Blog 7: Miller and YA novel
Blog 7: Miller and Chapter analysis
I. What I enjoyed about this chapter from Donalyn Miller’s book, Reading in the Wild, was how she explored a very real and difficult aspect of teaching; which is helping reader’s find their preferences and how to expand their preferences so that they are well rounded readers. Miller revealed that discovering what you like in books creates a reading attitude that helps you feel confident in reading and making reading choices. I also enjoyed all the various book and genre recommendations that Miller provided and the thoughtful analysis I was able to make regarding what I myself enjoy in books. I discovered that I like complicated characters in books with the occasional flashbacks of certain events.
What I learned about myself as a reader was that like the students from miller’s class, I also like to read realistic fiction books. This is because what may be happing in the book are things that I can relate to. Reading about situations that characters may be experiencing brings a sense of connection to the reading and creates a preference to which kinds of books I select in the future. I had never really thought about what kind of reading preferences I specifically had, I generally thought of being pretty open minded to books, although; this chapter made me realize that I prefer mystery/drama books and definitely do not prefer romance or science fiction books. However, I recognize that as a future teacher I will need to be well-versed in books of all genres and I hope to continue to expand my preferences by taking the tips Miller addressed.
- a) From my YA novel, We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, the main character’s name is Marin. Marin is a freshmen college student who has left behind every piece of her past after the death of her only family she had, her grandfather. Marin’s physical characteristics aren’t spoken about too much, the author mainly emphasizes her trauma and grief. However, she does compare her with her mother who had blonde long hair and was a thin surfer, she also contrasts her with her Hispanic best friend who has dark hair and exotic features. Marin is a very complex character, she shuts her self off to everyone she knew before and escaped from San Francisco to New York without telling anyone goodbye. During her grieving process she felt guilt, anger, and emptiness which made her alienate herself from others and push the only friend she had away. Marin starts a new life where she is picking up the pieces and moving on to be happy for her own sake. A sentence I chose to better understand the character and her position is: “I wonder if I will become okay again. I hope for it.” This sentence stuck out to me because throughout the course of the book we are following a character who has so much grief, pain, and loss that you really hope there is light at the end of the tunnel and you are not entirely sure if they can ever make it out the deep hole that they’ve sunken into. While reading about her journey, we also hope she will be okay.
b) Overall, Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I know I say this about every book I have read this far, what can I say I’m great at selecting books, but honestly I really enjoyed this book because although it is deeply devastating, it is really beautifully and sensitively crafted. It was almost eery how similar I felt in position to the character because Marin has decided to spend the winter break alone in her dorm with no one else around and I too, decided to spend time alone during the thanksgiving break. Aside from this, I loved reading about her reaching clarity on events that occurred and her acceptance towards them. I commended the character for her strength and maturity throughout her experiences with secrets, loss, and heartbreak. I also loved how the book intertwined LGBTQ discussions that are relatable among teens. Yes, I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy following a character’s experience with all things heartbreaking yet beautiful.