Zelah Green
Curtis, Vanessa
ISBN-13 978-1405255059
ISBN-10 1405255056
Publisher: Egmont UK, 2011
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Reading Level: 12 and up
Interest Age: 14 and up
Reader's Annotation:
Zelah's mother died and her father has disappeared. All she has are her rituals, until she is sent to "fix" them.
Plot Summary:
Zelah cannot stand germs. They are everywhere and she cannot seem to get away from them. Because of this she scrubs her hands 32 times each many times a day, she uses a tissue to touch almost everything, and the jumps 128 times before she goes down the stairs. All of this started when her mother died. She does not know why, but as she gets older, the needs grow stronger. A few months ago, Zelah's father left for work and never came home. This has made everything worse because her step mother is not nice.
One day, the neighbor and family friend is asked to take Zelah to the mental hospital for help. Instead, she takes Zelah to a group home. There are five other teens living in the house with a doctor and her husband. The house is run like a family and everyone is getting the help they need. Zelah starts her journey not thinking she needs to be there, but quickly finds that although she is different, her obsessions do not have to rule her life.
Critical Evaluation:
This book deals with major issues such as teen suicide, anorexia, depression and OCD in a light-hearted way. The story is written through the eyes of Zelah so the reader immediately feels connected to her. Because Zelah does not know the problems each of the other teens face, the reader begins to know them as people before finding out why they are there. Because of this, there are less judgments and stereotypes to be made.
The description of Zelah's treatment was done in a way that was interesting but not very invasive. This book would appeal to reluctant readers because of the lightness through the book. It is describing serious issues in a way that is entertaining instead of heavy. This book is a fast read and written with a larger font. This makes the book appear it is a higher level book without being intimidating.
About the Author:
Vanessa Curtis is the child of two English teachers and had a brother who owned a book store. Reading and writing were part of her life from the beginning. She began writing at a very young age and had poems published at the young age of eight. She has written three biographies about Virginia Woolf and currently writes book reviews for a newspaper in her city.
Curtis has written five teen and children's novels Zelah Green won the Manchester Children's Book Award in 2010, was on the short list for Young Minds 2010, Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2009, and other awards. The sequel is titled One more Little Problem was published in 2010 and received very good reviews as well.
http://www.vanessacurtis.com/
http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/vanessa_curtis.asp
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
Zelah cannot stand germs. They are everywhere and she cannot seem to get away from them. Because of this she scrubs her hands 32 times each many times a day, she uses a tissue to touch almost everything, and the jumps 128 times before she goes down the stairs. All of this started when her mother died. She does not know why, but as she gets older, the needs grow stronger. A few months ago, Zelah's father left for work and never came home. This has made everything worse because her step mother is not nice.
One day, the neighbor and family friend is asked to take Zelah to the mental hospital for help. Instead, she takes Zelah to a group home. There are five other teens living in the house with a doctor and her husband. The house is run like a family and everyone is getting the help they need. Zelah starts her journey not thinking she needs to be there, but quickly finds that although she is different, her obsessions do not have to rule her life.
Critical Evaluation:
This book deals with major issues such as teen suicide, anorexia, depression and OCD in a light-hearted way. The story is written through the eyes of Zelah so the reader immediately feels connected to her. Because Zelah does not know the problems each of the other teens face, the reader begins to know them as people before finding out why they are there. Because of this, there are less judgments and stereotypes to be made.
The description of Zelah's treatment was done in a way that was interesting but not very invasive. This book would appeal to reluctant readers because of the lightness through the book. It is describing serious issues in a way that is entertaining instead of heavy. This book is a fast read and written with a larger font. This makes the book appear it is a higher level book without being intimidating.
About the Author:
Vanessa Curtis is the child of two English teachers and had a brother who owned a book store. Reading and writing were part of her life from the beginning. She began writing at a very young age and had poems published at the young age of eight. She has written three biographies about Virginia Woolf and currently writes book reviews for a newspaper in her city.
Curtis has written five teen and children's novels Zelah Green won the Manchester Children's Book Award in 2010, was on the short list for Young Minds 2010, Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2009, and other awards. The sequel is titled One more Little Problem was published in 2010 and received very good reviews as well.
http://www.vanessacurtis.com/
http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/vanessa_curtis.asp
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
Book Talking:
Create a play of this book.
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book is great for reluctant readers or readers who do not feel they fit in. It is an uplifting story of a girl who thought her world would just continue to worsen. She finds that she can be in charge of her own happiness. It is a wonderful book.
Create a play of this book.
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book is great for reluctant readers or readers who do not feel they fit in. It is an uplifting story of a girl who thought her world would just continue to worsen. She finds that she can be in charge of her own happiness. It is a wonderful book.
No comments:
Post a Comment