Is it possible to create a true utopian society? Lois Lowry’s novel The Giver explores the dangers of sacrificing joy in order to eliminate the evil. When the main character, Jonas, receives the memories, good and bad, from the Giver, he has a hard time keeping the truth hidden and accepting a...
Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out & Back Again is the story of a young Vietnamese refugee girl, Ha, and her family’s escape from Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. While this novel is fictional, its historical and cultural content are very real. Lai’s own life experience shines through in creating an...
The issues featured in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak can be viewed as controversial for classroom subject. However, this is an important piece of literature that realistically portrays some common issues adolescents face in school today. As with any text, teachers should completely familiarize...