Staying Strong 365 Days a Year

Staying Strong 365 Days a Year

By Demi Lovato        Feiwel and Friends (2013)      ISBN: 9781250051448

In Staying Strong 365 Days a Year, Demi Lovato details the emotional and psychological issues she has endured. Once a child star on the hit children’s program Barney, Lovato has known fame for a very long time. With multiple successful albums to her name, it wasn’t until Lovato was on tour with the Jonas’ brothers (2010) that the depths of her self-medication came to light. Lovato entered a rehabilitation clinic and it is from that experience that Staying Strong 365 Days a Year stems. This book is filled with quotes—one for each day of the year—to inspire a reader to have faith in him/herself. For each quote, Lovato provides a short paragraph of commentary and a goal that relates to the quote. The goals are meant to help readers challenge themselves to grow to be a better person. Lovato has created a modern self-help book for teens that may need daily words of encouragement.

Quantitative: Flesch-Kincade Ease—80.2; Flesch-Kincade Grade Level—6.3

Qualitative: Lovato directly and concisely explains what she feels and why she feels it. With quotes and commentary that is universal, this book could be appropriate for students as young as 5^th grade all the way into adulthood. Although Lovato speaks from a place of experience in regards to substance abuse and eating disorders, any person who struggles on a daily basis or may not have adults around them to teach them how to love themselves could benefit from Lovato’s message. Her message is bolstered by an introduction by Katie Couric. Because the book does not have a plot, younger students may not see the significance of Lovato’s message; however, the daily affirmations does make for smooth reading for those interested in Lovato’s journey.

Standards: RL 6.2, 6

Subjects: English; Health—Eating Disorders; Health—Addiction

Curriculum Suggestions: Although I would not consider this a text to be used in a classroom, I do see its value in addressing the challenges of staying sober and/or coping with trauma. Because of the book’s intertexuality with its use of inspirational quotes, teachers could have students examine the origins of the quotes: What’s the original work? How is the author? What is the genre? These elements make Lovato’s book a way to incorporate text analysis with thematic connections. It would also be interesting to determine if each quote is intentionally placed on a specific day. Do the dates and months matter?

Digital Resources:

Demi Lovato Home Page--http://demilovato.com/category/news/

Demi Lovato “Stay Strong” documentary links--http://www.mtv.com/shows/demi_lovato_stay_strong/series.jhtml   

Huffington Post-Teen--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/demi-lovato-gives-inspira_n_1932644.html

Personal Thoughts: To be honest, I didn’t know much about Demi Lovato. This books was recommended to me by a student so I decided to see what it was all about. Many students that I encounter are desperate for others to understand them and to cultivate their own voice. Lovato puts her celebrity to good use and gives fans and struggling teens a means of connecting to others. Like Lady Gaga, Lovato promotes individuality and acknowledges that life isn’t always easy. Often, adults push students to be adults rather than letting them know it’s okay to be kids.

*Meets the “Reading for Pleasure HS/MS” requirement