Introduction to Literature Circles: Selecting the right book

Introduction to Literature Circles: Selecting the right book

Literature Circle Unit Overview • For the next 4 weeks in class we will be reading and discussing science fiction novels in small groups. • In order to be successful in this unit it is important that you choose a book that you are genuinely interested in. • You will have the choice of 5 different sci-fi novels which you will read in and outside of class.

Before we begin, ask yourself “Why are we reading in literature circles?” • What skills will we develop? • What will we learn from doing this?

The 5 novels that you can choose from are: • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins • Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer • The Giver by Lois Lowry • Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer • The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau • Feed by M. T. Anderson

1) The Hunger Games • Published in 2008 • Collins was inspired by Greek mythology, reality TV and Roman gladiator games when writing this story • The story follows a 16 year old female protagonist named KatnissEverdeen • Is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy • Had a film adaptation created in 2012

The Hunger Games Synopsis • The Hunger Games takes place in Panem, a nation established in North America after an unknown apocalyptic event. The nation consists of the wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts united under the Capitol's control. • As punishment for a past rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games. The games are an event in which the participants must fight to the death in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one individual remains. • KatnissEverdeen, a girl from District 12, bravely volunteers for the 74th annual Hunger Games in place of her younger sister. By doing so, Katniss must battle against and kill 23 other tributes, including Peeta who is a former schoolmate and tribute from Katniss’ own hometown. • Will Katniss make it to the games? Will she be able to kill others to defend herself? Could she become the victorious tribute and make it back to her family?

Watch the Hunger Games movie trailer... • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S9a5V9ODuY

Topics and themes from TheHunger Games • War • Poverty • Social classes • Survival • Fighting • Political power • Family • Love

2) Life as We Knew It • Published in 2006 • Part of the ‘Last Survivors’ trilogy • Set in Pennsylvania • The story follows 16 year old Miranda and her two brothers Matt and Jonny

Life as We Knew It Synopsis • High school sophomore Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, the way “one marble hits another.” The result is catastrophic. • How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun? As August turns dark and wintry in north-eastern Pennsylvania, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. • Told in a year’s worth of journal entries, this heart-pounding story chronicles Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all—hope—in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. • Will Miranda survive? Can she save her family? Will the earth ever return to it’s original state? Or is life as we knew it over for good...

Watch some student made book trailers... • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRwRuZ-AhKM • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ib1a22fj8w

Topics and Themes in Life as We Knew It • Family • Natural Disasters • Survival • Hunger/ Poverty • Love • Teens • Death • The apocalypse

3) The Giver • Published in 1993 • The story has sparked much controversy as to whether or not it is inappropriate for teens, despite selling 5.3 million copies. • Has a film being created which will be released in 2014 featuring Taylor Swift, Alexander Scarsgard. Meryl Streep and Katie Holmes. • Follows 12 year old male protagonist named Jonas.

The Giver Synopsis • The Giver tells the story of a perfect world where everyone is happy. When Jonas is 12 years old, he's chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. He enters into training with an old man called The Giver. From the Giver, Jonas learns about pain, sadness, war, and all the unhappy truths of the "real" world. • As Jonas receives the memories from the Giver, he discovers the power of knowledge. The people in his community are happy because they do not know of a better life, and the knowledge of what they are missing out on could create major chaos. • Jonas faces a dilemma: Should he stay with the community and the safe, consistent but shallow life it offers, or should he run away in pursuit of a life full of love, color, choices, and knowledge, but also potentially full of danger?

Topics and Themes in The Giver • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNL77KnIRI8 • Power of knowledge • Social Division • Family • Maturity • Danger and suspense • Happiness • Tradition

4) Flashforward • Published in 1999 • Written by a Canadian author • Inspired the hit TV series ‘Flashforward’ • Follows 45 year old male protganist Lloyd Simcoe who is a physicist

Flashforward Synopsis • The novel is set in 2009 at CERN the Large Hadron Collider accelerator is performing a run to search for the Higgs boson. The experiment has a unique side effect: the entire human race loses consciousness for about two minutes. • During that time, nearly everyone sees themselves roughly twenty-one years and six months in the future. Each individual experiences the future through the senses of his or her future self. • This "flashforward" results in countless deaths and accidents involving vehicles, aircraft, and any other device needing human control at the time of the experiment.

Watch the TV series preview of Flashforward • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksp3_QnWAm8

Topics and Themes from Flashforward • Technology and inventions • Premonitions • Fear and paranoia • Love • Protection • Science • Global panic and chaos

5) Feed • Published in 2002 • Set in America • Follows the story of Titus, a teenage male from an upper-middle class family

Feed Synopsis • The novel portrays a future in which the feednet, a huge computer network (apparently an advanced form of the Internet), is directly connected to the brains of about 73% of American citizens by means of an implanted device called a feed. • The feed allows people: to mentally access vast digital knowledge databases (individually called "sites"); to experience sharable entertainment programs, music, and even others' memories; to continually interact with intrusive corporations in a personal preference based way; and to communicate telepathically on closed channels with others who have feeds through a feature called m-chatting. • Privacy and self-ownership are constantly obstructed by messaged advertising from corporations that participate in data mining (used to fit individuals into consumer profiles based on their buying patterns). • The setting of the novel is depicted as an ecologically devastated world. Natural clouds have been replaced by trademarked Clouds™, implying artificial replications due to atmospheric pollution. Bodies of water have become acidic and toxic. Human sexual reproduction appears to be no longer possible through natural means. As a result, women undergo in-vitro fertilization and have their children custom-designed.

Watch some student made trailers… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDY-L9KYMNU • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0IKxCL3vV0

Topics and Themes • Technology • Corporate power • The environment • Telepathic abilities • Teenagers • Pressure from society • Loss of privacy and hacking of information • Genetics

5) The City of Ember • Published in 2003 • Was translated into a film in 2008 • Follows the story of teen female protagonist LinaMayfleet and her male friend Doon Harrow • Has a graphic novel version as well that was created in 2012

The City of Ember Synopsis • At the end of mankind on Earth, the scientists build a self-sufficient underground city for a few people in order to preserve the human race for two hundred years. They also leave instructions for the future generations to return to the surface of the planet in a steel box that should be kept by the mayors through the generations. However, the instructions are lost and the inhabitants stay in the city that is completely deteriorated. • The power generator has problems and the blackouts are longer and more frequent and the city is running out of food that needs to be rationed. On the Assignment Day, the teenagers LinaMayfleet and Doon Harrow are assigned to work with the pipework and as messenger, but they swap their job positions. • Lina, who is the descendant of the seventh mayor, finds the box of instructions in the house of her grandmother and shows it to her friend Doon. They decide to explore the way out of the city and they discover that the corrupt major and his henchmen are stealing food from the population. When they are hunted by the major's hoodlums, they have to find the way out of Ember to survive and save the populations from the imminent darkness and the end of the city.

Watch the official movie trailer… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffd0jrgcbuE

Introduction to Literature Circles: Selecting the right book