Bibliography Koertge, Ron. 2001. The Brimstone Journals. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763617424 Review & Critical Analysis In The Brimstone Journals, Koertge uses the perspectives of fifteen different students from the Branston High School Class of 2001 to tell the story. Told in six parts, the story follows the students as they deal with family, relationships, finding their identity, and finding themselves. Branston High School, nicknamed “Brimstone” in reference to fire and brimstone (i.e. Hell), has its fair share of drama with this senior class. The poems are short and simple, the longest poem covering two pages and the shortest only one line. Koertge uses free verse to allow his characters to share their thoughts in a journal format. There is no formal organization to how the story is told. The poems jump from narrator to narrator at random. Each narrator does have a distinctive voice, and even though the poems are short, the background and feelings of the narrators comes through clearly. The narrators range from Boyd, the white supremacist neglected by his alcoholic father who is planning a school shooting to Meredith, the “easy” girl at school who sees college as her chance to start over to Tran, who is trying to live up to the expectations his Vietnamese immigrant parents have for him. Each of the fifteen narrators bring up thoughts and feelings that teenagers will easily relate to. The most striking part of this novel in verse is the controversial topic of school shootings. Boyd, one of the narrators, is planning a shooting throughout the book, creating a list of those he plans to kill, and recruiting other narrators to join him. This topic may be sensitive for younger readers, so the recommended audience for this title would definitely be high school. Even with such a sensitive topic in the background throughout the book, Koertge does a wonderful job of building tension and resolving the story in a satisfying way. As I mentioned before, the poems are laid out, journal style, and switch from character to character. Even though there are fifteen narrators, all of their stories blend together to create tension and it was interesting to see the different stories begin to intertwine as the story developed. Even though the arrangement is random, it is easy to follow once you begin reading. Koertge includes a list of the characters/narrators at the beginning of the book, which can be used as reference while reading. One caution I would make for readers, besides the topic of school shootings, is that the book contains a lot of cursing. As a high school librarian, this doesn’t surprise me, but it could cause some readers to be taken aback. I would make sure to assess the level of the student’s maturity before recommending this book. The Brimstone Journals was an entertaining and thought-provoking read. It provides insight into the inner workings of a teenager’s mind and allows the reader to easily immerse themselves into the story. It moves quickly and will keep the interest of high school age readers who can easily connect to the characters and will find the major topics and themes of the poems interesting and engaging. Spotlight Poem Tran In my religion, we believe in ghosts, people who cannot go on to paradise, but cannot be reborn either. Hungry ghosts have insatiable appetites and thirst nothing can satisfy. Buddhist hungry ghosts are ugly, with skinny necks and bloated stomachs. American ghosts are attractive but still insatiable: Damon longs for greater strength, Rob for more conquests, Neesha for revenge, Kelli for autonomy. Even Joseph, who seems so virtuous, craves recognition. And me? Haunted by my father’s memories, I am an anthology of ghosts. This poem, found on page 37, was one of my favorites for many reasons. I really liked the way Tran described the “ghosts” of his classmates and himself. It made me stop and think about what others see in us based on the way we act around them. I also appreciated that Tran summarized some of the key characteristics of the other narrators, even if it is just a handful of them. My favorite part of this poem is the last line “I am an anthology / of ghosts.” It is a great summarization of Tran’s character and the pressure he feels to live up to his father’s expectations. I would introduce this poem with students by first having them read it silently. I would then read it aloud and ask students what they thought Tran meant when he said “American ghosts are attractive / but still insatiable.” What does he mean when he says they are insatiable for those intangible things? What examples have they seen of the “ghosts” of these characters so far in the book? As a further reflection, students could write in their reflection journals about what “ghosts” they feel follow them. This would also be a great poem for our peer mentors to use when opening dialogue with new students.
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AuthoRMy name is Mrs. Scott and I'm a secondary Media Resource Specialist (librarian) in Texas. This blog was created as part of my graduate coursework at Texas Woman's University. All reviews and opinions are my own. Archives
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