Printz Award Winner Category
1. 1.Whaley, J. C. (2011). Where things
come back. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
2. Plot Summary: Cullen
Witter is in the summer before his senior year of high school in the small town
of Lily, Arkansas, and his world is turned upside down, beginning with his
cousin’s death by overdose and continues when his fifteen-year-old brother,
Gabriel, unexpectedly disappears. Cullen is very close to his brother, who is
sweet and sensitive in contrast to Cullen’s slightly brooding, sarcastic
personality; nonetheless, the brothers are close and greatly respect each
other. So, Cullen takes the realization of his brother’s disappearance hard.
In the midst of the family dealing with their heartache and
search for Gabriel, the town of Lily becomes consumed and obsessed with the supposed
reappearance of the Lazarus woodpecker that was last seen in the 1940s. Cullen
is faced with the uncertainty and excitement of new romances, unsure thoughts
of his future, and keeping his best friend close to him during a chaotic,
upsetting time. Meanwhile, there is a young missionary, Benton, in the depths
of Africa trying to make sense of his purpose in life, and eventually his story
crashes into the Witter family’s reality, creating an unforgettable story
within a story.
3.
Critical Analysis: Author Ellen Hopkins sums up what this
novel is in two short sentences on the novel’s front cover. “Every now and then
a book rises to the top. This one soars.” (True that.) This poignant young
adult novel will have readers guessing how all of the characters’ stories fit
together almost until the very end of the narrative. I, at first, felt that the
novel would be depressing, but I was wrong. John Corey Whaley is able to use
imaginative diction and character development in order to create tones of what
the back cover of the book describes as “melancholy and regret, comedy and
absurdity, and above all, hope.” The humor included in this book is placed in
appropriate intervals. Just when the reader is feeling a bit saddened by the
content, the author pulls you out of that state by creating laughter through
comic relief.
The characters’ interactions with other one another were
natural and realistic, and Cullen’s imaginative mind will put the reader into
his skin, as in the words of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, helping the reader to identify with each
character. “The characters’ reactions are palpable as their grief deepens and
yet they continue to hope for Gabriel’s return. Cullen is an eloquent,
thoughtful narrator….the ending is worth the wait” (School Library Journal, July 2011). The poignancy that Whaley is
able to create through his simple realizations of the characters is beautifully
done. The syntax will be short and simple, and then a flowing, melodic sentence
will appear, creating a sense of understanding in the reader. The melody and
rhythm of the sentence structure that the author is able to accomplish is
fitting because there are many references to songs, and although most of them
will be unfamiliar to music fans, the song lyric references are perfect for the
novel’s subjects and themes. They all include allusions to angels, life after
death, and religion, all of which are explored within the pages of the novel.
A 2011 Publishers Weekly Starred Review states, “In this
darkly humorous debut, Whaley weaves two stories into a taut and
well-constructed thriller….Vulnerability balances Cullen’s arch sarcasm, and
the maelstrom of media attention lavished on the woodpecker offers an element
of the absurd, especially when juxtaposed against the mystery of Gabriel’s
disappearance. The portentous tone and flat affect of Whaley’s writing is well-suited
to the story’s religious themes and symbolism.” The last statement is very
accurate. The way that the author was able to interweave all of these elements
and devices effectively, particularly the religious allusions and symbolism,
will instill a lasting impression on the reader long after he or she has put
the book away. The fact that the book won the Michael L. Printz Award for
Excellence and the William C. Morris Debut Award from the American Library Association is no surprise.
The nonlinear plot of flashbacks and flash-forwards will
keep the reader guessing as to what is occurring within the present time. I
found myself looking back when I came to the end of the book and began to
realize what might be happening and loving the fact that I had to keep
guessing. It is a novel designed to have the reader thinking about life’s
unexpected twists and turns and the fact that things have a way of working out.
One of my favorite lines from the novel is, “I can’t seem to be a pessimist
long enough to overlook the possibility of things being overwhelmingly good.”
This comes from the main character, Cullen, and pretty much sums up the one of
the major themes of the book – that sometimes, when least expected, things that
were once lost often come back.
Some things to be aware of: This novel does have some sexual
content; however, those scenes are not described, just pretty bluntly implied.
The book is most likely be suited for 8th or 9th grade
and up due to this particular comment and some (not much) explicative language.
This story is one that will be enjoyed by adults as well, and both males and
females will find things they can appreciate, understand, and identify with as
they read.
As an English teacher, I can think of multiple ways to use
excerpts of this novel in class and teach students things such as style,
diction, syntax, symbolism, allusion, and any other literary device since the
author writes includes them all in a seemingly flawless way, which is what I
want my students to see examples of. I found myself marking many pages and
cannot wait to utilize the passages I discovered! As a reader and lover of
literature, this novel held my full attention, and it was one of the rare books
that I finished in a total of two sessions. At only 228 pages and being full of
engaging situations and language, readers are sure to not put this page-turner
down!
References
Where
things come back: A review. (2011). School Library Journal. Retrieved
June 21, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com.
Where
things come back. (2011). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 21, 2014,
from http://www.amazon.com.
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