Related Texts:
Young Adult Novels
Almost every young adult novel deals with belonging in some way. Young adult novels can be a good choice because you are using literature for which you are the target audience.
If you choose a novel, make sure you can summarise the plot in 1-2 sentencse. If you can’t do this, pick a shorter text, otherwise you’ll end up telling the story instead of analysing the language features – that doesn’t get you many marks!
At the bottom of the page are annotations from Helen Sykes, an expert in English HSC texts and a list of books I haven't had time to annotate yet.
· Abdel-Fattah. Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This? Traces the experiences of a year 12 Muslim student, Amal, after she decides to wear the hijab to her local (and very Anglo) high school. There’s lots to discuss here - Amal, Simone and Layla have very different experiences of belonging to the Muslim community. Focus on cultural symbols, the colloquial and very perceptive first person narration, the way the dialogue characterises different experiences of belonging, and the use of humour to include the reader. The review at http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue57/DMHLBIT.htm shows and Anglo reader’s response. http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/TfC/article/view/598/559 has an interesting academic essay which analyses the novel from feminist and postcolonial perspectives. This could be useful for advanced and extension students who want to develop a more complex argument about belonging. (see Ms Carmyn or your English teacher if you want to know more about these theories).
· Drinkwater, Carol. Twentieth Century Girl. This diary-style novel depicts English women’s fight to “belong” politically – by voting. Discuss the way the author uses sensory description, rhetorical questions and colloquial dialogue to create a personal and emotional connection to the historical facts, making them relevant to an audience living over a century later. Recommended for standard students only.
· Clark, Margaret. Care factor zero. Larceny is born into a family that doesn’t want her, then ends up homeless. Talk about the way simple vocabulary and sentences, and colloquial language put you inside Larceny’s mind. Note the use of harsh, violent verbs (eg “spat” instead of “said”, “split” instead of “go”) to depict alienation. This book is a quick read that would work well with A simple gift.
· Hill, Anthony. Soldier Boy. This biography begins with Jim Martin’s death at Gallipoli, aged 14. Even though the ending comes first in this story, tension is built through the Jim’s changing relationships with his family and with his soldier mates. Describe the impact of the ‘flash-forward’ at the beginning and the historical documents included in the text, as well as the emotive language that develops the theme of belonging. Recommended for standard students.
· Baum, L. Frank. The Wizard of Oz. the famous story of four misfits on a journey to find the qualities that will help them belong. Analyse the way each character symbolises a particular human fault and how overcoming these faults connects them so that they can defeat the wicked witch. Recommended for standard students only.
· Blake, Bronwyn. Rock Dancer. Leah is an elite gymnast who did not catch her friend Morgan in the training accident which put her in a coma. Her family has moved to a country high school where Leah is sent on a rock climbing camp. Discuss the way internal monologue allows the reader into Leah’s head and the way sensory imagery of the landscape (which is almost a character on it’s own!) shows her progress from alienation, through tentative connections with other students, to deal with her feelings of guilt and develop a sense of belonging in a new context. The author’s view can be found at http://www.bronwynblake.com.au/rockdancer.html.
· Blake, Bronwyn. Julia, My Sister. The way Julia copes with the physical and emotional changes in her life after being involved in a traumatic accident reveals many facets of belonging. Pay special attention to the structural role of the songs threaded through the narrative and discuss the contrast between city and rural townlifestyles, especially the way the rich sensory descriptions of the outback depict the protagonist’s physchological state. The author’s view can be found at (Spoiler warning – read the book first!) http://www.bronwynblake.com.au/julia.html.
· Catherine Jinks Evil Genius. When super-smart Cadel is arrested for computer hacking he is sent to the Axis Institute for World Domination. How Cadel relates to other students and to the new friend he makes creates an unusual picture of belonging (and alienation). Pay attention to how the narrator creates tension by only gradually revealing the connections between characters, as well as the way different ‘voices’ in the dialogue develop characterisation along stereotypes of “hero” and “villain”.
· Christopher, Lucy. Stolen. This award-winning novel portrays the relationship between a teenage girl and her kidnapper, managing to escape simple categories such as villain and victim. Discuss the structure (a “letter” to her captor) the language (intense and emotive descriptions, esp. of the Australian outback) and the characterisation through dialogue (depicting their initial alienation and their gradual shift toward belonging).
· Cornish, L. M. The Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling. Rossamund Bookchild leaves the orphanage (where he grew up alienated by his girl’s name and small build) to become a lamplighter whose duty is to light the lamps along the Emperor's highways, and protect all travellers from monsters that live in the wild. Focus on the lavish sensory descriptions and his growing relationship with Miss Europe and slow discovery that not all monsters wear a monstrous face. Winner of young adult and fantasy awards, this text is recommended for students who want to write about the complexities of family and social relationships.
· Dessen, Sarah. Dreamland. Romance with a twist from a much-loved young adult writer. Caitlin’s dream boyfriend helps her escape from her family reality after her sister runs away, but what happens when the dream becomes a nightmare? Discuss the way the first person narrator takes you into her mind through description (esp. metaphor and symbolism eg: I kept collecting [photos of ]faces, as if by holding all these people in my hands I could convince myself that everything was okay.” (p.184)) , the realism of the dialogue and the way Caitlin’s growth is represented in small details of her life.
· Fienberg, Anna. borrowed light. One of the most original novels about teenage pregnancy, this is the story of A-student, Callisto’s, changing relationships as she waits for her baby to be born. Discuss the way the extended metaphor of astronomy shapes the novel’s structure and symbolises the processes of alienation and belonging, but don’t forget about simple things like the way the dialogue and internal monologue shape your perception of Callisto.
· Gervay, Susanne. Butterflies. Katherine was badly burned in her childhood and constant hospital visits have prevented jher from fully connecting with her peers. However, she is determined to fir in and have a normal life. Discuss Katherine’s use of italics to let you into Katherine’s mind, paying particular attention to the sensory imagery, emotive language and symbolism (esp. of the title).
