Today's post is by Jackie Mercer. Jackie is a great friend to Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday.  She makes sure it is shared on the Facebook page Teachers on the Move. I am deeply thankful that she takes the time to do it every week. I have a hard time remembering when I first met her. It seems like I have known her forever. She will ever be associated with all of the YA fans around Youngstown State and their wonderful English Festival that focuses on YA literature. In addition she will be presenting at the UNLV online 2020 Summit in a couple of weeks. Have you registered yet? Furthermore, Jackie had a post a just about a year ago. Check it out here.

Takei’s book provides readers with a unique look at an often forgotten piece of American history. Takei, as an adult, reflects back on his time as a child, so readers have not only his thoughts on his experiences as a child but also his realizations about these experiences as an adult. For example, as he reflects on his time on the train being taken away from his home and to an internment camp, Takei writes, “My bright, sharp memories are of a joyful time of games, play, and discoveries. Memory is a wily keeper of the past, usually dependable, but at times, deceptive. Childhood memories are especially slippery. Sweet and so full of joy, they can often be a misrendering of the truth. For a child, that sweetness, out of context and intensely subjective, remains forever real” (50-51). Takei spends much of the book reflecting on these vivid, fun memories of his time in the camp, but juxtaposes these happy memories with the harsh reality of his parents’ experiences during this time. He is upfront with the reader in recognizing that in some ways experiencing these events as a child has allowed him to romanticize these times, when in reality, these were probably some of the most horrific and uncertain times ever faced by his parents.
 
Both of Takei’s parents had had successful careers before being forcibly removed from their home. Takei notes the behavior of both parents on their initial train ride to the camps. He writes, “Mama was not going to allow anything, not even the United States government to affect her family’s well-being. I remember her obsessive concern and my father’s melancholy, but they are dusty, peripheral remembrances” (50). Obviously, as a child, Takei could not fully realize what his parents were experiencing or the ways in which they were ensuring their children’s safety and well-being, so his ability to consider these things as he writes adds a unique and important layer to the telling of the story. The reader has the privilege of not only seeing what Takei experienced as a child, but more mature readers (adults and young adults) can also gain understandings beyond a child’s view through Takei’s reflecting on his experiences as an adult. This also becomes important later as Takei, as a young adult, grapples with what he perceives as passiveness in his father’s behavior as Takei begins his work as an activist. The novel serves as not only a memoir recounting the impactful experiences of his life, but also functions as a coming of age story where the reader can see the ways in which Takei is grappling with the struggles that come with growing up, such as trying to understand his parents or feel understood by them.

​A particularly poignant moment in the book deals with Takei’s realization as a child of the racism he was going to face after leaving the camp. After four years of being held prisoners, Japanese Americans were freed. That freedom, however, certainly did not stop the government-approved racism that Japanese Americans were going to face. Before leaving the camp, Takei overhears adults expressing concerns about “white people welcoming us with open arms” (152). He notes, “The irony was that the barbed-wire fences that incarcerated us also protected us...if the fences were no longer there, we’d be in danger” (152). Takei quickly learned that just because laws are changed doesn’t mean people’s hearts are. Despite being haunted by those days in the camps and the difficulties that followed in his life, Takei recounts how those experiences motivated him and led him to the path of great success and ultimately his celebrity status. For the reader, it is particularly emotional to see a child as the victim of blatant racism and his lack of ability to completely grasp why someone would treat him in such a cruel manner simply because he is a Japanese American.
 
I would be remiss if I did not discuss how the choice of a graphic novel for this book as the format is so important to the telling of this story. I recently taught this book in an American Literature and Diversity course. I asked my students to consider how the genre impacted their understanding of and feelings about the book. Many of them noted that being able to “see” the characters, particularly the expressions on their faces, told more of a story than just the words on the page. While Takei focuses on his own experiences as a child, readers are able to see and understand the emotions of all of the characters, creating a more complete understanding of what this experience was like. 

​Geroge Takei provides us with hope people can overcome immense and senseless trauma and suffering in his book They Called Us Enemy, and I would highly recommend moving it to the top of your to-read stack.
 
