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Wolf/Gossip Girl
Mar. 5th, 2007 | 02:26 pm
location: DJ Indexes
mood: 
geeky
music: Dead Kennedys
I forgot to mention one thing in the Wolf article that really bothered me. In it she talks about how at least in the past, these 'bad' girls are "brought low" or "undergoing a humbling". Please, in real life high schools, the "Mean Girls" are not taken down by the less popular. The geeks don't win. The chess club isn't cool.
In real life, the best the non-cool can hope for is that by the 20th reunion the popular are all either unhappy living with a stupid jock or they are divorced and bitter.
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Reader Response: Gossip Girl/Peeps
Mar. 5th, 2007 | 01:52 pm
location: DJ Indexes
mood: 
good
music: Dead Kennedys
I agree with both statements: GG is an escapist novel no different from the beach reads of my youth. After a year of classics and post-modern novels in school, I could not get enough of trashy romance novels in summer. I didn't want to be the characters. I didn't even necessarily relate to or like them. I just liked getting away from the heavy duty messages of "real" literature to a place where everything was superficial. And as noted in the teen comment: I did not just think I had to be the same as the characters in the book, I brought my own moral code with me to the reading. I was appalled by many things I read and that was terrific. There was nothing like a feeling of smug, moral superiority to make me forget that I didn't have a boyfriend that summer!
I enjoyed this book--it was a silly romp. I didn't find the characters any more vapid than anyone on 90210, nor where they any more morally reprehensible than Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman' or Baby in 'Dirty Dancing'. Wolf's outrage seems far too strong for such inane books and characters. I believe that YA readers need fluff and that they know when they are reading it. While books can have a big influence on readers, I think fluff books do not have that kind of effect. I think they are disposable--not even remotely of consequence to most readers.
When I first started to read the book, I thought I would be jealous of the characters. I do covet their apartments, but there was no jealousy. After weeks of teen reads, I am ready for a break from teen heartbreak, high school hell, and problems that take on a life of their own. All I felt about these characters was Who is Gossip Girl? and Nate's a jerk. They are cartoon characters and were not fully developed enough to illicit anything more. I certainly could not muster up anything close to moral outrage.
Part II: Peeps
I loved this book (I am a sucker for the vampire myth and have yet to find a new twist on it that I did not like on some level). It was pretty well written with a good story, enough action to keep me interested, and charming enough to give me a bit of a crush on our hero Cal. I had no problem with the alternating story/science format (although I was not 100% sure if the science stuff was real or fiction--felt real, but then again so do many ficitions {insert GWB joke here}). I am a trivia person and like Sarah, the stranger and more obscure the better (I knew Elvis's Mom's middle name was Love. I don't know why or how I knew). Because of this, all the little fun facts of parasites are interesting. That said, I am swamped with school work right now and would have appreciated a hundred or so fewer pages to read.....
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I was wrong about FanFiction!!
Mar. 4th, 2007 | 03:58 pm
location: Alexander Ref Desk
mood: thankful
music: None
I was wrong about fan fiction.
As I read this week's book selections (my second book is 'Peeps') I found myself defending them--at least they get kids reading.
I should have extended the same logic to FanFiction. While my concerns over privacy, ownership, ethical use of copyrighted material, etc. still hold, they do not negate the medium entirely. My apologies for not seeing this argument as valid before and during our class.
Thanks to those in class who listened and provided me with additional information including lists of authors who allow and/or encourage FanFiction; links to better written FanFiction, and Maxine for the perspective of using FanFiction as a teaching tool in the classroom (an excellent use of FanFiction).
Off to read more 'Peeps'
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Other Worlds and Fanfic--my comments
Feb. 26th, 2007 | 04:02 pm
location: DJI
mood: grateful
music: Lou Reed "Berlin"
Why is speculative fiction of interest to YA? Because going to a make believe world, even if dealing with scary and/or difficult issues that could exist in this world, is easier and safer to deal with than reality. When presented in a speculative world, the issues can be dealt with. The raw, harsh nature of reality is blunted at least a little. Setting a story sometime in the future--even just twenty minutes into the future, leaves the reader with the comforting thought--there is still time to stop this from happening. It provides "hope" that there is still a chance to change before our world is like that (God help us if hope is the only thing we have...how about some action folks, because if all you are doing is hoping it wil change, it won't).
