Plot Summary
Teenagers and best friends, Kata and Ana, attend a dance when the sound of gunfire interrupts their good time. Kata survives, but Ana loses her life. It is a typical occurrence in Los Angeles. Ana becomes another victim in the endless gang wars. Kata is angry and wants revenge but is torn between getting revenge and leaving the gang life forever. Kata struggles with an uncertain future, an alcoholic mother, her friends or "homeys" who seem hopeless and resigned to living the gang life, and falling in love. Will she find her way out of the gang life or become hopeless too?
Critical Evaluation
Party Girl is written with a very specific audience in mind. Most teenagers today will never have to experience the life that the characters in the book have. For that reason a lot of teenagers might not relate to the themes. That being said, it is a book that can be used to begin discussing such things as gang violence. The story is told from Kata's point of view which makes her character easy to care about. The book is short so there isn't a lot of development for the other characters. Party Girl should be part of a collection which includes a variety of other books about gang violence in order to show different perspectives with more insight.
Reader's Annotation
Kata's best friend, Ana, is killed in a drive-by shooting. Is it too late too get out of the Los Angeles gang life?
About the Author
Lynne Ewing is an American author and screenwriter.
Her first books were Drive-By and Party Girl. Drive-By took six years to write, and Party Girl has been made into a movie called Living the Life.
Genre/ Subgenre
Issues/ Gangs
Curriculum Ties
Sociology
Booktalking Ideas
1) Discuss why you think teenagers join gangs?
2) Discuss the differences between the characters in the book with teenagers you know? What circumstances make their lives different from yours?
Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 14+
Challenge Issues
Gang violence, drinking/drug use
Challenge defense ideas
-Become familiar with the book and its content.
-Refer to the collection development policy of the library, see http://sfpl.org/pdf/about/policies/collection-development-plan.pdf
-Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Party-Knopf-Books-Lynne-Ewing/dp/037580210X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292297915&sr=1-1
-Try to get reviews of the book from teens who have read it.Why Included in Titles Selected
I saw the title and first thought it would be a funny book along the lines of the Parker Posey movie of the same title. Instead I got a book about gangs.
No comments:
Post a Comment