  Both ideas could be included in the stewardship of gifts.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Villagers give reasons for wanting to close their gates to newcomers.  What are these and are they used when we discuss immigration today.
2. When Matty arrived at Village he lied, stole, and avoided responsibility.  What made him change?
3. Why did Kira refuse healing.  What did she mean by, “This is who I am?” Was she right?
4. Leader tells Matty about using his gift: “Wait for the true need, Matty,. Don’t spend the gift.”  How does he recognize the need?
5. Names were given to indicate the true nature of the person.  What would your name be?
6. Can you think of times when you can trade your true self for something you want-popularity? Good looks? Success in sports or grades? Other?
7. Selfishness affects the natural world, making Forest hostile.  What is the connection between selfishness and global warming, for example?
8. Do you think the author gives an accurate picture of the Village before Trademaster comes?
9. How can a community protect itself from influences the cause us to be selfish, cruel, dishonest?
10.  In Christian theology is selfishness the root of all other sins? What other sins mar us and our world?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas

Gathering Blue

Title:   Gathering Blue

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995687

Audience: 10 and up

Summary: Kira, lame since birth, has just left her mother’s body in the Field of Leaving and she faces a dangerous and uncertain future.  Her father was destroyed by beasts in a hunt and she lives in a village that discards weak and useless persons like herself, that fights and quarrels for food and goods.  Her neighbors are ready to stone her for her plot of ground but she is miraculously saved by the Council of Guardians.  Her skill with weaving and embroidery equip her to repair and care for the Singer’s Robe, a robe that tells the history of the people from the beginning, through ruin, rebuilding growth, and ruin…Kira (her two-syllable name indicates that she is at least 12) is brought to live in the Council Edifice, a survival of the last Ruin, an elaborate building with indoor plumbing.  She is supplied with abundant food, comfort, and all the supplies she will need to restore the robe worn by the Singer at the village Gathering each year. At this event the village hears their history sung. Jamison, one of the guardians, checks on Kira’s work each day and tells her that she will finish the story that is incomplete on the Robe.   Kira’s life is brightened by a single-syllable boy, Matt, from the Fen and his dog, Branch.  He often accompanies her to see Annabella who is teaching Kira to dye threads.  She has no way to make blue and suggests that beyond their village blue can be found.  Matt sets off to find this blue while Kira, prepares for the Gathering and Song.  This event reveals to Kira some of the dangerous secrets of the Guardians and the community.  Matt returns with the plant for blue and with Kira’s father, Christopher, who had been attacked and left for dead in the hunt.  He lives now in the village of healing or broken people and wants to take her back with him. Kira makes a difficult choice between leaving with her father or staying to complete the story on the Singer’s Robe.

Literary elements at work in the story: Kira’s story is a futuristic, dystopian novel but it could easily be read as a story of a European village in the dark ages.  Only the Council Edifice is a reminder of a more advanced civilization in the past. In contrast to the community of sameness in The Giver, the disorder and discord of this village are palpable. The concrete information about plants and dies gives credibility to the story.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? Different roles for men and women are clearly defined.  Girls are not allowed to learn to read. Disparity between those raised in the Fen (swampy slum) and people of the village creates a class distinction.  Special abilities are recognized and used by the village.

Theological Conversation Partners: Again memory plays a crucial role in this story as in the life of the Christian community. There are echoes of Genesis as the Song begins.   A contrast between how memory is kept alive in the village and in the church is a fruitful study.  The value on life in the community and in the Christian life is another area to compare and explore, with special emphasis on the place of children.  (Mark 10:13-15)  The village where Christopher lives highlights different approaches to the treatment of immigrants and those with special needs.   Kira’s lameness and her attitude toward it furnish an area for discussion.  ( 2^nd Cor 12:8-10  )  Finally, how Kira chooses to use her gift, opens up the question of stewardship and choices.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What is your impression of the village in which Kira lives? Is there any evidence of fairness or justice?
2. What place did the Ruin Song have in the village life?  Why was it important? What part does memory play in our community or national identity?  Our personal identity?
3. In what ways do Christians remember?  Why?
4. How are children valued in the community?
5. Why is Kira’s life spared? Is she being treated kindly or being used?
6. What is Kira’s attitude about her pain and crippled leg?
7. Kira realizes that the Singer is chained, a prisoner, and that Thomas, Jo, and she herself are also prisoners.  “The Guardians with their strength and cunning were forcing the children to describe the future that they wanted, not the one that could be.” What is Lowry saying about control of artistic expression and the future of children?
8. Kira’s father describes the village of healing.  What aspects of life there are good?
9. Kira chooses to stay behind when her father leaves and use her gift to complete the robe? Why does she make this choice?  What impact will it have on the village?
10. Two sticks placed together on the Council Chamber wall are objects of worship though their meaning is no longer remembered.  Do these represent the cross?  Do we sometimes have crosses as jewelry or ornamentation when the meaning is forgotten?