Feed left me feeling exactly that: we are close but not there yet. The feed was internet like, complete with banner ads. It did not seem like a big leap. Inter-stellar space travel, while not happening today, is already possible (isn't there an aging boy band member still trying to come up with the cash to go into space with the Russian space agency?). Today we have to seek out technology for access. If our bodies become wired, that will not be the case. It is easy to see how we could get from here to there. However, we can still hold out that by the time the technology to wire our brains evolves, we will all have been taught how to be better consumers--of statistics (see Jill's excellent post), of information, of advertising, and of products. Our future doesn't have to be like XYZ.
What motivates fanfiction: I don't know. I'm sorry, I am not trying to duck the assignment. I really don't know. What I have read of it, I do not think is well done or interesting. What I have heard about it is strange--get a life folks, find your own voice and express it. Scream in YOUR voice and be heard, don't hide behind JK Rowling, George Lucas, etc.....
I am glad YA readers are so into books that they care deeply for the characters. I have the same feeling. I understand the desire for characters, especially those from series, to behave in the way I want them to. I will even speculate about beloved characters and get angry when things don't go my way. But I still don't understand fanfiction.
I don't want to be harsh, but it seems to me the ultimate in lazy. Steal another persons characters and settings. Stick in dialog (often insipid--please, JK don't ever let Hermione talk like those diary entries). Now call yourself a writer--I don't see it. I know this is wrong. I know it is great kids are reading and attempting to write. To me, fanfiction is to writing as dress up is to acting--an interesting exercise for personal growth, but not at all the same thing.
Write everyday. Write about everything. Write about anything. Create your own worlds.
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Trouble & Triumph: Readers Response
Feb. 18th, 2007 | 06:31 pm
location: First written at Alex, now updated at home, kitchen
mood: 
depressed
music: kitty purrs....
My books were Speak and First Part Last. In both books, the main characters face life altering situations and ultimately deal with them and move forward in a positive way. In Speak, after a brutal rape, the loss of all friends because of her response to the rape, physical self abuse, a horrible school year and a near non-existent relationship with her parents, Melinda finally speaks. The final line: "Let me tell you about it", gives hope that she will be ok in the end. In First Part Last, Bobby learns his girlfriend is pregnant, endures the emotional difficultly of telling friends and family, losses his girlfriend to childbirth, reconsiders adoption and keeps the baby, deals with the difficulty of all these issues while trying not to loose himself. Yet in the end, he is starting a new life in a town called "Heaven". If this ending doesn't offer hope, I don't know what does. Is that good? Does it make this a better problem novel for YA so they don't loose "hope"? I don't think so. Pandora's terrible box that let loose the horrible, spits out "hope" in the end. Many people look upon that as a positive sign for the future. Some of us look at that a futile--all suffering comes from expectations. Hope is futile and provides no comfort to many people.
My opinion of Hero is not much better, but first the characters: Melinda is terrified of life, of herself, of feeling, and of speaking. These are not at first glance heroic characteristics. However, I would argue they are--she is terrified, but she still finds her voice to warn her ex-friend about the Beast. Likewise, Bobby is careless, impregnates his girlfriend, has not idea what to do about that, what to do with a baby, what to do with himself. Again, not what we first think of as heroic. If you really look at traditional "heroes", you will see that they do indeed have these basic characteristics. If one is not afraid and runs into battle, one is not heroic, they are crazy. It is when the person feels the fear, but does it anyway, that they are trulty heroic. Again, Melinda risks further alienation by warning Rachel, but she still heads into battle. Bobby is scared, confused, and out of his element, but he stands in and does not run from his responsibility to care for Feather. He even realizes it--he calls the hero part being a real man. Again, do teens need a hero? I don't think so.....
