Teens Read and Write: BLOGGERS SPEAK OUT! BANNED BOOKS

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

BLOGGERS SPEAK OUT! BANNED BOOKS - Get one here!

There's been lots of buzz leading up to Banned Book Week (Sept 27-Oct 3) and our lovely affiliate Natalie @ Mindful Musings has been keeping up on all of it! She's had several posts:

The Truth Can Change Everything: Speak Out about Speak

Speak Loudly: Follow-up Article

(You should read Dr. Scroggins controversial article where he talks about banning books.)

Natalie has put together BLOGGERS SPEAK OUT! Here's the scoop:

Bloggers Speak Out is a movement sparked by the recent article, "Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education" by Dr. Wesley Scroggins that was published in the Springfield, MO News-Leader on September 18th. In this article, Scroggins vehemently advocates the censorship of books in schools, and specifically requests that the following books be removed from the Republic school system: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. To show our support of these authors and to fight against book banning and censorship, we have decided to take action and speak out.

At Teens Read and Write we support Natalie and if you'd like to join the BLOGGERS SPEAK OUT movement, contact her through email.

The books Scroggins wants to ban

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler

SLAUGHTER HOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut

We passionately believe that ourselves and others should be free to choose to read any book we choose. We also think that when it comes to YA, parents should be interested, involved and aware of what their kids are reading. REad and talk about books together!

We were at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, CA last night for the Smart Chicks Kick It Book Tour (more about that in another post) and found a whole wall display of banned books - check out the photos!

Wall of Shame!

We love Harry!

That's Matt Bomer from TV's White Collar!

Seriously? Dr. Seuss , the Dictionary and The Giving Tree?

One of our favorite picture books. Banned because the bear 's name had some connection to Marxism or Communism - or something equally ridiculous

Natalie has a great giveaway to win one of the three books already mentioned so go over and enter!

We're giving away one of our favorite banned books, Sherman Alexie's ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN.

Jake wrote a review a while back and we've included it below. And at the bottom of the post check out the giveaway rules and fill out the form.

Do you have a favorite banned book?

Do you have one your planning to read?

JAKE'S REVIEW

You can no longer complain about your life at all!

As the cover implies this is an The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Arnold Spirit, Jr. or just Junior. He was born with water on the brain which is when you have an excess amount of spinal fluid in your skull. He also had 42 teeth (that's 10 more than normal).

These problems and the surgeries that followed gave him serious physical problems: an underdeveloped body (skinny), an over-sized head (to hold all the teeth), hands, and feet, as well as poor eyesight (one eye is farsighted and one is nearsighted), frequent seizures, and he not only stutters but also has a lisp. Piece of cake, right?

He lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation (rez) in Wellpinit WA, where he is beaten - physically and mentally - and the only thing keeping him alive is his best friend Rowdy, the toughest kid in school.

On his first day of high school geometry class, Junior realizes that the book he is using was used by his mother - the book's over 30 years old. Frustrated, sad that his hopes and dreams are being destroyed, he throws his text book and accidentally hits his teacher Mr. P.

During his suspension, Mr. P visits and begs Junior to leave the rez before it's too late, before his spirit is broken and any chance of a better life is lost. Junior transfers to the all white school 22 miles away.

This kid has to deal with so much crap that anytime that I hear another kid complain about how their life sucks, I shake my head and think "Oh, if you only knew."

Junior and his family, and the entire reservation for that matter are all dirt poor, can barely afford food and sometimes don't eat anything for days. His mother is an ex-alcoholic and his father is currently an alcoholic. His sister spends all her time in their basement. When they can't afford gas for their car (because of the poverty or his dad drank the money away) Junior walks the 22 miles to and from school or if he's lucky, he might hitch a ride.

Rowdy used to spend his days at Junior's house because his own father is an abusive alcoholic but when Junior announces he's moving to the white school, Rowdy hits him and won't talk to him again. Rowdy even joins in one of beatings Junior gets. Junior is now an outcast on the rez as well as the white school.

The white school's tough but Junior sticks with it, finding friends and mentors who help him through the good and bad times. One thing I liked about this book is that no one was all good or all bad. The characters are complex. Junior finds friends with not only the geeks but the jocks and popular kids and ends up shining on the basketball team.

Throughout the ups and downs (mostly downs), Junior keeps a positive attitude, only stumbling once or twice during really hard times. The fact that all of these things are going on and he is still able to get up every morning knowing that he probably won't eat breakfast, will probably walk to school, and will ,for the most part, be ignored by everyone at the white school is astonishing and inspirational.

It's a gritty look at real life on the rez. Poverty, alcoholism and death are everywhere. Junior has gone to 42 funerals by the time he's 13. (I've been to 3). And while this story could be depressing, it's anything but.

Everyone should read this book. It's a fast read (read it in 1 1/2 days) but it sticks with you like few novels do. It's sad and laugh out loud funny, and the pages are peppered with great cartoon drawings. Junior calls life a "series of broken dams and floods" and his drawings are "tiny little life boats."

It's awesome and inspiring, and you will walk away with a belief that whatever problems you have can be overcome with courage and perseverance... and ultimately you can triumph over adversity.

Alyssa heard Alexie speak (and he still has the lisp, explaining that it's not because of a speech impediment, "I'm just brain damaged") and she was so impressed by his honesty and humor that she bought the book. I'm glad she did.

So I found this kind of by accident. It isn't something I would have picked up on my own, but it will remain one of my all time favorites. I recommend this book as a must read!

Sherman Alexie WEBSITE