Module 6 Poetry, Drama, Film, Response

Hopkins, Ellen. (2007) IMPULSE. New York: Margaret E. McElderry Books.
ISBN-10: 1-4169-0356-9

Three troubled teens, Connor, Tony, and Vanessa, lives intersect at Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital after each had attempted suicide. Told in free verse in alternating chapters their broken lives are revealed with gripping emotion. Connor struggles to find meaning in his life in a rich, overbearing, perfect family, concerned only with appearances, with little love or emotion. His words capture his disillusionment, /I’ll still drive myself to/achieve impossible perfection./And I’ll never let myself/believe someone really loves me./
With the failure of a deeply emotional love affair, he shoots himself in the chest. /…I’m/ so flawed I wound up here,/ with sixty defective humans./But most people think there’s/ nothing troubling me at all./ …Perfect me/ underwent such complete/ demolition in the space/of four short months.”

Tony sells himself for sex to buy drugs. He was sentenced to nine years in a juvenile detention facility for a murder but was given an early release. Being abused as a child, he was confused about his sexuality. Losing a dear friend he decides to ease his pain with an overdose of pills. Tony says, /The big S, the first thing/ they do is lock you away/ by yourself, like you/ might try to do someone/ else in, ‘cause you didn’t/ do yourself good enough./ …And/ once I get out of here, I’ll/ have a better shot at it. Maybe/ next time I won’t try pills./

A military father often gone, a bipolar mother, and a secret abortion send Vanessa on a downward spiral. Vanessa says, /…the older/ I got, the more I began to see/ how much I resembled Mama,/ falling in and out of the blue,/ then lifting up into the white/….So I gave myself to the knife./ …The bad genes have doomed me/ to seesaw, white to blue/ and back again,/ for the rest of my pitiful life./
Cutting her flesh brings emotional release, then one day she cuts too deep, feeling herself slip away only to be discovered by her brother.
Vanessa later admits, /I don’t like to cut,/but I can’t give it up./

The three teens form a bond as they learn to live with the hospital rules, the regimented routines, and the hours of therapy. In time they share their darkest secrets with one another. Hopkins with her sharp, well-written free verse has tackled the difficult subject of teen suicide addressing the complex issues that drive the characters to the edge of hopelessness. This book deals with mature subject matter. Besides the topic of suicide, there is drug abuse, sexual abuse, cutting, mental illness, and sex, as well as language that can be rough, making this selection more appropriate for older more mature teens. The use of alternating voices of the characters is easy to follow once the reader is introduced to the characters and gets to know them. The dialogue reads naturally at times being light and humorous, and at other times, it becomes heart-wrenching to hear the characters expressions of despair. The reader will begin to feel they are listening to actual conversations.

With most of the story taking place in the psychiatric clinic, the thoughts and dialogue of the three teens become the means of propelling the plot forward. Hopkins is successful in creating a sense of action within the confines of the setting. The author enables the reader to experience the clinic setting with its regimented rules for going to bed, using the restroom, eating in the dining hall, or being able to talk with other adolescents. Making the lock-down facility seem real serves to remind the reader of the serious problems these teens are facing.

For some the voluminous nature of this book may be off-putting, however, with the verse reading like actual conversation and thoughts of teens, it will read fairly quickly. Free verse not being a favorite of mine, I anticipated bogging down in the story at some point. To Hopkins credit, I did not. Surprisingly, I found myself drawn into the story, wanting to know more of the details that brought the troubled teens to this tragic point in their lives. Kirkus Reviews called it “Sharp, searing free verse . . . fast, jagged, hypnotic.” I found this to be an accurate account.

The characters quickly begin to come to life as the reader learns of each one’s haunting story. Flashbacks are effectively utilized to provide background information of the characters past lives and experiences that brought them to the clinic. Hopkins gives depth and dimension to the characters. Each becomes a multi-layered specimen of human tragedy that draws the reader into the anguish and the desire for them to heal and find peace. Hopkins does not offer up a happy ending for all of the characters. She creates a turn in the events that may shock the reader, but it serves to remind us of the seriousness of these problems that often have no easy solutions. Several themes could be identified for in-depth discussion. Aside from the major issue of teen suicide, there are themes of relationships, love, family support, and self-discovery. The themes exemplify just how difficult growing up for some can be. Another review from VOYA describes this book as “A riveting, fast-paced story of teenage hurt and healing.” While the subject matter is dark and can make this a somewhat depressing read, the elements of help and healing offer a needed balance of hope. The story will not be one to be quickly forgotten as it will cause the reader to stop and think about the difficult issues that some adolescents must survive.

