Willie Sutton is a Poor Role Model

William Sutton

    "Sutton" By J.R. Moehringer is a historical fiction novel about Willie Sutton the bank robber. Willie was most active during the 1920' and 30's. Sutton stole approximately 2 million dollars during his career and enhanced his daring reputation by taking part in a few jail breaks.

      Lets get to the nitty gritty. Historical fiction is a complex genre because there is so much subjectivity in determining the parameters that will be judged. "Sutton" probably meets the criteria  of most because Moehringer does a very good job of using setting to establish the feel of the early 1900's. Moehringer moves seamlessly from the current time period, where Sutton is relaying anecdotes to a reporter and photographer after his final release, into the past where the action takes place. The vehicles, streets, buildings, and banks all give the reader the sense of going back in time. You can imagine the gangsters, the prisons, just about everything. It is a nice juxtaposition moving between current to past time periods because some geography and buildings remain as touchstones or reference points. As historical fiction I appreciate the novel, as a subject I object to Sutton.

      Moehringer glamorizes Sutton the same way others have glamorized Jesse James or John Dillinger. Moehringer writes as if Sutton did not have a choice,  it was his environment that turned him into a predator. His Gatsbyesque pursuit of a women/love and his childhood left him no other path than to rob, cheat and lie. His spin of life's wheel of fortune never gave him a chance. Moehringer idealizes Sutton in a manner with which I could not agree. The glamorization of criminals/predators usually has a short leash in my opinion.  Moehringer also gives the reader a bit of red herring by using the murder of Arnold Schuster and Sutton's ties to the event as bait to continue reading. This death is used as the reason the cub reporter is even meeting with Sutton. Moehringer maintains a level of tension between Sutton and the reporter as each tries to manage  opposing agendas. 

      This is a book that sits right on the fence of inclusion into a YA library. It is well written and does a credible job with the setting that allows a reader to build and feel context of a different time period. However, idealizing a man who preyed upon others is not the best idea to deliver to YAs'. The book would allow conversation about the depression and how socioeconomic classes are affected by government and corporate decisions in various ways. Other discussions could include making career decisions based on external versus internal pressures. i.e. Willie Sutton giving way to the external pressures/expectations in determining his career path as a criminal, or how media/popular culture can glamorize certain traits while obscuring others as deemed fitting to their agenda. Exit stage left.

To Grill a Mockingbird

Library for the alternative reader.


To Grill A Mockingbird (It's in paperback now!)
Pita Pan
Gone with the Schwinn
The Black Scallion
The Old Man and the Brie
The State of the Onion
Bored of the Rings
We'll always have Parrots.
Bratfest at Tiffany's
Pies and prejudice
These Boots are made for Stalking
Attila the Pun
A Broom of One's Own
Grape Expectations
Comma Sense

In progress Library

Wow - I could spend a lot of hours on this. It is difficult for me to whittle down my list of books for a classroom library. I can rationalize reasons to include or unclude (new word) books for just about anything. It is hard to separate what I like from what is good for a classroom, this is where the rationalizing came in. Well I hope if you guys peruse the list something triggers a spark that leads you to picking one of the books up.