The word hero is over used in our society. Be in the right place at the right time, and you are labeled a hero. People now have heroic battles against illness, every war leads to a hero story (even when, in fact, the hero was killed by "friendly" fire and not in the heat of battle as the war department first said), every whistle blower, or jury member is now a hero. At every sporting event, someone is heroic. Television talk shows book two or three heroes a show. We are so desperate to find a hero, we will make them up. We have lost sight of the real hero's journey--get up everyday, do the right thing regardless of personal consequence, go to sleep, get up and start again. So maybe teens need fewer heroes, and more real people they can admire: for example, a teacher willing to tell them what the word scrotum means; a librarian who stands up for freedom of speech and patron privacy rights; a parent who gets up everyday and gets the job done, somehow finding the time at days end to spend time with the teen. Having a hero in YA books isn't needed, it is wanted by adults because they know how bad and hard the world can be. They think the only way a kid will see it can be good is for a hero on a white horse to bring hope. Instead, why don't they honor the every day hero in their world.
My hero is Michelle. She is a single Mom of three kids (15, 7, 4) who gets up at 4:30am, seven days a week to deliver newspapers. Comes home, gets the kids off to school and goes to her second part-time job as a supervisor to the school lunch staff for Hamilton Twp. High Schools. She gets home about 15 mins before the 7 year old returns from school, does the typical taxi service, dinner cooking, homework and baths. She then goes to be and gets up at 4:30. Oh, and she is the primary care giver to her Mom as well. A full-time job (with benefits) would take her out of her kids lives--no classroom Mom, no school trips, no Dr. appointments, no doing a puzzle because there isn't any homework tonight. Teens need to understand this is heroic. Life is very hard. Many things in today's world make it harder (like lack of health care available to the working poor, lack of quality child care, lack of a focus on raising your own children instead of earning enough for the second SUV). The sooner they learn that there are problems in life, the sooner they will learn that there are also solutions--not a hero on a white horse--but things ordinary people can do to surmount those problems and continue on with life, enjoying each day and not hoping for a better day tomorrow.
The article makes good points--not all kids are ready for all problem novels, not all teachers are prepared to deal with the emotional response to such novels, and not all novels that show problems will be good or good for kids. However, the need for hope and a hero will not change this. Melinda was raped and failed her freshman year of high school. She may be talking today, but it still may not be enough. We don't know. That doesn't make this novel inappropriate or appropriate. What can be said is that this is a well written, thought provoking novel about a young adult female who has been raped and her response to it. Bobby is a 16 year old Dad living in a town eight hours from his support network trying to make a life for himself and his child. Hope? Hero?, I don't know, but again, that isn't the point. Is the novel appropriate for young adults--for me, yes. It is a real portrayal of how hard having a child can be and shows a male perspective.
I agree with the authors that if we select YA lit, we should probably know more about the books than what the cover blurbs tell us. We should take all publisher recommendations with a grain of salt (their goal it to get you to buy the book, not what you do with it). I realize there is no funding, but I think that libraries should have someone who READS YA lit before adding it to the collection. The books should probably be better labeld with content information so parents can be better informed. (a very difficult solution for me, because for example, many describe the sex in Forever as explicit--I am not so sure that is the correct word (given what is shown on shows like The OC, clearly aimed at a YA audience). Labels are difficult and problematic, but they are better than censorship.
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Love: Yeah, it is really great.
Feb. 9th, 2007 | 04:06 pm
location: My prison cell (I mean cubicle) at DJ
mood: chipper
music: Ramones - "Lobotomy"
As you may have noticed, I am a hopeless romantic and truly believe that without Love (yes, with a capital L), life is lonely and unfulfilled. I adore love and want everyone to see it, hear about it, experience it, and spread it.
As I see it, Pattee's position in "The Secret Source" is this: sexuality should not be censored in young adult fiction and its depiction should be as "close to the truth" as possible. I agree with the premise that it should not be censored, because I don't believe in any form of censorship (as I do not believe that words on a page and/or ideas can harm individuals). I do not know what “Close to the truth” means, so I can not agree or disagree with her.
