Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
ISBN: 0-618-47794-2
Bechdel, A. (2006). Fun home: A family tragicomedy. New York: Houghton Mifflin

Plot Summary
Alison Bechdel chronicles her childhood and youth growing up in rural Pennsylvania.  It also focuses on Bechdel’s relationship with her father.  The book starts with Bruce Bechdel’s obsession with renovating the family’s Victorian home.  Alison notes that his manic obsessive behavior also reflected itself in the way he treated his family.  As Alison grows older, she realizes her father is not like other fathers.  He is very concerned with her acting obviously female, to the point where he berates her for not wearing hairclips.  She describes her relationship with Bruce as being so completely opposite that they almost complemented each other.  While she thrilled in simple, clean, and mannish, Bruce was ornate, decadent, and almost frilly.  The Victorian house was all Bruce wanted.  They were constantly at odds with one another while Alison was growing up, and never agreed on anything.  A large focus is on Alison’s growing awareness of her sexuality and development.  Before Bruce commits suicide, Alison and he have a conversation where he explains some of his sexuality and past experiences.  Though not fully explored, tensions between the two dissipate somewhat.  However, Bruce’s apparent suicide a few weeks later causes Alison to question whether or not admitting she was a lesbian triggered her father’s actions.

Critical Evaluation
The story does not follow a chronological path, and events are retold as Bechdel grows older and learns more information that sheds light on previous events.  Bechdel holds nothing back, is direct, and unapologetic.  This is her life, as she has lived it, including the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly, but all of it the truth.  A unique form for a memoir, the graphic novel aspect adds something extra to what is already some serious subject matter.  As with picture books, Bechdel’s graphics show, rather than tell, many of the nuances of human interaction and life.  There are moments of comedy and humor, but there are plenty of grim realizations as well.  Many famous literary works or plays are also mentioned, and similarities drawn to various family members, especially Bechdel’s parents.  These serve to illustrate a point, or make a reference others can identify with.  The artwork is also deeply inspired.  For each illustration, Bechdel first photographed herself dressed as her family, then drew each picture, and used Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator at various stages.  She also used Google Images to find period photographs of places, and hand-copied letters and journal excerpts.  The result is a carefully planned and meticulously executed story told in pictures. 

Reader’s Annotation
A memoir in graphic novel format, Fun Home is direct, unapologetic, and holds nothing back.
 
About the Author
“Since its inception in 1983, Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For has become a countercultural institution. The strip is syndicated in dozens of newspapers, translated into several languages and collected in a series of award-winning books. Utne magazine has listed DTWOF as “one of the greatest hits of the twentieth century.” And Comics Journal says, “Bechdel’s art distills the pleasures of Friends and The Nation; we recognize our world in it, with its sorrows and ironies.”

In addition to her comic strip, Bechdel has also done exclusive work for a slew of publications, including Ms., Slate, the Advocate, and many other newspapers, websites, comic books, and ‘zines.   In 2006, Houghton Mifflin published her graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. The bestselling coming-of-age tale has been called a “mesmerizing feat of familial resurrection” and a “rare, prime example of why graphic novels have taken over the conversation about American literature.  Bechdel lives near Burlington, Vermont.”

Genre
Memoir/Graphic novel/Adult crossover

Curriculum Ties
Literature and Writing Styles
Photography and Art Composition

Booktalking
Compare and contrast Alison's understanding of her sexuality with that of her father's.
What are some unique experiences growing up in a funeral home?

Reading Level/Interest Level
RL: N/A
IL: 10th grade and up

Challenge Issues
Possible challenge issues include homosexuality, homosexual relationships, graphic language, sexual situations, and suicide.

In my defense file, I would include the following:
1) Library Mission Statement
2) Library Selection Policy approved by any or all of the following individuals—principal, school board, district librarian OR library manager, city council, mayor.
3) Library Bill of Rights adapted from CSLA Bill of Rights, AASL Bill of Rights and/or ALA Bill of Rights
4) Reviews, both positive and critical, from respected sources such as School Library Journal, VOYA, Booklist
5) Rationale for book inclusion for titles anticipated to be controversial, frequently challenged, or created when a book is challenged including: summary, audience, purpose, controversial issues and how they are handled
6) How the book fits within Common Core Standards or State Standards
7) Reconsideration form for challenger to complete—include a section asking which part was of particular concern, if the entire book was read, and what other similar titles are suggested instead
8) Student reviews from those who have read the book and either enjoyed or disliked the book and why.

Why Included
This book hit a number of categories- graphic novel, memoir, LGBT, and crossover.  It is a controversial choice for teens, but I think it is worthwhile.

Others in the Series
N/A

References
Bechdel, A. (2013). Alison bechdel.  Retrieved from http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/alison-bechdel.

Bad Boy: A Memoir by Walter Dean Myers
ISBN: 978-0-644-72883
Myers, W. D. (2001). Bad boy: A memoir.  New York: Amistad.

