Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (Audiobook)

           

Title:  Confessions of a Shopaholic  Author:  Sophie Kinsella

Performed by:  Emily Gray
ISBN:  1419304828  CD's: 10   Running Time:  11.75 hours
Publisher:  Recorded Books, LLC, New York, 2002

Readers Annotation:
Rebecca Bloomwood is a financial journalist who loves to shop. However, when she can't stop her shopping habit and spirals into debt, the only way out for Becky will be with the story of a lifetime.  

Author Information:
Sophie Kinsella, a former financial journalist, started writing under her real name, Madeleine Wickham. Her first book The Tennis Party, became a top ten bestseller. In 2000, Kinsella became a bestselling UK author with her novel Confessions of a Shopaholic. Outside the Shopaholic series, Kinsella has also written Can You Keep a Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, and Twenties Girl. Sophie was born in London, where she lives presently with her husband and children.

http://www.sophiekinsella.co.uk/sophies-world/Biography/

Narrator Information:  

Emily Gray went to college at Warwick University, and graduated with honors. She also trained at Drama Studio London. Gray has performed in Too Rustic! at the Chelsea Playhouse, The Phantom Lady, The Way of the World, The Oresteia, Blithe Spirit at the Pearl Theatre Company, and Yes Is for a Very Young Man at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. She's also played the part of Goneril of King Lear in a documentary for BBC 2.

Plot Summary: 
Rebecca Bloomwood, known as Becky by her family and friends, lives in a trendy neighborhood with her best friend Suze working as a financial journalist with Successful Savings. However, her favorite thing is not writing journal articles about money. Instead, Becky likes to spend money. Becky knows shopping like the back of her hand, and loves to peruse high end stores during her spare time. The problem is, all this shopping has put Becky in a tremendous amount of debt. Her situation gets to be so bad, that Becky refuses to even look at the menacing letters being sent by her credit card companies and her bank. While Becky tries to fix all of her problems, she encounters love, bravery, loyalty, and begins to discover much about herself.    

Critical Evaluation:

The narrator pulls the listener into the story by speaking in the manner in which the prose has been written. Truly, one can feel the story come alive as the single narrator uses different sounding voices to differentiate between the main character and supporting characters. This, coupled with the author's style, allows the reader to 'hear' the female protagonist's thoughts, making for an intriguing and entertaining tale. The author intermittently adds laugh out loud humor to the narrative, and in general, the entire book is somewhat light and fun. Interspersed with the threatening letters that Becky has received from various financial  institutions, the reader also gets a feel for her increasing stress that results from her shopping addiction. Confessions of a Shopaholic appeals specifically to the reader who similarly desires to always be shopping for fun and new items. 

Genre:  Humor/Fiction

Curriculum Ties:  Culture - British lifestyle, Addiction

Book-talking Ideas: 

     1. Becky is constantly rationalizing her shopaholic tendencies. Do you know anyone who has a shopping addiction?

     2. Becky attempts to curb her shopping addiction by cutting back. Have you ever been on a budget and had to cut back, and found it difficult?

Reading Level/Interest Age: 16+

Challenge Issue: none

Why I chose this item: I remember liking the movie, and thought that the shopping and addiction aspects would speak to my teenage audience. Additionally, I wanted to include an audio-book in my collection.

Further Series Reading: Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini-Shopaholic 

 

Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You by Dorian Cirrone

             

Title:  Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You   Author:  Dorian Cirrone
ISBN:  0060557028  Pages:  213
Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2005

Readers Annotation:
Kayla finally has a chance to star in the upcoming ballet, but her large chest lands her a second-rate part. To make matters worse, a classmate finds a threatening note in a pair of red ballet shoes, the same color shoes that she's supposed to wear in the ballet!

Author Information:

Dorian Cirrone has an MA in English, and started her career in writing as a journalist. Since then, she has written both children's and young adult books. Her debut adolescent novel, Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You, has been recognized as an ALA Teen's Top Ten Nominee 2005, an ALA Popular Paperback for Young Adults 2007, and is part of the Amelia Bloomer List for Feminist Fiction 2006. Dorian's latest young adult novel is Prom Kings and Drama Queens.

Dorian was a ballet dancer as a child, which gave her the inspiration for Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You. As Dorian got older, she continued to study ballet, tap, and jazz dance. Currently, Dorian lives in South Florida with her husband and two kids.

http://www.doriancirrone.com/about.html

Plot Summary: 
Kayla has been a ballet dancer since she was four years old. In fact, that's where she met her best friend Joey, who happens to be gay. Now that Kayla's in eleventh grade at the magnet school Florida Arts High School, she is hoping that her ballerina talents and her extra practicing over the summer will get her the lead role in the upcoming ballet, Cinderella. When Kayla checks the posting of the assigned roles, she is crushed to find that her name is under 'ugly stepsister'.