· Higgins, Simon. Thunderfish. After her father dies, heiress Kira hides from the media on a world cruise. Along the way she encounters a brutal attack on a refugee ship, and decides to do something about it. She buys a submarine and attacks the boats that prey on vulnerable craft, and finds a whole new type of belonging in her new ‘job’. Focus on the structural device of celebrity newspaper clippings about Kira and her real life as a vigilante as well as the many literary allusions to “40, 000 leagues under the sea”.
· Moriarty, Jaclyn. Feeling Sorry for Celia. This novel is a humerous collection of (letters, notes and other ‘scraps’ of Celia’s life which illustrate the connections between Cellia and her divorced parents, best friend and pen pal at a local school. Analyse the way the reader interacts with the unusual (postmodern) structure, and the language features of the difference character’s ‘voices’. Pay special attention to the way satirical letters from organisations such as The Cold Hard Truth Society and The Association of Teenagers which exist only within Celia’s mind express her sense of alienation/belonging. A deceptively simple book which could be used by standard or advanced students.
· Knight, Kathryn. Watershed. Set in the Blue Mountains, this novel tells the story of Belinda, Leni and Lance three students who learn the value of friendship in developing courage to overcome the problems in their lives. . Pay attention to the metaphors used to describe the characters’ feelings of alienation and belonging, and the way the dialogue reveals or hides their feelings.
· Larbalestier, Justine. Liar. Compulsive liar, Micah is becomes a suspect in her boyfriend’s murder. Pay special attention to the way the reader interacts with the structure of the story and the subtle hints given by the unreliable narrator (read some reviews online – eg at amazon - to get a range of reader responses). This award-winning book is recommned3ed for advanced students
· Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak. After an event in the summer break, Melinda becomes an outcaste at school and stops talking. Focus on the interior monologue (her ‘brain voice’) and the way the structure slowly reveals the causes and results of the event. NB – it’s pretty intense so don’t read it if you’re already feeling depressed!
· Mac, Carrie The Beckoners. A gripping tale of a girl’s desire to belong and what happens when classroom bullying goes too far. Focus on the characterisation through internal monologue and metaphor. Look at the way April and Zoe relate to each other and their motivation for their different reactions to the beckoners. Pay special attention to the way April’s perspective frames Zoe’s story.
· Maloney, James. Gracey. After winning a scholarship to an Anglo-Australian boarding school, Grace feels alienated in both Aboriginal and ‘White” communities. However, when Aboriginal bones are found by her brother, Dougy, in Gracey’s hometown, she is forced to re-examine her Aboriginal identity. Examine why Grace felt the need to change her name, discuss the interweaving of Grace and Dougy’s stories, and the way the two setting frame the character’s sense of belonging. A useful summary (spoiler alert!) at http://edmundrice.wordpress.com/students/mrs-thatchers-novel-summaries/gracey/. And list of characters and themes at http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/skins/uqp/_uploads/TeachersNotes/Gracey.pdf
· Marsden, John Tomorrow when the War Began. A group of teens return from the Easter camping trip in a hidden valley to discover their town (and all of Australia) has been invaded by a military force. Analyse the way this crisis creates tensions and connections between different members of the group, and pay particular attention to Ellie’s first person narrative voice and the way the landscape defines their experiences of belonging as they develop into a group of skilled guerrilla warriors. Pay special attention to tropes and metaphors such as the ironic use of “Hell” as a place of safety.
· McCarthy, Maureen. Ganglands. Kelly is a scholarship girl from a poor family in a small country town. When she meets Con her life changes forever. Pay attention to the metaphors used to describe Kelly’s feeling of alienation and belonging, and the way the landscape echoes her feelings. Recommended for standard students.
· McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong. Talented musician, Menolly embarrasses her family by wanting to pursue a career is a harper even though she’s a girl. This fantasy novel depicts struggle against all the odds to change the ‘rules’ after her accidental discovery of dragon-lizards, which will save her colony. Focus on the way the landscape is used to portray Menolly’s emotions as well as types of orders and questions in the dialogue to establish her role in the hold and the hall.
· McCaffrey, Kate. In Ecstasy. In an effort to match up to her popular friend, Sophie, Mia begins taking drugs. Her new outgoing self attracts friends and a boyfriend, creating dependence she finds almost impossible to shake. Discuss the way the changing narrators affect the reader’s view of the situation as well as the metaphors used to depict particular states of mind. For a quick overview, read he review at http://katemccaffrey.wordpress.com/ . Recommended for standard students.
· Mc Robbie, David. See how they run. When English Emma’s father becomes witness in an important case, her family runs away from their old lives into witness protection in Australia. Will her need to belong give away secrets that put their lives in danger? Discuss the use of dialogue and settings, and pay special attention to descriptions of Emma’s thought processes at climactic moments. Recommended for standard students only. A summary (spoiler alert!) is available at http://edmundrice.wordpress.com/students/mrs-thatchers-novel-summaries/see-how-they-run/
· Pierce, Tamora. The Will of the Empress. Although they a developed their magical abilities together (see the Circle of Magic series), Daja, Tris, and Briar and Sandry have recently grown apart. Sandry tries to bring them together on a trip to visit her cousin Berene, Empress of Namorn. The will need to overcome their distrust of each other before they can overcome the social and sexual inequalities of Namornese society and escape back to Tortall. You don’t have to have read the previous series as this story is set much later in their lives. Focus on the characterisation, especially the symbols associated with each character and plot devices which result in their ‘belonging’ together again. Recommended for standard students (but don’t get sidetracked into telling the plot – focus on two-three important scenes).