The Giver

Title:  The Giver

Author:  Lois Lowry

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:   Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date:  Reissue September 2012

ISBN:  978-0547995663

Audience:  Ages 10 and up

The Giver, the 1994 Newbury Award winner, has sold over eight million copies worldwide, been translated into at least 20 languages, and is required reading in most upper elementary or middle school classes.  It is often seen as the genesis of young adult dystopian novels that are so popular today.   It is also one of the most widely banned or challenged books on school library shelves. When Lowry ended The Giver she said it was finished; she had no plans for a sequel. Time, innumerable requests from readers, and possibly the death of her son, an Army pilot, prompted her to reconsider. Gathering Blue was published in 2000; Messenger in 2004. Son, 2012, brings The Giver quartet to its close. The four books can be read as independent stories; The Giver and Son are more closely related than the middle two volumes. All four occur in roughly the same time period in three different settings with several of the main characters appearing in each of the volumes. While Lowry’s, direct, clear prose is accessible to good upper elementary readers, the themes of this quartet are most appropriate for middle school and beyond.

Summary: In some distant, undated future, Jonas lives securely with his family in a community where everyone has food, clothes, shelter, education, and an assigned work for life.  It is also a controlled community without color, animals, seasons, music, love, or choice, a community of sameness. At age twelve Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memories, the most honored role in the community.  He prepares for this task by meeting with the Giver, an elder, who holds in himself all the memories of the past and the wisdom that comes with them, for this is a community that has chosen to live without the pain or joy of memory.  The Giver recognizes in Jonas the gift of “seeing beyond,” first indicated by his ability to see color. He transmits to Jonas by touch memories-of joy, family holidays, seasons, sailing, sledding, pain, warfare, loneliness, hunger, and cruelty. In his time with the Giver Jonas learns the high cost of the peace and security of his village.  Those who are old, newchildren who have special needs, those who are disruptive are “released,” a euphemism for lethal injection. Jonas and Giver begin to plan how Jonas might escape to Elsewhere and how the community could be freed for a richer life. These plans are disrupted because Jonas must rescue the toddler, Gabriel, from release. Jonas abandons the careful plans for escape in order to leave immediately with Gabe. Bicycling by day, hiding by night, Jonas and Gabe finally encounter snow and the promise of Elsewhere.

Literary elements at work in the story: Lois Lowry, with powerful imagination and literary skill, has created a dystopian society that lulls and deceives with its peace and security while subtly destroying the capacity to know, to feel, to establish relationships. Her clear, matter-of-fact prose brings the community to life in almost a monotone. This community has technical resources-the ability to control climate, to eliminate color- that are implied and are an important aspect of dystopian fiction, but Lowry gives few details about these. No summary can do justice to this tense, well-plotted novel.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? In this community there are few differences.  Birthmother is considered an inferior role but in most instances male and female are equal. All are provided with the same food, clothes and houses.  Intellectual ability distinguishes some community members; non-conformists are simply removed. Members are unaware of other cultures or a world outside their own.

Theological Conversation Partners: The Giver is a goldmine of theological themes for Christians to explore: memory, vocation, gifts, love, relationships, the ability to choose, the value of life, the ideal community.  The Bible calls us to remember. ( Ex, 13:3; Lk. 22:14-19).  What happens when we suppress memory? Each Christian has a vocation and a gift?  Paul speaks of his call, of the gifts that are given to the church community by the Spirit.(1 Cor.12:4-7) Jesus calls us to a life of persecution and hardship and is called “The Suffering Servant;” the community plans so that there will be no hardship or difficulties. (Matt. 5:10,11)  Genesis tells us that we are created in the image of God and taking life is forbidden in the Decalogue. This community eliminates life that is disruptive or a drain on its resources..  The Kingdom of God is a central biblical concept, a time when God’s justice and love will be the basis of community, when God’s will is done.  Historically groups have tried to plan perfect communities and they have always failed or lost more than they gained.  In what way does the Kingdom of God differ from these utopias?  Does God’s will established mean there are no choices?

