The YA YA YAs

All YA, all the time

Meth January 23, 2008

Filed under: Mostly YA Lit, Non-Fiction — Gayle @ 6:09 pm

Meth is one of those drugs that you hear about and it immediately has a name and face. My cousin was a meth dealer in high school. No one realized she had a drug problem until the police arrested her. That was almost ten years ago, but it seems like yesterday. Meth continues to reappear too close to home on many occasions in my life, whether it’s finding drug paraphernalia outside the library or a tweaker coming up to me on the street. I don’t want to dismiss meth as somebody’s else’s problem and I think there are ways in which we can combat it. For me knowledge is power. I empower myself by learning. I felt empowered after reading Elaine Landau’s Meth and Ellen Hopkins’ Crank. I’m hoping to empower more teens by encouraging them to learn about meth. There’s a hope in the back of my mind that a teen will pick up one of these books before experimenting with the drug and then maybe, they’ll think twice.

Ellen Hopkins’ Crank is an account of her own daughter’s experience with methamphetamine. Kristina has a bold alter ego who she calls Bree. Bree does all the things that Kristina is too shy to do. The monster aka meth takes over Kristina’s life after a date with a gorgeous guy who falls in love with Bree.  The gorgeous guy turns Kristina’s life upside down as she falls head over heels in love.  It doesn’t help that Kristina’s estranged father who she’s staying with for a couple weeks during the summer is a druggie.  Crank is an all too personal account of how meth can destroy a life in the blink of an eye.  Crank is also a hopeful story that ends with recovery.  Told in verse, it’s a quick read that will appeal to reluctant readers as well as those who are curious.

Another book that I had a chance to read is Meth: America’s Drug Epidemic by Elaine Landau.  This long overdue non-fiction title came out last year and gives factual information about meth that goes beyond “just say no!”  (I personally hate all those preachy drug books that basically tell you “drugs are bad, people who do drugs are bad.”)  Interesting facts that I gleaned from Meth is that it was used by Japanese soldiers toward the end of World War II and it was once prescribed by doctors.  Eye-opening information since I thought it was just cooked up illegally.  Interesting to find it had a “legitimate” past.  Another interesting aspect of Meth is that is also goes into the social implications of this increasing problem.  Landau talks about how burn units in hospitals are being overwhelmed by botched meth production.  Landau presents a lot of information in an easy to read non-condescending format.  I learned a thing or two about meth and I thought I’d heard it all.  (Admittedly, I’m one of those people who watch sensational news shows and recreations of deaths/tragedies.)

Meth is a serious topic for discussion.  It is a problem that effects all of our lives.  The aforementioned books are only a few of the resources available out there about the drug.  If you would like to contribute a useful resource in the comments section of this blog entry, I’d love to compile it into an annotated bibliography in the future.

 

The “S” Word in YA Literature November 21, 2007

The “s” word in young adult literature is not the synonym for fecal matter, rather it’s that oh so snide remark that you and I have probably heard one too many times, slut. I’m not saying that anyone has ever called me a slut, but I’ve heard the term hurtfully used enough in my life to think of it as one of those pejoratives where there needs to be a movement to reclaim it. In Laura Ruby’s Good Girls the protagonist and her friends seem to get about as close to reclaiming the word as they can when they dress as virginal brides to the prom.

I recently read Sara Zarr’s Story of a Girl which also deals with this particular issue. What strikes me both in Good Girls and Story of a Girl is that neither girl is the dictionary definition of slut, rather they are mislabeled and maligned as such because of a specific event that changes their lives.

Webster.com defines slut as:
Main Entry:
slut
Pronunciation:
\ˈslət\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English slutte
Date:
15th century

1chiefly British : a slovenly woman

2 a: a promiscuous woman; especially : prostitute b: a saucy girl : minx

Audrey in Good Girls is photographed in an intimate situation and this photo circulates throughout school ruining her “good girl” reputation. Deanna in Story of a Girl is caught by her father making out with a guy in the backseat of a car. Neither girl is in a “committed” relationship and thus they are open to attack from their peers.