Plot Summary
Walter Dean Myers, award-winning author, did not start out award winning.  Born to African American parents in the 1930s, Dean Myers did not have an advantage in life.  After his mother’s death, he was informally adopted by his father’s first wife and her second husband.  Dean Myers was raised alongside his much older half-sisters as the treasured baby.  An abundance of energy led Dean Myers to find himself constantly in trouble at school.  He enjoyed books and literature, but was quick to anger and find himself in fights.  Tall for his age, and strong, Dean Myers was not one to let a slight go, or walk away from an argument.  A few teachers noticed his intelligence and reading ability, but his behavior often stood in his way.  He also had a speech impediment that made him reluctant to speak or read in class.  A sixth grade teacher encouraged Dean Myers and recommended him for an accelerated class the next year.  The next couple years were good ones, as Dean Myers did well in his accelerated program with other students.  He was accepted into a good high school, but began to fall through the cracks.  His uncle’s death left a hole in Dean Myers’ father, and his mother began to obsess over the numbers, similar to today’s lottery.  Dean Myers eventually stopped attending high school, and ends his formal education as a teenager unsure of where life will lead.

Critical Evaluation
A moving, true story about the life of acclaimed young adult author Walter Dean Myers.  Written by Myers himself, he describes his poor, but loving family and his descent into a bad boy attitude.  It is not entirely clear why Myers, an honors student, shifted his life from potential college student to high school dropout.  His path illustrates how many other students find themselves floundering and falling through the cracks in the public school system.  The realities of mid-20th century Harlem are an interesting combination of culture and disrepair.  Though writing about himself, Myers never affects a preachy or self-important tone of voice.  Rather, he is fair in his descriptions of both himself and the people he knew.  Rather short for a memoir (although an appropriate length for the age group), many background questions linger.  The epilogue does little to adequately answer the questions.  Bad Boy covers Myers’ life through high school, with only a short explanation of his early adult life.  It would have been interesting to see how Myers was able to change his life around and become the writer he is today.  However, the purpose of the memoir serves to examine Myers early life, and how these experiences have shaped his adulthood, and his writing for young adults.

Reader’s Annotation
Follows the youth and young adulthood of author Walter Dean Myers as he struggles to survive in Harlem, New York.

About the Author
Walter Dean Myers published his first book in 1969, and has not stopped.  Since his debut, Dean Myers has written over 90 books, and is a prolific writer.  Most of his books are fiction novels for young adults, but he has written some non-fiction as well.  He aims to write for teens and the troubles they may encounter during life.  Dean Myers has won numerous awards including the Printz Award, Coretta Schott King Award, and Margaret A. Edwards Award.  He has also been a Newbery Honor twice, and was a two-time National Book Award Finalist.

Walter Dean Myers was born Walter Milton Myers in West Virginia.  For reasons he did not quite understand, Dean Myers was informally adopted by Florence, his father’s first wife, and her second husband Herbert.  Though he later met his biological father and his other siblings, Dean Myers considered Florence and Herbert as his parents.  He was raised in Harlem, New York with a close relationship to church and the neighborhood.  Dean Myers skipped a grade in school, but ended up dropping out of high school.  He joined the army at 17, and did not turn to writing until much later in life.  He credits a high school English teacher for inspiring him to always keep on reading and writing.  Dean Myers chooses to write about the teen years because those were the most difficult of his life.

Genre
Memoir

Curriculum Ties
African American History

Booktalking
How does a self-titled ‘Bad Boy’ turned into an acclaimed young adult writer?  Written by Myers himself, he describes his poor, but loving family and his descent into a bad boy attitude.  It is not entirely clear why Myers, an honors student, shifted his life from potential college student to high school dropout.  His path illustrates how many other students find themselves floundering and falling through the cracks in the public school system.  The realities of mid-20th century Harlem are an interesting combination of culture and disrepair.  Though writing about himself, Myers never affects a preachy or self-important tone of voice.  Rather, he is fair in his descriptions of both himself and the people he knew.  Rather short for a memoir (although an appropriate length for the age group), many background questions linger.  The epilogue does little to adequately answer the questions.  Bad Boy covers Myers’ life through high school, with only a short explanation of his early adult life.  It would have been interesting to see how Myers was able to change his life around and become the writer he is today.  However, the purpose of the memoir serves to examine Myers early life, and how these experiences have shaped his adulthood, and his writing for young adults.

Reading Level/Interest Level
RL: 6th grade
IL: 7th grade and up

Challenge Issues
Some challenge issues may include the author’s descent into not caring about school, and defying adults.

In my defense file, I would include the following:
1) Library Mission Statement
2) Library Selection Policy approved by any or all of the following individuals—principal, school board, district librarian OR library manager, city council, mayor.
3) Library Bill of Rights adapted from CSLA Bill of Rights, AASL Bill of Rights and/or ALA Bill of Rights
4) Reviews, both positive and critical, from respected sources such as School Library Journal, VOYA, Booklist
5) Rationale for book inclusion for titles anticipated to be controversial, frequently challenged, or created when a book is challenged including: summary, audience, purpose, controversial issues and how they are handled
6) How the book fits within Common Core Standards or State Standards
7) Reconsideration form for challenger to complete—include a section asking which part was of particular concern, if the entire book was read, and what other similar titles are suggested instead
8) Student reviews from those who have read the book and either enjoyed or disliked the book and why.

Why Included
Walter Dean Myers is a well-known and acclaimed author of young adult literature.  I have never read any of his novels, but felt he would be a good individual to read about.

Others in the Series
N/A

References
Myers, W. D. (2009).  Biography.  Retrieved from http://www.walterdeanmyers.net/bio.html