Chris Minato

12/2/09

English 116

Warner

Annotated Bibliography

The Supernatural

Elements of the supernatural can be found throughout young adult literature. While many examples derive from science fiction or horror fiction, the supernatural, the paranormal; that which occurs beyond the normal frame of everyday life, is an element found in fiction as well. Often times the author can incorporate the element of supernatural without acute awareness from the reader. These elements, while they remain hidden, add depth and functionality to the story�s plot. An example of the supernatural appearing outside the avenue of sci-fi/fantasy is the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. While the novel itself is a story of friendship, the main characters, the four friends, are tied together by a magical pair of jeans which can fit all four of them though they are a very different body types. Here the supernatural acts as a positive reinforcement to the value of friendship. Which brings up another misconception this bibliography dispels, which is, the supernatural is evil. While some of the books presented below do contain an �evil� supernatural force, Something Wicked this Way Comes, there also those, such as Boxes, and From the Dust Returned, which also present the good and the comedic elements of the supernatural. This is the value of the supernatural, it is highly flexible. Hopefully the list conveys interest to both sides of gender and even includes a source for those seeking gay/lesbian literature with Am I Blue? a story which evokes elements of the supernatural, wish granting and human color change, to convey a certain message, another element of the supernatural. Other highlights of the list include in depth reads. The Lovely Bones, and the Book Thief, are uniquely narrated novels which involve a deceased narrator and death itself narrating. This bibliography contains six books which have won awards for literary merit.

Annotated Bibliography

Zusak, Marcus. The Book Thief Random House Sept. 11 2008 576 pages

The Book Thief is not only a book which deals with Death and its struggles but is also narrated by it as well. The looming figure follows the protagonist, a young girl living in Nazi Germany, Liesel, who faces death in a variety of places, including the death of her brother and mother. Liesel learns to cope with death by stealing books and learning to read. The first one she steals, ironically, is a copy of a Gravedigger�s Manuel.

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Back Bay Books: New York 2002 368 pages

Susie Salmon is murdered on �December 6, 1973� while walking through a neighbor�s cornfield. The Lovely Bones is narrated by Susie in, �her heaven (a place where wishing is having)� and captures, not only the struggles her friends and family endure after her death, but her own struggle to accept her fate as well (Publisher�s Weekly). Through Susie�s absence, and observation, a grieving town comes to life forming alliances to help uncover Susie�s murder. (Amazon.com)

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Laurel leaf: New York September 2002 226 pages

�The Giver� is the �Keeper of Memories� of a society regulated to the point of feeling no pain or visualizing color. The story follows Jonas who has been chosen as the world�s next �Keeper of Memories.� �The Giver� has the power to pass on the experiences of the past which range from the pleasure of love to the horror of war. It is a novel in the style of Huxley�s Brave New World.

Cormier, Robert. Fade. Laurel Leaf September 2001 320 Pages

A teenager named Paul discovers he has the amazing gift being able to turn invisible. The power is inherited through his family�s blood line that yields one �fader� every generation. Using this power Paul quickly abuses this privilege. In twenty years he reveals himself to the next �fader� who utilizes his abilities for �pure vengeance� (amazon.com).

Brashares, Ann. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, March 2001 352 pages

It is the story of four friends who must separate for the first time over summer that find a pair of magical pants which all four can fit into. The girls believe the pants will help keep them together and help them overcome the difficulties they will face over the summer, alone. The trials the girls must face include language barriers, sexual assault, and love. It is a magical story of friendship which weaves the supernatural into a story seamlessly.

Bauer, Marion Dane. Am I Blue?. Harper Trophy, May 1995 288 pages

The book itself is a collection of stories which deal with lesbian and gay themes written by different authors, including Lois Lowry who appears above. Am I Blue? Is a short story about a young man who gains three wishes and asks that everyone who is gay or lesbian should turn blue. The narrator is shocked to discover how many how many �people keep their sexual orientation hidden� (adolescents in search of meaning).

Bradbury, Ray. The October Country. Ballantine Books 1955 306 pages

Ray Bradbury�s Halloween masterpiece which encapsulates the demons which haunt the human soul. A collection of short stories which take the elements of the paranormal, and reveal them to be derived by human fear while others reveal the fears, quite possible, unrealized until this reading. Teens will enjoy Bardbury�s creativity and quick pace. The stories deal with real life situations, such as, the loss of a friend, regret, maternal fear, hope, and acceptance in a fantastic way.

Sleator, William. The Boxes. Puffin Books, 2001 208 pages

Sleator�s retelling of the Pandora myth leaves his protagonist with two boxes and a set of creatures. These creatures can control time, or at least slow it down, and must help Annie defeat a �crew of evil land developers� (amazon.com/publisher�s weekly). The creatures also help Annie adjust to her new life at her aunt and uncle�s home after she is orphaned. Annie�s new family �flits in and out of her life with irregular interval� and The Boxes can also deal with the notion of teenage loneliness.

Bradbury, Ray. From the Dust Returned. Ballantine Books September 2002 288 pages

Bradbury returns to the October Country for a grand homecoming of the paranormal kind. The novel analyzes, once again, human fear, desire, and hope, this time, delving into the inner thoughts of the very ghouls which once haunted humankind. The book is a collection of short stories about a young boy, Timothy, a mortal, who longs to be like his vampire family, or his eternally dreaming sister, and their fantastic word from which he is marginalized from. The stories also reveal what it means to be a ghoul in the modern era, as humans begin to no longer believe in the haunts which Bradbury once wrote about in 1955. The outcome is a desperate and heart wrenching flight.

Bradbury, Ray. Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bantam Books 1970

Two teens enter a mysterious carnival and watch as an evil carousel ages people forward or backward in time. The story deals with the loss of innocence of childhood and the longing to grow up teens often express as one of the boys, Jim, is lured by the carnival and the carousel. The story also deals with the loss of loved ones as those who are transformed on the carousel soon find they are unrecognized by the people that care most about them.

Works Cited:

Warner, Mary. Adolescents in the Search for Meaning. Scarecrow Press Inc, 2006

Book information made possible by Publisher�s Weekly reviews on www.amazon.com