Back to School

I just read a quote this evening in twitter that suggested that giving into cynicism implies a lack of belief in grace.  Interesting, because on this night before my first day of school, it would be easy to give into cynicism.  I still love my job - that is being a school librarian and an English teacher.  My students, the books, my colleagues - all of these bring me joy. But sometimes the outside forces are overwhelming: paperwork (not the good kind :-), budget cuts, paper work, contract negotiations, paper work, more with less.  I may have been feeling more cynicism and less grace.  Then I encountered this lovely post by the Library Lady that challenges me to have a great start to my school year. I thought I should list my favorite of the 27 ways to have a great school year, but I am having trouble choosing a favorite.  Perhaps it is "Be the change you want to be..." All organizations need improvement.  My job should be to facilitate that improvement, not wallow in the difficulties.  I plan to download and post the infographic to remind me of that job when outside forces threaten to overwhelm.

Also, as an aside, I have not used either of the technologies referenced in the blog article.  Shame on me for that. I will be setting aside time to explore these soon. I have not been "making time to make." 

Rewind To You - A Review

Johnston, Laura. Rewind to You. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2014.
          ISBN-13 978-1-60183-350-1

Sienna and Austin are two broken people who find each other unexpectedly on a hot summer’s night in Savannah.  The pair is drawn to each other immediately, and in spite of her boyfriend and his future plans a romance begins. While the romance will likely engage my teenage readers, the other plot lines are also where meaning is found.  Sienna is mourning the loss of her father in a tragic accident for which she blames herself.  She suffers serious PTSD symptoms.  Austin, too, mourns the loss of his father to prison and after a friend is caught with drugs in his car, is working to rebuild his own life on the back of a scholarship to play football for the Florida Gators.

Quite a few other problems plague these two.  At times I thought, “Oh come on; you’ve got to be kidding,” but many students will be drawn to the drama of the conflicts. Also, several rather unbelievable coincidences move the plot along a bit too conveniently; however, again many students will be willing to overlook these because of the chemistry between these star crossed kids. The attraction between them is intense (& a bit exaggerated for an aging cynic like me), but the interactions between them are tasteful and suitable for most readers. The coming of age themes surely makes Rewind to You worth the read.

I think my Sarah Dessen fans will like this because of its beachy feel.  Sienna also becomes a strong young lady throughout the course of the novel, which is also like Dessen. It looks to be available only in Kindle form right now, so I won't be able to lend the title. I can certainly recommend it to my avid readers.

Literary Snobbery?

In "Jennifer Weiner: Why I'm Waging War on Literary Snobbery," author Jane Mulkerrins asserts Jennifer Weiner has long been aware of the sort of writer she wants to be. “I knew the kind of books I loved myself, which perhaps aren’t considered great literature, but are great stories, with strong characters and smart observations,” she says. “You might not stop and gasp over every sentence, but those books get put in lots of beach bags, and taken on lots of aeroplanes, and read in lots of hospitals: they keep people company and they make them feel good. Those are the books I wanted to write.”

She is certainly very successful.  As a librarian I book talk the young adult versions of Weiner's books on a regular basis.  I enjoy reading them.  I enjoy talking about them.  As an Advanced Placement Literature teacher, I am a bit uncomfortable with her disdain.  Certainly, I needed to read a bit further.  I did, only to discover that her complaints are not necessarily about the literary merit of a work.  

In reference to a fairly well publicized social media "battle" with Jonathan Franzen, she reveals her concern that works written by women for women is reviewed much less seriously and much less often than works written by men. I am often aware of the dearth of women in the accepted literary canon as I work through my curriculum each year. She also notes disappointment when other women speak disparagingly of "chick lit" - noting. "I’m not saying that we all need to hold hands and sing Kumbaya, but I wish that there was some recognition of what the real problem is. Chick lit is not the problem.”

While I agree her concerns are valid.  I think, perhaps, she begs the question of whether or not levels of literary merit exist in the publishing and reading world.  She openly admits that she is not that concerned with literary merit, but blames gender bias for the lack of respect her work receives.  I am not sure her reasoning is entirely valid - but thought provoking nonetheless.