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Kelsey Hughes-Blaum Dr. Sherry Literature for Young Adults 12 April 2011 LENS 6 Reader Response: // The Orange Houses // I truly enjoyed reading // The Orange Houses // by Paul Griffin. This novel is so powerful in that it conveys a versatile appeal. Reading a story targeted to young adults, set in an urban environment, that follows three characters very different from me may initially lead one to ask how I could become so engaged in such a story ? The fact that I did get so much out of this novel shows how truly influential // The Orange Houses // is. Although there are many elements of the story that people can easily relate to, the theme of escaping through artistic outlets was the most significant to me. Each of the three main characters, Tamika, Fatima, and Jimmi, undergo hardship from which they wish to escape. Although escape does appear in the form of drug use for Jimmi at some points in the novel, overall the three main characters escape their troubles in a positive manner through poetry or drawing. Like these three characters, I also turn a form of art as an outlet: music. If I had my way, I would have my music playing everywhere I went, every day, at all times. In my opinion, there is a song for everything. I have playlists for sleeping, for waking up, for running, for studying, etc. I couldn’t even name a favorite music genre if I tried because I can appreciate aspects of each. I especially love using music as a way to relax and to temporarily forget about what’s going on in the world around me. Therefore, I can strongly relate to the theme of escaping through art in// The Orange Houses //. I would definitely highlight this theme if I were teaching // The Orange Houses // to young adults because like we’ve discussed, adolescence can be a tough time. By implementing different exercises based on art as an escape, students can relate more to the characters in the story as well as learn more about themselves. This book had a positive effect on my as a reader in that it shows an emotional and artistic connection between three seemingly unlike characters and it also had underlying elements that I could relate to as a person. Which is exactly why I would use // The Orange Houses // in my future classroom, students could definitely benefit from such a positive effect.