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What good things do you see about the community in which Jonas lives?
2. What things are undesirable?
3. Why is memory essential to a community and why has this community limited memories to just one person?
4. How many decisions rest in the hands of the Committee of Elders?  Why does Jonas think, at first, that this is a good thing? Are mistakes a necessary part of life?
5. While family units are important in the community, is there any mention of marriage or love? Did these units work well? How were spouses chosen?  Is there any good in this system?
6. Is it possible to have meaningful relationship without risk or pain?
7. Is there such a thing as a disruptive life?  A life that costs too much to maintain?
8. Jonas had a special gift that enabled him to see beyond his community of sameness.  Paul suggests that every Christian has a gift for the enrichment of the church. Do you recognize gifts in others in the church?  In yourself?
9. The Christian’s term for the ideal community is the Kingdom of God.  How would it differ from Jonas’s community?
10. On what basis was a life work assigned in the community?  How will you choose your vocation? What part does the church have in guiding your vocational choice?

This review was written by regular contributor Virginia Thomas.

The Grimm Legacy

Name of Book: The Grimm Legacy

Author: Polly Shulman

Illustrator: None

Publisher: Puffin Books, 2011 (Reprint edition)

ISBN: 9780142419045

Audience: ages 10+

Summary:  Elizabeth Rew’s life has all the elements of a good fairy tale.  Her mother has died; her father has remarried so that she now has a stepmother and two college-age stepsisters.  While the stepmother and stepsisters are not evil, they do take advantage of Elizabeth.  She has had to transfer to a new high school where she has no friends.  A research paper she does on Grimm’s fairy tales for her history teacher leads to an after-school job as a page at a very unusual library.  The New York Circulating Material Repository is a lending library of objects rather than books—objects both contemporary and historical (such as Marie Antoinette’s wig), common and obscure.  She learns that the basement houses several secret collections including the Grimm Collection, a room full of magical items mentioned in Grimm’s fairy tales.  She is intrigued by the seven-league boots, a mermaid’s comb, the magic mirror belonging to Snow White’s stepmother, and other items.  But some of the items are disappearing and others are losing their magical qualities.  Elizabeth and her fellow pages are suspects.  Even though the pages don’t completely trust each other, they set off on a dangerous and exciting quest to find the real culprit.

Literary Elements at work in the story: Even though The Grimm Legacy is fantasy, it remains grounded in reality.  Problems are not solved through the use of magic.  In fact, some of the magical items cause more problems than they solve.  Missteps while wearing the seven-league boots can cause the wearer to crash into walls or ended up far from their intended destination.  The magic mirror must tell the truth but can be snide and catty in its responses (saying that Elizabeth is brave and true, but not pretty, for example).  The four teen-age protagonists have problems with which the reader can identify:  being an outsider at a new school, being jealous or envious of others, having a pesky younger sibling, family problems, etc.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability:  The four teen-age main characters are of different ethnicities.  But their ethnicity is merely a factor that describes appearance, much in the same way that someone would be described as having brown eyes or curly hair.  The ethnicity does not describe abilities or character traits.  The girls and the boys are equally brave and compassionate.  The girls have initiative and are willing to risk safety to rescue others who are in danger.  Marc, the high school basketball star, takes care of his three-year-old brother with caring and without embarrassment or resentment.

Scripture:  Philippians 1:27-28; Philippians 2:1-4; Exodus 20:12; Matthew 19:19; Hebrews 6:19

Theology:  Living in community; resisting evil; moral bravery; hope; honor parents; kindness (love)

Faith Talk Questions:

1.  Elizabeth’s father does not seem to pay much attention to her.  Why?  What would you say to him?  What could you say in his defense?
2.  How do Elizabeth, Marc, Aaron, and Anjali honor and respect their parents?
3.  If you could borrow an item from the Grimm Collection, what would you want?  Why?  What would you leave as a deposit?  How would this affect your daily life?
4.  What is your favorite fairy tale? (NOTE:  You may wish to reread some Grimm’s fairy tales or other fairy tale collections.  Avoid the Disney and other animated versions; they take extreme liberties with the stories and often do not stay true to the original version.)
5.  Because the main characters do not know whom to trust, they find it difficult to work together to find the thief.  Why do we sometimes find it difficult to work together?  What are some advantages of working together?
6.  Elizabeth has strong memories of her mother and their shared love of fairy tales.  What memories do you have of an activity shared with a parent or grandparent?
7.  Where is God at work in this book?

This review is written by Union Presbyterian Seminary graduate Mary Anne Welch.

