Banned Book Week Guest Post by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Today, as part of Banned Book Week, I am pleased to welcome Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz to Eating YA Books.These lovely ladies graciously consented to join the rest of the blogosphere to add their voices and Speak Out against book banning.

TRUTH IN FICTION

Earlier this summer, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was challenged—a challenge is a request for banning a book—because it contained "much offensive material, including two rape scenes, drunken teenage parties, and teenage pre‐marital sex."  As we talked about the challenge, we were reminded of a book that was challenged when we were kids—Ordinary People by Judith Guest.  That time, the challenge called the book "obscene" and "depressing."

Ordinary People is about a family--a mother, father, and son--trying to come to grips with the accidental death of the oldest child. Filled with guilt over having survived the accident when his brother didn't, the main character, a boy named Conrad, has attempted suicide. The novel delves into the many different ways that people deal with--or try to hide from--their grief. For anyone who has lost a family member, it's a book that examines the important, painful, and long-lasting aspects of a situation that can be difficult to discuss in real life. Imagine another teen, a real one, in Conrad's situation. He's alone with his grief, his parents too wrapped up with their own grief to help him. Imagine how much better he feels when he reads a book like Ordinary People and sees that there are others out there who understand at least some of his emotions. Seeing Conrad gain the strength and courage to go on with his life might inspire this real teen to move forward in his own.

Imagine a real teen, maybe the girl who sits next to you in English, has gone through something similar to what Melinda experienced in Speak, a rape she didn't tell anyone about, instead spiraling down into a world of depression and silence. Imagine that after reading the book this girl was inspired to tell the truth about what happened to her-- perhaps to a trusted teacher such as Melinda's Mr. Freeman--and take back control of her life.

Literature speaks to the entire spectrum of the human experience, not only to the parts that you yourself have lived through. A book may depict people doing, saying, and thinking things that you don't understand, agree with, or approve of. Maybe that guy who works in the pizza place you go to read a book and it led him to stop smoking, or to call his estranged mother, or to ask for help with his learning disability...the possibilities are endless. The point is, novels speak to different people in different ways. The opinion of one person--or one group of people--should not prevent everyone else from reading and learning from a book.

Books like Speak and Ordinary People are powerful because they tell the truth. Some teenagers are raped.  Some teenagers do attempt suicide.  Is this depressing? Yes. But it's real. Some teenagers drink, use R-rated language, and have sex.  Is this obscene or offensive? Depends on your point of view. But obscene or not, offensive or not, it's real. It's true.

This isn't to say that books that tell the truth can stop teen suicide or rape, or any other of life's tragedies. Teens who experience devastating loss and abuse and pain need more help than can be found in the pages of a story. But if the first step to solving a problem is admitting that there is a problem, then censorship is a step back.

Thank you Laura and Melinda for stopping by and joining us for Banned Book Week. 

Don't forget to check out and enter my review and giveaway of Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz's newly released  book Crave, which end 9/28.

Also enter my Bloggers Speak Out Giveaway to win your choice of Speak, Slaughterhouse Five, or Twenty Boy Summer, three banned books.

Bloggers Speak Out Banned Book Week Review of Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it.

Okay.

Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?

Don't worry. I laughed. It's our secret, right?

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago. (Publisher’s Summary fro Powell’s Book)

After the recent article by Dr Scroggins, about banning books he deems "soft porn," "filthy," and "glorifying drunken teen parties and sex," I decided it was time to read one of the book Scroggins singled out: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and judge for myself why he found this book so filthy.  What I found was a sensitive and realistic handling of loss and grief, friendship, first love,  and a strong message about living life to its fullest.

One of the first things that struck me about Ockler’s debut novel was her prose. The descriptions are vividly painted with details and original language. The beach setting came alive for me as if, like Anna, I too was experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells, of Zanzibar Bay, California for the first time ...

Jammed with tourists, hot dogs, and neon bathing suits, the pier is an assault on every one of the senses ⎯ possibly the sixth as well.

It isn’t the town itself, but the people. Us. Summer seems to arrive with us, as though the entire place has been asleep since last September, awakening only as taxis and rental cars line up to deposit us along he beach ⎯ families with toddlers, college kids on break, retirees seeking to warm themselves under the California sun, and our own motley crew. Together we break upon the pier like a tidal wave as she rubs her winter-sleepy eyes, stretching, and turns on the coffee for us.

Ockler also has a keen ear for teen dialogue, which quickly brought Anna and Frankie alive. The writing allowed me to become part of the friendship they shared all their lives, and feel the varying shades of sadness and grief that for the past year, since Matt's death, has made their teenage existence even more difficult than most. Ockler’s writing is emotionally true and Anna’s narration was perfection. Ockler also portrays Frankie’s parents with compassion and authenticity as they deal with the loss of a child.

Anyone who has actually read Twenty Boy Summer couldn’t help but find a beautifully written character driven story that deals with the tragic loss of a beloved son, brother, and boyfriend. Yes, it deals with teen sexuality, but this is not the real focus of the message I believe Ockler was writing about. Yes, there is one teen party with drinking (not "parties" as Scroggins wrongly stated as fact), but again it is one event that moves the plot forward to the book's climax and the turning point for Anna and Frankie, whose growth had been weighted down by their grief.  Taken out of context, I can see how someone like Dr Scroggins might construe the premise to be about two girls having a wild vacation, but this is far from reality. Twenty Boy Summer is not a light-hearted read about the sexually explicit escapades of two teenage girls that Scroggins's leads his readers to believe. It is a heart-wrenching story of friendship, dealing with the reality of living in the aftermath of loss, and finding a way to deal and move forward.

Favorite quote:

Nothing ever really goes away --- it just changes into something else. Something beautiful.

If you have not read Twenty Boy Summer then I highly recommend that you do.

I truly hope that the good people of the Republic School District in Springfield, Missouri rise up against individuals like Scroggins, who want to dictate what is appropriate reading material or even curriculum for other people's children. Dr. Scroggins has made his choice as a parent to home school his kids, as such he can ensure his children read what he deems appropriate, but he should not be allowed to choose what books or curriculum are appropriate for every other child in the Republic's school district or any where else.

Don't forget to enter my Blogger's Speak Out Giveaway one winner will  choose from Scroggins's  "filthy" three, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut, or Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler.

Blogger's Speak Out/ Book Giveaway

 
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. 

And since actions speak louder than words I am giving away a copy of one of the books that Dr. Scroggins sees as "soft pornography" to show my support against book banning. This giveaway is International and ends 10/3 at Midnight CST. Just fill out the form below. Must be 13 years or older to participate.

Fill Out This Form

If you are interested in joining this movement, contact Natalie at Mindful Musing.