Seventeen [magazine]

Seventeen [Magazine]

New York [etc.] Triangle Publications

v. : ill. ; 28 cm

Abridged monthly readers' guide to periodical literature 0001-334X

ISSN: 0037-301X

Plot Summary:
"Seventeen" features fashion, beauties, celebrities, love life, health, parties, prom, quizzes, and sweepstakes. After the table of contents, each section of the magazine is labelled and accented by colorful pictures and quotes that stand out to the reader. Articles will range from current and future trends to body issues to dating etiquette, and more. In every issue there is a balance between all of the above categories and there are quizzes to take and plenty of opportunities to participate in all the fun.

Critical Evaluation:

This magazine is very colorful and fun, but lacks art, culture, and real world news. It focuses on celebrity gossip, celebrity interviews, fashion, and advice columns. It does focus a little too much on sex in my opinion, but it does answer all questions (even if they may be embarrassing). This is not a magazine for boys; it is tailored to the female population and does not make any attempts to reach out to males. The language is simple and it the layouts can be busy, but are fun to look at.

Reader's Annotation:
Sassy advice columns, style advice, celebrity gossip, and real girl talk are what you will find in this monthly magazine.

Websites to Look Into:
http://www.seventeen.com/

Similar Magazines:

"Cosmogirl"

"Teen Vogue"

Booktalking Ideas:

Create a bookmark with other teen magazine titles
Discuss viable advice columns that would attract young female audiences

Discuss popular celebrity gossip that will engage them

Genre:

Style, Romance

Interest Age:

16+

Challenge Issues:
Sexuality for teenagers.
I would combat this with the fact that some young girls are afraid to ask for advice about embarrassing subjects, and this is a great way to read about other questions that girls have so that they know they aren't alone in having these fears.

Why this Magazine?
This magazine is popular for young girls, and I think that it applies to many of their sensibilities, plus it has the age seventeen in the title! They offer real world advice for girls and have great fashion layouts.

 

Forever by Judy Blume [book]

Forever by Judy Blume [book]

Scarsdale, N.Y. : Bradbury Press, c1975
199 p. ; 22 cm
ISBN: 0027110303

Plot Summary:
Katharine Danziger and Michael Wagner meet in their senior year of high school at a party and fall for eachother. They go on dates and trips together and become close, close enough to start talking about having sex and what it means to them. Katherine is a virgin, while Michael has already had sex; the discussion about sex and intimacy further continues in the dialogue that Katherine and her best friend Erica have. The two opposing point of views that become prominent in the story are that of sex being emotional and sex being physical. During the courtship Michael's friend Artie comes into the group and his depression is discussed until he eventually attempts to hang himself and fails.
The term for the title of the book "Forever" comes from the necklace that Michael gives Katherine after they have sex for the first time on the floor of a bedroom. They feel that sex does mean that they are meant to be and the only faulter in this is when summer comes around and the 2 are separated. Katherine starts to doubt her feelings, when she becomes attracted to another and gains hope and confidence in herself and in her sexuality.

Critical Evaluation:
This book was interesting for me because I have predominantly read children's books by Judy Blume- so to read a book that deals with strong ideas of sexual content written by her through me for a loop. She writes the book well and I felt an immense connection the movie "Dirty Dancing" because of the fact that she is coming into her womanhood and having sexual relationships for the first time with someone that she cares about. I like the fact that she gains confidence from the experience and is better for it in the end. Her best friend's opinion is also a fun mediator to her idea of love and sex in the novel.

Reader's Annotation:
Katherine and Micheal believe that their love is forever as they deal with issues of intimacy and eventually time spent apart.

Websites to Look Into:
http://www.judyblume.com/

The Author:
Judy Blume has won more than 90 literary awards, and she serves on the board of the National Coalition Against Censorship; she is also longtime advocate of intellectual freedom.

Awards:
Margaret A. Edwards Awards

Similar Books:
"Then Again, Maybe I Won't" by Judy Blume
"Wifey" by Judy Blume
"Seventeenth Summer" by Maureen Daly

Booktalking Ideas:
Classic love stories
Comparing it to other popular materials that involve young love

Genre:
Classics, Romance

Interest Age:
15+

Challenge Issues:
Sexuality & Suicide
The main challenge of this book is teen sexuality and whether it is a physical act or an act of love. This is a very scary theme for some because it discusses sex in real terms and it is real about the likelihood that teens will have sex when they imagine that they are in love. I would combat it with the fact that the two wait to have sex and when they do they make mature decisions.
One of the characters goes through depression and does attempt suicide, so this can be a difficult subject, but I think that it can be combated with the fact that many teens hover around being depressed and having difficulty dealing with it. It shows them that it is not the way to go in trying to hurt oneself.

