CCBC-Net Archives

RE: If I Ever Get Out of Here

From: sully_at_sully-writer.com
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 13:42:35 -0700
 
I totally agree about the role of music in the story. It was so important to me and my friends throughout adolescence  and it remains so for me to this day. It's amazing to me how many songs are connected to specific memories--dances, parties, trips, etc.--from that time. With things like Spotify and iTunes, I wonder if contemporary teens are as devoted to particular artists or groups or have favorite albums like Lewis and his friends.
Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian
 
 
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re:[ccbc-net] If I Ever Get Out of Here
From: Debbie Reese <dreese.nambe@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, February 24, 2014 3:18 pm
To: CCBC-Net Network <ccbc-net@lists.wisc.edu>

KT,

On page 5, Lewis is walking by the elementary school on the reservation and sees the banner "Welcome to the 1975-76 School Year!" Lewis was starting the 7th grade. 

I was in the tenth grade that. We were listening to music all the time. It was part of us, starting when we were little kids cutting the Archie records off the back of cereal boxes. My parents were into country music. I think they didn't know what to make of the Beatles! They didn't buy Beatles records, but my older cousins did. We'd walk across the arroyo (on the reservation) to go to their house and dance to their records. 

And man, oh man... when I was older and got to go to a concert in Albuquerque at the Pit?! Wow! My body vibrates just remembering the excitement of it, before, during, and after! 

Music matters to Lewis. It is a significant part of his relationship with his Uncle Albert, and his relationship with George and his dad, too. 

I love what Eric did with music as a framing device for the novel and for Lewis's life, too.  

Music shapes us. In good times and in bad, lyrics come to us. Oftentimes, it is music that gets us through something. It holds us in its arms. The many ways that Eric used it, it holds the novel--and us--in its arms. Reflecting on How I Became A Ghost where we saw humor as significant in helping us move through that novel, I think music is what moves us through If I Ever Get Out of Here. 

Debbie

__________________________________________________________
Debbie Reese, PhD
Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo


Website: American Indians in Children's Literature

Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University
Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois 

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Received on Mon 24 Feb 2014 02:44:38 PM CST