· Pierce, Tamora. Trickster’s Choice. Aly is taken by pirates and sold as a slave where she makes a bet with the god Kyprioth, to protect the children of the Balitang family from unknown dangers. Her adventures teach Aly a whole new way of belonging in a country far from her family. Focus on the way the weather and settings represent Aly’s emotions and on the symbolic way her relationship with Nawat develops. Recommended for standard students (but don’t get sidetracked into telling the plot – focus on two-three important scenes).
· Pierce, Tamora. Terrier. This detective story is set in a medieval fantasy world of Tortall. Although Beka was raised to be a “lady” by the Lord Provost, she decides to become a “dog” (police officer) and investigate the murders of missing children. Focus on the increasingly formal and clichéd dialogue and sensory descriptions which reveal Beka’s alienation from her biological family and the jargon and colloquial language which show her gradual acceptance into the “kennel. Recommended for standard and advanced students who want to focus on characterisation (don’t get sidetracked into telling the plot – focus on two-three important scenes).
· Provost, Anne. Falling. A fascinating look at how and innocent person can become a violent racist and the shocking results of not taking action against others’ evil. Pay particular attention to the way hate creates a sense of belonging as strong as love (eg when Caitlin reveals her background, p 202 and at the protest, p214, 216). How does the first person narration and the mundane realism of the description position you to accept racism? What symbols and dialogue differentiate Caitlin, Bennoit and Lucas? How is the past gradually revealed?
· Pullman, Phillip. Northern Lights. The strongest sense of belonging in the His Dark Materials universe is between a person and their soul/daemon. When children start to disappear, Lyra decides to investigate and . This text could be used by standard students on a simple level to discuss the role of daemons in creating the ultimate form of belonging or by advanced students who could analyse the author’s use of literary references to the biblical stories and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
· Rhue, Martin. The Wave. This quick read tells the true story of a history teacher who accidentally created a neo-Nazi club in his school as an experiment to show his class why people followed Hitler. A fantastic text highlighting the benefits and problems associated with belonging. Ask Ms Carmyn for a study guide which highlights the techniques in this novel. There is a film of this text, but it doesn’t have many techniques to talk about; the novel is better
· Salinger, J D. The Catcher in the Rye.The ultimate classic young adult novel about a teenage boy who feels alienated from all the “phonies” he sees around him. Discuss the first person narrator’s use internal monologue, colloquial voice and carefully controlled tone t5o directly address the reader (second person).. Look for motifs such as graffiti, ducks and the red hat, metaphors such as the carousel and literary allusions. An excellent study guide can be found at http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/.
· Savides, Irene. Sky Legs. This novel explores the dilemmas Eleni and Pete face as they try to maintain their individuality and still find a sense of belonging among their peers. Discuss the way internal and external dialogue allows access to the character’s thoughts and motivations and analyse the way their narrative parallels the narrative of Eleni’s parents in the letter which are interwoven throughout the story.
· Savides, Irene. Willow Tree and Olive. Memories of abuse are triggered by a guest speaker school PDHPE programme. Discuss the way the protagonist and her family deal with her slowly unfolding memories, paying particular attention to metaphor and the healing effects of the landscape.
· Serrailier, Ian. The Silver Sword. Set in Poland during WWII, this children’s classic traces the adventures of a family torn apart when the father is imprisoned for turning over the photos of Hilter on his class room wall. Examine the role of family and culture in defining a sense of belonging despite displacement and analyse the descriptions of characters and places. Recommended for standard students – it goes very well with Peter Skrzynecki.
· Suzann Collins. The Hunger Games. Set in a futuristic world where the government controls districts through a reality-TV style game in which teenagers are randomly chosen to fight to the death. Look at the descriptions, the dialogue and the way the plot develops to reveal a larger picture about what it means to belong.
· Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey’s Song. Continues the story of the Tillermans, focusing on Dicey’s struggle to belong in a new community. Pay particular attention to the role of different teachers, to the symbolism of the boat (and the way it links her to her family’s past), as well as to the continuing role of music in depicting belonging.
· Voigt, Cynthia. Homecoming. When her mentally unstable mother abandons Dicey Tillerman and her three younger siblings in a car park, Dicey decides to take her family to their aunt’s house hundreds of miles away. The rich characterisation is used to explore ideas of belonging in families and foster care. Comment on the role of music in creating a sense of belonging for the Tillermans and the people they meet, and the use of water as a symbol of both separation and safety.
· Winton, Tim. Blueback. Abel lives with his mother by the beach where he meets the giant fish, Blueback. When his mother is approached by developers they fight to save the bay where they belong. Focus on Winton’s sumptuous language as well as the relationships between people and place which exist on a spiritual level. The author’s views on Blueback and the writing process can be found at http://users.tpg.com.au/waldrenm/winton.html
Helen Sykes recommendations (I haven't read them yet)
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation by M. T. Anderson. Walker Books, 2007. ISBN-13: 9781844282111. 368 pp
This is a powerful and original young adult novel about the big questions: are all human beings equal? does any human being have the right to own others? how important is personal freedom? It is set at the time of the American Revolution and tells the story of a young man who is the subject of an experiment. This is a book for good readers – and readers who are prepared to be patient. Although it is a young adult novel, it is perfectly suitable for Advanced students and for the best Standard students.
Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught. Random House Australia, 2008. ISBN-13 9781741663037. 308 pp. This American young adult novel is a warm and ultimately positive story about body image. Jamie, in her final year at high school, writes a column in the student paper – her ‘big fat manifesto’, complaining about the poor press given to fat people and arguing, in effect, that fat is beautiful. This would be a good text for Standard girls.
Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey by Kate McCaffrey. Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2006. ISBN-13: 9781921064579. 177 pp. This is a high-interest young adult novel about cyberbullying. The viciousness of the language is interesting – does cyberspace provide teenagers with a sense of distance that allows them to be more vile than they would be face to face? There is a very strong representation of school cliques – the A Group (or the Bitches), the Weirdos and Queeros – and of contemporary teenage language. This is a good choice for Standard students.