Why this Book?
This book is a classic book that predominantly deals with young adults falling in love young and making the right (or wrong) decisions.

Clueless [videorecording]

Clueless [videorecording]

MPAA rating: PG-13
Originally released in 1995
Hollywood, CA : Paramount Pictures, c1999
1 videodisc (97 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
ISBN: 9780792158868
Starring:
Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Dan Hedaya, Jeremy Sisto, Wallace Shawn
Credits:
Writer-director, Amy Heckerling; Producers, Scott Rudin, Robert Lawrence; photography, Bill Pope; Editor, Debra Chiate


Plot Summary:
This movie is loosely based on the Jane Austen novel "Emma" and it is about Cher Horowitz, a high school sophomore in Beverly Hills, that is rich, beautiful and popular. Cher, her constant companion Dionne, and her clique go to parties, shop at the mall and hang out at their mansions.Cher starts many projects, whether it is her wardrobe or setting her teachers up. When a transfer student named Tai comes to school Cher takes her under her wing to do a "makeover" and in the process learns more about herself than she would have thought.
While learning to drive, dating all the wrong guys, and watching her friend that she made over rise in popularity Cher realizes that there is more to life than being materialistic. She learns how to appreciate her friends, family, help charities, and make herself happy in the process.

Critical Evaluation:
"Clueless" is sweet, young, and charismatic. The audience wants the protagonist, Cher, to succeed in her life goals, and it is a genuinely fun movie. The language that the characters use is young and hip, and the smart play on a classic storyline helps to engage all ages. This movie does have strong language and carries themes of sexuality and promiscuity. It can addressed to young adults aged 16 and older because it takes place in high school and does discuss more mature subjects while also showing a sensitive side in its main character's maturation throughout the story.

Reader's Annotation:
Young. Rich. Popular. Cher is a clueless teen whose heart is in all the right places when she attempts to transform an awkward new girl in school into an it girl that will fit in with her clique.

Websites to Look Into:
http://www.janeausten.org/

Awards:
American Comedy Award, 1996: Funniest Actress in a Leading Role
Blockbuster Entertainment Award, 1996: Favorite Female Newcomer
MTV Movie Award, 1996: Best Female Performances
NBR Award, 1995: Best Breakthrough Performer
NFSC Award, 1996: Best Screenplay

Similar Movies:
"10 Things I Hate About You"
"Can't Hardly Wait"

Booktalking Ideas:
I could create a bookmark with other teen movie titles
Talk about "Emma" and how it relates to the movie
The TV series that was also made out of the movie
The actors in the movie have gone on to be wildly popular (Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd)

Genre:
Comedy, Romance

Interest Age:
16+

Challenge Issues:
Language and sexuality for teenagers.
I would combat this with the fact that it was based on the novel "Emma" by Jane Austen, a classic novel. It also encourages young adults to look at every one's best qualities and to look inward to improve oneself.

Why this Movie?
This movie is a classic coming of age story that can transcend generations with its witty humor and look into the materialistic views of some young adults. It can make you laugh and it leaves the audience with a good feeling.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan [book]

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan [book]

New York : Knopf, 2007, c2006
183 p. ; 21 cm
ISBN: 9780375835339

Plot Summary:
For Nick music is his life... and his ex was his life until she broke up with him. Norah's life is about getting ready for college, handling her best friend, and getting over her ex. Over the course of one night that Nick's band plays at a club Nick and Norah chance meet and spend the entire night together. After Nick's band plays he gets ready to watch the next show when he ex starts to approach him to say hello, in a flurry Nick asks if Norah (a stranger next to him) if she will pretend to be his girlfriend and they kiss. It also turns that Norah is semi- friends with Nick's ex girlfriend and that she has inadvertently already had the pleasure of hearing his mixed tapes that he made for her (she loves them). They leave the club because Norah needs a ride home for her and her friend, but Nick's car won't work at first so Nick's friends, in an attempt to fix Nick and Norah up, take Norah's best friend with them to drop her off. When alone Nick and Norah struggle with their ideas of liking one another and leaving the ghosts of their exes behind. Later in the night Norah encounters her ex, who just returned to the country, and he insults her in front of Nick, letting Nick see a more vulnerable side to Norah that she had hidden previously.
They go from club to club to restaurant to walking the streets of New York until sunrise. Their witty banter, their incorrigible friends and their constant run ins with their exes make for interesting adventures and conversation.

