15. Ludie's Life by Cynthia Rylant

1. Bibliographic Information
Rylant, C. (2006). Ludie’s life. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt.

116 pages
ISBN: 0-15-205389-1

2. Plot Summary
Written in free verse, Ludie’s Life chronicles the life of a West Virginia housewife. Born in Alabama, Ludie marries Rude at fifteen in order to escape her poor upbringing. After their marriage, Ludie and Rude move to West Viriginia. There the couple starts a family, totaling sixth children. She admits that “…six were too many and one would have been just fine” (p. 1). Nevertheless, Ludie is able to raise her children “right” while Rude works in the coal mine to make ends meet. While Ludie and Rude work hard, the family is never rich, eking out a living the best they know how. Time passes and Ludie’s personal life changes little. Her children grow, move out, and Ludie is left with her husband. However, with the death of her husband when she is seventy, Ludie begins to feel the pangs of loneliness. Can Ludie see the beauty of her life and the legacy she leaves behind?

3. Critical Evaluation
Cynthia Rylant’s free verse poetry does an excellent job portraying human emotions throughout one’s life. Ludie’s Life reinforces ideas that help young adults better understand aging and adults. Through the poems the reader is able to connect with Ludie. While her life was tough, her honest voice carries through the narrative. For example, Ludie does not like to tell her grandchildren about her own childhood since they would fail to comprehend that Ludie was once a teenager. Additionally, the novel puts the reader in a different time period, which allows the reader to see how environment, personality, and the need to survive can affect one’s outlook on love, family, and life. While there is love in Ludie’s life, there is also realism that prevails throughout the book. In fact on the first page she admits that she could have lived her life differently. Nevertheless, Ludie’s Life is an intriguing story which is supported by the free verse narration.

4. Reader’s Annotation
Do you know what it is like to feel isolation, regret, and yet, know love? Written in free verse, Ludie’s Life examines the life of a rural coal miner’s wife in West Virginia.

5. Information about the Author
Cynthia Rylant had an emotional childhood. Growing up predominantly in West Virginia, Rylant was sent to live with her grandparents following the divorce of her parents. She lived in poverty throughout her childhood, which would later reflect some of the issues that some characters have in her works. Her father rarely wrote, until he contacted her at thirteen in hopes of reconnecting with his daughter. Unfortunately, before they could meet, her father died due to alcoholism and hepatitis. Nevertheless, Rylant used this loss to become a writer. She has written over 100 books, and currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

6. Genre
Poetry

7. Curriculum Ties
This book might be helpful for English students who wish to use lyrical prose in order to tell a story. Additionally, I would consider Ludie’s Life to be helpful for a history class if they were learning about rural life in the 20th century.

8. Booktalking Ideas
-How does free verse help/hinder the reader’s ability to connect with Ludie?
-How does Ludie’s voice change the way you look at poverty? Rural living? Aging?

9. Reading Level/Interest Age
I think that older teens aged 17-18, would be more likely to understand the context, use of lyrical prose, and themes of the story.

10. Challenge Issues
Ludie’s Life does not seem to have explicit material or objectionable material. Although there are themes of death and aging, there should not be an issue with challenges. Nevertheless, if a challenge did occur, I would recommend referencing the ALA’s website on guidelines and forms regarding challenges found at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm

11. Why was it Selected?
I wanted to include another example of poetry written for older teens. I found this book on my library’s shelves.

12. Citations
Challenges to library materials. (2010). In American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm

Educational Book and Media Association. (2010). Cynthia Rylant. Retrieved from http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth.cfm?authid=40

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Harcourt Trade Publishers. (2010). Ludie’s life: Cynthia Rylant. Retrieved from http://www.harcourtbooks.com/bookcatalogs/bookpages/9780152053895.asp

13. Awards
Ohioana Award for Children's Literature • Author Award

26. I Just Hope It's Lethal: Poems of Sadness, Madness & Joy Collected by Liz Rosenberg and Deena November

1. Bibliographic Information
Rosenberg, L. & November, D. (2005). I just hope it’s lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, & joy. Boston, Massachusetts: Graphia.
ISBN: 0-618-564-52-7
190 pages

2. Plot Summary
I Just Hope its Lethal is a collection of poems compiled by Liz Rosenberg and Deena November. The authors wanted to give teenagers an opportunity to realize that while their own personal experiences with depression and life is unique, there are many people who can empathize with their feelings. This book is divided into 5 parts: moods, world, love, tumble, and return. All of these headings attempt to help teens throughout their journeys in life. The authors have included a variety of poets/authors, some living, some dead, some famous, and some not. The poems themselves are different in structure, form and sometimes language. In the back of the book, there is a short biographical list of these poets. These poets include, but are not limited to: Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson. The authors have also included indexes organized by author, title, and first line of work.

3. Critical Evaluation
I thought that this book is a great example of how books have the ability to connect with the reader. Whether or not teens suffer from depression, the poems included in this collection offer a variety of emotions and experiences that can help teenagers regardless of their current situations. While these poems offer a look at how debilitating depression, home life, and life in general can be, it also provides readers with the ability to hope. I really enjoyed “For Years, Copying Other People, I Tried to Know Myself." It is a poem of empowerment and letting go of insecurities. Not all readers will necessarily find connections with all poems, but such is the case with poetry as a whole. Nevertheless, this book will succeed on all counts if a reader connects with any one poem, and thus be impacted by its individual meaning. Readers, though, can also see how serious depression is. Unfortunately, due to its content, the book does feature poets who did commit suicide. I think what is most telling about this book is that it does not judge the actions of these poets, but rather allows readers to hopefully learn from the demons in these author’s lives and overcome their own individual obstacles.

4. Reader’s Annotation
Teenage years are full of emotion; sometimes happiness prevails in your outlook, while other times darker moments invade your thoughts. I Just Hope It’s Lethal recognizes these moments in your life when sometimes you just need someone to understand what you’re going through.

5. Information about the Authors
Liz Rosenberg was born on Long Island. She teaches English and Creative Writing at the State University of New York at Binghamton since 1979. While she is happily married with children, she has suffered from depression for most of her life.

Deena November was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a student in one of Liz Rosenberg’s classes at the State University of New York. Due to shared experiences with depression, the two women decided to compile a list of poems for this book.

6. Genre
Poetry

7. Curriculum Ties
This collection of poems could be used in an English, History or Health class. An English class could analyze the poems, the History class might be able to compare the poems to the social and historical context of when they were written and a Health class can look at the effects of depression on writers and their audience (in this case, teens).

8. Booktalking Ideas
- Explain how poetry affects your views of life?
- How do you think teens might respond to some of these poems?

9. Reading Level/Interest Age
Due to the more adult content of this collection of poems, I would encourage older teens aged 15-18 to read this book.

10. Challenge Issues
This book does include poems about sadness, depression and suicide. In fact, many of the authors highlighted in this collection have attempted suicide if not been successful.

I would hope that any person who challenges this book could realize the positive effects this book could have on a depressed teenager. However, if there was a petition against this book, I would recommend ALA’s challenge form found at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm

11. Why was it selected?
I think that poetry is an effective form of self-expression.

12. Citations
Challenges to library materials. (2010). In American Library Association. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm

Rosenberg, L. & November, D. (2005). I just hope it’s lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, & joy. Boston, Massachusetts: Graphia.

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Amazon.com (2010). I just hope it's lethal: Poems of sadness, madness, and joy (Paperback). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618564527/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0JSSC8NRPHJQ4V7KFAHZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

13. Awards

No awards known.