#YAsaves is trending (currently #2 in US) and there are only 20 comments to the wsj article. I was so sad to see some of my favorite books listed as negative examples in that article, but was relieved that the author's tone was so clearly hostile and smug because it left no question as to whether it was a balanced, sincerely curious sort of exploration. It must have been both painful and enraging to have been singled out.
I look forward to reading all the blog responses to this, including yours, and to adding my own regarding the psychological/scientific "merits" of her argument. It's hard to read her article without feeling bad, but it's hard to read the responses to it without feeling better.
Damn, I wanted to laugh...but it's all just so sad.
Twitter's having a field day though and it's pretty funny.
I am sure I am not the only one to point this out, and I am not saying I feel this way, but if that mother is so disturbed by "adult" content, why wasn't she looking in the children's section to see what books were next to Percy Jackson? Isn't that where STICK might end up?
Okay Jonathon, you brought me out of my exile. But I'm still not going to look at Twitter or my email... too depressing.
Yeah... the thing about the mother bothered me more than anything. How could anyone go into a bookstore with the intention of buying a gift for a missed and loved thirteen-year-old kid and come out empty-handed?
I'd really like to know the answer, because what bothers me most is that I can only arrive at the conclusion that the woman was either cruel, didn't want to invest her time on the child (isn't that how it usually goes?), or incredibly uneducated (I'm trying to say this diplomatically).
As far as Stick goes... I hope, hope, hope there are people out there who call it MG. But I believe the majority of niche-namers are going to call it YA.
I want store video. It would take at least an hour to "flip through" 78 books. I call bullshit. Rule #1 of writing an opinion piece (dressed up poorly as an "article" which we all know requires research and knowledge and a somewhat objective view): Don't base it on bullshit.
Too busy writing disturbing books for youth to get into Rule #2.
I LOVE your book, Andrew, and I wish it was around when I was a teenager. I would have totally read it a trillion times...and not murdered anyone afterward.
Andrew you asked the same question as me, how can a mother (parent) not know what kind of books her own child likes? And really the last time I was in B&B the YA section book covers were not bad at all, maybe she was in the lonely romance section by mistake, that's where the raunchy covers are.
I hate to say this, but that article doesn't piss me off as much as so many of my friends. The world has always been full of ignorant people, and the WSJ has always been like a beacon for them.
The one thing I won't stand for, is The Marbury Lens, or really any of the great books mentioned, being referred to as depraved. I mean does that bitch even know what that word means?
Wicked and morally corrupt? You want to know what's really wicked and morally corrupt? Thinking that good parenting means pretending that the world is full of nothing but unicorns and rainbows. It isn't. The fantasy is pretending that darkness doesn't exist.
And that is the greatest disservice you can do to your own child.
The one good thing is that now I can't wait for Monday. I'm particularly looking forward to your and Sarah's posts.
7 comments:
#YAsaves is trending (currently #2 in US) and there are only 20 comments to the wsj article. I was so sad to see some of my favorite books listed as negative examples in that article, but was relieved that the author's tone was so clearly hostile and smug because it left no question as to whether it was a balanced, sincerely curious sort of exploration. It must have been both painful and enraging to have been singled out.
I look forward to reading all the blog responses to this, including yours, and to adding my own regarding the psychological/scientific "merits" of her argument. It's hard to read her article without feeling bad, but it's hard to read the responses to it without feeling better.
Damn, I wanted to laugh...but it's all just so sad.
Twitter's having a field day though and it's pretty funny.
I am sure I am not the only one to point this out, and I am not saying I feel this way, but if that mother is so disturbed by "adult" content, why wasn't she looking in the children's section to see what books were next to Percy Jackson? Isn't that where STICK might end up?
Okay Jonathon, you brought me out of my exile. But I'm still not going to look at Twitter or my email... too depressing.
Yeah... the thing about the mother bothered me more than anything. How could anyone go into a bookstore with the intention of buying a gift for a missed and loved thirteen-year-old kid and come out empty-handed?
I'd really like to know the answer, because what bothers me most is that I can only arrive at the conclusion that the woman was either cruel, didn't want to invest her time on the child (isn't that how it usually goes?), or incredibly uneducated (I'm trying to say this diplomatically).
As far as Stick goes... I hope, hope, hope there are people out there who call it MG. But I believe the majority of niche-namers are going to call it YA.
Blech.
I truly feel sick.
I want store video. It would take at least an hour to "flip through" 78 books. I call bullshit. Rule #1 of writing an opinion piece (dressed up poorly as an "article" which we all know requires research and knowledge and a somewhat objective view): Don't base it on bullshit.
Too busy writing disturbing books for youth to get into Rule #2.
I LOVE your book, Andrew, and I wish it was around when I was a teenager. I would have totally read it a trillion times...and not murdered anyone afterward.
Andrew you asked the same question as me, how can a mother (parent) not know what kind of books her own child likes? And really the last time I was in B&B the YA section book covers were not bad at all, maybe she was in the lonely romance section by mistake, that's where the raunchy covers are.
Connie
I hate to say this, but that article doesn't piss me off as much as so many of my friends. The world has always been full of ignorant people, and the WSJ has always been like a beacon for them.
The one thing I won't stand for, is The Marbury Lens, or really any of the great books mentioned, being referred to as depraved. I mean does that bitch even know what that word means?
Wicked and morally corrupt? You want to know what's really wicked and morally corrupt? Thinking that good parenting means pretending that the world is full of nothing but unicorns and rainbows. It isn't. The fantasy is pretending that darkness doesn't exist.
And that is the greatest disservice you can do to your own child.
The one good thing is that now I can't wait for Monday. I'm particularly looking forward to your and Sarah's posts.
Also, something happened to your background and layout. It's all white and pure now. Were you getting scared by too much darkness?
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