Author	Title		Publication Date		Notes
Achebe, Chinua	Things Fall Apart		1994		A fictional account of a tribe in Africa. Strong points about tradition versus change that all ages can relate to.  Valuable starter for the topic of colonialism. That will be a can of worms, eh?
Alexie, Sherman	Smoke Signals		1998		A novel about a boy's struggle with what forgiveness is among many other things. It is by Sherman Alexie so you can be assured of its wit.
Alexis, Sherman	The absolutlely true diary of a part time indian		2012		Novel/memoir about a life that has to navigate through distinctly different cultures and expectations.
Anthology	Dear Bully: Seventy Authors tell Their Stories.		2013		I always like anthologies and compilations because they allow more opportunities to connect with the reader and spark future thoughts/research.
Anthology	It's Not All Black and White: Multiracial youth speak out.		2012		See Above
Anthology	Foretold: 14 tales of prophecy and prediction		2012		I asked my niece for a couple recommendations and this is one I got. I have not read it as June 15 2013.
Anthology	The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction		2006		I think anthologies are like getting a taster spoon of a new ice cream at the Chocolate Shoppe. Another budget buster but it is a used edition. I am saving for a poetry anthology but the poetry wheel is installed on the class Ipad.
Bauer, Marion Dane	On My Honor		1987		I like books that put people in situations where everything does not go according to hoyle and then they have to deal with the internal consequences.
Beah, Ishmael	A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier		2008		A memoir about child soldiers in Sierra Leone. The children become soldiers through little choice of their own. This book is a stark example of violence and culture shock. It also has the universla theme of the conflict between the powerful and powerless.
Collins, Suzanne	The Hunger Games		2010		Only Book 1 - If they like it they can get the rest. I liked this book and I think it has a good female lead. Katniss fulfills many traditional male lead roles.
Cormier, Robert	The Chocolate War		2004		I still need to read this but a friend told me she would never speak to me again if I did not put this in my library.
Crist, David	The Twilight War: The secret history of America's 30 year conflict with Iran		2012		An excellent book that works to show how complicated life and foreign policy can be. One of the best I have read in the last three years. Probably for high level readers.
Croucher, Phillip	The Road to the NHL		2013		There is no way my library would not have a hockey book in it! I chose this one because it has Sidney Crosby in it and he is currently the most popular hockey player to YA's
David McCullough	Seventeen-Seventy-Six		2007		U.S. history. Enough Said
Dbackderf, Derf	My Friend Dahmer		2012		Graphic novel. Good discussion openers about what it means to be a friend and what is the adults role in a student's life.
Eagleman, David	Sum: forty tales of the afterlife		2010		This book entertains alternative ideas of afterlife. It is an easy to read, short book but has the potential to widen a reader's perspective.
Junger Sebastian	War		2011		Some students will probably enlist or have relatives in one of the many conflicts the US has involved itself in and that alone is enough for inculsion.
King, Stephen	Skeleton Crew		1986		You cannot have a library without a Stephen King book!
Ness, Patrick	A Monster Calls		2013		A book about dealing with grief and/or potential loss of someone to cancer. This book addresses how unique it is that we each respond to life's happenings.
Oxford English Dictionary	Oxford English Dictionary		2013		OK I blew my budget immediately but I went back to Donorschoose.org and they bought this for my library because I thought this is important vehicle students can take to start exploring words and language.
Perkin, John	Confessions of an Economic Hitman		2005		Shining a little light on the dark side of economic growth and the search for profit. You could get the same message out of a Dr. Suess book but this one relates human experiences.
Picoult, Jodi	House rules: A novel		2010		another book I have not read but I put on the list because of my 17 year old niece's recommendation.
Spiegelman, Art	Maus		2003		Graphic Novel that addresses the holocaust.
Steinbeck, john	The Grapes of Wrath		1939		US history (dustbowl) justice, the powerful and powerless. This book has it all. Plus it is just a good read. Probably time for me to reread it.
Thompson, Criag	Habibi		2011		Graphic Novel. Could be slightly controversial but also contains good cultural and natural world discussion points.
Wright, Richard	native Son		2003		I included this rather than some more current book that addressess similar issues because I knew it better.
Zarr, Sara	How to save a life		2012		Lots of dilemas and possible solutions. Does have some possible taboo topicslike teen age pregnancy.
Zusak, Markus	The Book Thief		2007		A book about German citizens during WWII and death. The narrative style is non-standard so it is a good intro into the idea that style does not have limits. This book is working its way to a hybrid style of graphic novel and novel, not completely unlike "Monster" by Walter Dean Meyers.

Aristotle and Dante get to live a life of contrived circumstances.

