The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Adams, D. (2005). The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy.  New York: Del Rey. 

Originally published in 1979.

ISBN: 9780345391803 | paperback | 309p. | $7.99 USD

Cover image courtesy of goodreads.com

Annotation:  After Earth is demolished to make way for a new hyperspatial expressway, Arthur Dent begins to hitch-hike through space.

Book Talk:  Arthur Dent has just discovered his house is to be immediately demolished to make room for a new bypass.  And things are getting worse.  His longtime friend Ford has also just revealed he’s really an alien journalist writing a guide called Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Without much time to process everything, Arthur and his friend quickly hitch a ride on an alien space ship to narrowly escape Earth as it’s destroyed for the hyperspace bypass.  So begins the wacky adventure that will take Arthur across the universe with a band of unearthly ridiculous characters.  Hitch a ride with Arthur and Ford as they explore the absurd corners of the universe and in the process write their own version of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.   

My favorite thing about the book:

It is wonderfully absurd, fast paced and most importantly—hilarious!

First Sentence:

“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”

Favorite character:

Arthur Dent. Arthur’s a wonderful stand-in for the reader: confused, incredulous, yet eager to find out what happens next.

Awards/Honors:

1979 Number one on the Sunday Times best seller list

1984 Golden Pan

Best of Young British Novelists Nominee

Learn More:

Test your knowledge of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with BBC’s Hitchhiker’s Quizzes.

Enjoy this clip from the movie version where the answer to life, the universe, and everything else is given…

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Teens Talk . . .

Teens share their thoughts on the classic The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald:

"This is one of my favorite novels.  It depicts the 1920's perfectly as well as the conflict between old and new money."
-- Trevor C., age 17

"It was okay.  I liked the ending and the writing style, but didn't much care for the plot."
-- Rebecca P., age 17

"I loved the mystery of this book."
-- Becca H., age 16

"It was a great book.  It showed how cruel society was and the sacrifices that must be made."
-- Catie T., age 16

"This was a very interesting book with hints to the author's background and basic culture of the 1920's."
-- Lesa S., age 17

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The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald, F. S. (2004). The great gatsby.  New York: Scribner.

Originally published in 1925.

ISBN: 9780743273565 | paperback | 180p. | $14.00 USD

Cover image courtesy of goodreads.com

Annotation:  All the bright and young attend Jay Gatsby’s Long Island parties. Yet Gatsby himself is reserved and mysterious, waiting for something or someone. When he finally draws the beautiful Daisy Buchanan back into his orbit, he sets in motion a series of tragedies.

Book Talk:  Known for throwing extravagant parties but never attending himself, Jay Gatsby is a recluse who is bored and unfilled by his success and affluence. Yet when his new neighbor, Nick Carraway, helps him rekindle an affair with a former lover named Daisy, he comes back to life. Gatsby is willing to put everything on the line to be with her. But is the married and rich Daisy willing to do the same? Unhappy yet comfortable, Daisy is faced with a choice between her husband and the Great Gatsby.

My favorite thing about the book:

Fitzgerald captures the desperate restlessness of people in the Roaring Twenties. Despite having it all, they are bored and unfulfilled.

First Sentence:

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”

Favorite character:

Nick Carraway as the Narrator.  Nick’s narration in The Great Gatsby captures both the tone of the story, as well as Fitzgerald’s ability to convey complex feelings and ideas in clear simple language.

Awards/Honors:

None to date, though it is a highly celebrated American novel

Learn More:

Catch Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy in the 2013 movie version of The Great Gatsby!  Below is a movie trailer, but be sure to also check out the movie’s official website and like it on Facebook. 

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Go Ask Alice

Sparks, B. (2006). Go ask Alice. New York: Simon Pulse.

Originally published in 1971 by an anonymous author.

ISBN: 9781416914631 | paperback | 212p. | $9.99 USD

Cover image courtesy of goodreads.com

Annotation:  A fifteen-year-old drug user chronicles her daily struggle to escape the pull of the drug world.

Book Talk:  Go Ask Alice is . . .

• Written in diary format

• About an anonymous teenage girl age 15

• Who attends a party

• And is slipped LSD without her knowledge

• She quickly escalates out of control to an on again, off again struggle with drugs

• And becomes a homeless, dirty, ragged teenager living on the streets

• Who sleeps with strangers

• And puts herself in dangerous situations that lead to her being assaulted and taken advantage of

• She then returns to her family and tries to keep straight

• But is slipped drugs again and goes on a horrifying bad trip and tries to scratch her face off

• Afterward she is committed to a psychiatric hospital

• The book ends in a disturbing epilogue that leaves nothing but questions

My favorite thing about the book:

It has a quick pace and is totally captivating.  You won’t want to put it down once you start.

First Sentence:

“Yesterday I remember thinking I was the happiest person in the whole earth, in the whole galaxy, in all of God’s creation.”

Favorite character:

The diary!  Though it’s an inanimate object, the diary is in a way a character in this book.  It gives the reader a true view into the anonymous teenager’s life. 

Awards/Honors:

Though not necessarily an honor or award, this book has appeared on ALA’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books lists for 1990-1999 and 2000-2009.  To learn more about challenged or banned books, visit ALA’s Banned Books resources.

Learn More:

Check out this wiki page for the book created by Grand Valley State University students.

If you enjoy Go Ask Alice, be sure to check out Crank by Ellen Hopkins published in 2004.

Cover image courtesy of goodreads.com

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