Hey, Kiddo  vs A Heart in the Body in the World

A compilation of thoughts and reflections from Eastglen.

It is so wonderful to begin Smackdown with two novels that are really engaging reads. Both of these novels, in their own ways, would be very appropriate to use in upper Div. III and Div. IV classrooms, but our vote went with the emotional graphic memoir by the author, Jarrett Krosoczka, entitled Hey, Kiddo.

While A Heart in the Body in the World by Deb Caletti is a compelling read, it did take time to become invested in Annabelle's story of her run across the U.S.A. and what traumatic event motivates her. Some of us felt the author's choice to withhold details of the trauma and feed them to us slowly along the way was a bit  dishonest and diminished the passion Annabelle was putting into her run as we did not know what she was running from, or for. The unveiling of the climax was highly traumatic, especially in this political climate where gun laws are debated everyday and the #MeToo movement is still so relevant. Even though we did not choose this one, it is certainly one to include in our library.

Both novels were strong for various reasons, but our vote this time around is for Hey, Kiddo. A well-structured narrative with character development in a graphic novel is a bonus. There is much darkness in Jarrett's life. He doesn't know his father, his mother is a heroin addict, and his grandparents are heavy smokers and drinkers. However, his grandparents' commitment to taking care of him, after raising their own five children, is impressive.  His mother's letters are very heart warming; they truly show that she loves and cares about her son, but her addiction is just too powerful.

We also enjoyed the personal notes at the end, meeting the author, and learning about his process. The inclusion of the artifacts was a nice touch. The author's example of using his sketch book as a journal or a means of expression and working through life's challenges was very instructive, and something that we hope students would connect with and use as an outlet for themselves. It's a great little book, and could be used for extension activities with journal writing in an ELA class or a collaborative crossover activity with an ELA class and art class.

So Hey, Kiddo moves forward.