Module 5: No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row by Susan Kuklin

Kuklin, Susan. 2008. No choirboy: Murder, violence, and teenagers on death row. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN-13 978-0-8050-7950-0

Excerpt from the book (in italics):

Mark's (convicted at fourteen of murder): "I deserve to be punished, no doubt about it. But, after you've been in prison for so long, it ceases to be a punishment. It becomes just a way of life" (Kuklin 2008, 78-79).

Susan Kuklin’s nonfiction book No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row features testimonies of convicted teen murderers who are on death row or serving a life sentence, some of the lawyers’ who represent the murderers, and family members of some of the victims. The first three chapters focus on three different convicted teen murderers’ stories of how they ended up in prison, what prison and death row is like, and what they have learned since being in prison, and their narrative is interspersed ever so often with the author Kuklin providing some context with a paragraph or two and voices of the convicted teens’ attorneys. Chapter 4 tells the story of Napoleon Beazly, a teen, who was sentenced to death row for murder and was actually executed in 2002. The chapter presents the testimonies of his surviving mother and brother and the impact this has had on their lives. Chapter 5 tells the story of murder victim William Jenkins and his parents and siblings testimonies about William, their love for him, their grief, and their anti-death penalty stance. The final chapter is Bryan Stevenson’s interview. Stevenson is a top anti-death penalty advocate and lawyer who diligently represents and fights on behalf of convicted teens who have been sentenced to death row and given life sentences. The underlying central theme of the entire book is that the death penalty is wrong and that teen murderers should not be punished with the death penalty or life sentences.

Kuklin’s nonfiction book presents a well-researched book about teen murderers on death row or in prison for life. The book is a mixture of collective mini-biographies and testimonials of the teen murderers with information about their victims and from their lawyers and their families as well as their narrative of what life is really like in prisons. The subject matter of this book will appeal to many young adults because it has bits of sensationalism to it mixed with gritty reality. Also, the text is easy to read. The reader will get a strong sense that the information presented in the story is accurate because Kuklin used real interview transcripts, letter transcripts, and various other factual sources to write her book. The book could also be considered part of the New Journalism genre—not for the creative literary license but more for the fact that the author is presenting the information in order to appeal to readers’ emotions and sway them against the death penalty and induce sympathy for the teenage killers (or alleged killers).

Kuklin did a great job in providing adequate documentation, a glossary, and further reading sources, websites, notes and an index for the readers in order to advance their understanding of the topic. Probably the one fault of the book is that the point-of-view is very one-sided. Kuklin’s book would be better if it had presented various view-points on the issue of teen killings, the death penalty, and life sentences for teens. Instead, author sympathy abounds for the convicted murderers represented in the book and that is conveyed to the reader. On the positive side, Kuklin does make the reader think about societal elements that create teen murderers and the travesty of the prison system and the fact that many times the guards and law appear no better than the prisoners.

This book is recommended for a more mature audience—9^th grade on up. This is a great book for social studies, history classes, or speech and debate classes to read for research, debate and/or discussion. However, it needs to be paired with literature that provides a pro-death penalty stance in order to present a varied and balanced viewpoint on the issue. Prepare for parent challenges if the book is assigned in class because it addresses the topics of murder, violence and homosexual assaults within the prison systems as told by those who have lived that life.

Quotations about the Book from the Literary World:

• School Library Journal, Apr2009 “The haunting and well-researched narratives put a human face on these individuals and take a hard look at the justice system and how we treat young offenders.”
• Kirkus Reviews, 12/1/2008, “Those who believe that criminals are generally malevolent and uneducated will be surprised at their vivid, articulate observations of life in prison and their crimes.”
• School Library Journal, Sep. 2008 “Kuklin depicts the penal system as biased against men of color, and any set of statistics about incarceration and death-row conviction rates will back her up. She also emphasizes that being poor is damning once a crime is committed. … This powerful book should be explored and discussed in high schools all across our country.”
• Kirkus Reviews, 6/15/2008 “This is an excellent read for any student researching the death penalty or with an interest in law and sociology. The author/photographer paints the convicts and their families as neither wholly good nor bad, but human. The convicts themselves speak with a wisdom that can only come from years of negotiating the dangers of prison life, and their stories may change more than one mind regarding what makes a criminal.”

