Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!

Oh, Barbie. At least HALF of the people reading this post owned one, and probably EVERYONE reading it either played with or destroyed one. (My cousin used to set his sister’s Barbies on fire in the driveway.) People either love Barbie or hate her, as author Tanya Lee Stone discovered when she was writing this fair and balanced book about the biggest doll of all time. “There is not much middle-of-the-road when it comes to Barbie…We all impose our own ideas and perceptions on the world, and Barbie may just be the ultimate scapegoat.” Starting with a forward by chick lit queen Meg Cabot that ends with, “…like Barbie, we could be anything we wanted to be.” (Well, we all know what side SHE’S on:), Stone lays out Barbie’s whole story, from her humble beginnings at Mattel toy company, where she was conceived by co-CEO Ruth Handler, to her rise as a pop culture icon, as captured by Andy Warhol’s “Barbie.” She chronicles Barbie’s uneasy and sometimes controversial changes from a Caucasian doll to an African American doll, and then a Doll of the World. Stone also addresses the whole debate about whether or not Barbie’s unrealistic body proportions are the cause of women’s dissatisfaction with their own measurements. She even humorously explores, through anecdotal interviews she conducted with kids and teens, our apparently universal and totally embarrassing compulsion to strip Barbie and Ken of their designer duds and throw them in a plastic bed together. I especially enjoyed the chapter “Barbie as Art,” where I got a huge kick out of the jewelry made by Margaux Lange. (It’s one of those times when you say to yourself—man, why didn’t I think of that??) Full disclosure? I still have several shoe boxes full of Barbies and her many accessories (including one Ken) in my adult closet that I just can’t bear to throw away. Obviously I’m not a hater, but whether you worship Barbie or loathe her, you’ll find facts that will both support and challenge your point of view in this interesting and entertaining examination of the famous doll we love to hate.

Meet a cross-section of black female teens from across the country and different economic levels. There’s Latisha, who’s two older brothers are in a gang. Nicole from Vermont has a white mother and a black father and hates the term mulatto. No two girls from this book are alike, except in one aspect – all have experienced racism in one form or another. That’s what hurts when reading this slim volume – we like to think that we are past all that, but these young women are telling us what it’s like here and now. These are “voices” you will never forget.

All of these teen essays were originally published in New Youth Connections, a newspaper completely written for and by teenagers in New York City. (get it, they’re both NYC?) These essays are about subjects that are close to teen’s hearts and totally down to earth. Chris K. tells about the trauma of shopping with Mom, while Delia C. writes about how she’s come to deplore designer name brands. On a deeper note, Allen F. tries to figure out what’s up with the “N” word in the chapter on race, and Victoria L. struggles with her decision to become a vegetarian in the chapter on choices. Gotten yourself grounded? This is the perfect book to take to your room, ‘cause when you flip open the pages, it’s just like your friends talking to ya.

This is a great book for the closeted peeping toms among you, because you get the voyeuristic thrill of seeing another person’s most intimate space – their bedroom. In this collection of forty photo essays, you’ll see and read some of the most personal details of these very different teenagers’ lives. My only beef with this book is that it doesn’t give specific info about the picture itself. For example, Anne I. has a very plain room except for a HUGE wall hanging of Jim Morrison (whom I love, I’m a big Doors fan), but her essay is about being grounded all the time. I’d rather read about her obvious Morrison obsession, but maybe that’s what makes this book so good – by looking at the stuff in people’s bedrooms, it tells you everything about that person without them having to say a word.

This is a beautiful book, not just because of how it is presented, but also because its content. Next to 40 stunning black and white photographs appear painful and sometimes funny feelings, stories, and coming out experiences of teens who are not afraid to show who they are. The captions to each picture contain text that is written in the teen’s own handwriting, which makes each of their stories that much more personal and touching. Chris writes about how hard it is to be a closeted gay in a close-knit, Irish Catholic community, while Mollie poses with her obviously loving parents whom she came out to long ago. The book’s title comes from the fact that no matter how different we all are ethnically or sexually, we all share the same heart. I totally agree. With escalating violence against gays in the news, this book promotes tolerance and peace. It’s a keeper.