We are starting a new category of posts, “New Voices”. There are several college-level Mormon literature classes currently being taught, and we have invited the students to share some of their book reviews and other papers, to give us a sense of what the rising generation of critics are thinking. This first bunch comes from the Mormon Literature course at BYU-Salt Lake, with 18 students, taught by Shelah Miner. Shelah explains the assignment:
“We opened the semester by talking about the now-infamous NYT article about why Mormons are good at genre fiction and bad at literary fiction, along with about five responses/rebuttals from Mormon authors ranging from George Handley to Larry Correia. We also talked about how the boundaries between literary and genre fiction can be permeable and the distinctions are somewhat artificial. Then, recognizing but ignoring those boundaries (LOL), I gave them an assignment to choose two books, one from one of the popular genres (mystery/thriller, sci fi/speculative/fantasy, romance, young adult, inspirational, historical fiction), and one work of literary fiction or creative nonfiction. They were asked to present the books to the class and also to write a review their books– about 1000-1500 words that included a summary, a conversation about what they liked and didn’t like about the novel, and a (very brief) analysis of an element or two from the text.”
This first set of book reviews are three essays about YA novels, from the genre fiction assignment. The reviewers are McKenzie White (All the Truth That’s In Me, by Julie Berry), Courtney Mortensen (A Love Like Lilly, by Kay Lynn Mangum), Allyson Cowdell (Cal Cameron By Day, Spider-Man By Night, by A. E. Cannon). Please be encouraging towards these students, most of whom are new to college-level writing assignments.
A Love Like Lilly, Kay Lynn Mangum
Reviewer: Courtney Mortensen
A Love Like Lilly follows an almost 16 year old girl named Jamie in her Summer living at her Grandpa Harold’s house. Grandma Lilly has recently passed away, and packing up her things has taken a toll on him. While helping, Jamie finds an old photo book leading to stories from when Harold served in the Civilian Conservation Corps–about his challenges with friends he served with, his struggle with the Church, and how he met Lilly and the change she made in his life. While recording the stories so they are never lost, Jamie helps Harold escape from the mourning of Lilly.
Grandpa Harold has been dating Anna, a lady from the ward that was good friends with Lilly. Jamie didn’t like the fact that he was moving on from her grandma so quickly and didn’t welcome Anna. Over time, with the encouragement of childhood best friend Kyle, and seeing how happy Anna made her grandpa, Jamie in the end was the one defending Harold and Anna’s relationship when the rest of their family did not approve. The book is a great mix of old stories and new experiences of Jamie learning about her grandpa and also about herself. Losing and finding love is a common theme, and although Lilly was gone, she seems to tie everyone together in the end.
I loved the characterization in this book. Mangum does a great job at developing the characters as the story goes on. Jamie starts as a kind of annoying 15 year old complaining about anything and everything. I really didn’t like being inside of her head, so the first chapter or two were hard to get into. When Kyle comes into the picture with his good attitude and his “elf grin”, Jamie becomes self-conscious. This is an obvious hint to where the friendship with Kyle will go in the story, with her caring more and more about what he thinks of her, and him always being there in the trials and triumphs in her life. Jamie’s selfish attitude is completely changed as she spends more time with Kyle, Grandpa Harold, and Anna.
Grandpa Harold is such a strong character, leaving me wishing I had a figure like him in my own life. He goes from extremely heart-broken to being a lively old man who feels like a young kid again retelling his CCC stories and also courting Anna. Hearing the stories revealed so much about why he was the way he was and the strength he had gained in his years of service. So many trials were thrown at Grandpa Harold in the book starting with the loss of Lilly, the heartbreaking rejection of his own relatives regarding his new love, and physical heart-problems on top of it all. It seemed as though his heart was the target of so many aspects, yet he still grabbed me as the character with the most love to give.
The story takes place in many parts of Utah, both present and decades in the past. Most of Grandpa Harold’s stories followed paths in Southern Utah, leaving it familiar enough to relate to, but unfamiliar enough that it was really interesting to hear about the little towns he worked in. Towards the end of the book, a road trip was taken to places Jamie’s family had been camping multiple times in the past, but something was different. These places she had grown up seeing were the places her grandpa had worked in the CCC. Memories of drawing on a cement pad with charcoal when she was young, now connected with that cement pad being the foundation of a building Grandpa Harold had built. I loved the aspect of both past stories and new stories happening in the same location. The road trip tied it all together perfectly with the obvious excitement of Jamie and Grandpa Harold experiencing these places, they’ve been talking about all summer with his stories, together.
