Finished my first book of the summer, YA fiction First & Then by Emma Mills, and though it requires some suspension of disbelief in spots, OMG, I loved it. As Alyssa would say, "Not gonna lie." 😊 It was a guilty pleasure.A lot of teen fiction is written for a well-read reader who will appreciate the literary allusions and twists of language, and Mills uses more than most. Our protagonist/narrator is a fan of Jane Austen, referencing characters and plot twists from Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice foreign to the majority of high school readers. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing--these references could nudge a few readers toward reading Austen's works.
Additionally, the central plot weaves original conflicts and more rounded minor characters into into the more traditional, somewhat predictable high school storyline, giving all readers who've experienced high school some connection and relevance. There's football, there's padding the resumé for college applications, and there's the girl-likes-boy motif, sure--but Mills' style and the narration excused the clichés for me.
I see myself using a couple paragraphs as read-alouds, and several lines jumped out as mentor texts for writing in the fall. It's definitely a title I'll add to my classroom library, but it's a more solid recommendation for upperclassmen, who'll tend to better appreciate its subtleties and nuances.
Next up: The Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime, borrowed from Ashlee. Happy reading!
I finally found my copy of this book under a blanket in my car that was used to keep Cooper's muddy paws off of my new seats! I just finished my first book of the summer (stay tuned for new blog post), so I'm going to start this one next!
ReplyDeleteI finished this a couple days ago, and though it is not in my top 5, I did enjoy the easy, pleasure read. I agree that upperclassmen may enjoy this book more, but I agree in the sense that they are the same age as the narrator and probably dealing with the same stressors (i.e. college, homecoming, relationships, etc.). I loved how quickly it reads though, so I am glad you're adding it to your classroom library. I think there will be plenty of freshmen who dig in. :)
ReplyDelete