DewaltYALitLens1

Kyle Dewalt YA Lit Dr. Sherry Reader-as-Writer After reading // King of Shadows // by Susan Cooper, I have some mixed feelings to share that are both positive and some slightly negative. Overall, I did enjoy reading this YA Literature novel. It had an average to above average storyline of a character that is a typical representation of a young adult from our current decade, going through an interesting and unique storyline that I feel readers would enjoy. I think that students that would read this novel would have a feeling of jealousy since they have never had the life of Nat and his time changing event. When reflecting on my own reading of the novel though, I feel like it had an enjoyable plot and great historical context to learn from rather than be taught from a lecture. If I would have any suggestions to change of the novel however, I would have Cooper maybe explain more of Nat’s life and explain more about his family. I may have missed the part when it discusses what had happened to his family, but overall I feel like it could have added to the drama of the story. I also found myself getting bored reading through the middle of the story. I think that as a writer, I would have added more action and less of just what was happening to Nat and the other actors and then Nat and Shakespeare. Today’s youth are used to the action and fast paced events via video games and movies. If a book is slow and action less, then for them it might give them a distaste for reading the rest of the novel or for reading in general. As a future teacher of English and novels, having a child not enjoy reading and then to try and get them to be engaged in a novel, might be very difficult. This is especially true with a slow paced or irrelevant novel. This text does have a good amount to teach one about writing. One major thing that it teaches us is how to incorporate history into the plot of a fictional novel for young adults. Interestingly, I am currently taking a course on Shakespeare and I connected with this story because it was a supplement to the lectures I have had this semester in regards to William Shakespeare and also about // A Midsummer Night’s Dream //. She really uses a great amount of detail in this novel and I think that by seeing how well she intertwined the information into the characters and storyline, it shows that she truly loves the craft of writing for this age group. The text also teaches you that you can be flexible in the style of writing. It does not have to be a simple, typical writing style. Cooper really made the story come alive by including mini-chapters of separate information on what was occurring outside of the action that Nat was being a part of. For example, chapter twelve informs us about what is going on with Nat while he is in the hospital. This is a good pause for readers to collect their thoughts and also remember that there is another element of Nat’s life occurring. In regards to Susan Cooper’s novel // King of Shadows //, I believe that it could serve as a mentor for my own writing. If I ever choose to write a novel for this age category, I would definitely try to mirror some of her techniques and foils that she utilizes. When reading, I felt as if I was not learning about the history of Shakespeare and the performance at the Globe Theater. Yet, when I finished reading the novel I felt like I learned so much. I learned about how the Queen had been such an influence on the life and future of the men in the Lord Chamberlain’s group, how the people of the time period behaved and how much it cost to see a show, and about how the man William Shakespeare actually acted and the love that he gave to others. She did not use difficult language and had fairly smooth transitions, which are great for the age group. This is also a good mentor for my own writing because it shows how much background knowledge of the characters and history she actually had acquired to write this work. I feel that she truly had a love for this time period and she was represented through some of her characters. She was Aunt Jen through the love of English content and as a teacher to us of the knowledge of Shakespeare, Nat by the love of acting and appreciation of the performing arts, and even Shakespeare in terms of the poem that he wrote for Nat. She too wrote us all a poem to read through her novel. I was able to feel like I was watching the story of Nat right in front of me, so this is definitely a technique that I would be able to learn from the text as a mentor for my own writing. My creative writing skills are not as high as others, so I would not consider honestly writing a novel. If I would though find this route in life to be a success, I would keep this text in mind. Not only for what I was able to learn and enjoy from reading it, but also for the value of what it is to write a text that is historical fiction in which you learn so much but are not forced the information through notes and lectures. Earlier, I had stated that I would make the center core of the novel move by faster and not seem as boring. I would try to add more action or at least add some comedy or interesting characters to this part to make it more enjoyable and faster paced to get to the climax and denouement of the story. Overall though, I do not know if I could truly compose a similar text. Even though I did have some complaints and changes that I would make, I did enjoy reading the novel. I do not know if I would teach this to my future class, but it would maybe be something that I would include as a “fun book” for my students to read outside of what I am teaching to them. Back to Personal Page