The Two Pearls of Wisdom by Alison Goodman. HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. ISBN-13: 9780732288006. 435 pp. This is a superb fantasy for older teenage readers. It involves dragons, but this is most certainly not stereotypical. Beautifully written, it is the story of a young protagonist who is convinced that the only way that she can ‘belong’ and succeed is by denying her identity. This is suitable at all levels.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville. The Text Publishing Company 2006 (2005). ISBN-13: 9781921145254. 336 pp.
This is superb – a wonderfully readable account of William Thornhill, transported to the colony in 1806, with his wife Sal and his children. William has grown up on the meanest of London streets and has known hunger and fear, but never anything as alien as the foreign world of Sydney Cove: ‘How could air, water, dirt and rocks fashion themselves to be so outlandish?’ This is the ultimate emancipist story and a revelation into the inability of the settlers to understand the indigenous sense of belonging to the land.
This is for Advanced Level students.
The Spare Room by Kathryn Lomer. University of Queensland Press, 2004. ISBN-13: 9780702234774. 165 pp. This is quite short and it’s an easy read. It’s about culture shock – a young Japanese student sent to learn English in Tasmania. There are lots of humour about Australian idioms. Language is represented as an important part of belonging:‘We talked about how natural and thoughtless a native language is, something you think about as little as the fact that your skin holds all the parts of the body together. It is like a second skin, a skin of words and phrases and meaning.’ This is a great choice for ESL students, as well as for Standard students.
Spud by John van de ruit. Penguin Books, 2008 (2005). ISBN-13: 9780141323565. 389 pp. Young adult novel. This is a novel about boys behaving badly in a posh private boarding school – set in South Africa at the time Mandela was released from gaol. This is a coming of age novel in which the main character finds himself, for the first time in his life, treating a black person with respect. This is at times very funny. This will appeal mainly to boys.
Ten Out of Ten by Allan Baillie et al. Phoenix Education, 2003. ISBN-13 9781876580483. 90 pp. Short stories. This is a collection of ten Australian short stories, chosen to be used in the classroom with readers in Years 9 and 10. There is a wide variety of story types but a common concern with issues of diversity and tolerance, so that a number of stories fit well into the concept of belonging. For example, Melissa Lucashenko’s ‘Mr Walker’ is a story about the discrimination that indigenous people face in their day to day lives; Sophie Masson’s ‘Pintade’ is an amusing story of growing up between two cultures – in this case, as a French-Australian. Nadia Wheatley is at her considerable best in a quite short story ‘Alien’, about a girl whose parents are profoundly deaf. ‘Alien’ is about the experience of moving to a new town and a new school and the yearning to belong. Jenny Pausacker also has an excellent school-based story about a boy who is gay. This is an excellent Standard text.
King Dork by Frank Portman. Penguin Books, 2007 (2006). ISBN-13: 9780141322803. 344 pp. The disaffected youth of the twenty-first century make Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in a Rye look like a wimp. This very funny and clever novel is partly about The Catcher in the Rye, which the narrator despises.This will appeal particularly to boys – especially if they are interested in popular music
Books I haven't had time to annotate yet
· Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clark HaHa
· Paul Gallico, The Snow Goose
· Ken Kesey, Kes
· Geraldine Brooks, March
· Lionel Shriver, We Need To Talk About Kevin
· Alice Sebold , The Lovely Bones
· Yann Martel, The Life of Pi
· Jay Kopelman, From Baghdad With LoveBenjamin Zephaniah, Refugee Boy
· Amit Chaudhuri, A New World
· Suzanne Gervais, That's Why I Wrote This song (lyrics and video make this multimedia)
· kathy Lette, Puberty Blues (also a film)
· Scott Monk, Raw
· Maureen McCarthy, The In-Between series
· Maureen McCarthy, Queen Kat and St Jude
· Ting-xing Ye, Throwaway Daughter
· Beale, Fleur, Juno of Taris
· Bilkuei, Cola, Cola's Journey
· Hayes, Rosemary, Mixing it
· Laird, Elizabeth, A little piece of ground
· Sis, Peter, The Wall: growing up behind the Iron curtain
· A Foreign Wife - Gillian Bouras
· Alien - Nadia Wheatley
· Always Adam - Sheldon Oberman
· An imaginary Life - David Malouf
· Animal Farm - George Orwell
· Antigone – Sophocles
· Belonging - Jeannie Baker Walker
· Boss of the Pool - Robin Klein
· Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
· Colin and the Snoozebox - Leigh Hodgkinson
· Desire Under the Elms - Eugene O'Neill
· Destroying Avalong - kate McCaffrey
· Digger J Jones - Richard J Frankland
· Diptych - Robert Gray
· Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
· Fancy Nancy - Jane O'Connor
· First they Killed My Father - Luong Ung
· Freckleface Strawberry - Julianne Moore
· Geography Club - Brent Hartinger
· Getting It - Alex Sanchez
· Girl With a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
· Great Joy - Kate DiCamillo
· Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
· Inside Black Australia - Kevin Gilbert
· Jane Eyre - Sandy Welch
· Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
· Mutt Dog - Stephen Michael King
· Nine Hours North - Tim Sinclair
· Norm the Onion - Wendy Orr
· Not Old Enough - Charlotte Middleton
· Notre Dame de Paris - Victor Hugo
· Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
· One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
· Raw - Scott Monk
· Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice-Burroughs
· The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger
· The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith - Thomas Keneally
· The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
· The Island - Armn Greder
· Dragonsong Anne McCaffrey
· The Mysteries of Belonging - Marjorie Salvodon
· The Rope Ladder - Nigel Richardson
· The Secret River - Kate Grenville
· The Spare Room - Kathryn Lomer\
· The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
· The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
· Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Two Tough Teddies - Kilmerry Niland
If you choose a novel, make sure you can summarise the plot in 1-2 sentencse. If you can’t do this, pick a shorter text, otherwise you’ll end up telling the story instead of analysing the language features – that doesn’t get you many marks!
