August 4, 2010 2:08 PM
American Library Association peddles garbage to teens
From my Inbox - and in synch with yesterday's School reading lists: disturbing themes, gay sex:I thought I would take a look at the list of books recommended for kids 12 - 18 years old by the American Library Association. I wanted to get some books for my 12 year old niece at the library. I was appalled at many of the descriptions of this book list!
For example :
If I Stay
While in a coma after her family is killed in a car accident, Mia struggles to decide whether to live or die.
Say the Word
After her estranged mother dies, Shawna Gallagher refuses to accept her dysfunctional home life and attempts to make peace with her mother's lesbian lover.
No More Us for You
Carlos has a cheating girlfriend, a mystery man urinating on the floor at work, and a friend in a coma. Can Isabel--still grieving her dead boyfriend--help him cope?
Almost Perfect
An intriguing new student gets Logan out of his post-breakup slump, but as Sage reveals her past, Logan isn't sure he's confident enough to handle her MTF gender identity.
Jumping Off Swings
Ellie is pregnant after looking for love in the wrong places with one too many boys. Corrine, Caleb and Josh all deal with the emotions, consequences and difficult decisions ahead.
I could add more but I am sure you get the point. Thanks for letting me vent!
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/ bestbooksya/bbya2010.cfm
~MaryEllen
You do really need to read the 2010 Best Books for Young Adults at the American Library Site. There are 90 - out of 203 nominees. Here are the first 7 in order:
2010 Best Books for Young AdultsFiction
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls. Penguin/Viking Books. 2009. 9780670011100. $17.99
Lia is haunted by her best friend's death from bulimia, as she struggles with her own eating disorder.Barnes, John. Tales of the Madman Underground. Penguin/Viking Books. 2009. 9780670060818. $18.99.
In an attempt to distance himself from the rest of the students in the school's therapy group known as the Madman Underground, Karl launches his senior year with "Operation Be Fucking Normal."Booraem, Ellen. The Unnameables. Houghton Mifflin. 2008. 978-0-15-206368-9. $16.00.
In a place where everything has a name and every name has a meaning, outsider Medford Runyuin struggles in vain to follow the rules of his adopted home.Bradley, Alan. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Dell Publishing/Delacorte Press. 2009. 978-0-385-34230-8. $23.00.
Flavia de Luce is delighted with the discovery of a dead snipe on her doorstep and considers it a bonus when a human body is found in her cucumber patch.Bray, Libba. Going Bovine. Random House/Delacorte. 2009. 978-0-385-73397-7. $17.99.
Cameron knew there was something wrong when he started seeing pillars of fire and angels, but he never imagined he had mad cow disease.Brennan, Sarah Rees. Demon's Lexicon. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Margaret K. McElderry. 2009. 978-1-4169-6379-0. $17.99.
Sixteen-year-old Nick and his older brother Alan are always on the run. Now, Alan has been marked by a demon and to save him, the boys must become the hunters.Brown, Jennifer. Hate List. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. 2009. 978-0-316-04144-7. $16.99.
In the year following the devastating shootings at her high school orchestrated by her boyfriend Nick, Valerie must come to terms with grief and guilt in order to move on with her life.
How did we get to this place where teen books have become an agenda-ridden swamp of psychotherapy/self-help/soap opera/propaganda by people whose access to teen minds should have them on the Most Dangerous list?