Suggested Titles:
Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys
Internment, Samira Ahmen
March Book 1-3, John Lewis
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Refugee, Alan Gratz
Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Until next time.

What?! You ask who is Samantha Vitale in the YA world? Well, you don't know her because she a debut author. Take a look you will like what you find.

Georgia McBride runs a small publishing company, Month9Books. Her company has supported the UNLV YA Summits. She was sending Samantha Vitale this year and I was looking forward to meeting her. Now, all of our contact will be virtual.

In the past Georgia has sent:
Jo Schaffer: Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/jo.seableschaffer
Justin Joschko: Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/justin.joschko
Clare Di Liscia: Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/clare.d.baird 

Back to Samantha. Georgia has been so spot on over the last few years. I don't even question here any more. While Samantha won't be in Las Vegas for the Summit, she will be logging in to be with us.

I hope all of you join me in getting to know Samantha and her work. He debut novel, The Lady Alchemist, is out today. Order it today.

Samantha kindly answered these questions a few months ago. I wonder if any of her answers would change now that we are in the COVID19 era.   Take a look.

Until next time.

Counting today, we are 22 days and a wake up from the start of the UNLV 2020 Online Summit. I know, who is counting, right? Well, I am. I hope that all of the authors and the presenters are counting, writing, preparing materials, and practicing their Zoom skills. Do we really have any Zoom skills or are many of us suffering from Zoom exhaustion? I am not sure I had any online presentation skills before March 11, 2020. That was the day I was packing to leave for a presentation at the MCTE Spring Conference. Things with the COVID19 crisis were starting to escalate and then the call that MCTE was cancelled came through. The flight was cancelled and other plans were put on hold. My wife and I were planning a Spring Break get away and, for a little bit further down the road, a trip to Scotland to see our daughter's family. Grandkids rule! All of that is just whim in the past now. 

I had to start watching the news in order to evaluate how things would play out. Here at UNLV, we had to decide to cancel the conference all together or to move it online. Fortunately, we are a big GO for an online adventure.

Below you can find a flier for the summit, an introduction to all of the authors, and draft of the program. Take a look.

I have known about Chris Crowe long before he knew anything about me. He is a long time English educator, author, and mentor to many English teachers and teacher educators. His work has been influential and his linage in Young Adult literature goes through Alleen Nilsen and Ken Donaldson.  He has a special interest in African American authors of Young Adult literature, especially Mildred Taylor.  He did some of the early research around the Emmet Till murder and turned it into two books, one fiction and one nonfiction. He is a perfect keynote to talk about how YA literature can connect to other curriculum areas.

I have featured Chris in the blog a couple of time. First, when he was a keynote at YA conference I hosted at LSU. You can read about that here. (bonus, Matt was also a keynote at that conference.) Later, I was attending a YA conference and I was able to hear both Chris Crowe and Chris Lynch at the same event.  What a great time.

Before I was reading a lot of YA nonfiction or historical fiction, I kept running across the name of Steve Sheinkin. His name and his books showed up time and again on award list after award list. Even though he hasn't won the National Book Award, I think he will remain a perennial favorite as long as he keeps writing. His nonfiction writing is superb. He has many more books, but I return to these three when I recommend books. 

Many people love how he has dealt with the development of the Atom bomb in Bomb, but I still favor Most Dangerous. I  lived through the late sixties and early seventies. The ups and downs of the Nixon administration and the Vietnam War shaped my political beliefs and my sense of right and wrong. I am excited to hear Steve talk about his research process and how that turns into such fabulous books.

A couple of years ago I featured a discussion of Most Dangerous on a Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday blog post. You can my discussion about this wonderful book here.

 A few years ago, I kept hear about this new book -- Out of Darkness. I try very hard to read the short list of most of the major awards. Wow! Enough said, it was exactly one of those books you should read as soon as it was recommend. I also love that when Ashley was a high school teacher her students were often her beta readers. I like to image them still reading her books as they move forward with their lives and cheering her on as she works on the next one.

I heard her speak at the same venue with Laurie Halse Anderson. What a treat. I wrote about for the blog. Take a look at this link.