         

“The problem with my life is that it was someone else’s idea”
        I chuckled to myself when I read that line and I thought it was a harbinger of great things to come but I was only half right. The good half first. I really enjoyed the way the book was written. I think that the author crafts sentences and paragraphs that illuminate the characters and their experiences of being 15 and finding a friend that they can talk with. I could even maybe (on retrospect probably not) re-read this book just because of how it is written but I have a hard time accepting the contrived finish. Maybe I misled myself by assuming the author was building characters that would reflect society rather than a plot line that just had to end up happily ever after, Disney style. (my eyes rolled even as I typed this)
I am not saying that an author has a responsibility to reflect society rather than project an alternate vision of how it can be but I think this author had a great opportunity to portray a friendship that is not limited by sexual orientation. That emotional outbursts are not defined by sexual orientation. Spoiler alert: Aristotle strikes out violently while acting as a heterosexual and is willing to sacrifice himself when acting as a homosexual. His parents answer to his violent outbursts are that he should accept his love for Dante as a homosexual output thereby avoiding the path his brother traveled. I think that sexual orientation is just one aspect of the whole person and does not define the life being lived. Obviously there are varying degrees to how much influence there is but in this book the author defines character traits by sexual orientation.  i.e violence is a heterosexual trademark. This form of typecasting and categorizing is an element that I could do without and is evidence that the author developed the characters to reflect the plot line. This is perfectly acceptable and is done all the time but it is this reason that I cannot include it my classroom library. I would rather recommend literature that addresses these themes is not so contrived. The problem with this novel is that it was a bad idea.
    After I post this I will search out other blog posts about this book to see other opinions but I would not put this in my classroom library simply because I believe think that there has to be better books out there that address this coming of age scenario in a manner that reflects life. That's a wrap.

A Monster Calls... life complicated

            A Monster Calls raises a lot of questions for me, first and foremost is at what age does this book become appropriate? The lexile rating is 730 and the topic, the loss or the potential loss of someone to cancer, probably make it ok for someone as young as 12 years old. However as I read it I thought that the way it was written created the need for an increased ability to read between the lines and to infer how and what emotional feelings were being felt or impelled by characters. The characters are consistent in how they hide their emotions and true feelings within themselves so as a reader we are only exposed to the narrator's words and they rarely describe the other character's emotional states directly. How many 12-15 year old students will be able to infer the emotional continuum that the Grandmother travels throughout the novel? Will they be able to understand how emotionally invested she is in the situation? Or how the mother feels trying to protect her son while navigating cancer and life?
       On the flip side I think the book addresses some of the teen angst common in all eras as well as the fact that life is often anti-sitcom. Conor, the books narrator, really struggles with his idea that nobody is accepting his reality and because of this all lines of communication are down. He is bullied and misunderstood. He believes that adults feel he is too young to understand yet his unwillingness to accept his mother's true condition illustrates the feelings we all feel at times, especially in these situations. Conor is not strongly self aware but he is acutely other aware and his self-imposed alienation pushes him further away from getting a chance to become more self aware. He feels as if he has no choice due to the gap in understanding from those around him. He is alone in the void. This angst is potentially a connection point for some teenagers.   The monster that calls on him is a great metaphor for feelings but I believe the monster also is a symbol that life is complicated. TVland would have us believe that all the world's problems can be tidied up in neat 30 minute segments like a sitcom but the monster and the tales he brings to Conor are not so simple. This may be the true magic of the book. Life is complicated.

        The illustrations are an excellent match to the ideas in the novel. They are complicated, without clean lines. They are barely controlled scribbles that are similar to how the ideas in the book show that life never fits within tidy little spaces. They also relate the idea of how scary it can be to stop looking outside yourself for the cause of a problem and having to do an internal inventory of yourself.  Over and out.

Jeffery Dahmer, Inevitable? or maybe...