Uglies

Name of Book:  Uglies

Author:  Scott Westerfeld

Illustrator:  None

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

ISBN:  978-1442419810

Audience:  Ages 12 and up.

Summary:  Westerfeld’s page-turning novel opens just weeks before Tally Youngblood’s 16^th birthday. In a near-future utopian society, Tally is an “ugly” – a young person who has not yet been surgically transformed into a “pretty.” As Tally and her friends look forward to the time when they can cross the river, be made pretty, and enjoy a life of beautiful leisure, they play pranks, make mischief, and spy on the new pretties.  But one day, Tally meets the rebellious Shay and is taken on an adventure toward understanding the deeper meaning of beauty. As she pursues her runaway friend into “The Smoke,” Tally finds herself regretting her decisions and wanting to set right a betrayal that proves to have disastrous consequences.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This science fiction novel for teens is rife with conflict; Tally struggles with her understanding of herself, her society, her friends, and everything she knows about the path to adulthood. Westerfeld uses each instance of conflict to develop Tally’s sense of independence, strength, and courage. By the end of the novel the reader appreciates Tally’s self-reliance in the service to others, rather than the simple trickery and adventure-for-adventure’s sake that she enjoyed earlier in the novel. Additionally, Westerfeld provides for the reader a setting that is futuristic but highly believable. The reader can almost imagine riding the hoverboard over the “Rusty Ruins” that are eerily reflective of our own time. Finally, with an overarching theme that questions beauty as an end in itself, this novel provides an excellent source of dialogue about self-image, societal pressure, individual worth, and free will.

Perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability:  Westerfeld explores a dysfunctional futuristic society with a critical view toward contemporary Western culture. While homogeneity and perfection are celebrated in Tally’s world, the reader soon realizes the beauty of free thought, diversity, and complex human relationships.  Although race is not specifically addressed in overt ways, the implication is that upon one’s 16^th birthday, one is made to look just similar to the other new pretties – with some skin lightened and some skin darkened, among other changes. Everyone is ultimately moved toward an appearance that is deemed beautiful by the standards committee. However, Tally and her new friends question the imposed standards that effectively remove individual differences. Throughout Tally’s adventure, Westerfeld celebrates those abilities and qualities that make her unique and that allow the people of The Smoke to live on their own, think critically about societal and ethical issues, and find hope in the complexity of life.

Theological Conversation Partners:  Psalm 139; the goodness of creation; the nature of beauty; remorse; free will

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What makes a person beautiful? In what ways can a person’s beauty be destroyed or eclipsed?
2. The goodness and beauty of God’s creation is celebrated throughout scripture. How does Westerfeld’s society in Uglies distort the notion that God’s creation is inherently good?
3. The novel explores Tally’s feelings of regret and remorse over her betrayal of the Smoke. How do her feelings cause her to change?
4. How have you been changed by facing those things you regret having done?
5. Consider Tally’s use of free will and Special Circumstances’ attempt to thwart free will. How do the concepts of free will and beauty intertwine throughout the novel?
6. God gave humanity free will at creation. While free will allows some to thwart God’s intention for creation, it allows others to experience the joy of meeting God’s call to love and serve others. Where do you see these ideas in the novel and in your own life?
7. In what way is Tally’s sacrifice at the end of the novel an appropriate conclusion to her journey?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Catherine Lovejoy.

Inkheart

Name of Book: Inkheart

Author:  Cornelia Funke

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

ISBN:  0439709105

Audience:  Ages 9 and up

Summary:  Twelve-year-old Meggie and her father Mo, a bookbinder, live a quiet life together until a stranger appears one rainy night, and Meggie learns of a complicated past which quickly envelops her family again.  Nine years before, Mo had been reading aloud to his family when several characters from the story of Inkheart leapt out of the fictional adventure and into the real world, while Meggie’s mother and a couple of cats disappeared into the pages of the book.  In the intervening years these evil characters – Capricorn and his band of followers – have continued wreaking the same sort of havoc which marked their fictional lives.  They have taken over a small Italian village, blackmailing or killing any who dared get in their way.  Now they want Mo to read aloud from Inkheart again, this time to draw the truly malevolent Shadow into the world.  They will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Literary elements at work in the story:  Like all fantasy, Inkheart requires the reader’s complete acceptance of unrealistic elements in the story.  In this case, the reader must consent to the notion that a particularly gifted storyteller can read book characters out of a book and into real life.  Most of Funke’s characters are so well developed that believing in them takes no great stretch of the imagination.  The only exception is Capricorn, whose maliciousness seems to come from the core of his being.  Narration is always in the third person, but the point of view skips around among several main characters, allowing the reader broad and deep insight into the action.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  Although the main character of Inkheart is a pre-teen girl, the real power in this novel is held by males.  Mo and Capricorn stand at opposite ends of the spectrum of good and evil.  Meggie certainly grows into a power that she didn’t know she had, but at the end of the story, after she has saved the day with extraordinary courage, Mo steps back into his paternal role of authority and begins to make plans again.  Further, the fact that Meggie’s mother has lost her voice in her transition from the storybook world of Inkheart back to the real world is a metaphor that may not serve young female readers well.