In addition to this argument, Pattee discusses the use of fiction for gaining information regarding sexuality. I do agree with this. While fiction is not generally thought to be read for facts and/or learning about something, I believe that we do learn about new and different worlds and experiences by reading fiction. Even if this is not the primary reason for reading fiction, I believe strongly it is a bi-product of reading this type of work. For example, while reading Warton’s “Age of Innocence”, I first learned that during the Victorian era, there was a common dialog based on flowers. Likewise, I learned that
I realize my position that all censorship is bad is not one that can be applied in a library setting. While I understand this, it will always inform my positions. Likewise, I realize that people who want to limit sexual content in YA fiction are not necessarily doing this out of a prudish fear of sex, they are truly concerned with the welfare of kids. Including detailed, explicit, and at times graphic descriptions of sex and sexuality in literature intended for teens, seems very much needed to me. I say this from personal experience ‘Forever’. Without that book (and many romance novels), my friends and I would not really have known much about sex and sexuality prior to being in the throws of hormones and lust. We were raised by parents who told us the biology of it and went to Catholic school who told us it was bad, wrong, a sin, and we would go to hell for participating if we were not married. This was not really practical, nor did it at all address the very real fact that we did know: kissing and touching were really fun and it sure seemed like sex would be too.
I do not believe that reading this type of literature encouraged any of us to have sex or increase our sexual activity. For myself, it was, as Pattee notes, a safe way to find out things and see how it made me think and feel. So overall, I would agree with Pattee. My only negative comment: she does not provide any sort of structure as to how a library can judge the content of a piece of new fiction dealing with sex and sexuality. We all know, completely reading the text is generally not possible. Therefore, her position that it should be as “Close to real” as possible is impossible to judge—reviews, word of mouth, or an author’s previous work are incapable of fully reflecting how a particular work deals with these subjects and in what context. I would like to see a more scholarly piece that offers solutions to this type of problem libraries face.
Still, Love is great. Love should be discussed. Sex is great. Sex should be discussed. I really enjoyed 'My Heartbeat', but found 'Forever' to be a bit to perfect in its progress from dating to sex to time apart, to the break-up. I would have much preferred that instead of a seperation and new man, Kath had found she was ready to move past Michael because she had changed and was moving into a new phase in her life. As it was portrayed, she seemed to believe that if they had not been seperated all would have remained the same. However, I did like that the book pointed out that Michael may have had his own reservations and fears regarding sex. Perhaps because I am a female, I have yet to encounter a teen "sex" book that sees things from the male perspective. I think that is much needed.
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My Heartbeat - Garret Freymann-Weyr
Feb. 7th, 2007 | 08:28 am
location: Home
mood: 
sleepy
music: Jimmy Smith, Just Back from the Chicken Shack
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Reader Response: Girls and Boys
Feb. 4th, 2007 | 07:05 pm
location: Alexander Reference Desk
mood: 
angry
music: None
Well, I have trouble with both statements: Yes, the articles do highlight some types of books that girls and boys like to read. No, they do not highlight THE types of books girls and boys like to read. Yes, Meloni and especially Sullivan are perpetuating negative gender stereotypes. I just finished Sullivan's article and I am furious. The things I want to say about Sullivan are not fit for public consumption.
I think that splitting books into gender categories is far to limiting and unfair. I see no reason why a girl could not read Stormbreaker and enjoy. Anyone with an interest in adventure, spying, and getting to participate in the adult world while still a teen could enjoy it. Personally, I would have devoured this series as a pre-teen girl....I still want to be suddenly taped to be a spy on a secret mission...given my current politics, I have no idea who I would spy for, but as a kid MI6 would have been just fine. In fact, I found Stormbreaker could have easily had a female protagonist simply by changing the name from Alex to say Amy. There was nothing inherently male about this book, unless you are a Neanderthal and think girls are only interested in fashion, shopping, and of course, boys. Conversly, there is no reason boys can not read about what girls think and feel, and enjoy it!
My "girl" book was 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'. While harder to change a name and extend it's appeal, I do believe that boys could read and enjoy this story of friendship. The problems faced by the four main characters--step families; being alone; romance that you want but are not ready for; illness of a friend; and working for the summer are all issues that boys and girls face. Is the story told from a female perspective? Yes. Does it matter? No, well unless you are narrow minded and feel that the female perspective is something boys find horrifying and bad. Sullivan seems to think so. I hope he has limited if any access to boys and girls. I would hate to see such restricted views such as reading books by women as treating boys like girls passed on to another generation.
