A social experiment involving the schools four most prominent boys who are all friends and the school school joke, turning him into one of the popular kids.
General Information:
- Age Range: 12 – 18 years
- Price: $7.96
- Grade Level: 10 – 12
- Paperback: 240 page
- Publisher: Square Fish; First edition (January 6, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1250060001
- ISBN-13: 978-1250060006
Plot:
Shattering Glass follows the story of a group of four teen boys in high school named Rob, Thaddeus (Young Stewart), Bob, and Coop and their endeavors in making Simon Glass go from the butt of everyone’s jokes to the most popular kid in high school. Rob is top dog that everyone likes (besides Lance who used to be the top dog at the school), Thaddeus who is the son of rich and prominent members of the town, Bob who is known for being cool under pressure and attractive/good with the ladies, and Coop who was the football teams star linebacker. This group of four boys bring Simon from the depths of the high school social ladder to the top but not without learning things about themselves along the way. In the end the plan seems to come together perfectly with Simon making a remarkable turnaround in his social life but in doing so reveals all of the issues everyone within the group has and has been hiding. After challenging everyone with their issues Rob and Bob turn violent and end up beating Simon to death in a fit of rage while accidentally maiming Coop. All while Thaddeus watches with a bat in his hand.
Reading and Interest Level:
The book Shattering Glass is marketed for teens in 10th-12th grade and for ages 15 and up. I completely agree with this viewpoint. Though this book is easy to read it is filled with strong social themes and messages which can easily be seen in real life. Also there is a lot of strong language and then heavy violence in the end.
Evaluation:
Gail Giles writes an excellent book that really takes the reader on an adventure with multiple twists and turns. All of the characters are easily to relate to and as such it makes the read rather effective. Lots of people who feel belittled and mocked would love a chance to become the popular kid but how much of your individuality are you willing to give up while doing so? This book answers that question and has a startling twist that makes the lesson very valuable for the readers. Overall it is a well written and valuable book to have in a YA collection.
Bibliotherapeutic Value:
The bibliotherapeutic value in this book comes from the real life applications that can be taken from the story. Teens face social cliques ostracization, trying to fit in by changing themselves or maybe even doing something out of character in order to make others happy, all of the time in high school. It is almost a rite of passage for many teens in high school. This book shows all of this and what happens when people get used or try to change who they are for superficial reasons. Everyone in high school has issues both the popular kids and the unpopular kids. Some hide it better than others through wealth, or materials, or even good looks. This look into the teen psyche is a valuable tool for teens to be able to read.
Issues Present:
The issues present in this book include, strong language, violence (death at the end), endorsing of bullying, view/usage of women as objects. All of these issues are present within Shattering Glass and were brought up in various challenges levied against the books. They are also all controversial topics especially for being used within a YA novel that is read by teens.
Defending the Title:
These controversial topics are defendable by librarians in multiple different ways. First off the book is a written by a terrific YA author and has been covered in accolades. As for more specific topics levied against the book there are various ways to defend against them. The language is nothing that most teens have not heard before or have used themselves at some point of time. As for the view/usage of women as objects, if you read the small interview notes at the top of each chapter and finish the book you can see that the female characters have multiple strong roles that are independant in the book. The violence in the end of the book is graphic but not overly detailed which makes it easier on the readers. Last but not least the topic of bullying is something that should be talked about by teens. It is a common occurrence within high schools and a topic that should be confronted not shied away from especially in YA literature.
Book Talk Idea:
A terrific book talk idea for this book would be to follow Simon’s transformation throughout the book and follow what happens with each change. This book talk really dives into the social politics and the other issues that many teens will likely face throughout their high school years. This can be shown from pages: 1, 28, 39, 55, 73, 103, 118, 139, 169, 195, etc.
Genre:
The genre and subject matter for Shattering Glass is Teen Fiction, more specifically fiction focusing on the social themes of friendship, values, and virtues. It does so by looking through the eyes of teenage boys while in high school dealing with these themes.
Similar Reads:
Author’s Website:
http://www.gailgiles.com/Welcome.html
Awards won:
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults 2012
2003 Tayshas Reading — Young Adult (Commended)
2005 Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers — Young Adult (Honor Book)
Professional Reviews:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gail-giles/shattering-glass-2/
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7613-1581-0
http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/1539-Shattering-Glass
Why did I choose to read this book?
Shattering Glass peaked my interest as it was recommended to me by a coworker (who always recommends terrific books) after I told her about the need to read a lot of controversial YA novels. It was a really interesting read as the book really dug into the psyche of teens in high school including the social aspects and the individual problems that many teens hide away from their peers during these years. The writing style was clear and concise and I really enjoyed the little interview answers that were posted at the top of each chapter as the story progressed. Though between the subject matter and the person who recommended it to me, that is what drove me to read this book.
Librarianship 