I’m pleased to announce that my article entitled “Writing through Growth, Growth through Writing: The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Narrative of Development” can now be found in The ALAN Review‘s digital archives. Here is a brief abstract of the article, which won the Nilsen-Donelson award for best article published during the volumeContinue reading “My article on The Perks of Being a Wallflower is now available online!”
Tag Archives: coming-of-age
Unrealistic Expectations: (Meta)Narrative in Andrew Smith’s [Winger]
Warning: The following post contains major spoilers for Andrew Smith’s Winger. After reading Andrew Smith’s Grasshopper Jungle, I immediately knew that I had to read other works written by this author–and Winger seemed like the obvious choice. I finished reading Winger a couple of weeks ago. Typically, I write analyses and reviews of books soon after I read them, but for this novel,Continue reading “Unrealistic Expectations: (Meta)Narrative in Andrew Smith’s [Winger]”
Escaping the Labyrinth: Suffering in YA Fiction and the Case of John Green’s [Looking for Alaska]
How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering? –A.Y. – John Green, Looking for Alaska (p. 158) What is the role of suffering in young adult literature? I’ve been obsessed with answering this question since one of my dissertation committee members asked me it a couple of weeks ago. My desire to answer thisContinue reading “Escaping the Labyrinth: Suffering in YA Fiction and the Case of John Green’s [Looking for Alaska]”
On Closets and Straight Gazes – Bill Konigsberg’s [Openly Straight]
I was thinking about how snakes shed their skin every year, and how awesome it would be if people did that too. In a lot of ways, that’s what I was trying to do. As of tomorrow, I was going to have new skin, and that skin could look like anything, would feel different thanContinue reading “On Closets and Straight Gazes – Bill Konigsberg’s [Openly Straight]”
John Barth’s “Lost in the Funhouse”: A Postmodern Critique of the Developmental Narrative
“Lost in the Funhouse” is a short story in John Barth’s book of the same name, originally published in 1968. The stories within this collection are typically approached as postmodern due to their self-reflexivity, their self-awareness, and their use of self-reference. The short story “Life in the Funhouse,” in particular, is known for its activeContinue reading “John Barth’s “Lost in the Funhouse”: A Postmodern Critique of the Developmental Narrative”
John Donovan’s [I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip] – The First YA Novel With Gay Content
During the same political and cultural climate that produced the 1969 Stonewall Riots, John Donovan’s I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip was published. Although the riots were not causal of the books publication, it is no coincidence that both events were symptomatic of the tensions and pressures faced by the newly forming gayContinue reading “John Donovan’s [I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip] – The First YA Novel With Gay Content”
Growth and Development in Stephen Chbosky’s [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]
Update: The content of this blog post was developed into an academic article that was published by The ALAN Review. I’m thrilled to announce that this article obtained the Nilsen-Donelson award for the best academic article published in 2013. Click on the following link to download a PDF version of the full article: Writing Through Growth, Growth Through Writing:Continue reading “Growth and Development in Stephen Chbosky’s [The Perks of Being a Wallflower]”
Dr. Angel Daniel Matos 