I would have read it even if it hadn’t caused controversy. I can’t chat with my children about their reading assignments if I haven’t read them and teen fiction is about as difficult to read as popcorn is to microwave. The fact that some parents declared it inappropriate just moved it to the top of my reading queue.

The book is written by an adult trying to use future teen lingo. The author starts out with a few profanities woven into the teenspeak that he has created, so that readers can understand the message and mood the teens are communicating. Without the initial use of familiar words, the full impact of the teens’ aimless disconnect from the world outside of their social circle would be lost on readers. The words that are commonplace regardless of how much parents shelter their teens, fade from the book’s text after a few chapters.

The book is actually an excellent choice for high school summer reading. It is one giant conversation starter for adolescents. With the exception of the author’s glaring observation that marketing isn’t just targeting everything we do, but actually changing who we are, the topics for discussion don’t have easy answers and teens are allowed to individually form their own opinions and ideas. Under the guidance of teachers, conversations and essays that sprout from the seeds of this story could become insightful analysis of our culture, our world and our survival.

I am disappointed that the school had to offer an alternative choice and stifle the school-wide discussions that should happen about Feed. The fact that the alternative choice is something my teens read in fifth grade makes an otherwise good book seem much too childish for 14 and 15-year-old adolescents whose real lives are likely far more colorful than a few curse words.

Read Feed for yourself and tell me if you think it is a good summer reading assignment for high school students.

Sarah learned to read because of and for praise from her Kindergarten teacher. Sarah’s teacher made every child in the classroom feel loved and in return, the students worked eagerly for the teacher they adored. After Kindergarten, Sarah continued to be a good student, but she didn’t read for pleasure until she discovered Harry Potter.

Noah learned to read from his big sister. Sarah forced Noah to spend hours playing school. She hovered over him with books so frequently that he began Kindergarten with basic reading abilities. His Kindergarten teacher refused to acknowledge this and spent most of her time forcing him to use his right hand and reprimanding his behavioral objections to using the wrong hand and sitting still. By the end of Kindergarten, Noah preferred being immersed in a book over doing anything else. Noah still loves to read. Right now, Noah is reading. He won’t stop until he finishes this novel. Then, he’ll find a new book and start reading again.

Amy’s Kindergarten teacher taught her to read. Amy improved her reading skills at the same speed as her peers until she discovered the Kindle. The Kindle was the spark that made Amy love reading. I regularly find her reading while hiding under a blanket far past her bedtime. Most of the time, I pretend not to catch her.

Evan had a wonderful Kindergarten teacher. He had (and still has) two parents and four siblings reading to him every night. We practiced his sight words until he didn’t even pause to read them. Amy bribes Evan to play school a few times a week. With all of that, I truly believe that the tipping point for Evan learning to read was texting. He started out sending gibberish messages on my Twitter account, then proceeded to texting family and friends with my phone. Now, Evan and Amy regularly chat with the text program on their DSiXLs.

All of this is a very long way of saying that every child learns differently. Their strengths, weaknesses, motivations and enthusiasm come in endless varieties of combinations. There is no assembly line formula for teaching children to read. Eliminating proven techniques for helping students learn to read is a recipe for failure. Failure for the neediest, highest risk students. The future for children who don’t learn to read is dismal. Allowing it to happen because it’s someone else’s child is a human tragedy. The money we save now is nothing compared to the cost of supporting and cleaning up the acts of desperation by those who didn’t learn.

Noah and Sarah have assigned summer reading. Noah normally absorbs a novel a day, but he is less than thrilled at his new books. Noah is going to read:
“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd
“Anthem” by Ayn Rand*
“Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou
“The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw

Sarah is going to read:
“How to Read Literature like a Professor” by Thomas Foster
“1984″ by George Orwell
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
“Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad
“The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw

“The Greatest Generation” is on both lists because the school wants every student to read it. The teachers didn’t include it on their printed lists. Sarah took this as a sign that it was optional. I took it as understood, since everyone is supposed to read it. I don’t care if they discuss “The Greatest Generation” in basket weaving class, but they’d better discuss it at some point this year or my name will be mud.

Sarah also has a summer art portfolio and college shopping to get done while Noah learns how to be a part of the marching band. Tommy thinks his summer will be spent sleeping until noon and playing games all night. I’m going to schedule play dates to force him to interact with others and get out of his room. I’m a brutal taskmaster.

*I hate this choice. Like last year’s Catcher in the Rye, I would happily trade for a different book if it was an option.

I recognize that feminist literature choices tend to be pessimistic and misandrous. I understand that you are trying to avoid literature that includes sexual themes. Still, isn’t there anything that they could read which doesn’t romanticize suicide? Are there no books for teens that are inspiring or hopeful? Would it be terrible if they read a book that made them laugh?

Cathy

Reading List for this class: The Awakening, In Cold Blood, Native Son, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Things They Carried, Life of Pi, The Sound and the Fury, The Grapes of Wrath and The Catcher in the Rye.