I love attending the ALAN Workshop. It never fails to provide surprises and new discoveries. This is even true when you are involved in planning the event. At one of the first workshops I attended, I was introduced to Padma Venkatraman and my vision of the possibility of YA literature has never been the same.

Last November I meet several debut authors and I am still wading their several new books. However, discovering I'm not Dying with You Tonight and the two authors, Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones, who wrote it as a team. I was stunned by the novels beauty. The language is wonderful and the characters well developed and a bit unpredictable. If you don't know this book, what are you waiting for? 

That isn't the best part. The best part was getting to have dinner with Gilly and Kimberly. I can't remember the last time I was taken with with a pair of writer/performers. They are witty, personable, and, most importantly, their friendship and love for one another is palpable. I started figuring out how to get them to UNLV before the night was over. 

Their tag team presentation will be worth the entire cost of the registration. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of I'm not Dying with You Tonight as soon as you can.

Matt was one of the first authors I turned to when I hosted an event at LSU. His visit was amazing and his reputation has continued rise. We added Matt to the 2020 summit because we were looking to add a children's literature component to the mix. Matt's works run the gamete from children's picture books to middle grades to older realistic YA fiction. 

I am still amazed at the power of Love and I keep rereading We Were Here because I find the book so nuanced and timely. Once again I look forward to what Matt has to offer.

I wish I could tell you that I have been reading Candace Fleming for years. I haven't, but man am I in the club now. The theme of match YA with curricula beyond the ELA classroom. Like Matt and Steve, Candace write for reader at a range of ages. Again, it sounds repetitive, but if you don't know her work, it is time that you did. Furthermore, not only will Candace be part of a author panel, she will be presenting in a breakout session as well. Come join the fun. 

Josh Allen was another find as a result of the 2019 ALAN Workshop. When you are putting together a program you want to land as many big name authors as you can. At the same time, publishing house want to pitch as many debut authors as possible. You have to find a balance. So you read and listen and listen and read. 

Josh was another author who had a great debut at an ALAN Workshop. Fortunately, for me and for you, he heard about the Summit and asked if he good be a part of the fun. Well, of course that can be arranged. I am looking forward to hearing what Josh has to say this time around. 

Samantha joins several others authors who have attended a UNLV Summit courtesy of Georgia McBride and Month9Books. In past years we have hosted, Jo Schaffer, Justin Joschko, and Clare Di Liscia. Each year Georgia and her crew have added to the success of the summit. My only regret is that I won't be meeting her in person. The big news is that her debut novel, The Lady Alchemist,  hits the shelves on May 26, 2020.

There is still time to register for the summit.  I know it isn't a face to face event.  I, like many of you, wish that we were gathering in Las Vegas to enjoy one another's company. We need to experiment with virtual conferences so that we can weigh the difference; so that we can witness to what works and what doesn't. 

​Until next time.

Jeff Buchanan is a member of the English faculty at Youngstown State University, the home of the Youngstown State English Festival.  Youngstown has always been a friend to YA literature and the Festival is celebrating its 41st year. They had a wonderful line up with Rich Wallace, Sandra Neil Wallace, and Rita Williams-Garcia ready for their big three day event. Like many of us they have had to change plans under the influence of the COVID 19 pandemic. Rather than let it pass by, Jeff and his colleagues have moved the event to an online format. I have not doubt that Rich, Sandra and Rita are up for the challenge. 

I have promoted Rich and Sandra works several times. They happen to be a couple of my favorite people in the YA world and I thrilled to talk about their work at the drop of a hat. It has also been my pleasure to present with them a couple of times. My advice, never pass up the opportunity listen to them speak and read everything they write. You can find my post about them here and here. 

In today's post, Jeff provides a much better introduction to the fantastic Rita Williams-Garcia than I could provide. Thanks Jeff.

