Ed Kennedy is a 19-year-old cab driver, who hasn't done much with his life. Unlike his successful brothers and sisters, he still lives in his hometown and seems destined to take after his hapless (now dead) father. He plays cards with his friends, is hopelessly but fruitlessly in love with one of them (Audrey), and spends much of his time with his smelly, beer-drinking dog, Doorman. Then one day, he accidently foils a bank robbery and something changes. Not only does he get some press coverage but very soon after a playing card, the Ace of Diamonds, arrives in the mail. It has three addresses on it and each address has a time of day written after it. This card and the addresses it contains start Ed on a journey from which there is no going back.
I'm hoping the style and mystery will pull in reluctant readers and I'm hoping that no one will be put off by the PG-13 nature of it. I just re-read it last week and I suddenly became hyper aware of everytime Ed swears or references sex. Not sure what's up with that because my students are all adults but . . .
Anyway, I loved the book just as much the second time and I'm curious to see what my class will make of it. I actually just orderd a version of it on CD because I want to preview it for my students next week by playing the first chapter. It'll sound better read in an Australian accent.
I'll let you all know how it goes.
4 comments:
This sounds like a great idea. Funny, though, you mention the PG13 aspect of it, that's exactly what stopped me from giving it to J. right away.
Is this the same type of class you've used Zippy for? I bet this will go over well.
I love that you chose something that you yourself enjoyed. I hope that the slacker protagonist, mystery, and loopy world view make it appealing!
Julia, has J read "Going Bovine"? Because there's a lot of references to sex, and swearing. When does this become okay? At this point it's not just inappropriate, but I don't know if A would even really know what it means. Though who knows what they're talking about in the school yard...
I was searching on the Internet for teaching ideas related to the book (by the way, if I wanted to do The Book Thief sometime, there is tons of stuff there) and most of the people who were talking about using it were high school teachers.
This class is the same level as the class I used Zippy in but it's not specifically for ELL (English Language Learners) students. Actually, over half the students in my class are African-American women between the ages of 25 and 35. That said, I think the class might really be able to relate to Ed's feeling of stasis (because most of them have had to overcome that to get back to school).
Again, I'll let you know how this goes.
I look forward to reading this one soon. Thanks for your book review.
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