Book Cover Art from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/No-Choirboy-Murder-Violence-Teenagers/dp/0805079505/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290468330&sr=1-1

Module 5: King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher

Crutcher, Chris. 2003. King of the mild frontier: An ill-advised autobiography. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN-13 978-0-06-050251-5

For readers who know and love Chris Crutcher books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Stotan!, or Whale Talk, then his autobiography King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography is one to read. This book features thematic snippets from Crutcher’s life that have influenced his writing, his literary character development, his plot lines, and some of his central book themes. The author covers events in his life from early childhood to young adulthood that have helped shape the writer he is today.

This is a well-written memoir/autobiography by Crutcher, and even people who are unfamiliar with his fiction will enjoy this book. As readers know, autobiographies are not always completely factual. In fact, it is known that the autobiographer sometimes choose to leave out certain incidences or character flaws about themselves because they may not want the public to know about themselves because the truth sometimes can present people in an unflattering way. However, Crutcher does not shy away from the truth and has no qualms about embarrassing himself, but do not let that deceive you. Not everything you read in this autobiography may be exactly true. Crutcher provides the following note of warning to the reader on the copyright page: “Memory is selective and by nature faulty. That statement is probably doubly true for my memory. Add to that my penchant for exaggeration and the fact that I have changed some of the names for obvious reasons, and you may have a memoir that may not stand up to close historical scrutiny. So be it” (Crutcher 2009, copyright page).

The structure of this novel is not told in order from childhood to adulthood but instead laid out as the memories come to Crutcher and one memory triggers the next. In fact, a May/June 2003 Horn Book magazine review says this of the book: Crutcher “moves back and forth in time, as storytellers do, letting one incident connect to the next thematically rather than chronologically.” The same article in Horn Book goes on to describe the book as being told in a series of “episodic” informal essays.

Another great aspect of this novel is Crutcher’s humorous writing style. Readers will laugh over some of the stories involving his older brother tricking Crutcher into doing a variety of stupid things over his childhood that always landed him in trouble, yet his brother John always seemed to get off scot-free. I won’t go into a whole lot of detail, but let me just say there is a peeing on the radiator incident, a BB gun incident, and a Jesus (or should I say Esus) incident that will have the readers laughing and shaking their heads over Crutcher’s gullibility, and yet readers will also be able to relate if they, too, have experienced the torment of an older sibling.

This brings me to another appealing aspect of this book. Crutcher packages his autobiographical essays with humor. The Teacher Librarian (October 2004) says that Crutcher writes this book with the “same humor and insight found in his fiction,” and a February 2004 Teacher Librarian review calls the autobiography and Crutcher’s voice “straightforward, heartrending, often hilarious.” After reading Crutcher’s autobiography, readers are going to appreciate his fiction more and will know what incidences inspired some of his characters and themes, and this will enrich the readers’ experiences as they delve into Crutcher’s fictional worlds.

I recommend this book for young adults from grades 8 on up. The level of reading is accessible to middle schoolers, but some of the content and incidences that Crutcher narrates will most definitely invite censorship and is not suitable to be assigned reading. For example, take the chapter called “Of Oysters and Olives and Things that Go Bump in My Shoe.” This chapter deals with an athletic traditional hazing ritual, naked boys and the items mentioned in the chapter’s title. I will leave the rest to your imagination. This is a good book to read segments from out loud for book talks and to generate interest in Crutcher and his novels. This book could be assigned in literature circles to 11^th and 12^th graders. It is also good for independent reading, and many boys will really enjoy it and his literature. (Girls will probably like his writing style as well.)

Book Review Quotes about the Autobiography:

• School Library Journal, Apr. 2005 says this autobiography is “filled with a winning combination of humorous, nostalgic, and bittersweet anecdotes about his family, school days, "wannabe" athletic career," work, and writing.”

• Horn Book Magazine, May/Jun2003 The book’s “Informal essays invite self-revelation, humor, loose structure, and even moralizing; Crutcher responds to all four elements. He writes in an easy, conversational tone, as if he were sitting down swapping stories with his good friend, the reader.”