There’s a moment in Richard Murphy’s terrific book about the teaching of writing, The Calculus of Intimacy, when he inserts himself as teacher into a peer group workshop.  He listens to one student’s not very convincing paper about Christmas morning at her family’s home and then begins to ask questions.  His questions prompt the student to reveal the details that make up the horror of her family’s Christmas Day.  Yelling, name-calling, open hostility among family members and ultimately a retreating to separate rooms where each opens her gifts alone.  Murphy expresses regret for asking his student to expose and re-live the painful circumstances of this holiday, but, as teacher, he knows the writing requires such details, to make the story compelling, to convey the horror through emotion, to bring the action alive.
 
It is the details about family that Rita Williams-Garcia captures so well in Gone Crazy in Alabama, the details that convey an idealized representation

About a month into the COVID-19 crisis, I went to the grocery store—about the third or fourth time since restaurants had closed and schools had gone entirely online. Previous trips had gone fine—not so different from trips before the COVID crisis.  But this one . . .
 
I returned crabby, irritable.  There had been too many people in the store, too many not social distancing, too many without masks, too many touching the produce.  I admit now that I think I got scared, felt real fear about contracting the virus.  I felt vulnerable, and I didn’t respond well.  I don’t think my reaction was unusual since there’s a great deal of uncertainty and too much we don’t know at the current moment.
 
Still, that day in the grocery store, all I was sure of was that I wanted to get out of there and not come back.  I really don’t know how rational that response was.  I’ve been back to the store since and had a better time of it.  Yet we don’t know exactly how much risk we’re taking, how exposed we are, how rational we’re acting.
 
In times of crisis, you just don’t know.

Months ago, when Dr. Bickmore asked for writers to sign up to compose posts to this blog, I volunteered.  The work I do in YA literature involves almost exclusively the work I do for the Youngstown State University English Festival.  This year, one of our Festival guests was to be Rita Williams-Garcia, and, while reading in preparation for the Festival, I became captivated by Gone Crazy in Alabama.  I chose to post at this time in May because our Festival would have taken place in late April.  I would have had the chance to hear Garcia-Williams speak—to adults and to students.  I could have asked a few questions, perhaps engaged her in conversation.  I might have come to this post with more insight into the book I want to write about, Gone Crazy in Alabama.

This year, we had to cancel our English Festival.  We could not, nor wanted, to bring 1000 people to campus each day for three days of conversations and presentations, music, art, and trivia, and contests and games.  But as our cancelled Festival date loomed, the Festival planning committee flinched.  This year is our 42nd consecutive year.  Could we give up so easily?  What other choices did we have?  What?  Where?  When?  How?
 
So we decided to go virtual.  Could we be sure about the rightness of this choice and its timing?
 
What guides the Festival is a history born out of love for a daughter who died too early, an essay contest started in Candace Gay’s name.  And what blossomed is an event built out of love for reading and writing and the intellectual and academic processes opened up by those activities.  We celebrate the feelings and ideas we encounter in books and in lives, we celebrate conversation with one another, and we celebrate our expressions in response.
 
May 13-15, we are staging a virtual Festival.  Join us if you wish (see www.ysuenglishfestival.org).  Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace will present and respond to student questions.  We’ll do some of our usual activities—trivia, poetry writing, insights sessions, and an awards ceremony.  And Rita Williams-Garcia will join us and take student questions.  Perhaps someone will ask her about how one can be certain in times of uncertainty.

Until next time.

Today's post is from Dr. Mark Lewis. Mark and i have been working as academic for about the same length of time. He was one of the first people that I began to look for at conferences. We have had many conversations about YA literature and more and more frequently about the Youth Lens as a tool for thinking about the adolescent in fiction and in educational settings.

Mark has been a friend of Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday from the early days of the blog. In 2017 Mark wrote about LGBQ Youth in YA Science Fiction with one of his students, Marilena Orfanos. Find it here.  In his next post he addressed Middles Grades Graphica. It was an insightful look at the genre and if you still don't have a strong grounding in the YA graphic novel then take a look here. His most recent solo effort was also on the in the graphic novel genre, but focused on the Memoir. Not very long ago, Mark supplied a post with one of his writing partners, Luke Rodesiler. Mark and Luke and been thinking about how coaches are portrayed in  sports-related YA literature. Once again, Mark has another interesting post. This time it is about teaching YA literature in course that is open to all interested students and not just intended future English Teachers. Thanks Mark.

