From: Connie Rockman <connie.rock>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 17:43:49 -0400

Megan quotes from Eliza Dresang: "...these books break boundaries in many ways-- in format, in topic, in treatment, in letting youth speak for themselves, and in giving voice to those who were previously unheard. . ."

A book that did that for me recently is Alex Flinn's Breathing Underwater. The format of this story is especially compelling. And the voice is especially strong because of the format and style. The narrator, Nick, moves between the past and present, telling his story through journal entries, while relating his present experiences in an anger management group and in school. We know that he has struck his girlfriend - we see him in court early in the book - but watching the story unfold through his memories in the journal while we watch him deal with his school life and the group therapy in the present is a vivid juxtaposition. Through his unique voice we learn of the pain in his past - not in a melodramatic way, but from the inside out, so the truth hurts us as it hurts him.

I listened to this book on tape - catching up with recent titles for a Young Adult Lit. class I was teaching - and, for me, that gave it an even greater impact. The experience of hearing the male voice in my head made him even more real. The reader - Jon Cryer - found every nuance of feeling - the anger, the fear (that is at the bottom of all anger), the loneliness, and the volatility of Nick's temperament - all made more powerful because of the way the story was told.

Frankly, I found it amazing to learn that Alex Flinn is a woman whose experience of domestic violence came from being a lawyer and a volunteer. The book rings so true, I was convinced it was the writer's own story.

Have others found format and style to be major contributors to the way one of these edgy YA books strike you?

Connie Rockman
Received on Tue 13 May 2003 04:43:49 PM CDT