Theological conversation partners:  Inkheart is a post-Paradise story, in which evil has entered the world in the guise of Capricorn and his men.  As with all of Judeo/Christian history, the characters in Funke’s novel look toward a specific narrative as the entry point for returning to the world in which they want to live, a world without evil.  At the climax of the novel, Meggie vanquishes evil (at least until the next installment of the series) by being brave enough to tell a different story, one in which good triumphs.  It is not the story that Capricorn has commanded, but it is one that must be told.  This brave storytelling will resonate with those who tell Jesus’ alternative narrative as well.

Faith Talk Questions: 

1. Writers like Fenoglio (the fictional author of Inkheart in the novel by the same name) are creators of whole imaginary worlds.  How are they like God, the creator of the universe?  How are they different?
2. Are there people as evil as Capricorn in our world?
3. Meggie got rid of Capricorn by reading a different story when she was forced to read aloud.  What small irritations would you like to get rid of if you could rewrite your story?  What large evils would you like to rewrite?
4. Jesus often hung out with people whom the rest of the world avoided.  How is Jesus’ lifestyle like rewriting a story?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Beth Lyon-Suhring.

Ender’s Game

Name of Book:  Ender’s Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

ISBN: 9780812550702

Audience:  Ages 12+

Summary:  Aliens, known as the buggers, have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species.  Although it has been years since the last attack, the world wants to make sure humans win the next encounter, so the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses, and then training them in the arts of war.  Fearing that the next attack is imminent, they cannot wait for the children to grow up to adulthood, they must use them now.

Into the unending pressure of military training comes six-year-old Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, who struggles to keep his humanity even as the adult teachers, rivals among his fellow students, and the strange unseen influence of the alien invaders all threaten either to destroy him or to make him into someone he can’t bear to be.

His genius raises him to the top of the intensely competitive games in the Battle Room, an immense null-gravity chamber where armies of youngsters engage in mock combat. But his real struggles are off the playing field with a dangerous older boy named Bonzo Madrid, who doesn’t believe that the world is big enough for both Ender and him to live there peaceably; with his teacher, Mazer Rackham, who won the last war on a fluke and now is trying to prepare Ender to win the next one by skill rather than luck; and with himself, as Ender wrestles with his own demons, desperate to remain a decent human being even as he sees himself being transformed into exactly the same kind of monster as the buggers themselves.

In the last battle of his training, Ender finds out that their mock combat was really a navigation of fighter pilots several light years away, who under Ender’s leadership have destroyed the bugger planet.  Faced with the reality of actual xenocide, Ender goes on a quest to find a home for the last remaining Queen, who is the future of the bugger population.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This science fiction novel is set between Earth, which is run by a unified World Government and Outer Space at the Battle School for training young children combat skills.  Often times children act older than they actually are, and they like to be given credit for the knowledge and skills that they have.  In fact, they are often smarter than the adults that train them.  This book uses children and characterizes them in such a way that they are really small adults.   They are brilliant children, in fact, they are the brightest children in the world who have come together to be trained for battle against the alien population, known as the buggers.  The children are involved in world politics and they face adult situations.  They have conflicts that they must address amongst themselves with very little adult intervention, and their ultimate goal becomes survival of the fittest as they are trained.  The third person narration allows the narrator to be omniscient and omnipresent through all circumstances and events.  Throughout the violence and conflict that Ender must face, his love and care for his sister keeps him human.  And it is through this love that he is able to feel remorse after the final battle and seek a way of peace with the buggers for the future.

(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  The fabulous thing about this book is that all gender, race, cultural, economic differences that are present in this current world have all faded away as the world has had to unite as one human race, so they can defend Earth together.  The children that attend the Battle School are from all over the world and from all different economic backgrounds.  The real enemy portrayed in this book is the alien population.

