Elana Johnson: “Using Possession & Surrender in the Classroom”

Today, we are thrilled to be hosting a stop on the official blog tour for Surrender by Elana Johnson, a companion to Possession. We have an exclusive guest post from Elana about using her books in the classroom (yay!) and a great contest opportunity for you, so keep reading!

*          *          *

Using POSSESSION and SURRENDER to spark discussions

A guest post by Elana Johnson

Okay, so POSSESSION has a couple of overall themes. I think it really resonates with students/teens because they sometimes feel like they don’t get to make their own choices, just like Violet Schoenfeld.

The theme of “Who am I listening to?” is one that students can discuss after reading POSSESSION. And “Why am I listening to them?” and “What do I believe? Why do I believe that?”

Those are all questions that Vi asks herself in the book. I think teachers can facilitate some interesting discussions around these core questions, and students can examine their lives and determine paths that will take them where they want to go.

Heck, adults can do this too! Sometimes we get off-track, and we need to adjust. It always comes back to “Who am I listening to? Why? What do I believe? Why?” and moving forward with the answers to those questions—the way Vi does.

The themes are bit tilted in SURRENDER, as we’ve now seen what’s wrong with the world, and we see Gunner and Raine trying to go about setting it right. New discussions can be opened up after reading SURRENDER, because this novel is all about exploring what the individual characters want, and how far they’re willing to go to get their desires.

• How far am I willing to go to get what I want?
• Who will I have to hurt?
• Are the consequences of my actions worthy of the end result?
• Am I willing to put in the effort to get what I want?

I think SURRENDER can open discussion lines about actions and consequences, and not just consequences for students—but for all the people in their lives.

So… What do you believe? Are you willing to put in the effort required to get what you want? Those are the questions that Vi, Raine, and Gunner must answer in POSSESSION and SURRENDER.

*          *          *

And now … contest time!

So this week, as part of the pre-release tour of awesome, you have the chance to win an ARC of SURRENDER before it releases on June 5. And not just one chance. FIVE CHANCES.

That’s right! There are FIVE (5!) ARCs available to win this week. Here’s what you can do to win one.

1. Comment on each of the pre-release blog posts this week. (1 entry for each comment)
2. Tweet about the giveaway.
3. Purchase the POSSESSION paperback (10 entries – no purchase necessary to enter)
4. Purchase REGRET (5 entries – no purchase necessary to enter)
5. Put the SURRENDER blog tour badge on your blog (3 entries)

Please fill out the Rafflecopter entry widget for WEEK 3 on Elana’s blog here with what you’ve done. This contest ends at midnight on Friday, May 25th, is open in the US and Canada, and winners will be notified over the weekend. Good luck!

Click here for full details and schedule.