Miss Alicia, Kayla's ballet teacher, takes Kayla aside to tell her that a large chest does not conform to the typical ballet dancer, and that she should consider getting breast reduction surgery. To top it all off, blood red Pointe shoes start showing up all over school, with threatening notes attached to them. This especially scares Kayla, since her ballet costume includes red ballet shoes. Kayla goes through a year of self doubt and discovery, aided by her friend Joey and her new boyfriend Gray.

Critical Evaluation:
The author of this fiction piece skillfully combines dramatic and comedic elements, producing an entertaining work. Despite the lighthearted nature of the book, many authentic issues are addressed by the characters. Kayla deals with a potential life altering decision, struggling with her desire to be a ballerina versus her desire to leave her body unaltered. Kayla's sister Paterson has an end of the year art project that is unfairly censored by the school board. Joey is openly gay and determined to be a professional dancer but is worried about hurting Kayla's feelings. All of these topics are sure to resonate with the adolescent reader. As the author is intimately familiar with ballet, she gives the main character room to express her feelings through delightful ballerina jargon. Though readers may at times find the ballet references difficult to understand, the emotions of the female protagonist come through clearly.  

Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Ballet

Curriculum Ties:  English - Censorship

Booktalking Ideas: 
     1.  Kayla is uncomfortably self-conscious about her larger than normal chest, and considers surgery to help her fit in. Would you choose to change your own physical appearance to fit in?
     2.  Joey has been Kayla's best friend since they were very young, but never took the relationship further as a result of Joey's homosexuality. Do you have any friends that have a different sexual orientation than you?

Reading Level/Interest Age:  13+

Challenge Issue:  Nudity, Homosexuality
- This book has been awarded with an ALA Teen's Top Ten Nominee 2005, an ALA Popular Paperback for Young Adults 2007, and is part of the Amelia Bloomer List for Feminist Fiction 2006
- Compilation of teen reviews and the average reader reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com
- Library policy

Why I chose this item:  I wanted to include a book about fitting in, and the idea that a homosexual boy was a main character in the story line was also appealing. I also was intrigued by the booktalk from our class readings. Lastly, this book is a great addition for adolescent ballet lovers.

 

Parachutes by Coldplay

        

Title:  Parachutes by Coldplay  Format:  CD
Artists:  Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin   
ASIN:  B0000508U6    Studio: Capital Records  Release Date:  November 7, 2000

Band Information:
Guy Berryman (bass), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Will Champion (drums), and Chris Martin (vocals, guitar, keyboards), are the members of Coldplay, a British alternative rock band. They began initially in college at University College London, with lead vocalist Chris and lead guitarist Jonny. At the time, their band was known as Pectoralz, which changed to Starfish when Guy Berryman joined the band as the bassist. Soon after, Will Champion became a member of the band, acting as the drummer, backing vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. They renamed themselves Coldplay in 1998, and established their fame in 2000 with the song "Yellow".

Presently, Coldplay is a best-selling group, having sold over 50 million records all over the world. They have won many music awards, including Best British Group three times, four MTV Video Music Awards, and seven Grammy Awards. Coldplay supports several social and political causes, and have performed for many charities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldplay

Contents:
Don't Panic, Shiver, Spies, Sparks, Yellow, Trouble, Parachutes, High Speed, We Never Change, Everything's Not Lost

Music Summary:
Coldplay became famous with their single "Yellow" in 2000, which preempted the release of their debut album Parachutes. Once released, it became number one in the United Kingdom and has been certified seven times platinum. In the United States, the album reached number fifty one on the Billboard 200, and has been certified two times platinum. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize that same year. Additionally, it won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2002. Parachutes won the Best British Album award at the 2001 Brit Awards. The music itself fits into the alternative rock genre, with it's heavy use of electric guitar but soft and melodic pieces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachutes

Critical Evaluation: 
Parachutes is a wonderful mood piece with mellow and melodic sounds played by acoustic guitar. Chris Martin, who leads the band with his incredible and emotional voice, makes great use of falsetto. The textured sounds found in the music are produced perfectly by a pairing of acoustic and electric guitars. The often distorted sounds of the electric guitars serve as an excellent counterpoint to Chris Martin's gentle vocals, and the heavy use of keyboards tend to add a fullness of tone not often found in the Rock genre. The song's lyrics are straightforward and easy to understand. Overall, the beauty of the music shines throughout every song, and makes for great listening.   

Genre:  Alternative Rock

Curriculum Ties: Music Appreciation- Rock bands, Alternative rock

Reading Level/Interest Age: 14 +

Challenge Issue: none

Why I chose this item:  I wanted to include a different type of rock, which is still very popular with teens. Additionally, though an older CD, this was their landmark debut album and has won many awards.

 Coldplay's Yellow