Wolff, Virginia Euwer (1993). MAKE LEMONADE. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-2228-7.

LaVaughn, is a 14 year old inner city high school student, who gets a job babysitting after school to earn money for her college savings fund. Her mom says, “Nobody in this building…ever went to college, nobody in my family.” LaVaughn says “that word COLLEGE is in our house all the time, it’s why I babysit, it’s why I do all the homework all the time, it’s what will get me out of here.” She takes a job babysitting for Jolly, a 17 year-old single mother of two, who has problems supporting herself and her two children.

This premise leads to a relationship between LaVaughn and Jolly, who readily admits, “…I can’t do it alone no longer…” Jolly has two young children, Jeremy and Jilly, by two different absent fathers. She dropped out of high school, struggles to earn a living by working at a factory job at night. Upon losing her job because of the boss’s sexual harassment, LaVaughn becomes more involved in Jolly’s problems, often serving as a role model for the kids and the voice of reason for Jolly. In the filthy apartment, LaVaughn has a bird’s eye view of Jolly’s reality. “Reality is I got baby puke on my sweater & shoes and they tell me they’ll cut off the electricity and my kids would have to take a bath in cold water. And the rent ain’t paid like usual. Reality is my babies only got one thing in the whole world and that’s me and that’s the reality.” LaVaughn’s mother recognizes how her daughter has a growing vested interest in Jolly as she says, “… that Jolly she’s got hold of you.” LaVaughn gets a real-life lesson from Jolly in choices and how one's decisions can impact others.

In her desperate, unsuccessful job search LaVaughn tells her, “You need yourself a job where you can dignify.” In time LaVaughn takes Jolly with her to Steam (self-esteem) class at her high school that provides daycare for single mothers while helping them to earn a high school diploma. Jolly who had been described as “a magnet for bad luck” seems to have found a sense of hope, a new beginning to attempt to build a better life for herself and her children.

Virginia Euwer Wolff's free verse style creates strong images. The dialogue told in first-person captures with ease the language and thoughts of the teenage characters. School Library Journal says, “The themes of parental love, sexual harassment, abuse, independence, and the value of education are its underpinnings.” LaVaughn is a bright, compassionate teenager who desires to better herself through education. Her mother is also a well developed character who encourages her daughter and reminds her to not lose sight of her goal. As author, Wolff, develops the relationship between LaVaughn and Jolly, the reader is able to appreciate the complexity of the two young women’s characters. Each is credible, providing a different perspective through their personalities and family backgrounds to the story.

The setting is a realistic backdrop to the story. Through the character of LaVaughn, the reader will enter and experience Jolly’s filthy apartment with its sticky floors, unwashed dishes, the highchair that is never clean, and the stench of a lack of cleanliness.

Wolff makes us question every stereotype we may hold: teenage moms bring their problems upon themselves, people who are out of work are lazy, and every poor person is anxious to accept a handout. None of these preconceived notions is true for Jolly as she adamantly refuses welfare. “Welfare! She still says like it’s a dirty diaper from some drug addict’s baby, a filthy thing she don’t want in her house.” At the root of this attitude is Jolly’s fear that she will be labeled as an unfit parent. Wolff is able to tell a story with profound sensitivity that creates sympathy without judging. As the reader begins to grasp the dimensions of Jolly’s character, perceptions are likely to change. We will better understand her fears, her lack of skills in caring for her home and children, her constant concern with not having enough money, her love for her young children, and her feelings of isolation and loneliness because no one cares about her. Jolly admits, “There ain’t a single person in the whole world I can count on. Not one single.” Wolff’s choice of words moves the reader to care about Jolly and to better understand LaVaughn’s dogged determination to invest her time, money, and energy in helping Jolly rise above her unfortunate circumstances.

