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"edgy"
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From: Jane Hertenstein <janeh>
Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 21:48:53 -0500
I know as a kid vacationing in Kentucky I used to run right up to the edge of these cloud-high stone cliffs and my dad would have to jerk me back--he did allow me to belly-look, that is lay down on my stomach and then scoot to where I could peer down. I think all kids like to get close to the edge.
As someone who likes to read child lit. criticism (addicted to the ccbc) and historical surveys of juvenile literature it seems there have been "edgy" books for readers of all ages going back to Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn. That book had it all: swearing, Pap on the bottle, lying cheating swindling--even some blaspheming. Readers were also taken to the edge in looking at their own fears and prejudices straight in the eye. I think Mark Twain would agree that there's some good in being bad, and sometimes there cqn be a lesson behind the edginess.
How far is too far? I get tangled up thinking about it. As a parent I'm scared. As an author I'm even more scared.
This past week I picked up three books and I felt like I went over the precipice with all three. Prim by Laurie Halse Anderson Looking for alaska by John Green Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Whew Ms. Anderson feels "edgier" than she ever has, and right away Alaska lets us know she's gone all the way, and Sammy and Julianna actually do "it" by page 25--but let me tell you these were ALL good books. The language in Sammy and Julianna made me sit back and sigh. There was just so much to chew on. Would it be a good book without page 25--I guess--but it was all good and the sex was only a fraction of it.
I think, like Esme, I tend to draw the line at gratuity and exploitation--even then for some people that can be a very fluid line. For me the the most important thing is: is there some redemption in a story? I mean a book ONLY about farting isn't as good as a book about a farting dog who SAVES the world.
By the way at ALA this afternoon I saw an advance galley set out (can't remember the publisher) called TEACH ME. I asked what it was about and the sales person or whoever she was said it was for very mature young adults, age 14 and up, and was about a teacher falling in love with one of her students. With all the stuff I was carrying I didn't feel the need to pick it up.
Jane Hertenstein 920 W. Wilson Chicago, Il 60640 773V1$50 ext 2089
Received on Sat 25 Jun 2005 09:48:53 PM CDT
Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 21:48:53 -0500
I know as a kid vacationing in Kentucky I used to run right up to the edge of these cloud-high stone cliffs and my dad would have to jerk me back--he did allow me to belly-look, that is lay down on my stomach and then scoot to where I could peer down. I think all kids like to get close to the edge.
As someone who likes to read child lit. criticism (addicted to the ccbc) and historical surveys of juvenile literature it seems there have been "edgy" books for readers of all ages going back to Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn. That book had it all: swearing, Pap on the bottle, lying cheating swindling--even some blaspheming. Readers were also taken to the edge in looking at their own fears and prejudices straight in the eye. I think Mark Twain would agree that there's some good in being bad, and sometimes there cqn be a lesson behind the edginess.
How far is too far? I get tangled up thinking about it. As a parent I'm scared. As an author I'm even more scared.
This past week I picked up three books and I felt like I went over the precipice with all three. Prim by Laurie Halse Anderson Looking for alaska by John Green Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Whew Ms. Anderson feels "edgier" than she ever has, and right away Alaska lets us know she's gone all the way, and Sammy and Julianna actually do "it" by page 25--but let me tell you these were ALL good books. The language in Sammy and Julianna made me sit back and sigh. There was just so much to chew on. Would it be a good book without page 25--I guess--but it was all good and the sex was only a fraction of it.
I think, like Esme, I tend to draw the line at gratuity and exploitation--even then for some people that can be a very fluid line. For me the the most important thing is: is there some redemption in a story? I mean a book ONLY about farting isn't as good as a book about a farting dog who SAVES the world.
By the way at ALA this afternoon I saw an advance galley set out (can't remember the publisher) called TEACH ME. I asked what it was about and the sales person or whoever she was said it was for very mature young adults, age 14 and up, and was about a teacher falling in love with one of her students. With all the stuff I was carrying I didn't feel the need to pick it up.
Jane Hertenstein 920 W. Wilson Chicago, Il 60640 773V1$50 ext 2089
Received on Sat 25 Jun 2005 09:48:53 PM CDT
