SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA’S STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM by Margarita Engle

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Engle, Margarita. 2008. SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA’S STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 6805086749

2.  PLOT SUMMARY/CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is a verse novel that is based on actual events and historical figures of the late 1800s.  At this time Cuba has fought three wars for independence and still is not free.  People are being placed into concentration camps with little food and poor living conditions.  Illness is running wild through the camps affecting many people.  A freed slave, Rosa, is a nurse who helps anyone that is able to reach her.  She turns hidden caves into hospitals in order to help anyone who might need her assistance.  She doesn’t care who they are she simply wants to do her best to help.

Engle’s use of poetry in this novel brings out many of the trials and tribulation Cuba was going through at that time.  Rosa was a remarkable healer to anyone who needed help.  The book shows her to be a remarkable individual who refused to become simply a victim of her time.  The author uses different points of view to tell the story which adds more depth and interest to the book and to its reader.  Even though the poems are being told by other people they all have a commonality and that is Rosa.

This is a great multicultural book that can add a great deal of knowledge to anyone.  The verses are written in such a way that the reader almost feels as if they are in Cuba going throgug the same trials and tribulation as these people.  This is a great book to make readers aware of what is going on or has gone on in other parts of the world.  It will also make readers appreciate how fortunate we are for the freedoms we have here in America.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

* Starred review in BOOKLIST: “Engle writes her new book in clear, short lines of stirring free verse. Caught by the compelling narrative voices, many readers will want to find out more.”

*SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “The Surrender Tree is hauntingly beautiful, revealing pieces of Cuba's troubled past through the poetry of hidden moments such as the glimpse of a woman shuttling children through a cave roof for Rosa's care or the snapshot of runaway Chinese slaves catching a crocodile to eat.”

*HORN BOOK: “A powerful narrative in free verse . . . haunting.”

*KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Young readers will come away inspired by these portraits of courageous ordinary people.”

5.  Exemplary or Favorite Lines

*“If we knew how to find the lost, we would know how to rediscover the parts of our minds left behind in battle.”

THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hinton, S.E. 1967. THE OUTSIDERS. New York, New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0670532576    

2.  PLOT SUMMARY/CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Ponyboy is a 14 year old boy who lives with his two brothers after the death of his parents.  His parents died at least six months prior to the start of the book.  He makes good grades, but can’t seem to stay out of trouble.   He and his group of friends call themselves the “greasers” which is a term used for the boys from the poorer side of town who wear their hair long and greasy.  The greasers are repeatedly having difficulty with the “socs” which are the kids who coming from richer families and are privileged.  The greasers have generally had rough lives and seem to be angry at the world while the socs have always had everything go their way and everything handed to them.  It is almost as if the soc have a sense of entitlement but yet a sense of emptiness.  These two groups can’t seem to get along, and one night things get out of hand.  Things go too far and both groups are feeling the consequences. 

With Pony’s parents being deceased his oldest brother takes care of the family.  Darry, the oldest brother, works most of the time in order to support the family.  The family frequently fights over Pony’s future because they want what is best for him.  Darry is hard on Pony, wants him to do better in school, and tries to keep him on the right track.

One evening Dally, Johnny, and Pony met some beautiful girls who turned out to be two of the socs girlfriends.  The socs saw the greasers in the park with the girls, and that is when things turned from bad to worse.  One of the socs, Bob, turned out to be the same guy who had recently beat up Johnny.  Pony went home late causing Darry to be angry.  Pony and Darry got into a fight about him being late, and that is when Pony stormed out of the house in anger.  He runs to the park with Johnny to get away, this is when the boys run into Bob and his friends.  Bob nearly drowns Pony in a nearby fountain making Johnny so angry he ends up stabbing Bob to death. 