 

So here’s my little rant. Is sexual liberation limited to those who are 18 and older? Are we promoting literature that maintains the status quo where young women can have sex in stories but only if they’re in committed monogamous relationships? Good Girls and Story of a Girl do a great job of questioning the term slut and applaud both Laura Ruby and Sara Zarr for their brave stances. I can imagine that they’re getting a fair share of flack for their scrutiny of societal conceptions. Anyway, I’d like to write more, but my thoughts still aren’t totally fleshed out.

 

 

Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty October 30, 2007

Filed under: Fiction, Mostly YA Lit, Reviews — Gayle @ 1:37 pm

fourthcomingsIn this conclusion to the Jessica Darling series, Megan McCafferty brings back old characters and ties up loose ends for a satisfying conclusion to the Darling-Flutie romance.  As you can tell by the innuendo on the cover of the book, Marcus proposes to Jessica just when she wants to break up with him.  Jessica’s left with is a week of contemplation and writing that reveals her thoughts on numerous situations from the past and present that lead her to her ultimate decision.  Will she marry Marcus who seems to have yet again reinvented himself as a Princeton freshman, just as Jessica’s emerged as a full-fledged quasi-adult trying to find employment ala Reality Bites, or will she finally break up with him? 

As in the case with Charmed Thirds, in Fourth Comings McCafferty seems to be writing for a mature audience.  She’s grown up with her reader base which is cool.  There are certain situations that definitely put this title in the older teen/adult arena.  Being in the school of: if you’re a senior planning on going away to college or living in a dorm and you don’t want a rude awakening, you probably should be aware of some things that will inevitably happen in your college experience, I have kept this gem of a title in my young adult section.  The adults can come over to my side to pick up this title.  This title will no doubt appeal to a wider audience including adults, not just high school females.   McCafferty expertly recaps much of what happens in this coming of age story and captures the local flavor of New York and New Jersey within her witticisms.   

*Spoilers ahead*

(more…)

 

LOL :D October 10, 2007

Filed under: Events, Mostly YA Lit — Gayle @ 3:56 pm

Gee it seems as though I’m in an ALA plugging mood.  I’ll try to get up some original content in the future.  What’s on my mind as of recent is Teen Read Week(TRW) October 14-20th.  This year’s Teen Read Week theme is LOL (aka laugh out loud)!  The following is a compilation of some titles that actually made a librarian in Hawaii laugh out loud. 

Graphic Novels (this is an extremely abbreviated list)

Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma

Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama

GTO by Toru Fujisawa

Yakitate by Takashi Hashiguchi

Beauty Pop by Kiyoko Arai

My Heavenly Hockey Club by Ai Morinaga

School Rumble by Jin Kobayashi

Non-Fiction

Found: The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items by Davy Rothbart

Darwin Awards by Wendy Northcutt

Seventeen Magazine’s Traumarama

It’s Happy Bunny: Love Bites by Jim Benton

The Stupid Crook Book by Leland Gregory

What’s That Smell? by Tucker Shaw

Joys of Engrish by Steven Caires (totally unPC but that’s what makes it funny)

Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions by Kenji Kawakami

Worst Case Scenario Handbook by Joshua Piven

Simpsons comics by Matt Groening

Odd Jobs by Nancy Schiff

Go Hang a Salami! I’m a Lasagna Hog! by John Agee

Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits

Wearing of this Garment Does Not Enable You to Fly by Jeff Koon

YA Fiction

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Poison Apples by Lily Archer

Thwonk by Joan Bauer

Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Celine by Brock Cole

Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwall

The Princess of Neptune by Quentin Dodd

How Not to Spend Your Senior Year by Cameron Dokey

Tell it to Naomi by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Prachett

Mates, Dates series by Cathy Hopkins

Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (probably more J)

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Absolutely Positively Not by David LaRochelle

Girl 15, Charming But Insane by Sue Limb

Fly on the Wall by E.Lockhart

Frogs & French Kisses by Sarah Mlynowski

30 Guys in 30 Days by Micol Ostow

The Teacher’s Funeral and A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Whistling Toilets by Randy Powell

Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

Angelica Cookson Potts series by Cherry Whytock

Girls for Breakfast by David Yoo

Feel free to add to the list if you can vouch for a young adult/teen title that made you lol.

As far as programming for Teen Read Week I’m being a slug.  Why is it, whenever I plan a program for a Saturday, there’s some big event like the PSAT that occurs simultaneously? :(