The whole plot of the book really got to me. From wishing I had a relationship like Jamie and Harold with my own grandfather, to the trouble and hard-feelings that come along with a grandparent getting remarried after a death. It was very relatable and real, even with parts being over dramatic because of the 15 year old girl point of view. Grandpa Harold has such patience and love for Jamie, and has a way of instilling confidence in her by letting her know continually how much she is like Lilly. It was so powerful to me seeing the change in Jamie in her value of herself and in those around her. I loved the tie of genealogy into the book with the recording of Harold’s stories, but even then it was such a natural use and transition that it didn’t scream FAMILY HISTORY or seem out of place.
Overall, this book will hit you in one way or another. Moments I wanted to happen from hints in the beginning didn’t disappoint me. I laughed, I cried, was frustrated with family drama, and touched by connections made in the end. It’s a great story of love and loss and learning that loving new people doesn’t take away from the love you have for others. It’s about looking at what really matters and holding onto that. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
Cal Cameron by Day, Spider-Man by Night, by A. E. Cannon
Reviewer: Allyson Cowdell
This Young Adult Fiction novel tells the well-known story of “Boy meets girl, and girl changes boy”. The protagonist is High School Junior Calvin Cameron, quarterback of the Varsity football team at Scenic View High in Provo, Utah. Cal is popular and good-looking. He dates the pretty girls, doesn’t put much effort into his schoolwork, and cares a lot about what people think of him. Despite his cool image, Cal acknowledges that lately he hasn’t been himself and can’t seem to figure out why he feels so off.
But then comes Martha Jeffs. Little does Cal know, Martha, who goes by Marti, will rock his world. Although she is not very popular around school, Cal takes an immediate interest in her. And though it risks his social status, Cal befriends Marti. “She has a square face and small bright blue eyes. Hardly any makeup. And the strongest looking legs I’ve ever seen on a girl,” says Cal about Marti. He particularly loves her legs, since most girls do not usually show off muscularity. As he will come to realize, Marti is unlike any other girl he has ever met. Opposite of Cal, she basically lives in her own world, not paying mind to how others perceive her. She stands up for what she believes, wears shirts and sweatshirts usually with feminist messages on them, and she prefers to go unnoticed in school. She is a fantastic runner, but won’t join track because “I’m not interested in being on any kind of team…I just don’t see myself as a team kind of person.”
As mentioned before, Cal’s friendship with Marti brings many obstacles into his social life. His two best friends are Sean and Mike “Bear” Mangum. Both boys are jocks and class clowns; they like to get under people’s skin and look for the opportunity to do so in any situation. Marti immediately becomes a foe when she stands up for two people these boys ridicule, Walter “Geekman” Geke and Miss Shumway. Because of Sean’s bitterness towards Marti, Cal is scared to be her friend in public. He only pursues her outside of school, and it is not until the very end of the novel that Cal stands up for her and walks away from his social life to be with her. Cal finds out Sean has been bullying Marti in the form of anonymous notes on her locker. Each note is some way calls her a lesbian. I love how Cal puts it after telling Sean off. “Goodbye, I say, as I walk out the door. Goodbye, parties. Goodbye, senior class presidency. Goodbye, popularity. Goodbye, Cal Cameron Creep.” None of that stuff matters anymore to him. He finally realizes what is more important to him, and he couldn’t care less for everything he is leaving behind to be with Marti.
Furthermore, I think the author A.E. Cannon does a very good job at narrating the thoughts of a teenage boy trying to figure out his life. I think this is a great strength that the novel possesses. Various times throughout the story I thought, “This is exactly what a boy in high school would do or think.” Published in 1988, I assume the story takes place in that decade. While it never says the year, the price of everything is cheaper, diction/slang is dated, and the clothing styles described seem to fit the 80s. For example, on the first day of school when Cal describes fashion fads, he says that the style used to be “preppy” and that one must always keep up with the ever-changing trends. The early 80s are wellknown for its preppystyled clothing.
In my opinion, there were two weaknesses in Cannon’s writing. One was the somewhat lack of characterization of Marti; I wanted to know more about her character. It is merely touched upon a few times when Cal calls her out for hiding in the background of life because she is afraid of rejection and vulnerability. He says she would not join the track team because she is afraid of failure, and Marti says he was right, but she is working to change herself. Other than that, I felt I did not know much about her character and would have enjoyed more from her. The second weakness was that the conversations sometimes seemed short or even absent, almost to the point where it seemed awkward that Cal or Marti didn’t say something more. Besides those two points, I loved the novel and found it enjoyable, despite being dated. I think it fits the genre of Young Adult Fiction, I would recommend it for an audience of 12-18 years of age. It is a good story of finding yourself and leaving behind the unimportant things in life for things that have substance and purpose.