Critical Evaluation:
The entire book takes place over the span of one night, so it is short and sweet. The authors are wonderful in speaking for their similarly gendered characters, and the book has a constant flow from each character and the way that they think. I felt as if this book could give hope to people who were getting over being in love and having it not work out. I thought that the language was easy to read, and that there were a lot of curse words- but it fit the punk rock theme of the book. It was nice to hear both sides of the story in hearing the constant thoughts of Nick and Norah throughout the storyline together; it makes the audience feel as if they understand the whole story better and how different girls and boys may think.

Reader's Annotation:
Nick and Norah meet for a night under the pretense of being in a fake relationship... but as the night continues on it might not prove to be fake for much longer.

Websites to Look Into:
http://www.rachelcohn.com/
http://www.davidlevithan.com/

The Authors:
The authors were friends and Rachel came up with the idea for the novel. David ran with it and they wrote the novel by writing it chapter by chapter and sending it back and forth to each other.

Similar Books:
"Dash and Lily's Book of Dares" by Rachel Cohn
"The Realm of Possibility" by David Levithan
"How they Met and Other Stories" by David Levithan

Booktalking Ideas:
The fact that the book takes place over 1 night- how many things can change in a time span
Gathering a list of other books that take place over a night or day and comparing them

Genre:
Realistic Fiction/ Romance

Interest Age:
15+

Challenge Issues:
Sexuality & Language
The book does contain profane language, but it is befitting of the punk scene that they are in and many of the songs that they listen to, so I think that it is relevant to the book. The sexuality that takes place is all implied and/ or thought of, so there is not any real sex going on the book- just memories and thoughts about doing it, which most young adults have.

Why this Book?
This book can be for either a boy or a girl and I think that the subject matter of attempting to get over an ex is important and relevant to this young generation.

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block [book]

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block [book]

New York : Harper & Row, c1989
88 p. ; 22 cm
ISBN: 0060205342

Plot Summary:
Weetzie lives in magical L.A. with her mother looking for the man of her dreams (her duck). She is rebel pixie, an outsider in school but when she meets her best friend Dirk she finds her life long friend in him. Dirk is gay and they become inseparable, going to visit Dirk's family and in the process Weetzie receives a magic lamp that grants her 3 wishes. She wishes for a duck for Dirk, a secret lover agent man for herself, and somewhere for them to live. They soon receive a cottage to live in and the men that they asked for and live together in a fantasy life.
When Weetzie is in a plot to become pregnant and succeeds, the man of her dreams leaves her and gets another woman pregnant (unknown to Weetzie). He eventually returns to her permanently but his past girlfriend returns to their life leaving them with the child that they take in reluctantly to raise. They become a family with numerous fathers, children from different mothers, and enough love to go around. Others may not understand their lifestyle, but they are together in their efforts of love and happiness. Dirk's leading man also leaves them for San Francisco when someone close to him in life dies of AIDS. Dirk goes to him in San Francisco and they show their love for another and end up together. It is a happily ever after with a whimsical twist.

Critical Evaluation:
This book carries themes that are important still in today's culture- acceptance, mixed families, love, and understanding. The language that the book uses is colorful and unique for the time period that it takes place in L.A. (a good example of the slang is slinkster cool). I love that Dirk could be deemed an outsider, but he is not because he is with Weetzie and they have a family of their own; the only part of it that made me sad was the fact that they needed to make wishes from a magical lamp in order to start their goals and their happiness in the story. I like that there is a whimsical sense to the novel, but that it is littered with real problems and heartache (abandonment, homosexuality, AIDS) because it makes it feel like one can relate to it.

Reader's Annotation:
Quirky Weetzie is in L.A. and living a fantasy life with her best friend and the men of their dreams, but not without life's complications.

Websites to Look Into:
http://www.francescaliablock.com/

The Author:
Fun facts about Francesca Lia Block is that she wrote Weetzie Bat (her first book) while she was a student at UC Berkeley, and she wrote her book "Guarding the Moon" about her daughter.

Awards:

ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Parents' Choice Gold Award

Similar Books:
"Dangerous Angels" by Francesca Lia Block
"Witch Baby" by Francesca Lia Block
"Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Booktalking Ideas:
Talking about all of the books that have been made in the series
Why it is important to have a fun novel that shows such strong themes of family and friends

Genre:
Classic/ Romance

Interest Age:
15-19 yrs.

Challenge Issues:
Homosexuality
This book does have strong themes of homosexuality, and it also speaks about AIDS. I would say that it is important to understand that there are people who are different and it to understand people's identities and real world problems that come with them.

Why this Book?
This book sparked controversy in a generation and made many themes of fantasy life, homosexuality, family and friends prominent and did it in a fun, edgy way that made young adults respond to it.