Annotation for Youth Adult

   
Title: Flowers for Algernon
Author: Daniel Keyes
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 1, 2005 (this edition), originally published in 1966 as a full novel
Number of pages: 324 pages
Geographical Setting: New York City
Time Period: No direct reference to time frame but possibly when the book was written in 1960's

Plot summary: (from Amazon)
Oscar-winning film Charly starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom-a mentally challenged man receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.

Characteristics of Youth Adult: Fast paced and dealing with issues relate able to teens

Similar Works:  H. G. Wells titles
                          Louis Lowery titles
                          
Subject Headings: Brain, Medical Experiments, Mental Disabilities

Thoughts: This book was written as a short fiction and later made a full version because of the popularity. It was not rewritten in 1966 as a youth adult book (did that even exist in 1966) but as a Science Fiction title. Even today this book rides the line whether it is an adult title or YA often being housed in both locations. I chose this title because of that reason. What makes it a popular read in high schools across the world? The book is about a mentally disabled person who "volunteers" to be used for an experiment to raise his IQ. It is written from the perspective of the main character Charlie who writes in the journal style, telling his story as it progresses. The beginning starts out with his entries showing his lack of intelligence, many words misspelled and his understanding very minimal. As the story goes along and his IQ begins to increase and his life changes we see how the people around him begin to feel uncomfortable and many rid him from their lives, while others embrace him. I think this book describes in detail the feelings that happen when life changes in such ways, such as when puberty hits a young adult. They begin to understand adult themes, the same as Charlie begins to just understand life in general. Charlie experiences many new things and begins to understand them, later they are taking away from him as his intelligence does not stay and you can almost see how this could be how it feels to be a child. You can't wait to become a teenager, but when you do you realize you still don't know everything, then you long to become an adult. When you get to that you realize you still don't know anything. This novel has factors that have appealed to teens for years, yet have also been enjoyed by adults.