For the first time in many years, I had the opportunity to teach a young adult (YA) literature course aimed (I thought) toward secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers this past semester. At my previous university, there was no room in the curriculum for a course that solely focused on YA literature so I infused it within the ELA teaching methods course. Of course, since that course had many other objectives to meet, the time I could devote to reading, analyzing, and enjoying YA literature with future English teachers was limited. So, I was excited at the opportunity at my new university to teach a course that solely focused on YA literature.
 
Then, I learned about a small detail. While the course is required for all ELA teacher candidates in the secondary program, it also met a general education requirement for all majors across the university. As I reviewed my class roster, I wondered why majors in health sciences, finance, political science, sports and recreation management, and communications would sign up for a YA literature course set in the College of Education. I thought of two reasons: 1) they were avid readers of YA literature and wanted to take a course on the subject, and 2) easy A. I learned quickly that both reasons were accurate, as it was clear on the first day of class that many were well read in popular (think Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series) YA literature yet, as embodied by a question from a finance major—“What is grading like in this course?”—an easy A was on at least one student’s mind.
 
Initially, I promised Steve a guest post featuring the ELA teacher candidates who took the course (who only represented a quarter of the group) writing about their experiences with YA literature throughout the semester. Yet, due our changing circumstances this semester that task seemed unreasonable considering how stressed my teacher candidates have been about just meeting the minimum expectations for finishing the semester from a distance. So, I decided to take this opportunity to reflect on what it was like teaching a YA literature course to non-majors while also attending to the needs of the future teachers in the room. 

​After reviewing past syllabi and speaking with colleagues who had taught the course, it was clear that most attempted to meet the needs of both the education major and non-major audiences. Since I had only taught a YA literature course to education majors, I followed this advice. I divided the course into three phases. We first examined the history and various definitions of YA literature. We then discussed several theoretical frameworks for analyzing YA literature. The final third of the course focused on teaching YA literature in secondary ELA classrooms. My ideas was that if I could engage the non-majors through the first two thirds of the semester, they would have enough investment to participate in the final third when the course turned to meet the needs of only a small portion of the group.
 
In terms of reading YA literature, I included two assignments to broaden their reading experiences yet leverage their personal reading interests. First, everyone joined a literature circle and read five assigned selections, and I will introduce those books in the next section. They read outside of class and I provided time in class for the circles to meet and talk about what they are reading. Each week, I asked that each circle create a Lit Circle Artifact, sometimes as a group and sometimes individually, that related to the weekly topic and in-class discussion, and many of these tasks presented a possible instructional task that could be used in a secondary classroom. Second, each student had to create a Thematic YA Literature Text Set in which they chose a theme that connected four selections—one aimed at middle level readers, one aimed at high school readers, one graphic novel, and one open selection. They researched how their theme has been discussed within YA scholarship, wrote a review for each selection, and created a roundtable handout to present in class. I have used both these activities previously in my courses and they both worked well…with education majors. 

There were two options for the literature circles and students were randomly assigned into groups of four or five. Readers of this blog are probably familiar with all these choices but here is a brief review of each. 

​Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Will’s brother, Shawn, has been murdered and the neighborhood code insists that he must avenge his brother’s death. Through a series of poems, the reader follows Will as he rides his building’s elevator grappling with his decision to follow the rules of revenge. Garnering numerous honors, everyone should read this book.
 
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Finn witnesses the abduction of Roza but cannot remember the face of the man that took her. He wants to find her and discover what evil she was trying to escape. A thought-provoking story set in a unique world.
 
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Cameron loses her parents in a car accident and is forced to live with her aunt Ruth. When Ruth discovers Cameron’s feelings toward another girl, she reacts in an extreme way and takes drastic action to “fix” her. This novel is intense and a worthy read.
 
Soupy Leaves Home by Cecil Castellucci (Author) and Jose Pimienta (Illustrator)
Set in the 1930s, Soupy has left her home to escape an abusive father and joined a group of hobos who are riding the rails. She meets Ramshackle who mentors her during their travels. A fantastic graphic novel with a compelling tale and stunning artwork.
 