Boys are allowed to wear pink now. They can crochet. Both of these things are huge with skateboarders and snowboarders of both sexes). Sullivan's opinion of boys is outdated and limiting to them. It is wrong. Boys today deserve much better. While I am sure there are families where boys are not encouraged to understand their feelings and deal with emotions openly or any other type of "girl" behavior. I for one, don't want to help them perpetuate such stereotypes by not recommending books by female authors to boys. Disgusting!
Meloni doesn't so much limit girls as discuss a specific genre. That it is girl centric does not necessarily perpetuate any stereotypes, but it certainly does not break them apart either. I'm not a fan of the genre, so it would be easy to slam the article. That is not what this is about. The article simply discusses a type of fiction available. It doesn't include boys, but it doesn't explicitly exclude them either.
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Teen Interview: Meaghan
Feb. 4th, 2007 | 04:34 pm
location: Meaghan's Living Room
mood: happy
music: Meaghan's 7 year old brother's new song...
What are your three favorite books?
“The Secret Life of Bees”, By Sue Monk Kidd
“Keeping The Moon”, By Sarah Dessen
“Ariel”, By Sylvia Plath
Why are these your favorites?
I don’t know. For Bees, I liked the story, how she had to deal with family issues, the inter-racial relationship. I just loved all about it. For Moon—it is about a girl not being accepted and being alone and then going to her crazy Aunt’s in North Carolina and meeting a hippie boy and finding herself. I liked that. I understand that. And for Ariel, I just like dark and gloomy poetry.
[Here I asked if what she means is she related to the characters or the subject matter , which lead to this comment]
For the first one [Secret Life of Bees] I felt sympathy, for the other [Keeping the Moon] and Sylvia is just my girl.]
How do you pick the books you want to read?
I don’t know. Word of mouth—other people tell me the book is good. For a long time I like historical fiction, but I don’t read that as much now. I like to just browse the books and look at what they are about.
[Here she realized she had a book she recently read she wished had been in her three favorites – Tweeker. She didn’t know the author off the top of her head and I am unable to find a book simply titled “Tweeker”. Tweeker she read because the dark subject matter and “underground” type of issue drew her to it. “It’s about the gay community and crystal meth. I like it because I like to find out about alternative and underground lifestyles. It’s interesting, like how intense it is and how like successful businessmen do it and loose everything. I want to be a teen drug counselor.”]
Do you like to read magazines or graphic novels? If so, which ones do you like?
Yeah, I read Cosmo Teen. What’s a graphic novel? Oh, then no…
What are your favorite places to go, and thing to do, on the Internet?
My Space
PostSecret.blogs.com
Rational Responders
Operation Influence
Sometimes I go to museum sites. I want to go to Pittsburg to the Andy Warhol Museum.
So what do you do on the Internet?
I post pictures and IM my friends and try to educate myself on underground stuff and news.
What’s your favorite movie, and why is it your favorite?
I have three—I can not have one.
“The Notebook” because it makes me cry every time.
“American History X” because it is sad at the end and I like how he came out of jail and could change his life.
“Crash” – every emotion is right there and you feel them all. It’s just like, I don’t know—all connected. It’s a great movie.
Do you like to play video games, either on-line or on a video game system? If so, what are your favorite games and game systems,
Ewww, no.
Who are your favorite musicians or musical groups?
The Doors – I love Jim Morrison. Sublime, Pink Floyd and Jack Johnson. I really love Jim Morrison.
What TV shows do you like to watch?
None really.
[Here I had to jump in and call her on that, I know she doesn’t watch TV much, but she watches plenty.]
Ok, yeah I watch Desperate Housewives with Nanny and Aunt Jean on old people night. I like it. And I watch the Real World, but that isn’t really a show. Oh, and The Girls Next Store.
