Maribel G. San Miguel
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Characters/Setting
Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Morrow.
In Beverly Cleary’s Dear Mr. Henshaw Leigh Botts’ character is struggling with feelings of loneliness and separation
anxiety due to his parent’s divorce. Also, he is struggling to figure out who is stealing his lunch at school which causes
him to be bothered about his life altogether. Thanks to his writings to Mr. Henshaw, Leigh is able to vent by expressing
his concerns and feels better. Leigh’s mother has a strong character and is struggling with being a single parent who is
facing financial problems and has a hectic work schedule; moreover, she worries about her son’s well-being. The setting
is also essential in this story because we see that Leigh spends most of his time writing while being home alone or in
school. Also, according to the dates in Leigh’s letters to Mr. Henshaw time is passing and he is growing up and learning
to live at ease in this situation.
Plot/Theme
Draper, S. (2010) Out of My Mind. New York: Atheneum.
Draper created an intensive plot in her book titled Out of my Mind in which Melody, an intelligent fifth grader, feels
trapped inside her mind and is unable to speak and walk due to her cerebral palsy disability. With the help of an
electronic communication board Melody is able to express herself and the plot gets even more intense as she prepares
to compete in the Whiz Kid competition. The story’s theme revolves around Melody and her supportive family and
friends that help her overcome her disability and prove that she can be smarter than everyone due to her photographic
memory. This theme is meaningful as it helps us better comprehend a person with disabilities.
Style/Characters
Lord, C. (2006) Rules. New York: Scholastic.
There is much representation of style in Cynthia Lord’s Rules as this children’s book is humorous at times, but gets
serious close to the end. Catherine is keeping a list of rules so that her autistic brother can follow and be able to seem
“normal”. Each of the short chapters are titled with these rules and create a distinctive mood in which we get an idea of
what will probably happen next. Twelve year old Catherine is bothered by how people treat her autistic brother David
and her paraplegic friend Jason and struggles to help them be accepted and treated just the same as everybody else.
Her character transcends from being an inexperienced young girl dealing with a disabled brother to becoming a role
model for him too.
All images are courtesy of Google Images.
Maribel G. San Miguel
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Gender and Culture/Setting
Pastis, S. (2013) Timmy Failure. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick.
In Pastis’ Timmy Failure, gender and culture is represented by Timmy’s way of demonstrating his identity. He sees
himself as the best detective in town and is over confident about his abilities that it implies his need of attention. He
represents his last name with dignity as if being a failure is something to be proud of and spends most of his time
thinking about solving his cases in a clueless world he has created. The setting is depicted by Timmy having his own
detective agency office inside his mom’s closet and then having to move it to the hallway of an apartment building.
Timmy, of course, believes that he will someday become the highest paid detective in the nation and will then be able to
provide for his mother and someday have his own office in the top floor of a tall building.
Theme/Style
Paterson, K. (1977) Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: Crowell.
In the book Bridge to Terabithia , there is a strong theme of friendship established between Jess and Leslie. Before
meeting Leslie Jess was a lonely and quiet boy, but Leslie’s personality and way of being made Jess realize that life is fun
and that he should enjoy it to the fullest. Then they became inseparable partners who created and shared Terabithia
which became their secret place where they ruled and spent hours having fun. The story’s style is depicted as it is very
common for young children to have a best friend in whom their bond becomes a natural part of their daily activities.
Jess went through the stages of grief and thanks to Leslie’s remembrance he was able to continue living. The happy
beginning with a tragic ending makes the mood of this story go from joyful to depressing and finally to tranquility and
resignation.
Plot/ Gender and Culture
Urban, L. (2007). A Crooked Kind of Perfect. Orlando:Harcourt.
In L. Urban’s A Crooked Kind of Perfect Zoe dreams of wearing a sophisticated gown and elegant shoes while playing the
piano at Carnegie Hall. The engaging plot unfolds as her agoraphobic father brings her an organ instead making the
story grab our attention since the beginning. Zoe learns how to play the organ despite following her dreams. After her
best friend abandons her, being ridiculed at a birthday party for wearing socks, and becoming friends with the school
bully Zoe realizes that life is full of happiness even if it is not perfect. In this contemporary story, Zoe’s mom is a
workaholic while her dad stays at home, takes care of the children, and does the cooking which represents the aspect of
gender and culture well. Also, Wheeler has a supporting role character while Zoe is the main character. A Crooked Kind
of Perfect is a fabulous story.
All images are courtesy of Google Images.