At the bottom of the page are annotations from Helen Sykes, an expert in English HSC texts and a list of books I haven't had time to annotate yet.
· Abdel-Fattah. Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This? Traces the experiences of a year 12 Muslim student, Amal, after she decides to wear the hijab to her local (and very Anglo) high school. There’s lots to discuss here - Amal, Simone and Layla have very different experiences of belonging to the Muslim community. Focus on cultural symbols, the colloquial and very perceptive first person narration, the way the dialogue characterises different experiences of belonging, and the use of humour to include the reader. The review at http://www.theblurb.com.au/Issue57/DMHLBIT.htm shows and Anglo reader’s response. http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/ojs/index.php/TfC/article/view/598/559 has an interesting academic essay which analyses the novel from feminist and postcolonial perspectives. This could be useful for advanced and extension students who want to develop a more complex argument about belonging. (see Ms Carmyn or your English teacher if you want to know more about these theories).
· Drinkwater, Carol. Twentieth Century Girl. This diary-style novel depicts English women’s fight to “belong” politically – by voting. Discuss the way the author uses sensory description, rhetorical questions and colloquial dialogue to create a personal and emotional connection to the historical facts, making them relevant to an audience living over a century later. Recommended for standard students only.
· Clark, Margaret. Care factor zero. Larceny is born into a family that doesn’t want her, then ends up homeless. Talk about the way simple vocabulary and sentences, and colloquial language put you inside Larceny’s mind. Note the use of harsh, violent verbs (eg “spat” instead of “said”, “split” instead of “go”) to depict alienation. This book is a quick read that would work well with A simple gift.
· Hill, Anthony. Soldier Boy. This biography begins with Jim Martin’s death at Gallipoli, aged 14. Even though the ending comes first in this story, tension is built through the Jim’s changing relationships with his family and with his soldier mates. Describe the impact of the ‘flash-forward’ at the beginning and the historical documents included in the text, as well as the emotive language that develops the theme of belonging. Recommended for standard students.
· Baum, L. Frank. The Wizard of Oz. the famous story of four misfits on a journey to find the qualities that will help them belong. Analyse the way each character symbolises a particular human fault and how overcoming these faults connects them so that they can defeat the wicked witch. Recommended for standard students only.
· Blake, Bronwyn. Rock Dancer. Leah is an elite gymnast who did not catch her friend Morgan in the training accident which put her in a coma. Her family has moved to a country high school where Leah is sent on a rock climbing camp. Discuss the way internal monologue allows the reader into Leah’s head and the way sensory imagery of the landscape (which is almost a character on it’s own!) shows her progress from alienation, through tentative connections with other students, to deal with her feelings of guilt and develop a sense of belonging in a new context. The author’s view can be found at http://www.bronwynblake.com.au/rockdancer.html.
· Blake, Bronwyn. Julia, My Sister. The way Julia copes with the physical and emotional changes in her life after being involved in a traumatic accident reveals many facets of belonging. Pay special attention to the structural role of the songs threaded through the narrative and discuss the contrast between city and rural townlifestyles, especially the way the rich sensory descriptions of the outback depict the protagonist’s physchological state. The author’s view can be found at (Spoiler warning – read the book first!) http://www.bronwynblake.com.au/julia.html.
· Catherine Jinks Evil Genius. When super-smart Cadel is arrested for computer hacking he is sent to the Axis Institute for World Domination. How Cadel relates to other students and to the new friend he makes creates an unusual picture of belonging (and alienation). Pay attention to how the narrator creates tension by only gradually revealing the connections between characters, as well as the way different ‘voices’ in the dialogue develop characterisation along stereotypes of “hero” and “villain”.
· Christopher, Lucy. Stolen. This award-winning novel portrays the relationship between a teenage girl and her kidnapper, managing to escape simple categories such as villain and victim. Discuss the structure (a “letter” to her captor) the language (intense and emotive descriptions, esp. of the Australian outback) and the characterisation through dialogue (depicting their initial alienation and their gradual shift toward belonging).
· Cornish, L. M. The Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling. Rossamund Bookchild leaves the orphanage (where he grew up alienated by his girl’s name and small build) to become a lamplighter whose duty is to light the lamps along the Emperor's highways, and protect all travellers from monsters that live in the wild. Focus on the lavish sensory descriptions and his growing relationship with Miss Europe and slow discovery that not all monsters wear a monstrous face. Winner of young adult and fantasy awards, this text is recommended for students who want to write about the complexities of family and social relationships.
· Dessen, Sarah. Dreamland. Romance with a twist from a much-loved young adult writer. Caitlin’s dream boyfriend helps her escape from her family reality after her sister runs away, but what happens when the dream becomes a nightmare? Discuss the way the first person narrator takes you into her mind through description (esp. metaphor and symbolism eg: I kept collecting [photos of ]faces, as if by holding all these people in my hands I could convince myself that everything was okay.” (p.184)) , the realism of the dialogue and the way Caitlin’s growth is represented in small details of her life.
· Fienberg, Anna. borrowed light. One of the most original novels about teenage pregnancy, this is the story of A-student, Callisto’s, changing relationships as she waits for her baby to be born. Discuss the way the extended metaphor of astronomy shapes the novel’s structure and symbolises the processes of alienation and belonging, but don’t forget about simple things like the way the dialogue and internal monologue shape your perception of Callisto.
· Gervay, Susanne. Butterflies. Katherine was badly burned in her childhood and constant hospital visits have prevented jher from fully connecting with her peers. However, she is determined to fir in and have a normal life. Discuss Katherine’s use of italics to let you into Katherine’s mind, paying particular attention to the sensory imagery, emotive language and symbolism (esp. of the title).
