Module 1: The Body of Christopher Creed

Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed. Orlando: Harcourt, 2008.

ISBN-13: 9780152063863

Summary:

Sixteen year-old Victor Adams, Torey, has a perfect life. Good friends, well-to-do parents who are not too constricting, and the to-die-for girlfriend. He is on the football team and is well liked by all the right people. He even has a band. Then one day, one of the “freaky” kids from school disappears after sending a cryptic email to the school principal. Torey and his friends hack into the school computer to read the note. Torey then embarks on a quest to find Christopher Creed. Along the way, he becomes friends with the unlikeliest people, loses his friends, his girlfriend, and quite possibly his mind. Harris says, “Plum-Ucci knows her audience and provides her readers with enough twists, turns, and suspense to keep them absorbed.”

Analysis:

The Body of Christopher Creed is written as a memoir by Torey one year after Christopher’s disappearance. It is a steady paced, well-written story of teenage relationships, emotions, and peer pressure. The image of a freight train, slow moving and unstoppable, is used to describe Torey’s feelings of being overwhelmed by the events that take place. Except for a short supernatural encounter, it is a very believable mystery that teens will not want to put down.

Awards:

Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award 2001

Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist 2001

Children’s Choice List 2001

Best Books for Young Adults honoree, YALSA 2001

Connections:

Find author information at:

http://www.carolplumucci.com/

Find missing persons information at:

http://www.doenetwork.org/

If you liked The Body of Christopher Creed, you may also like:

Spooner, Michael. Daniel's Walk. : Henry Holt & Co., 2001. ISBN-13: 9780805067507

Weingarten, Lynn. Wherever Nina Lies. : Scholastic, 2010. ISBN-13: 9780545066334

Fox Mazer, Norma. Out of Control. : Perfection Learning, 1994. ISBN-13: 9780780741492

Crutcher, Chris. Crazy Horse Electric Game. : Harper Collins Publishers, 2003. ISBN-13: 9780060094904

Harris, Kim. "The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci." School Library Journal 46, no. 7 (2000) ( Accessed September 16, 2010).

Photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780152063863

Module 1: The Pigman

Zindel, Paul. The Pigman. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1968.

ISBN-13: 9780060757359

Summary:

John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen are sophomores at Franklin High School. Both are from dysfunctional families and have become fast friends. For fun, John, Lorraine, and a few other friends make prank calls to see who can talk the longest. Lorraine calls Mr. Angelo Pignati and convinces him that she is collecting money for a local charity. John and Lorraine go to collect the money from Mr. Pignati, and an unusual thing happens-they befriend him.

Mr. Pignati is a lonely older man. He has a room full of treasure: collectable, glass pigs. His wife has passed away and his only form of socialization comes when he visits Bobo, a baboon at the local zoo. Together with John and Lorraine, he rediscovers happiness and laughter. John and Lorrain find an adult who actually cares about them and spends time and money on them.

Mr. Pignati gets sick and is sent to the hospital. John and Lorraine decide to use his house to have a party. Consequences don’t mean anything until they come crashing down on John and Lorraine.

Analysis:

Zindel keeps readers interested in this realistic fiction book by alternating the narration between John and Lorraine and with the zany acts performed by John, Lorraine, and Mr. Pignati. Skating in the house, daily trips to the zoo, and shopping at an elite store are all secret wishes of teens. The interaction between the teenagers and the relationship developed with Mr. Pignati are moving as well as realistic. While a recent review was not available, HarperCollins website quotes School Library Journal saying, “An intensely moving story of believably alienated young people.”

Awards:

Notable Children's Books 1940–1970 (ALA)
Best of the Best Books (YA) 1966–1988 (ALA)
1969 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1968 (NYT)
Best Children's Books of 1968 (Book World)

Connections:

Find lesson plans and activities at:

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/zindel.html

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring95/Russick.html

http://edhelper.com/books/The_Pigman.htm

Find information about the author at:

http://www.paulzindel.com/

Find corny jokes at:

http://www.brownielocks.com/cornyjokes.html

If you enjoyed The Pigman, you may also like:

Lewis, C. S. The Horse and His Boy. : Harper Collins Publishers, 1994. ISBN-13: 9780060234881

Paterson, Katherine. The Bridge to Terabithia. : Barnes & Noble, 2008. ISBN-13: 9781435110953

Peck, Robert N. A Day No Pigs Would Die. : Smith, Peter Publisher, Inc, 1999. ISBN-13: 9780844669908

Harper Collins Publishers. "About the Book: The Pigman." http://www.harpercollins.com/books/The-Pigman-Paul-Zindel/?isbn=9780060268282 (Accessed 17 September 2010).

Photo: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Pigman/Paul-Zindel/e/9780060757359/?itm=1&USRI=pigman

Module 1: What I Saw and How I Lied

Blundell, Judy. What I Saw and How I Lied. New York: Scholastic, 2008.

ISBN-13: 9780439903462

Summary:

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell is set in Queens, 1947 at the end of World War II. Narrator, fifteen year-old Evie, lives with her knockout gorgeous mother, Beverly and stepfather, Joe Spooner. Joe has recently returned home from the war. He owns his own business, and buys Evie’s mother expensive jewelry. Evie is anxious for life to get back to normal, but not for summer to end. After receiving a mysterious phone call, Joe announces that they will be leaving for Florida for a week long vacation. Evie is excited to “jump in the car and drive hundreds of miles, just to chase summer. It didn’t feel like anyone was chasing us. Not at all” (27).

Once in Florida, they meet only a few people. Tom and Arlene Grayson own a small hotel in New York. Peter Coleridge is a handsome ex-GI that was in Joe’s company during the war. As Joe builds a relationship with Tom, Evie spends time with Peter, chaperoned by her mother, of course. The vacation is extended as Joe decides to become business partners with Tom Grayson and Evie falls in love with Peter.

Several things happen that changed Evie’s life. The business deal falls through, a hurricane changes course, and a boating accident leaves Evie’s parents as murder suspects. Evie learns that everything she believed was a lie, and now it was her turn. Would she lie to save her parents or her first love?

Analysis:

Blundell builds the tension in this historical fiction mystery through dialogue and social situations. Even though some of the language is antiquated, teens will be able to relate to Evie in her experience of first love, first heartbreak, and first true test of loyalty. After all, Evie says it best when she says, “Loyalty counted the most in my neighborhood” (12).

Reviews:

Using pitch-perfect dialogue and short sentences filled with meaning, Blundell has crafted a suspenseful, historical mystery that not only subtly explores issues of post–WWII racism, sexism, and socioeconomic class, but also realistically captures the headiness of first love and the crushing realization that adults are not all-powerful. (booklist)

Hubert, Jennifer. "What I Saw and How I Lied." Booklist 105, no. 5 (2008): 36-37. (Accessed September 17, 2010).

Awards:

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature 2008

School Library Journal Best Book

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Connections:

Find information about the author at:

http://www.judyblundell.com/

Find information about hurricanes at:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

If you enjoyed What I Saw and How I Lied, you may also enjoy:

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. : Random House Children's Books, 2009. ISBN-13: 9780385737425

Standiford, Natalie. How to Say Goodbye in Robot. : Scholastic, 2009. ISBN-13: 9780545107082

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. : Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2003. ISBN-13: 9780689849220

Hopkins, Cathy. Mates, Dates, and Cosmic Kisses. : Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2002. ISBN-13: 9780689855450

Photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/What-I-Saw-And-How-I-Lied/Judy-Blundell/e/9780439903462#TABS

This blog was created to satisfy requirements for a graduate class at Texas Woman's University on young adult literature.