Night Review

I found Night by Elie Wiesel to be a very engaging and interesting read.  Unlike last week's Power, I was drawn in right away.  This could be for the mere fact that I just find the subject matter more interesting.  While Night had some gruesome scenes, (such as the hanging) and was filled with plenty of violence, I think it would still be a great read for 9-12.  The events Wiesel takes readers through--being kicked out of his home, separated from his family, Auschwitz, losing his faith in God, the violence towards innocent human beings of all ages, and beyond--and the devastating effects of these events (physically and mentally) are something that everyone should be more than aware of.

Power Review

Power by Linda Hogan was a bit hard for me to get into at first, I just didn't find it to be as engaging as the books we've previously read.  However, it did get better and better as it went on.  I thought this novel was a good look into Native Americans and the power of spirituality and the conflicts that the main character, Omishto goes through.  I really liked the character of Omishto, she was just so different than what I think most 16 year old girls were, with her Americanized, western mother and family--yet she wanted to spend all of her time with her interesting and old school Aunt Ama.
Hogan said a lot through the weather, the storms, and animals, the endangered panthers, etc. and also with what these animals mean to the Native American people; the Taiga's believing they are related to the panther and how animals are connected to dreams and so on.
I think this could be a very good read for a high school classroom.  Omishto could definitely be a relatable character to someone in that age category and I think it covers a lot of great topics and could open students up to Native American traditions

Flight Review

I found Flight by Sherman Alexie to be an interesting read.  I think that there were a lot of great messages conveyed throughout this novel; searching/finding one's own identity, world issues, Native Americans and history are several examples.

Last week while reading The House on Mango Street, I found myself wondering when the stories were going to come full circle, I found myself wondering this in the beginning of Flight as well, however I was much more satisfied with the latter's ending.  I found this to be an easy, entertaining read, although at times I was a bit confused as to how Zits was doing this time traveling, I know it's irrelevant, but I suppose that the realist or something in me!

While I liked reading this novel and am all for the messages it shares and teaches, I think if I were going into education, I'd be a bit conflicted on whether or not to teach this to adolescents.  If I were, I'd definitely want to make sure it was a mature and older class because some of the passages and language are a bit obscene and probably not appropriate for a younger audience.  I would also imagine that reading this book would cause some problems with parents disapproving of their child reading it.