Book Cover Art from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/King-Mild-Frontier-Ill-Advised-Autobiography/dp/0060502517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290468228&sr=8-1

Module 4: Alanna, The First Adventure from Song of the Lioness Series by Tamora Pierce

Pierce, Tamora. 1983. Alanna: The first adventure. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN-13 978-0-689-87855-8

In the book Alanna, The First Adventure, the first installment in the Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, readers are introduced to ten-year-old Alanna of Trebond fief who ingeniously hatches a plan to switch places with her twin brother Thom and go to Corus to train as a knight under the care of Duke Gareth of Naxen while Thom will go North towards the City of Gods and train as a sorcerer. Thanks to both children’s neglectful father, their plan succeeds. Before leaving Maude, a nurse/witch who trained Alanna and Thom in sorcery as children, Maude reminds Alanna that she has much magic, and she is gifted not just to kill but to heal, and she urges Alanna to heal as much as possible in her new life in order to make up for the killing she must do as a knight. Alanna, disguised as a boy and renamed Alan, heads to Corus with Coram. Once there, her adventures begin as she embarks on her training as a page with the ultimate goal to one day become a knight. Alanna must deal with a rigorous schedule of reading, writing, mathematics, philosophy, history of war, and physical training for knighthood. She makes an enemy of a fourteen-year old boy named Ralon who relentlessly bullies her until she is able to defeat him on her own, and she also gains the friendship, loyalty, and trust of Prince Jonathan and his group of friends—Raoul, Gary, Alex, and Francis as well as the unlikely friendship with George Cooper, King of Thieves, and Knight Myles of Olau, her history of war teacher. Alanna faces many obstacles in her training as page. One of the greatest is her adventure to Bazhir where she and Jonathan face the Ysander (evil, children of gods who like to eat mortals) at the Black City. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they read this book and wonder, will Alanna manage to keep her gender a secret? Will she make it to squire? Will she survive her encounter with the Ysander? Read Alanna, The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce and find out.

Spoilers Ahead. This is a great fantasy novel for Grades 5-Up. The protagonist of this story, Alanna, ages from 10-13 years during the course of this book, and some of her insecurities and doubts represent many adolescents. As Alanna trains as a page, she wonders at times if she is good enough and worthy enough to become knight. After all, where is the honor in lying about being a boy? She also has to deal with a bully in the character of Ralon, and many adolescents can relate to dealing with bullies. What is awesome about Alanna is her ability to work very hard to overcome her weaknesses and master things she does not have a natural talent for. For example, after enduring many beatings from Ralon, even a broken arm, Alanna practices on her own how to fight and even enlists the help of George Cooper--thief and friend--to teach her how to fight hand-to-hand combat in order to beat Ralon. Probably one of the most satisfying moments in the entire book is when Alanna calls out Ralon and gives him a sound thrashing. It is literally a stand up and clap moment that is a must-read. Alanna also does extra training to build up her fencing skills because she is weak in those as well, and she makes great progress as a swordsman (or should I say woman)?

The story is set in another world and time of knights and chivalry, and Alanna must deal with some serious enemies. Ralon, her bully, is just one of the antagonists she faces. She also must face the evil Ysander who want to eat her, and she has suspicions of Prince Jonathan’s Uncle Roger of Conte as plotting the demise of Jonathan and the rest of the royal family. Tamora Pierce has done an excellent job of creating an adventure that hooks the reader and keeps then hooked throughout Alanna’s adventures. Readers will also appreciate the friendships that Alanna makes with the Prince and the rest of the pages/squires and George Cooper. One of the parts of this novel I liked the best was how Pierce wrote in 3^rd person omniscient, which gave the reader more insight into Alanna’s character and how her friends view her. Alanna is an amazing character. Seventh grader Ming-Lee wrote in the January 23, 2006 Scholastic Scope that she “really liked this book because it’s about how women can be just as strong, and sometimes stronger, than men. It’s about a girl’s journey to find out who she really is.” Ming-Lee’s enjoyment of Alanna’s character is exactly why Tamora Pierce wrote her. Pierce wanted to write about strong female protagonists. A School Library Journal (March 2005) review of “Good Conversation! A Talk with Tamora Pierce” has Pierce explaining to Tim Podell that she “was frustrated by the lack of female warriors and heroines so she began to writing about them herself.” The Christian Science Monitor in July of 1997 says of Alanna, The First Adventure that Alanna is “a strong, inspirational female character. The plot keeps your attention, the characters are memorable, and Alanna is a very real person.” Upon finishing this book, readers are going to find themselves buying the rest in the series to find out how the rest of Alanna’s adventures turn out.