Theological conversation partners:  Religion is out of vogue in this futuristic world and there is great pressure to keep one’s religious beliefs underwraps.  The world is working out of their own strength and ability to defeat the Buggers once and for all.  The children are being raised to be hard and determined as they compete with one another to be the best and brightest to fight to save the world.  The book is violent and children die in the process.  But this book ends with the thought of hope.  Faced with xenocide, the annihilation of the entire bugger species, Ender makes a choice to find the last living Queen and a safe planet where the alien population can grow and live again.  Often times, it is easy in our own lives to get so caught up in the moment that we lose sight of the picture of what we are fighting for or why we are even fighting in the first place.  We tend not to think about the long-term consequences of our actions, until it is too late.  This book forces us to take a step back and rethink our relationships with others and the consequences of our actions in the midst of conflict.  This book is the first in a series of books by Orson Scott Card that features Ender as the main character.  Each subsequent book in the series is for a more mature audience as they cover material that is not as interesting for an adolescent audience.  However, there is a parallel series, entitled Ender’s Shadow, that will appeal to an adolescent audience throughout.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Which character in this book can you relate to the most and why?
2. Compare and contrast the way the children in this book are treated by the adults with the way that you interact with the adults in your life.  What’s the same, what’s different?  What do you like about the way the children in the book are treated?  What do you dislike about the way the children are treated?
3. While religious faith is present in some of the characters within the book, it is frequently downplayed.  Where did you see God in this book?  How did you know that it was God?
4. The buggers are not human as we understand humanity, but what human qualities do they display?  What qualities do an individual need to be considered “human”?

This review was prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Amanda North.

 

Mockingjay

Name of Book:  Mockingjay

Author:  Suzanne Collins

Book Design:  Elizabeth Parisi

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Audience:  Ages 12 and up

Summary:  The third in a trilogy of science fiction stories, Mockingjay is written for adolescent youth and older due to graphic and violent content.

Katniss Everdeen has survived two rounds of competition in the Hunger Games arena and returns to District 12 to see the ruins after it has been bombed and destroyed by the Capitol. Citizen refugees have been relocated to District 13, the first district destroyed by the Capitol which went underground. The residents of District 13 and the refugees have together plotted the details of the revolution and assassination plan for President Snow.

Peeta has been captured and tortured by President Snow and special army team from District 13 is sent to the Capitol to rescue Peeta and other games survivors. The Capitol retaliates with bombing the districts, but 13 is spared. The district president works to create an army capable of leading the other districts in the revolution against the Capitol to gain freedom from oppression. With Katniss in the army group leading the way as the mockingjay, she will again experience and participate in violence and death as they work to rid Panem of the evil in power.

This particular book moves much more quickly through time than the past two in the series. A war rages on and much death and destruction take place, although it is described over weeks and months rather than days.

Note: While the series has no Christian references at all, there are a number of routes one can take in discussing Christian faith with teenage readers. Parents are strongly encouraged to read this book either before their children or alongside their children and engage in regular faith-based discussions.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This is a science fiction dystopia of revenge imposed by the country leadership onto the individual districts. It is told from the first person point of view of Katniss, a 16 year old tribute to the Games. It is her story of survival in not just the games, but in everyday life as a citizen of the poorest district in Panem. Katniss is portrayed as a survivor, as is her friend Gale, while many of the other child characters, including her sister (and even her mom) are portrayed as weak and needy. The setting of this book takes place in District 13, as well as in the Capital during war time.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability make a difference to the story?  This book portrays all citizens of Panem, even those of District 13, as under oppressive authority. Many citizens have been tortured either physically or mentally, and even within the safety of the district, there is no freedom for citizens. The culture is that of a benevolent dictatorship, creating citizens who will survive the war and hopefully repopulate the country after it has been recaptured.

Scripture:  Isaiah 57:19-21

Theology:  As humans we fall short of the glory of God, but we are still loved and desired by God. We have turned away from God, and each other, in search of our own personal and societal gains. As sinners, we have gone against “the way it’s supposed to be.” We are unable to turn ourselves back toward God and unable to make our relationship with God and one another right. We have been sent Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, to lead us back into relationship with God and others.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Have you ever been given a gift by someone that you know you can’t repay?
2. How can we trust God when we don’t physically see or feel God?
3. Are there any characters in the book that value human life?
4. What does God teach us about the value of a human life?
5. Katniss struggles with the loss of friends close to her and feels responsible. Have you ever lost someone close to you? Has someone close to you been hurt before? How did you feel?
6. How do you think God would react to the Capitol’s treatment of the citizens of Panem?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Katie Todd