The book “The Hanged man” by Francesca Lia Block is about a young girl named “Laurel” who is trying to find herself while she is struggling to cope with fear of disease, lies, drugs, an eating disorder, secrets, and love. Laurel as a young girl has been sexually molested by her father and keeps it a secret from everyone even after his death. Not only does she struggle to hide that she was molested, but she also struggles with anorexia and will not eat much no matter who encourages her to eat. Her mother is lost as well after her father’s death and isn’t much of a character in the book, up until the end when Laurel finally opens up about her father’s actions. After Laurel lets go of her secret she can finally grow as a person, and be set free to live life without guilt. She also begins to have a positive outlook on the future. This book is recommended for the audience of ages 12 and up. Because of the content this book contains, I wouldn’t recommend it so much to middle school students. I could see high school teachers using this kind of book to show examples of imagery, mythology, and poetry. The book “Making the Match” explains that poetry is a great form of literature for teens which seems to be voted least favorite, but we can change that by using poetry more effectively with our students and identify topics that the reader is familiar or interested in.
No comments:
Post a Comment