Friday, August 7, 2009

TTYL by Lauren Myracle

Myracle, Lauren. TTYL. Amulet Books, 2005. ISBN 0-8109-8788-0

Plot


Madigan Kinnick (madmaddie), Zoe Barrett (zoegirl), and Angela Silver (SnowAngel) just started there sophomore year in high school. While the girls have been best friends since seventh grade, they each look elsewhere to seek approval from others. Mad has Jan who is a the queen bee of the school. Zoe deals with Mr. H who uses Christianity to get close to the students but is very flirty. Angela gets a boyfriend who she thinks is the one but becomes crazy after he sees her with another girl. Sophomore year was supposed to be great for these three friends but they are facing a lot of challenges. There friendships are put to the test through many events that occur.


Critical Evaluation


This story is done completely in Instant Messaging which is at first annoying but later it becomes easier to read. The language used is how a teen would type in IM, which is no punctuation marks, lessening of letters in words, abbreviating, IM lingo, and emoticons. The best scence is when Zoe is put in an awkward situation with Mr.H. Zoe is the studious good girl with ultra-strict parents. She craves the approval of her teacher, who happens to be a 24 year old single man. When her teacher invites her to Christian fellowship events and to church, her parents approve. However, the teacher develops an inappropriate interest in his pupil. Zoe and the teacher end up in a hot tub together, where she is rescued by her friends. This is a serious situation that was written very humorous. The teacher could have had taken advantage of Zoe and put her in an uncomfortable situation. Teenagers when put in what seems to be a serious situation turn it into a joke since the consequences are not really thought about.


Readers Annotations

The story of three 15 year old girls starting 10th grade. It is told entirely through instant messages between the girls in which they talk about their hopes and fears and the activities in their lives.

Information About the Author

Myracle does not us IM to catch up with her friends but emails frequently

Genre

Young Adult/Friendship

Curriculum Ties

English

Booktalking Ideas

1)Zoe when in the bathtub with Mr. H

2) IM lingo

Reading Level/Interest Age

Gr 9 -10

Controversial Subject Matter and Defense of Ideas

Mature Content : Sexual Situations – teacher

Selected for entry into Anita Silvey's 500 Great Books for Teens

Why Book Included

I thought that idea of it being in IM was cool and would be entertaining to read.

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