Cultural Trends in Child and Young Adult Literature

  Culture 5: Indigenous/Native American   A.     Bibliography Boulley, Angeline. (2021). Firekeeper’s daughter. New York. Henry Holt and Company. B.      Plot Summary Daunis is an 18-year-old who is about to start her first year of college. She recently lost her uncle and is now dealing with the health decline of her maternal grandmother. While she is showing around the new hockey team member, her best friend is killed by her meth taking ex-boyfriend. It turns out there is an undercover investigation trying to uncover the meth problem in the community, so Daunis joins the investigation to help uncover the truth. C.      Critical Analysis Including Cultural Markers Firekeeper’s Daughter is written in first person from the view of the main character. The novel takes the reader on an adventure trying to figure out what will happen next. Boulley adds important and serious topics like, half siblings, extended fami...

  Culture 4: Asian Pacific American A.     Bibliography Lin, Grace. (2006). The year of the dog: a novel. New York. Little, Brown. B.      Plot Summary Pacy is a young Taiwanese American girl who is trying to navigate between her Taiwanese world and her American world. She has just celebrated Chinese New Year with her family. Pacy is trying to find her gift in this year of the dog. Her supportive family and best friend help her realize she is a fantastic person, comes from a rich culture and heritage, and loves to write. C.      Critical Analysis Including Cultural Markers This story is told from the point of view of the young character Pacy, also known as Grace. The author Grace Lin writes from Pacy’s point of view beautifully. You can feel the embarrassment she must feel when she dresses like a Chinese munchkin in her Wizard of Oz play. You can feel the love she has for her mother and the respect she has for her w...