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2/5/09

Today I partnered up with Rebekah and discussed the book Join In. It was interesting to find that we had similar opinions of the first story Into the Game, by Rita William- Garcia. This story is about three city boys that face common teenage issues such as lacking self confidence, mixed emotions about member of the opposite sex, and the most comical in this story, dealing with paying FICA tax. This story is a great example of how most teenagers face similar issues throughout this significant time in their lives, regardless of race, gender or where they live. I appreciated the fact that the author used common slang, though it quite different than the academic reading that I have been doing most often. It brought me back to my teenage years. It was pretty trippy J!

 We also got into a very interesting discussion about folklore. We talked about how it seems like other countries and cultures have more folklore than the American culture. I said that perhaps it is because it is based on the fact that many other cultures have unique creation stories that many of the folklore stories are derived from. Anyone else have any thoughts?

 Thanks for a great discussion Rebekah!

I have continued reading my anthology- Join In. The stories are short and sweet, which make them a quick and easy read. I just got done reading Fox Hunt by Lensey Namioka. This story is about an Asian boy who faced issues of fitting in with others at school and pressures of taking the SAT. He ends up meeting a girl that he can relate to and helps him study for the PSAT. The story ends in a very interesting way, fulfilling a long legacy of his ancestors and the girl ending up being a fox. It is great to be exposed to stories from different viewpoints and give a little insight into other cultures.

Viva New Jersey By Gloria Gonzales

This story is about a girl (Lucinda) who migrated from Cuba to New Jersey. She was very homesick and had a very hard time fitting in with the other girls at her school. She finds a homeless dog and tries finding a home for it. She ends up making friends with a girl down the block from her. I think the irony in the story is that she went looking for a home for a dog, and ended up making a home for her, or at least a start of a home. Another element of this story that I think is important is that Lucinda’s parents greatly value and promote education. This has been an obvious theme in several of the stories that I have read in this book. I look forward to seeing if this comes up in any of the other stories.

Dead End- By Rudolfo Anaya

This was a very sad story about a girl named Maria whose mother died and father was never home. Maria was in charge of taking care of her and her younger siblings. She was not like the other girls at school and didn’t really fit in. It was a little disturbing for me to read this story because it talked about how Maria wanted to be like the other girls- but the other girls smoked dope and ditched school and were intimate with various boys. I know it is a reality but I just wanted to shout at the book and say “You don’t want to do that kind of stuff Maria!!!!” Anyway! She ends up making the right choices and keeping her promise to her mother- pursuing an education. Once again this theme has come up. Maria’s mother made her promise that she would stay in school no matter how difficult it was and get the opportunities that she (the mother) was never able to have. I enjoyed reading this story and think it has a great moral.

 

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