Comments:
As I mentioned, I have known Meag all her life and think she is a terrific young women. She is passionate about reading—I have never seen her without a book in her bag. She has always been in AP English, so many of the books are for the reading she does is for school. However, I believe she reads more for herself and for pleasure than what is assigned in class. Likewise, I believed her when she said she doesn’t really watch TV—given the choice, she will always read over watching television. That said, I knew she watched and had to prod her for an answer. Her response left the longest lasting impression on me.
My initial reaction after the interview was -- "Why oh why does she like 'The Girls Next Door"? That is so sad. After some thought, I am kind of glad she watches some trash. She tends to the serious and the dark and doesn't spend a great deal of time with silly or fluffy things. If nothing else, there is little that could be considered much more fluffy than a show about Hugh Heffner's girlfriends. Still, it is not something I am happy to hear she watches. It tweaks the feminist in me and immediately raises a red flag. Plus, for a girl who reads so much about serious social and political issues, I never would have expected her to like such a show. In reality, I have not seen it. I should probably watch it since I am pre-judging it so harshly. After this initial reaction, I was able to get much more from this experience.
It was really nice to spend time with Meaghan talking about books. She was really disappointed that the interview was so short and didn’t have more of a focus on reading. She is very proud of her reading and what she reads. If you ask her to describe herself, without a doubt, reader would be high on the list of attributes. If you ask anyone who knows her to describe Meaghan, it is always one of the first things they say. After the interview was completed, we spent a long time discussing books and movies.
One of the most interesting things about the interview was her inability to pick “favorites”. She really loves books—all kinds of books on all kinds of topics. At first she did not realize she could list things other than novels. To her, book and novel were synonymous. When I mentioned that, she quickly said Sylvia Plath—which again surprised me. I guess I didn’t expect a 15 year old to be so into poetry, let alone Sylvia Plath. I was wrong to have thought that. I am surprised at my level of pre-conceived notions regarding what a teen would or would not be interested in. This is something I must work on.
The other most surprising aspect of this exercise was the absolute passion Meag has for reading. She said it is not common and most of her friends do not read the way she does. Reading books is one of her favorite activities. She would rather read novels than periodicals, and she tends to stay away from “Young Adult” books. In fact, when I first asked her about participating, she warned me, I read adult books, not kids stuff. However, as we talked about the books I will be reading, she has indeed read and enjoyed several of them including Speak, Stormbreaker, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She does not like Chick Lit and shows little if any interest in graphic novels and/or anime.
Sorry, I am way over the word count!!
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Weetzie Bat and Chocolate Wars: Part II
Jan. 29th, 2007 | 08:07 pm
location: My kitchen
mood: 
contemplative
music: None
‘The Chocolate War’ is a book that is often challenged as not appropriate for young adults. I think that is entirely wrong. This is a terrific YA book—well written with an interesting and compelling story line that is easy to follow and relate to. Like ‘Lord of the Flies’ before it, it is a cautionary tale about mob mentalities, violence, leadership, and what happens when the markers of “normal” life are changed or eliminated. I think all readers could benefit from this book and others like it that deal with these issues.
Once again, the easiest reason to say this is a YA book is character age—high school boys at all levels are firmly part of YA. Another simple reason is setting—a high school. While I realize that a Catholic, all male high school might not be the most recognizable model of high school education today, I don’t think that matters. The power structure of faculty, student leaders, upper classmen, and finally freshmen is a setting that most YA readers will recognize and relate because it is so universal.
However, for me, there is one main reason this book is perfect for teens. In this book, character after character come to the realization that adults are not perfect, nor are they all good. I feel that one of the major defining characteristics of a person no longer being a child is when they first realize that their parents are not super-heroes, but instead are flawed and fallible human beings.