What I like most about Cal Cameron is that he recognizes right from wrong and always admits when he should’ve done something. While he does not always have the courage to do or say the right thing, I find it interesting that he at least recognizes it. For instance he’ll say, “Call me a jerk, but I act like I hardly know her [at school].” And he even admits to not always wanting to do the right thing, even for Marti. His thought right before he calls out Sean for leaving mean notes on Marti’s locker was “I guess a part of me still didn’t want to do what I’m about to do now.” There are many times in the novel when Cal wants to punch Sean or defend someone who is getting picked on, but he doesn’t due to fear of what his friends will think. I guess I just find it interesting to know Cal’s thoughts, because if not, I would assume he has no problem with his best friend bullying others. I’m sure this happens a lot in high school and no one even knows until someone finally takes a stand.
In conclusion, I just want to explain the title of the novel, Cal Cameron by Day, Spider-Man by Night. Cal loves Spider-Man comics and the Saturday morning cartoon show. During the novel, Cal says to the reader, “It’s funny, because I feel in some ways as though I’m living two lives. You know, Peter Parker by day, SpiderMan by night. There’s my life at school and then there’s my life after school.” Naturally, the title of the novel couldn’t be Peter Parker by Day, Spider-Man by Night because then everyone would think it’s a story about Spider-Man. I like the title, it definitely catches your eye and makes you want to know more about the book, and what Cal says is true: he really was living a double life for awhile, until he figured out what mattered most to him.
All the Truth That’s In Me, by Julie Berry
Reviewer: Mckenzie White
The journey of Judith Finch is both captivating and disturbing, depicting her life before and after her capture by a man who was thought to be dead. Julie Berry tells the story in an entrancing way in the voice of Judith, as if she were writing a personal journal or letter to her crush and long time neighbor Lucas. The story is split into four books and within those books Judith recounts different moments and memories while still keeping us informed of what is going on in the present time for her and her family, which makes it all the more difficult to put down.
Judith Finch grew up with her father, mother and little brother in a small town, where the neighbor’s boy Lucas captured her heart. Judith would often watch Lucas as they went about their chores, and never imagined he reciprocated feelings of love for her. One day Judith’s friend Lottie informed Judith of her plans to elope with one of the towns boys, although she never disclosed who the boy was that was stealing her kisses. After Lottie disappeared Judith waited for her in their special meeting spot, thinking her friend would come to disclose who her beau was and their plans. That same night Judith saw that friend be strangled by a man who was hidden in darkness, and another man took Judith to his hidden cabin where she would remain his captive for two years. Upon the release from her captivity Judith returned to her home missing half of her tongue, that was disturbingly cut out by her captor to keep his identity and location secret. Judith’s mother, shamed by these events, chastened Judith to never talk again. Thus she became the mute girl of the town, but she saw and heard many things. Judith helped her town win a war against invaders by invoking the help of her lost captor. She also helped in the recovery of her brother who shot himself in the foot. Through it all Judith rediscovered her voice and found that indeed her affection and love for Lucas was reciprocated, although it took a while for them to confess to each other, due to the fact that it was Lucas’s dad who took her away so many years ago. Upon finding her voice Judith also raised the courage to disclose what happened to her friend Lottie and herself, and she helped the whole town discover who Lottie’s murderer was.
This book was disturbing and suspenseful, as the truth of what happened to Judith and her childhood friend were disclosed a little at a time throughout the book. The plot and its characters were well developed, although it moved very slowly towards the climax. At times the characters could be frustrating, but that made the book that much more absorbing. For example with Judith not talking physically out loud most of the book it made it difficult as a reader to stay interested in what she did. Because of this Julie Berry’s writing style at first was difficult to follow, but it became interesting as the story grew. This writing style allowed the readers to keep interested even through the slow moving parts, knowing that she would change directions soon. The story line, although tragic, felt real and believable. Although with the happy ending for Judith and Lucas gave the book a lighter conclusion, it was still dark and gritty enough to be a change of pace from other romance books. Although Julie Berry is Mormon there was no sense of her religion or the Mormon culture in the book, which broadened the horizon for many more readers.
All the Truth That’s In Me was riveting, suspenseful and romantic with plot twists and interesting characters. Julie Berry did well in portraying a rural town’s tragic mystery, sending its readers through a whole variety of emotions from sympathy, anger, disgust and love. It was well-rounded just enough to keep readers both wanting more and satisfied by the end.