This is a good book to share with tweens and teens in a booktalk or booktrailer as a recommendation for independent reading. It is also a good book for reading with intermediate and middle school students in class. Caution: A few parents may object to the use of magic in this book.

Book Cover Art from Barnes&Noble:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Alanna/Tamora-Pierce/e/9780689878558/?itm=2&USRI=alanna+song+of+the+lioness

Module 4: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. 2006. Life as we knew it. Boston: Graphia. ISBN 978-0-15-206154-8

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer tells the story of junior Miranda and her family as they struggle to survive the catastrophic events that occur when an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it out of orbit and closer to earth. Following the moon event, Miranda and her family must deal with the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, major changes in weather (such as blizzards), the rationing of food, of gas, of electricity, dangerous neighbors, and a deadly break-out of the flu. The story is told from Miranda’s point-of-view from diary entries beginning in May and ending in March, and the readers get insight through the diary entries into her and her family’s lives as they fight to survive. Read this book to see if Miranda, her family, and her friends survive the year. Will they starve, will they succumb to disease, will they freeze to death, or will they kill each other? Read Life As We Knew It to find out.

Spoilers Ahead: This novel has been classified by some as science fiction and by some as survival fiction; however, this novel really fits into the category of dystopias. Allen Pace Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson define dystopias as “usually set in the future, with technology having played a role in establishing the conditions out of which the story grows” (Nilsen and Donelson 2009, 238). This is true of this novel. The story begins with everyone, scientists included, anticipating the event of an asteroid hitting the moon. Everyone is excited to see this astrological event and view it as an innocuous thing, much like the viewing of an eclipse. However, readers find out that the scientists have actually underestimated the mass of the asteroid, and when it hits, it knocks the moon out of orbit and closer to the Earth. That is when various natural disasters ensue, and the events of the story are left to play out. Nilsen and Donelson also say that dystopias tend to be more like fantasies in the sense that “once the situation is established, authors focus less on technology and more on sociological and psychological or emotional aspects of the story” (2009, 238). This is exactly true of this novel. The reader is allowed an inside view into protagonist Miranda’s mindset, feelings, and relationship ups-and-downs with her mother, her brothers, her friends, and her father and his step-wife, just to name a few. This novel is compelling. The structure of the book is set up in diary entries made by Miranda chronicling the first ten months of her life and those in her rural community in the wake of the moon disaster. The pace moves rather quickly in this format. Miranda is a likeable but realistic character who is faced with extraordinary circumstances. Pfeffer does a good job of creating a dynamic character in Miranda. Miranda evolves from a self-centered teen crushing on an Olympic-hopeful skater with dreams of competing in swimming and skating herself. She faces conflicting emotions regarding her parents’ divorce, her mother’s boyfriend, her step-mother and jealousy towards her younger brother. Miranda is also dealing with the aftermath of losing a friend to death and the disintegration of her other friendships as a result. Miranda works much of her issues out through her diary entries and over the course of the tend months that the reader is privy to, and the reader gets to see her evolve into an amazing young woman who is instrumental in her family’s survival.

I highly recommend this book for read-alouds, book talks, book trailers, and independent reading. This book could also be read in Literature Circles for an English or reading class, and it might even be interesting to bring a science teacher into the discussion. Inviting a science teacher in as a special speaker about this topic would be a great way to include real world connections.

Review Excerpts

• The Horn Book Magazine (November/December 2006): “Pfeffer’s taut survival story is effective not because it witnesses these catastrophes firsthand but because it doesn’t.”
• Publisher’s Weekly (10/16/2006):
• “The book may be lengthy, but most readers will find it absorbing from first page to last.”
• “This survival tale…celebrates the fortitude and resourcefulness of human beings during critical times.”
• School Library Journal (Oct. 2006): “Pfeffer tones down the terror, but otherwise crafts a frighteningly plausible account of the local effects of a near-future worldwide catastrophe.”
• Booklist (September 1, 2006): “Each page is filled with events both wearying and terrifying and infused with honest emotions. Pfeffer brings cataclysmic tragedy very close.”

Reference

Nilsen, Alleen Pace , and Kenneth L. Donelson. 2009. Literature for today’s young adults, 8^th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Book Cover Art from Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Knew-Susan-Beth-Pfeffer/dp/0152061541/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289235116&sr=8-1