by Alicia Rudnicki, Library Mix

The Brimstone Journals, by Ron Koertge, Candlewick Press, 2001, ISBN 0-763-61742-3
Available at Powell's Books

Ron Koertge’s The Brimstone Journals, a novel told in poetry, is a boiling kettle of teenage anxieties, both minor and major. Published shortly after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, its story about the importance of teens speaking up remains timely.

Brimstone is also a good literary vehicle for getting students to consider the storytelling power of poetry.

Voices of small-town America
Nearly 100 years ago, Edgar Lee Masters perfected the art of the novel told in poetry. He wrote about small town America in his classic Spoon River Anthology, in which more than 200 dead residents of the local cemetery share their stories and secrets through free verse poems, which doesn’t rhyme or follow a prescribed pattern.

Masters lived near the actual Spoon River in Illinois and based some of his characters on people that he knew while growing up. Koertge also grew up in small-town Illinois, just across the Mississippi from St. Louis, Missouri.

 It seems appropriate that an excellent online list of teen novels told through poetry also comes from Illinois. The Brimstone Journals is among the excellent choices recommended by Skokie Public Library.

Disquieting thoughts
In Brimstone, 15 fictional, small-town teens share their disquieting thoughts through free-verse poems. All the students attend Branston High, which is popularly known as “Brimstone.”

The novel opens with the chilling comments of Lester, a fat boy who has a semi-automatic pistol tucked in his sock drawer in case he should ever decide to wreak havoc at Brimstone, starting in the gym and making the jocks  who have bullied him “crap their pants.”

In an article published at Goodreads, Koertge said he began writing Brimstone a few months before the Columbine High massacre, which was committed by two disaffected students.

Familiar casting
To some degree, Brimstone is populated by recognizable types, including a totally self-absorbed anorexic girl, a cocky jock who picks on Lester, a preacher’s daughter who is attracted to the bad boy, the teen who loves to play violent computer games but would never imagine hurting anyone, a budding white supremacist, and a sexually active girl with a heart of gold.

Yet it also introduces some surprises such as Carter, an upper middle class African-American, whose parents unwittingly transfer him to Brimstone to avoid inner-city violence.

Fortunately, Carter manages to break through the reserve of another student outside Brimstone's cliques. He befriends Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who prides himself on paying close attention to the gossipy “buzz” around him but never getting close to any of the students.

When Tran starts musically jamming with Carter, the two of them develop a circle of mutual friends. Tran begins to care about his classmates, and this causes him to tell the police about rumors he has heard concerning a student stockpiling guns.

Speaking up is important
Brimstone demonstrates how disasters such as the Columbine massacre can be averted when students feel like they belong and care enough about the well-being of others to report their concerns.

Tran reflects that “These people are my friends./ Nothing should happen to them/ because of my cowardice or/ indecision.”

It was a YA—short for “young adult”—librarian who first brought The Brimstone Journals to my attention. YA librarians are good people to get to know whether you are a teen, a teacher or a parent. They truly care about young people. It’s obvious from The Brimstone Journals that Ron Koertge also cares.

by Alicia Rudnicki, Library Mix

Teen Guide Job Search, 10 Easy Steps to Your Future, by Donald L. Wilkes and Viola Hamilton-Wilkes,
iUniverse, 2006,
ISBN  978-0-59-539696-2

Getting a job is a year-round concern for many teenagers who either need or want to earn their own money.

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of books on the topic available through libraries and booksellers.

But one useful title that teens and their parents or teachers may want to access is Teen Guide Job Search: 10 Easy Steps to Your Future, by Donald L. Wilkes and Viola Hamilton-Wilkes.

Consider what pleases you
First published in 1991, Teen Guide Job Search is now in its sixth reprint. The first chapter offers one of the most important pieces of advice that adults can offer young job seekers: think about your likes and dislikes before job hunting.

The authors suggest considering a number of questions regarding this issue, including whether you like working (1) outside, (2) with children or (3) with computers. Also, they say it helps to identify your favorite school subjects and whether you like to be alone or surrounded by people.

Other chapters cover topics such as creating a resume, looking for job openings, dressing for interviews, filling out job applications correctly, knowing what behaviors to avoid during interviews and being aware of all the various kinds of paperwork involved in getting hired.

Short and to the point
The book is only 104 pages long, so each chapter is short and to the point. Also, each chapter is followed by review questions and answers.

There is nothing like finding work to boost morale, and there is nothing like preparation to impress a potential employer.

Finally, the authors conclude, “Once you get a job, you need to know how to keep it!” To find out their eight-point list of dos and don’ts on the job, look for Teen Guide Job Search at your local library.