The Landry News

In this section of the novel, the development of Cara and Mr. Larson accelerates, tracing their intertwined journeys of self-discovery and the impact of The Landry News on their characters. The questions Mr. Larson asks his class in Chapter 7 are a device through which the novel can engage in exposition on the nature and responsibilities of journalistic activity, especially the theme of The Ethics of Journalism. For instance, the classroom discussion on the different sections of a newspaper and the varying ways the students approach newspapers forms a practical knowledge lesson for the young reader and explicates the different roles a newspaper can play for different readers. For Cara, the most committed reader of journalism in the class, a newspaper is a compilation of different styles of journalism that covers an array of topics. These chapters also focus specifically on the power of the editorial section of the newspaper, and this is where the book’s educative lesson most closely intersects with journalistic ethics. The novel uses Cara’s article as a means to explain the nature of editorials to the novel’s readers, making explicit that the editorial Cara wrote in Chapter 2 was built upon facts, but it also presented her perspective on Mr. Larson’s classroom. Cara’s editorial used facts to bolster her opinion, which means her article is no longer strictly “news,” and this brings attention to the importance of labeling articles correctly. Editorials and other articles written from a specific angle are intended to influence the reader’s perspective and also offer insight into the writer’s state of mind. The novel therefore uses Cara’s articles to trace her character’s development through this section: Her editorial in Chapter 10 is different from the one in Chapter 2 and is evidence of her changing approach to a kinder, more thoughtful form of seeing and reporting. Cara’s discussion of the newspaper changing its angle is an opinion—she believes the newspaper is shifting in a better direction—but she presents this opinion in a way that offers it as fact to the reader, telling them how the newspaper is changing and why. This is very different from Cara’s previous editorial, which asked readers to consider facts about Mr. Larson and then presented leading questions meant to inflame readers into agreeing with Cara’s perspective—namely, that Mr. Larson wasn’t teaching and shouldn’t be given credit as a teacher.

Chapter 8 strongly develops the theme of The Importance of Trusting Others. Up until now, Cara has continued to work independently, though she’s shared part of her process with the other kids in her class. Joey entering Cara’s workspace literally and figuratively shows him becoming part of her team. Cara’s newspaper has changed how Joey views news and reporting, and he wants to help because he sees the value in offering information on a widespread scale. His offer to help is the next hurdle Cara must overcome along her character arc. While she appreciates that The Landry News is having an impact across the school, she fears sharing its production with other people because the newspaper has been her way of expressing herself for so long. Though she tells herself she decides to let Joey help because she understands the importance of circulation, this decision is ultimately the moment where Cara lets go of the past of The Landry News to make way for its future. The paper is no longer Cara’s way of lashing out at people. Here, it becomes a way to bring her and the other kids together through the shared act of creating something. The librarian’s observations in Chapter 9 bolster this change. She sees the value in what the kids are doing and knows it is a great group project because it has the potential to teach as well as inform. In this way, The Landry News becomes symbolic of the book’s third major theme, How Education Prepares Students for the World, in that the paper gives Cara, Joey, and others a way to develop the tools they’ll need for the collaborative nature of life. It also shows them learning how to negotiate complex ideas and conflicting motivations for themselves in a case-by-case way. These lessons are equally applicable to the novel’s intended audience of high-school readers and form part of the book’s wider educative purpose.