From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

     Melanin Sun is a transforming character.  At the tender age of thirteen, he understands struggle a little bit more than others.  Growing up without a father, his mother is the sole provider of nourishment in love and growth.  However, he begins to feel the distance grow between them.  Sure, she must have a significant other, he tells himself.  His friends Sean and Ralphael are supposed to be his best friends, but when Sean learns his mom has a girlfriend, he doesn't know who to confide in.  Not only does his mom have a girlfriend, she has a white girlfriend.  Melanin does bring up and interlace race and how it affects his life.
   When Mel and his mom traveled to Jones Beach, he took note that they were the only white people on the beach.  Once again, he felt alone.  He doesn't know where his father has disappeared to, but he has come to terms that his father is absent from his life.  His mom and him make their family; Mel loves that his mom is his family.
   Often we see family dynamics with very different setups.  Some children grow up with a mom and a dad, two moms, two dads, or single parents.  I think this book offers a lot of themes, including tolerance.  One of the writing activities I would incorporate would be interactive journals, where students can write summaries of the chapters on one side of their notebook, and continue with their own reflections of the characters.  Students can offer a lot of insight and personal experience in their reflections.  I often give my students time to share in groups; this allows students to be one-on-one and share with a few different peers.
   Jones Beach was a significant setting in this novel because this is where Mel's mother decided to tell her son about her relationship with Kristin.  At first, Mel was angry, upset, and afraid of what others may think.   He felt betrayed by the only person who was his family.  I was surprised in how his mom reacted afterwards; she continued to live her life without him.  I was hoping she would continue to try and talk to him about the situation, even though she knew Mel wasn't ready yet.  I like how it went full circle, back to Jones Beach, with Mel, Kristin, and EC.  The compromise between Mel and his mom was to give Kristin one chance, one shot at liking her.  And he did just that.
  To me, settings help tell the story.  Jones Beach was a significant place for Mel this summer because he learned a lot about himself and his family.  I would have my students write about a significant place where they had learned, and grown.  It could be a vacation spot, or it could be somewhere local.  But, students have to reflect on why this setting stands out.
   Also, I would have my students talk about compromise.  Mel had to understand his mom was going to go on with her life, and her son would have to understand her happiness.  Compromise is a hard thing, especially for teens.  They don't always want to agree or do something because they're parents asked them to. I discuss compromise and propose have a debatable fishbowl discussion in my class on an issue (simple enough) about making compromises and understanding different POV's.  What if this book had been written from EC's perspective? What kind of inner turmoil would come out?