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Archive for December, 2005
December 19, 2005
Brent Hartinger's Book Unbanned–Sort of
Read Brent’s account here.
December 16, 2005
Tainted with a Seal of Approval
YA books are being challenged all over the place these days. In Texas, they’re making parents sign permission slips before they can read Cathy Atkins’ When Jeff Comes Home. In Maryland, a school superintendent, who has merely “skimmed” Carolyn Mackler’s The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things has pulled all copies from his school district’s libraries. Brett Hartinger’s Geography Club, a novel about a gay teen, has been removed from school library shelves on the laughably badly coded explanation that since the characters meet through an Internet chat room, the novel promotes “risky behavior.” Another writer friend has been invited to speak at a school, only to be told the 9th and 10th graders won’t be permitted to attend her talk, lest they be “exposed” to the very mild sexual content in her books.
My books have been described as “clean” in some quarters. Which, oddly, makes me feel dirty.
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December 7, 2005
Gift Ideas for The Reading Teens in Your Life
What, you ask, other than Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude should I buy for the teen readers in my life for Christmas or Chanukah? A few YA and adult titles with a strong YA appeal follow.
Although I’ve linked to Amazon, which I find useful for browsing and reading reviews, I encourage you to support your local independent bookstores. You can find a store near you through Booksense.
A Room on Lorelei Street, Mary Pearson
The Boyfriend List, e lockhart
A Northern Light, Jennifer Donnelly
A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, Carolyn Mackler
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Jordan Sonnenblick
Looking for Alaska, John Green
Lily’s Ghosts, Laura Ruby
Gentle’s Holler, Kerry Madden
Adult Titles Older Teens Might Enjoy
Crossing California, Adam Langer
The Boys of My Youth, Jo Ann Beard
Why I’m Like This, Cynthia Kaplan
The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green, Joshua Braff
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