I'm not overwhelmed at the moment

I really thought I would cry on Tuesday...just too much to handle. But Dr. Moore has pushed back both the methods and the YA lit class, so we won't die (at least, not as soon), and the Wed. night class test turned out to be open-book, and I managed not to make myself look stupid in front of my cooperating teacher, so I think everything is going reasonably well. I keep sending this cartoon to everyone, and I think it's important to keep in mind:

I'm still here. That's right. Take that, day!

Have read at some point in the recent past, since apparently it's a lot harder to keep track:

Chinese Handcuffs, by Chris Crutcher. I read this book and thought, "Teenagers would love this!" Tons of melodrama, including sexual abuse, suicide, relationships, pregnancy, and other general sources of trauma. Teenagers have this almost morbid fascination with the horrific side of life; at least, I remember being drawn to those sappy books where the teenage protagonists have terminal cancer and stuff like that. And then I started thinking about how Stringer, the author of Conflict and Connection: The Psychology of Young Adult Literature talks about how adolescents need crises in order to form their identity. Well, what if your life is pretty good? What if you don't have any major crises? Could teenagers be experiencing crises vicariously through YA lit? And does this induce a sort of survivor guilt that you had it good?

Hope Was Here, by Joan Bauer. Cute little story about a girl moving with her aunt from New York to take over a diner in rural Wisconsin. The owner is a friendly man with lukemia, who surprises the whole town when he announces that he's entering the mayoral race. I think what's neat about this book is that it focuses on the teenagers who become so involved in the politics of the city and wanting to make a difference, and the results of the vote are unexpected, just as in real life.

After the Death of Anna Gonzales, by Terri Fields. A collection of poems depict the various students and teachers in the high school community and how they are affected by Anna's death. From the English teacher, who gropes for poetry, to her best friend who never knew how Anna felt, to those students so wrapped up in their own lives that they don't care, or even notice, this book is quite powerful at times. Anna's own suicide note closes the book. This is the part that stirred me the most:

The game doesn't always go your way.
Forget fair.
Feel forgotten.
But damn it, Anna,

You don't stop playing.

Crews, by Maria Hinojosa. A book describing Hinojosa's interviews with gang members in New York City. Kids like this often get labelled and shoved into a group, but their individual voices sing loud and clear in this book. It's hard to remember that these kids are only teenagers, because most of them have been through more than most of us will ever experience. Unfortunately it leaves them with a lot of anger, and even a sense of entitlement: I deserve to do whatever I need to do to have some money, because I've been through so much. And they couldn't see that the grief they feel about the death of one of their friends would happen to someone else if they continued their patterns of violence. On the one hand, old souls: on the other, spoiled brats.

I think that's enough from me for today...