· Higgins, Simon. Thunderfish. After her father dies, heiress Kira hides from the media on a world cruise. Along the way she encounters a brutal attack on a refugee ship, and decides to do something about it. She buys a submarine and attacks the boats that prey on vulnerable craft, and finds a whole new type of belonging in her new ‘job’. Focus on the structural device of celebrity newspaper clippings about Kira and her real life as a vigilante as well as the many literary allusions to “40, 000 leagues under the sea”.
· Moriarty, Jaclyn. Feeling Sorry for Celia. This novel is a humerous collection of (letters, notes and other ‘scraps’ of Celia’s life which illustrate the connections between Cellia and her divorced parents, best friend and pen pal at a local school. Analyse the way the reader interacts with the unusual (postmodern) structure, and the language features of the difference character’s ‘voices’. Pay special attention to the way satirical letters from organisations such as The Cold Hard Truth Society and The Association of Teenagers which exist only within Celia’s mind express her sense of alienation/belonging. A deceptively simple book which could be used by standard or advanced students.
· Knight, Kathryn. Watershed. Set in the Blue Mountains, this novel tells the story of Belinda, Leni and Lance three students who learn the value of friendship in developing courage to overcome the problems in their lives. . Pay attention to the metaphors used to describe the characters’ feelings of alienation and belonging, and the way the dialogue reveals or hides their feelings.
· Larbalestier, Justine. Liar. Compulsive liar, Micah is becomes a suspect in her boyfriend’s murder. Pay special attention to the way the reader interacts with the structure of the story and the subtle hints given by the unreliable narrator (read some reviews online – eg at amazon - to get a range of reader responses). This award-winning book is recommned3ed for advanced students
· Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak. After an event in the summer break, Melinda becomes an outcaste at school and stops talking. Focus on the interior monologue (her ‘brain voice’) and the way the structure slowly reveals the causes and results of the event. NB – it’s pretty intense so don’t read it if you’re already feeling depressed!
· Mac, Carrie The Beckoners. A gripping tale of a girl’s desire to belong and what happens when classroom bullying goes too far. Focus on the characterisation through internal monologue and metaphor. Look at the way April and Zoe relate to each other and their motivation for their different reactions to the beckoners. Pay special attention to the way April’s perspective frames Zoe’s story.
· Maloney, James. Gracey. After winning a scholarship to an Anglo-Australian boarding school, Grace feels alienated in both Aboriginal and ‘White” communities. However, when Aboriginal bones are found by her brother, Dougy, in Gracey’s hometown, she is forced to re-examine her Aboriginal identity. Examine why Grace felt the need to change her name, discuss the interweaving of Grace and Dougy’s stories, and the way the two setting frame the character’s sense of belonging. A useful summary (spoiler alert!) at http://edmundrice.wordpress.com/students/mrs-thatchers-novel-summaries/gracey/. And list of characters and themes at http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/skins/uqp/_uploads/TeachersNotes/Gracey.pdf
· Marsden, John Tomorrow when the War Began. A group of teens return from the Easter camping trip in a hidden valley to discover their town (and all of Australia) has been invaded by a military force. Analyse the way this crisis creates tensions and connections between different members of the group, and pay particular attention to Ellie’s first person narrative voice and the way the landscape defines their experiences of belonging as they develop into a group of skilled guerrilla warriors. Pay special attention to tropes and metaphors such as the ironic use of “Hell” as a place of safety.
· McCarthy, Maureen. Ganglands. Kelly is a scholarship girl from a poor family in a small country town. When she meets Con her life changes forever. Pay attention to the metaphors used to describe Kelly’s feeling of alienation and belonging, and the way the landscape echoes her feelings. Recommended for standard students.
· McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong. Talented musician, Menolly embarrasses her family by wanting to pursue a career is a harper even though she’s a girl. This fantasy novel depicts struggle against all the odds to change the ‘rules’ after her accidental discovery of dragon-lizards, which will save her colony. Focus on the way the landscape is used to portray Menolly’s emotions as well as types of orders and questions in the dialogue to establish her role in the hold and the hall.
· McCaffrey, Kate. In Ecstasy. In an effort to match up to her popular friend, Sophie, Mia begins taking drugs. Her new outgoing self attracts friends and a boyfriend, creating dependence she finds almost impossible to shake. Discuss the way the changing narrators affect the reader’s view of the situation as well as the metaphors used to depict particular states of mind. For a quick overview, read he review at http://katemccaffrey.wordpress.com/ . Recommended for standard students.
· Mc Robbie, David. See how they run. When English Emma’s father becomes witness in an important case, her family runs away from their old lives into witness protection in Australia. Will her need to belong give away secrets that put their lives in danger? Discuss the use of dialogue and settings, and pay special attention to descriptions of Emma’s thought processes at climactic moments. Recommended for standard students only. A summary (spoiler alert!) is available at http://edmundrice.wordpress.com/students/mrs-thatchers-novel-summaries/see-how-they-run/
· Pierce, Tamora. The Will of the Empress. Although they a developed their magical abilities together (see the Circle of Magic series), Daja, Tris, and Briar and Sandry have recently grown apart. Sandry tries to bring them together on a trip to visit her cousin Berene, Empress of Namorn. The will need to overcome their distrust of each other before they can overcome the social and sexual inequalities of Namornese society and escape back to Tortall. You don’t have to have read the previous series as this story is set much later in their lives. Focus on the characterisation, especially the symbols associated with each character and plot devices which result in their ‘belonging’ together again. Recommended for standard students (but don’t get sidetracked into telling the plot – focus on two-three important scenes).
