Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hey there and welcome to Feature Shelf, a series that provides book recommendations
based on the,e or title suggestions. This week's shelf was co-created by Mr. Buteau,
a teacher in Colorado. I am the (book) supplier and this is Feature Shelf #21: the Confirmity
Edition.
We are not all the same. And sometimes I think people forget that, and forget to imagine
people complexly due to preoccupations with fitting in. So the five books on the shelf
this week deal with how adolescents try to conform, choose not to conform, or are forced
to conform.
First on the shelf this week is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Stargirl is the antithesis
of Mica High's quiet colorless community, and this community finds her fascinating.
And then they don't anymore and make fun of her for everything that makes her different,
and everything they celebrated about her. Leo, her boy whose heart she stole attempts
to convince her to conform to normality to make the bullying stop.
Second on the shelf is Butter by Erin Jade Lange. What does it mean to be popular? What
does popularity really look like? Butter is a teenager who happens to be obese, and because
of this, he's alienated from his peers. In Butter's despair, he decides to harness the
power of the Internet for a morbid final hurrah, of sorts. Instead of being pitied or ignored
as he expected, his classmates rally around him and encourage his endeavor, making bets
about whether or not Butter will follow through. Now I realize I didn't tell you what he put
on the internet and what he planned to do. I'll let you read it for yourself to find
that out.
Next up is Boot Camp by Todd Strasser. There is a secret prison system for teenagers in
the United States. No one knows how many of these prisons, or boot camps, exist. You don't
have to be convicted or even charged with a crime to be sent to one of these boot camps.
Within these boot camps, their goal is to take defiant or unruly teens and force them
to conform. Turn them into respectful, obedient teens by any means necessary. And this is
what Garrett finds out first hand.
Fourth is The Misfits by James Howe. By nature, misfits aren't conformers. The Misfits are
four friends who have been picked on for various reasons, Addie because she's tall and smart,
Joe because he's gay, Skeezie who looks like he comes out of the 1950s and Bobby because
he's fat. These four band together to form a third party to run for school elections,
called the No-Name Party, committed to ending name calling in school.
Last on our shelf this week is Flygirl by Sherri L Smith. During World War II, only
White women could serve as Airforce Service Pilots. And Ida Mae Jones is Black. Except
that she's so light skinned that if someone didn't already know she was black, she could
pass for White. Joining the Women Airforce Service Pilots means making a choice, a choice
to pass for white that means she can never see her family again.
Thus endeth this week's Feature Shelf. I hope you found something that piques your interest.
If not, and you'd like to request your own Feature Shelf, you can do so by leaving a
comment here on YouTube, or on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ or if you're not a social networker,
then on the contact page at thebooksupplier.com. You should also check out the book talks done
by Mr. Buteau's students, and there's a link to that in the video description. Thanks for
watching Feature Shelf #21, the Conformity Edition. I am the (book) supplier wishing
you happy reading. Don't forget to be awesome.