Not knowing what to do the boys run to find Dally hoping he will be able to help them.  The boys hide out in a church for a few days.  The boys decide they want to turn themselves in but before they can the church catches on fire with people trapped inside.  While rescuing the people from the church a piece of wood falls on Johnny injuring him.  The greasers and socs get into another fight.  After the fight Pony and Dally go to visit Johnny who dies.  Dally is so distraught that he runs out of the hospital and shortly after commits a robbery.  The boys run to his rescue trying to hide him from the police however the police catch up to him, Dally pulls a gun out, and the police shoot and kill him.  Pony pretends he is the one who murdered Bob, but after his trial the judge sets him free. 

After going through all of these trials and tribulations Pony decides to complete a class assignment by writing about himself to let people know what life is like as a greaser.  Through his actions he wants people to know his story and know if they are in his same situation that there are other people like them.  From all that has gone on Pony realizes that Darry truly loves him and only wants what is best for him. 

This story is told from the point of view of Pony making the reader feel like they are almost in his shoes.  Students will get a since of what life can be like from a different perspective or feel like they are not alone in the life they are dealing with.  This book will make people either understand where others are coming from or will show people they are not alone in what they are going through in life. 

4.  REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

*HORN BOOK: “...we meet powerful characters in a book with a powerful message.”

5.  Exemplary or Favorite Lines

*"And you can't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn't going to change that fact." (11)

*"I wanted to cry, but Greasers don't cry in front of strangers. Some of us never cry at all. Like Dally and Two-Bit and Tim Shepard--they forgot how at an early age." (102)

LET ME PLAY by Karen Blumenthal

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blumenthal, Karen. 2005. LET ME PLAY. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 0689859570

2.  PLOT SUMMARY/CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is a true story of Title IX, which is a law allowing girls to have equal rights when it comes to sports and education.  Over the course of this book the reader is taken back to 1848 and leads to present day.  Title IX will forever change the thoughts, dreams, and achievement of American girls.  It is hard to imagine there was a time when girls could not  play sports or become doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other such professionals.  If a girl was good at math and wanted to be an engineer or a mathematician she was urged to be a teacher instead.  Also those who had a passion for science and wanted to become veterinarians or doctors were instead told to become nurses.  However this all changed with the civil rights movement which then inspired women to pursue equal rights in education and at the workplace. 

Until 1972 women struggled for equal pay, education, faced discrimination, and in many other aspects of life.  Many people such as teachers, lawmakers, parents, and athletes banned together in order to assure the law was passed, enforced, and upheld.  Many times they had to withstand the backlash and opposition of non-supporters.  Their efforts paid off in the end when girls were allowed to attend colleges and universities, play sports, and have the opportunity to be whatever they wanted to be. 

This is an inspiring true story of determination and preservation that every young adult as well as adult should read.  Girls should have a sense of pride knowing others fought for the equal rights we have today.  If it were not for the generations before us who knows we might still not be able to play sports or achieve our dreams.  This book is full of history from past to present involving this law.  It also incorporates stories of successful women such as Doris Brown Heritage a cross-country champion, Sally Ride the first female astronaut, and Mia Hamm a soccer superstar.  All of these stories will encourage all girls alike from those with dreams of being a professional athlete to those who dream of becoming an astronaut.

4.  REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

* BOOKLIST: “Here, the author looks at American women's evolving rights by focusing on the history and future of Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in U.S. education. Profiles of groundbreaking female athletes and legislators deftly alternate with highlights of the women's movement, from the early twentieth century through today.”

*Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Interesting and easy-to-follow chapters highlight the process of creating, revising, fighting for, and ultimately passing this legislation that gave girls and women equal access to physical-education classes, gymnasiums, universities, and graduate schools.”

*SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Book of the Year

*ALA Notable Children’s Book

*Printz Award

5.  Exemplary or Favorite Lines

*"No longer would females accept “No Girls Allowed” attitudes.” (91)

*"Give women a “Sporting Chance.” (72)

*"A growing number of Americans were ready to see women fully participate in society for the first time.” (22)