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith’s tagline is “keep YA weird” and this novel meets that goal. Austin has romantic feelings for everyone, including his best friend, Robby, and his girlfriend, Shann. He is confused about these feelings; then, an army of praying mantises invades the world. 

​How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
A black youth, Tariq, is shot and killed by a white bystander during a supposed robbery. Using multiple narrators, Magoon presents the perspectives on the shooting from several of Tariq’s relatives, community members, and outsiders. The story reveals the complicated issues of race and gun violence in our society.
 
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston
Hermione Winters, captain of the high-profile cheerleading squad at her high school, is entering her senior year and looking forward to the year as a senior and captain. The story begins with Hermione and her teammates enjoying the annual summer cheerleading camp, but her life takes a tragic turn when she is sexually assaulted at the closing social.
 
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Noah and Jude were inseparable twins both with creative artistic talent. When their family is disrupted with tragedy, they end up barely speaking. The twins’ story is captivating and Nelson’s prose is as artful as Noah’s and Jude’s talent.
 
Crush by Sveltlana Chmakova
In the graphic novel selection for this literature circle, Chmakova tells the story of Jorge who is a confident middle school student. Yet, he has a crush on a girl that erodes that confidence when she is around him and his friends. This novel, however, is more than a “boy meets girl” tale; rather, it involves how individual decisions have consequences that affect others.
 
The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick
Told in four quarters, Sedgwick brings together four seemingly unrelated stories from different moments in time that explore the connectedness of the human experience. The metaphors of spirals and helices push readers’ to make thematic connections across the four stories. 

I think everyone, both ELA teacher candidates and non-majors, left the course thinking more critically about YA literature. The section of the course when we focused on different theoretical frameworks shifted how they were discussing and writing about the selections in the literature circles. Rather than mostly discussing personal reactions to the stories, then began making theoretical claims about the stories. To my surprise, the non-majors also started considering the novels from a teaching perspective in many of their in-class discussions and Lit Circle Artifacts. As well, they took opportunities to reflect on their own schooling experiences and provided some perspective to the ELA teacher candidates for how they might design curriculum and instruction to engage reluctant readers in their future classrooms. Finally, both groups admitted that they enjoyed reading YA literature beyond what has been declared popular enough by Hollywood to adapt to film and television.
 
The primary challenge I faced were the strained in-class literature circle discussions. When I have employed literature circles in my education courses, it was enough to group ELA teachers together, ask them to talk about the book, and they immediately began discussing the story, if they would teach it and/or how they would teach it, and what secondary students might think about reading the story. The discussions did not follow that pattern, which, upon reflection, I should have known they would not have since not only were these students non-education majors, they were also non-English majors. So, they did not have the tools or desire to discuss the literature. A tough lesson to learn since I often tell my ELA preservice teachers to think about student apathy or disinterest in literature when designing lessons. The other main challenge was helping students choose the texts for their Thematic YA Literature Text Set. Despite reading and discussing the history and definitions of YA literature, students submitted lists with both children’s and adult selections. We also discussed places to find high-quality selections, such as award lists, yet many of their selections lacked the literary merit of the books I chose for their literature circles. It became clear that many were simply choosing books they had read in middle and high school, and were awkwardly fitting them into a loose theme. Their selections did lead to some interesting discussions about why they had trouble identifying high-quality YA literature and I wanted to provide choice to raise engagement, but perhaps I should have pre-identified possible selections for several themes. I also think I did not do enough to support the ELA teacher candidates. Although we spent a third of the course on teaching YA literature, it still felt like I taught a literature course, not an ELA pedagogy course.

I have the opportunity to teach the course again next fall and feel fortunate to have the summer to reflect on these successes and challenges, as opposed to just a winter break, to ideally create a better experience for all my students.
 
I appreciate Steve providing the space for this type of reflective scholarship on teaching and learning, and for any reader who has advice to share related to teaching YA literature to non-majors. 

Until next time

Mark can be contacted at:
lewis6ma@jmu.edu
Twitter: @ProfMarkLewis