· Pierce, Tamora. Trickster’s Choice. Aly is taken by pirates and sold as a slave where she makes a bet with the god Kyprioth, to protect the children of the Balitang family from unknown dangers. Her adventures teach Aly a whole new way of belonging in a country far from her family. Focus on the way the weather and settings represent Aly’s emotions and on the symbolic way her relationship with Nawat develops. Recommended for standard students (but don’t get sidetracked into telling the plot – focus on two-three important scenes).
· Pierce, Tamora. Terrier. This detective story is set in a medieval fantasy world of Tortall. Although Beka was raised to be a “lady” by the Lord Provost, she decides to become a “dog” (police officer) and investigate the murders of missing children. Focus on the increasingly formal and clichéd dialogue and sensory descriptions which reveal Beka’s alienation from her biological family and the jargon and colloquial language which show her gradual acceptance into the “kennel. Recommended for standard and advanced students who want to focus on characterisation (don’t get sidetracked into telling the plot – focus on two-three important scenes).
· Provost, Anne. Falling. A fascinating look at how and innocent person can become a violent racist and the shocking results of not taking action against others’ evil. Pay particular attention to the way hate creates a sense of belonging as strong as love (eg when Caitlin reveals her background, p 202 and at the protest, p214, 216). How does the first person narration and the mundane realism of the description position you to accept racism? What symbols and dialogue differentiate Caitlin, Bennoit and Lucas? How is the past gradually revealed?
· Pullman, Phillip. Northern Lights. The strongest sense of belonging in the His Dark Materials universe is between a person and their soul/daemon. When children start to disappear, Lyra decides to investigate and . This text could be used by standard students on a simple level to discuss the role of daemons in creating the ultimate form of belonging or by advanced students who could analyse the author’s use of literary references to the biblical stories and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
· Rhue, Martin. The Wave. This quick read tells the true story of a history teacher who accidentally created a neo-Nazi club in his school as an experiment to show his class why people followed Hitler. A fantastic text highlighting the benefits and problems associated with belonging. Ask Ms Carmyn for a study guide which highlights the techniques in this novel. There is a film of this text, but it doesn’t have many techniques to talk about; the novel is better
· Salinger, J D. The Catcher in the Rye.The ultimate classic young adult novel about a teenage boy who feels alienated from all the “phonies” he sees around him. Discuss the first person narrator’s use internal monologue, colloquial voice and carefully controlled tone t5o directly address the reader (second person).. Look for motifs such as graffiti, ducks and the red hat, metaphors such as the carousel and literary allusions. An excellent study guide can be found at http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/.
· Savides, Irene. Sky Legs. This novel explores the dilemmas Eleni and Pete face as they try to maintain their individuality and still find a sense of belonging among their peers. Discuss the way internal and external dialogue allows access to the character’s thoughts and motivations and analyse the way their narrative parallels the narrative of Eleni’s parents in the letter which are interwoven throughout the story.
· Savides, Irene. Willow Tree and Olive. Memories of abuse are triggered by a guest speaker school PDHPE programme. Discuss the way the protagonist and her family deal with her slowly unfolding memories, paying particular attention to metaphor and the healing effects of the landscape.
· Serrailier, Ian. The Silver Sword. Set in Poland during WWII, this children’s classic traces the adventures of a family torn apart when the father is imprisoned for turning over the photos of Hilter on his class room wall. Examine the role of family and culture in defining a sense of belonging despite displacement and analyse the descriptions of characters and places. Recommended for standard students – it goes very well with Peter Skrzynecki.
· Suzann Collins. The Hunger Games. Set in a futuristic world where the government controls districts through a reality-TV style game in which teenagers are randomly chosen to fight to the death. Look at the descriptions, the dialogue and the way the plot develops to reveal a larger picture about what it means to belong.
· Voigt, Cynthia. Dicey’s Song. Continues the story of the Tillermans, focusing on Dicey’s struggle to belong in a new community. Pay particular attention to the role of different teachers, to the symbolism of the boat (and the way it links her to her family’s past), as well as to the continuing role of music in depicting belonging.
· Voigt, Cynthia. Homecoming. When her mentally unstable mother abandons Dicey Tillerman and her three younger siblings in a car park, Dicey decides to take her family to their aunt’s house hundreds of miles away. The rich characterisation is used to explore ideas of belonging in families and foster care. Comment on the role of music in creating a sense of belonging for the Tillermans and the people they meet, and the use of water as a symbol of both separation and safety.
· Winton, Tim. Blueback. Abel lives with his mother by the beach where he meets the giant fish, Blueback. When his mother is approached by developers they fight to save the bay where they belong. Focus on Winton’s sumptuous language as well as the relationships between people and place which exist on a spiritual level. The author’s views on Blueback and the writing process can be found at http://users.tpg.com.au/waldrenm/winton.html
Helen Sykes recommendations (I haven't read them yet)
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation by M. T. Anderson. Walker Books, 2007. ISBN-13: 9781844282111. 368 pp
This is a powerful and original young adult novel about the big questions: are all human beings equal? does any human being have the right to own others? how important is personal freedom? It is set at the time of the American Revolution and tells the story of a young man who is the subject of an experiment. This is a book for good readers – and readers who are prepared to be patient. Although it is a young adult novel, it is perfectly suitable for Advanced students and for the best Standard students.
Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught. Random House Australia, 2008. ISBN-13 9781741663037. 308 pp. This American young adult novel is a warm and ultimately positive story about body image. Jamie, in her final year at high school, writes a column in the student paper – her ‘big fat manifesto’, complaining about the poor press given to fat people and arguing, in effect, that fat is beautiful. This would be a good text for Standard girls.
Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey by Kate McCaffrey. Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2006. ISBN-13: 9781921064579. 177 pp. This is a high-interest young adult novel about cyberbullying. The viciousness of the language is interesting – does cyberspace provide teenagers with a sense of distance that allows them to be more vile than they would be face to face? There is a very strong representation of school cliques – the A Group (or the Bitches), the Weirdos and Queeros – and of contemporary teenage language. This is a good choice for Standard students.
