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when is an edgy YA book over the edge?
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From: Barbara Tobin <barbarat>
Date: Sun, 04 May 2003 16:00:12 -0400
I think Jennifer asks a good question: "whose edge does this edginess describe?"
My hair stood on end when I read Anne Fine's review of Melvin Burgess' forthcoming mother-of-all?gy YA book, Doing It (which we discussed recently on child_lit).
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~melvinburgess/
This one takes your breath away. It's so provocative that it's easy to react before you've even read the book (even to catch yourself doing what we accuse others of
--hyperventilating over a book having read only out-of-context quotes). Personally, the q uotes did make the book seem over the top to me, over the edge, so to speak, but I was intrigued by the young readers' and youngish reviewers' responses linked to Burgess' site. Their enthusiasm supports Burgess' claim that young males deserve the validat ion of reading about their own sort, something he says has been done in the past with 'very few honorable exceptions, such as Aidan Chambers'. He says he wrote this book to bring young male sexual culture into YA writing.
"The boys in Doing It are, in my opinion, nice boys - not sexist, not bullies, certainly not the vile, dirty, disgusting little toerags that Anne sees."
So, this 'edge' might indeed be a good fit for these 'nice boys'. What about the nice young women, who see themselves depicted so crudely? Would this be offensive to them? Turn them off (or onto) males?? Does validating these obsessive sexual thoughts and
conversations of young males make them 'acceptable'? Are they? Phew--I think this book is going to create quite a stir. I somehow don't see this as one many parents will be able to sit down and talk about with their kids. Burgess as a surrogate parental figure, Robyn? Gosh, not like any parent I know.
Those websites set up by parents to warn other parents of the horrors to be found in YA literature will have a field day with this one (eg Parents Against Bad Books in Schools-- http://www.pabbis.com/badbook.html). For them this book will be totally over the edge-- and into a deep abyss. It's probably too much to hope that they will actually read the book before they shoot-- well, I had better scurry off and do so myself!
Barbara Tobin (barbarat at gse.upenn)
Received on Sun 04 May 2003 03:00:12 PM CDT
Date: Sun, 04 May 2003 16:00:12 -0400
I think Jennifer asks a good question: "whose edge does this edginess describe?"
My hair stood on end when I read Anne Fine's review of Melvin Burgess' forthcoming mother-of-all?gy YA book, Doing It (which we discussed recently on child_lit).
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~melvinburgess/
This one takes your breath away. It's so provocative that it's easy to react before you've even read the book (even to catch yourself doing what we accuse others of
--hyperventilating over a book having read only out-of-context quotes). Personally, the q uotes did make the book seem over the top to me, over the edge, so to speak, but I was intrigued by the young readers' and youngish reviewers' responses linked to Burgess' site. Their enthusiasm supports Burgess' claim that young males deserve the validat ion of reading about their own sort, something he says has been done in the past with 'very few honorable exceptions, such as Aidan Chambers'. He says he wrote this book to bring young male sexual culture into YA writing.
"The boys in Doing It are, in my opinion, nice boys - not sexist, not bullies, certainly not the vile, dirty, disgusting little toerags that Anne sees."
So, this 'edge' might indeed be a good fit for these 'nice boys'. What about the nice young women, who see themselves depicted so crudely? Would this be offensive to them? Turn them off (or onto) males?? Does validating these obsessive sexual thoughts and
conversations of young males make them 'acceptable'? Are they? Phew--I think this book is going to create quite a stir. I somehow don't see this as one many parents will be able to sit down and talk about with their kids. Burgess as a surrogate parental figure, Robyn? Gosh, not like any parent I know.
Those websites set up by parents to warn other parents of the horrors to be found in YA literature will have a field day with this one (eg Parents Against Bad Books in Schools-- http://www.pabbis.com/badbook.html). For them this book will be totally over the edge-- and into a deep abyss. It's probably too much to hope that they will actually read the book before they shoot-- well, I had better scurry off and do so myself!
Barbara Tobin (barbarat at gse.upenn)
Received on Sun 04 May 2003 03:00:12 PM CDT
