Young Adult Book Review

I have been substitute teaching at the local SDA school and consequently I've gotten on an adolescent novel kick. And it has gotten me thinking about my different perceptions from when I was a child (or Jr. High-er) and now as an adult. Isn't it funny how we like or dislike books based on our perspective?

Pollyanna:

I just re-read Pollyanna. Pollyanna is a completely ridiculous book that contains characters who are so unrealistic and underdeveloped that it's enough to induce nausea. And I LOVE it. I loved her as a child when this book was read to me, and I loved her as a Jr. High-er when I first read the book myself, and I love her now as an adult. For some reason inexplicable to me I totally BELIEVE Pollyanna. Even though from a literary perspective she's just so flat, my adult suspension of reality is complete and I totally fall for her every time I read the book. Can anyone ever really be that GLAD about everything all the time? Well probably not... but who cares? Pollyanna is a great read!

Anne of Green Gables:

I unfortunately do not have the perspective on this book because I never read it as a child. Therefore, I did not have the good fortune of falling in love with Anne (with an 'e'!) when I really should have. As an adult I must confess that I am not charmed by Anne. She is not believable to me. Like Pollyanna, she is an orphan, but unlike Pollyanna, she has been neglected her whole life. And yet she seems to have no lasting scars from her neglected childhood. I believe I would have loved Anne if I had read this book in my pre or early teen years because those years are so full of drama and imagination. But Anne's drama and imagination seem tiresome and overblown to me now. How sad that I waited too long to read it and the charm of this book is lost on my adult mind.

Matilda:

I LOVED Roald Dahl when I was a kid and Matilda was hands-down my favorite. As an adult I am horrified by the frightening and dangerous realities this book presents. Neglectful and abusive parents, extremely abusive schoolmistress, ghosts and poverty and fear. But maybe that's Roald Dahl's secret. He doesn't pitter patter around in his books just because they're written for children. Children are smarter than we give them credit for I think...

Anyway, I love Matilda. I identified with her unquenchable desire to read and the power it gave her to absorb knowledge. Although I could never move objects with the powers of my mind, I felt that maybe there was something special about me too...

Romeo and Juliet:

I absolutely HATED this book from High school until late college, but I don't think I really understood it until recently. I recently re-watched the Leonardo DiCaprio movie version of this play. And I had a revelation during the scene when Romeo first sees Juliet. His face is so open when he sees her... it's so full of wonder and childish romance. It got me thinking... this story isn't about true love, which is what always made me hate the play. It's about the tragedy of teenage impulsiveness. And for the first time in my life, I actually BELIEVED the play. Teenagers with their not-quite-all-the-way-developed brains are capable of this kind of lunacy. Look at how Romeo spent the whole first act mooning over some girl named Rosaline, then in one night he was so in love with Juliet that he was willing to die for her. That's because teenagers are totally capable of that kind of behavior. The overwhelming desire to act based not on reason, but from the strength of our feelings, regardless of sense, reason or consequence. And teenagers have the strongest feelings of us all. And that's what the play is about. And it's tragic and sad in it's sweetness. And I completely loved it.