   Ahh the effect the media can have on us. When something is   deemed worthy of sensation we get pummeled in the media with words that are supposed to simultaneously grab our attention and inform us. The net effect is we think we know a lot but we have only seen a snapshot of a life that probably would fill a harddrive with images. Derf Backderf in his graphic novel reminds us that there is always more and the life we are examining is many shades of gray not black and white. Backderf in his own words tells us about memories of a fellow student that later commits horrible acts against humanity. He often asks the question; Where were the adults?  Was Dahmer destined to be a killer or was it free will? That is a Gordian knot of a question that can't be answered in this post. But teenagers learning, striving for autonomy while still under adult authority is an experience that Backderf addresses with this book. 

       Using experiences with friends and Jeffery Dahmer, that while are             unique to them, also have a universal aspect. The moral comes through loud and clear. Ignorance, exploitation need to replaced with concern and questioning. Whether the adults ignored Dahmer or just were unaware is unacceptable and should be a lesson to all adults. It is the adults that are supposed to have the wherewithal and responsibility to help. Backderf, literally, draws pictures of a teenager that was ignored and exploited by adults and peers. (I could not resist the literal comment, I do not apologize for it). This may be a better book for adults but I am sure teenagers can also find cringe inducing moments that they can relate to on one side or the other of the exploitation/ignored line. A potential benefit is that a teenage reader may recognize the need for self advocacy and seek help rather than wait for adults to throw a rescue line. Self advocacy is often, in my opinion, under-taught to teenagers. It is difficult to almost impossible in some situations but the results can be extremely positive. As I reflect on this book I don't want to blame Dahmer's lack of ability to help himself but more so lean on the adults in his life, whether they were there by choice or circumstance. Was the end game of Dahmer's life inevitable? Were the stars aligned or was it the absence of any adult awareness? I think this book contains a powerful message/reminder for adults to be more vigilant. Easier said then done, I know.  End of Transmission.

       

behind the beautiful forevers

         
         Katherine Boo's "behind the beautiful forevers" elicited mixed emotions from me but admittedly the emotions were on the shallow end of the pool. However do not disregard the book because it did not create a deep emotional connection with me. "behind the beautiful forevers" captures people living lives where they have tremendous cultural and economic burdens infringing on any decisions or choices in their lives. The invisible hand limits their opportunities. It is way more extreme in a Mumbai slum but everybody can relate in some fashion to outside forces being part of  decision making. There is an interesting component of caste and religion and how it affects decision making/life but Boo downplays it and it was difficult for me to discern the degree that they play in making decisions. Maybe the author's intent was to let the reader draw their own conclusions but I wanted a bit more information to evaluate. Oddly as I read the book the question at the forefront of my mind that I wanted answered was how Katherine Boo embedded herself in the community.
         And now for a semi-brief synopsis: The book generally follows 2 families, with a closer look at 1 member of each family, and their lives over a couple years while living in Annawadi. Annawadi is a slum under the constant threat of being bulldozed for new developments. The community is mixed caste, mixed religion and mixed survivors. Cultural conflict is a constant as individuals and families navigate life while the goal is a constantly shifting target, economically as well as culturally.  The question that circulates throughout the novel is - what does living mean and what is it worth? Some choose suicide, others self medicate, all make sacrifices that are almost incomprehensible. Abdul and Asha, the two individuals followed the closest, are represented as moral opposites. Abdul holds onto his integrity as if it is his lifeblood while Asha will forfeit hers without question if it means she will increase her stature. The book follows Abdul and his family through a criminal trail and Asha through her attempts to gain stature.
BTW - one more message from the book: the indignity of economic imbalance is a lesson every community can heed.
       In a classroom I can see great value in this book, not because of the message(s) but because of the style it is written with. I see this book as a gateway book to more difficult non-fiction literature. The book is written as a novel and I can envision students reading it and then getting interested in one of the aspects addressed and furthering their research in that area. Will I include it in mine? That is yet to be determined and as "they" say the proof is in the pudding, so we will see. Over and out.  S