Early on we are told that both Archie and Emile came to these realizations young and use the knowledge to manipulate and gain control. Obie is disgusted by Archie—his leader. Goober sees the futility of following the orders of the Vigils, and later he sees the same flaws they possess in the teachers and coaches. Our protagonist Renault sees it everywhere—his father’s routine life; Leon’s taunting of fellow students; upper-classmen’s cruelty to freshman (both on and off the athletic fields; and the Vigils abuse of power over everyone. Yet for me, one scene reflects this theme more than any other: when David Caroni—the good student gets an F and suddenly realizes Leon is manipulating his grades for personal gain. His stomach lurches when he thinks “Are teachers like everyone else?. This realization that authority figures—parents, teachers, police officers, etc.—are not only flawed but corrupt. When childhood’s blind faith in authority is destroyed, childhood is over. This is a difficult moment in a kid’s life and that is why I think this is an incredibly important book for young adults.
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"Weetzie Bat" and "The Chocolate War" - Readers Response part 1
Jan. 28th, 2007 | 04:12 pm
location: Alexander Reference Desk
mood: thoughtful
music: None
Just as I am against censorship of any kind, I am generally against labeling of books. I feel if you can read it and are comfortable with the vocabulary, then the book is appropriate for you. Lumping all people in XYZ ages or stages into groups is difficult for me. This is one of the main reasons I took this course--I want to better understand why labels such as young adult are applied to books and what it means to call something "Young Adult Materials". This makes this assignment a bit difficult, but I will try, starting with "Weetzie Bat":
To me, "Weetzie Bat" seems appropriate for most individuals above age 12, including people far beyond the YA upper boundary regardless of where that might be. It is a fun story, filled with fantasy, humor, and love. Anything that ends with the line "I don't know about happily ever after...but I know about happy" sounds appropriate to me for any individual able to read and understand the vocabulary of this book.
I think the book has several attributes that make it easy to classify as "young adult" including character age, subjects covered, and the ability for YA readers to see some attributes of the characters in them.
Character age is the most basic - Weetzie and Dirk are in high school when they first meet, making them firmly in the age group considered YA.
Subjects covered including love, loss, alienation, and questions such as "where do I fit in" are found in this text and are important subjects to the YA audience. Love I would argue is a subject that is appropriate for everyone, but in this context, looking for and learning about love--a variety of types of love--is an important topic for YA readers. Young adults seems very interested in romantic love and sexual identity, and this book provides a look at a number of different types of romantic love: heterosexual love, family love, homosexual love, the love of friends, the love of extended family or family proxies (Weetzie's love of Dirk's Grandmother), and even an instance when love is not enough to keep a relationship together (Weetzie's parents). However, I think the most important link to YA readers is dealing with alienation and finding a way to create an environment where you not only can fit in and be yourself, but where you can thrive and contribute to enhance everyone's life and experiences.
Finally, I think that many YA readers could see attributes they have in these characters. The most obvious example is that gay YA readers have the opportunity to see themselves in Dirk and, to a lesser extent, Duck, both homosexual characters. Yet there are many opportunities to connect: any YA reader dealing with death, grief, and loss could find a great deal of empathy, sympathy, and understanding in this book. Likewise, anyone who has ever been "in love" and then having lost that love could relate to the hopelessness of Weetzie when MSALM (a name that simply annoyed me throughout the book) left or the resolve to find that love again in Dirk's quest to find Duck. I think this is the most important reason this book could be considered YA--many of the characters reflect many of the attributes YA readers have and are developing. I could go on, but I still have to answer this for "The Chocolate War" in part 2....
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The Outsiders
Jan. 22nd, 2007 | 08:13 pm
location: Home
music: Bad cheesy 80s remix on TV as part of a sitcom
It is a good book--well written with a solid story that speaks to many timeless themes including alienation, economic disparities, family life, and violence. It deserves the term classic. At first I thought that despite these qualities, it might not resonate with today's YA readers. For example, the lack of sex and blatent sexuality was striking compared to many more contemporary stories. Likewise, the violence while very real and striking for its time, is not the type of violence found in today's world where weapons checks at the school door are not uncommon. I simply was not sure that young people today would find much that related to their world. However, when speaking to my 15 year old niece, she informed me that this book was a favorite of her friend, who has read it several times.
I think the timelessness of the themes, especially the alienation felt by Ponyboy not only between he and the 'Socs", but also he and many of the Greasers, is still meaningful. Another important subject of the book--the creation of non-traditional family structures--is still something many of today's readers would be interested in.