The Two Pearls of Wisdom by Alison Goodman. HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. ISBN-13: 9780732288006. 435 pp. This is a superb fantasy for older teenage readers. It involves dragons, but this is most certainly not stereotypical. Beautifully written, it is the story of a young protagonist who is convinced that the only way that she can ‘belong’ and succeed is by denying her identity. This is suitable at all levels.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville. The Text Publishing Company 2006 (2005). ISBN-13: 9781921145254. 336 pp.
This is superb – a wonderfully readable account of William Thornhill, transported to the colony in 1806, with his wife Sal and his children. William has grown up on the meanest of London streets and has known hunger and fear, but never anything as alien as the foreign world of Sydney Cove: ‘How could air, water, dirt and rocks fashion themselves to be so outlandish?’ This is the ultimate emancipist story and a revelation into the inability of the settlers to understand the indigenous sense of belonging to the land.
This is for Advanced Level students.
The Spare Room by Kathryn Lomer. University of Queensland Press, 2004. ISBN-13: 9780702234774. 165 pp. This is quite short and it’s an easy read. It’s about culture shock – a young Japanese student sent to learn English in Tasmania. There are lots of humour about Australian idioms. Language is represented as an important part of belonging:‘We talked about how natural and thoughtless a native language is, something you think about as little as the fact that your skin holds all the parts of the body together. It is like a second skin, a skin of words and phrases and meaning.’ This is a great choice for ESL students, as well as for Standard students.
Spud by John van de ruit. Penguin Books, 2008 (2005). ISBN-13: 9780141323565. 389 pp. Young adult novel. This is a novel about boys behaving badly in a posh private boarding school – set in South Africa at the time Mandela was released from gaol. This is a coming of age novel in which the main character finds himself, for the first time in his life, treating a black person with respect. This is at times very funny. This will appeal mainly to boys.
Ten Out of Ten by Allan Baillie et al. Phoenix Education, 2003. ISBN-13 9781876580483. 90 pp. Short stories. This is a collection of ten Australian short stories, chosen to be used in the classroom with readers in Years 9 and 10. There is a wide variety of story types but a common concern with issues of diversity and tolerance, so that a number of stories fit well into the concept of belonging. For example, Melissa Lucashenko’s ‘Mr Walker’ is a story about the discrimination that indigenous people face in their day to day lives; Sophie Masson’s ‘Pintade’ is an amusing story of growing up between two cultures – in this case, as a French-Australian. Nadia Wheatley is at her considerable best in a quite short story ‘Alien’, about a girl whose parents are profoundly deaf. ‘Alien’ is about the experience of moving to a new town and a new school and the yearning to belong. Jenny Pausacker also has an excellent school-based story about a boy who is gay. This is an excellent Standard text.
King Dork by Frank Portman. Penguin Books, 2007 (2006). ISBN-13: 9780141322803. 344 pp. The disaffected youth of the twenty-first century make Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in a Rye look like a wimp. This very funny and clever novel is partly about The Catcher in the Rye, which the narrator despises.This will appeal particularly to boys – especially if they are interested in popular music
Books I haven't had time to annotate yet
· Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clark HaHa
· Paul Gallico, The Snow Goose
· Ken Kesey, Kes
· Geraldine Brooks, March
· Lionel Shriver, We Need To Talk About Kevin
· Alice Sebold , The Lovely Bones
· Yann Martel, The Life of Pi
· Jay Kopelman, From Baghdad With LoveBenjamin Zephaniah, Refugee Boy
· Amit Chaudhuri, A New World
· Suzanne Gervais, That's Why I Wrote This song (lyrics and video make this multimedia)
· kathy Lette, Puberty Blues (also a film)
· Scott Monk, Raw
· Maureen McCarthy, The In-Between series
· Maureen McCarthy, Queen Kat and St Jude
· Ting-xing Ye, Throwaway Daughter
· Beale, Fleur, Juno of Taris
· Bilkuei, Cola, Cola's Journey
· Hayes, Rosemary, Mixing it
· Laird, Elizabeth, A little piece of ground
· Sis, Peter, The Wall: growing up behind the Iron curtain
· A Foreign Wife - Gillian Bouras
· Alien - Nadia Wheatley
· Always Adam - Sheldon Oberman
· An imaginary Life - David Malouf
· Animal Farm - George Orwell
· Antigone – Sophocles
· Belonging - Jeannie Baker Walker
· Boss of the Pool - Robin Klein
· Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
· Colin and the Snoozebox - Leigh Hodgkinson
· Desire Under the Elms - Eugene O'Neill
· Destroying Avalong - kate McCaffrey
· Digger J Jones - Richard J Frankland
· Diptych - Robert Gray
· Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
· Fancy Nancy - Jane O'Connor
· First they Killed My Father - Luong Ung
· Freckleface Strawberry - Julianne Moore
· Geography Club - Brent Hartinger
· Getting It - Alex Sanchez
· Girl With a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
· Great Joy - Kate DiCamillo
· Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
· Inside Black Australia - Kevin Gilbert
· Jane Eyre - Sandy Welch
· Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
· Mutt Dog - Stephen Michael King
· Nine Hours North - Tim Sinclair
· Norm the Onion - Wendy Orr
· Not Old Enough - Charlotte Middleton
· Notre Dame de Paris - Victor Hugo
· Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
· One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
· Raw - Scott Monk
· Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice-Burroughs
· The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger
· The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith - Thomas Keneally
· The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
· The Island - Armn Greder
· Dragonsong Anne McCaffrey
· The Mysteries of Belonging - Marjorie Salvodon
· The Rope Ladder - Nigel Richardson
· The Secret River - Kate Grenville
· The Spare Room - Kathryn Lomer\
· The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
· The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
· Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Two Tough Teddies - Kilmerry Niland