Publishers Weekly says the story is "Radiant with hope, this keenly observed and poignant novel is a stellar addition to YA literature," praising Wolff's use of "meltingly lyric blank verse" to tell of two inner-city teenage girls struggling toward better lives.” While the story deals with subject matter that is depressing, the theme is ultimately one of taking responsibility and trying to do better, a story of hope.


Hale, Shannon & Hale, Dale. 2008. RAPUNZELS’S REVENGE. Ill. by Nathan Hale. New York, NY: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books. ISBN 13:9781599900704 (hardcover) 10:1599902885 (paperback)

The magic of fairy land meets the Wild West. Rapunzel is a spunky girl with grit and determination to fight for what is right. VOYA says, “Rapunzel’s Revenge presents girl power at its quirkiest.” Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Rapunzel in a villa with servants and the woman whom she mistakenly thought was her mother. She knew this supposed mother named Gothel had magical powers but never understood who Gothel really was. On her twelfth birthday she was determined to see over the wall that surrounded the villa in spite of being warned not to do so. She learns of the devastation beyond the wall and encounters her real mother from a camp of slaves, discovering she had been kidnapped from her family by mother Gothel. For her disobedience she was imprisoned in a tower inside an incredibly tall hollowed out giant tree.

At sixteen, after four years of being locked away, Rapunzel used her long braids as a lasso, ropes a treetop and swings free of the tower. Her mission becomes rescuing her real mother and teaching mother Gothel a lesson about bullying. Along the way, she meets Jack who shares her adventures of rescuing a kidnapped child, battling bad guys and ferocious beasts as they try to right the wrongs of mother Gothel. A plan is concocted to get into the villa to free Rapunzel’s real mother from the slave camp and to end Gothels’ power. Rapunzel and Jack manage to find a happy ever after ending.

While there is a happy ever after ending, this story teaches the reader about standing strong for one’s values and persevering in spite of difficult circumstances. It speaks volumes about helping others without being preachy. Rapunzel’s words such as “I’ll be swigger-jiggered and hung out to dry,” add tongue in cheek humor to the story. Some of the skillfully crafted humor will be enjoyed as much by adults as the young readers. Booklist describes Rapunzel’s Revenge as, “Rich with humor and excitement, this is an alternate version of a classic that will become a fast favorite of young readers.”

It is a well written, modern version of an independent, strong girl who fights for social justice. Kirkus Reviews refers to Rapunzel’s character as “a strong, sassy, braid-whipping character who waits for no prince.” Illustrations are done with attention to detail with the frames for the pictures formatted in varying sizes and shapes providing visual appeal and interest. Colors and shades are exquisitely selected with the artwork being able to stand alone as a story in and of itself. Rapunzel’s red hair is the perfect color for her spunky character. Minor characters are portrayed with a varied selection of facial tones and characteristics. School Library Journal describes the artwork as, “dynamic, fun, and jumps off the page.” While the illustrations are colorful and detailed, they do not compete with the words in the text but perfectly complement the story. “Nathan Hale’s art," according to Kirkus Reviews, is "stylistically reminiscent of a picture book, provides a snazzy counterpoint to the folksy text. It is a graphic novel that is pleasing to the eye and entertains from the first page until the last.” School Library Journal writes, “This is the tale as you’ve never seen it before. The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive.”

The plot is filled with adventures of nonstop action. Wild boars, ornery hooligans, thieving outlaws, kidnappers, bandits in the Badlands, and a fearsome sea monster are but a few of the encounters that move the plot along at a fast, energetic pace. The Horn Book, starred review claims, " Shannon and Dean Hale’s graphic novel treatment transforms Rapunzel into a spunky, hair-whip-toting cowgirl. Rapunzel’s maturation and growing sophistication are enjoyable to watch, as is the deepening friendship-flowering-into-romance between her and Jack.” The authors have achieved an action packed retelling of the Grimm’s fairytale. Their creative makeover relies on the strong characterizations of Rapunzel and Jack enhanced with the often hilarious dialogue and unrelenting excitement. Even those who may not be a fan of graphic novels should find this book enchanting.