Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!

These ten stories are about what life is like in the Harlem neighborhood of 145th Street. You got quiet Monkeyman, who’s still waters run deep the day he decides he won’t be intimidated by gang warfare no more. There’s Kitty, who won’t let Mack give up on their love and Big Joe, who wants to enjoy his funeral NOW instead of after he’s dead. There’s drive-bys and beatings and unexpected death, but also tons of friendship, humor and laughter. An excellent introduction to Myers writing, if you haven’t read him before. And if you haven’t, shame on you! His novel Monster won the first ever 2000 Printz award, for outstanding YA lit!

The best way to describe this book that revolves around the events of an eighth grade dance is “sweet” and “low.” There are some truly sweet moments, like when Peggy Lee REALLY kisses her best friend Tennessee for the first time, or when Russ remembers his first love, Annie P., who he will never be able to kiss again. But these are balanced by the hard-hitting lows of watching Becca Scott relive the horror of her recent date rape, and Mary Sarah hoping that the wearing of a forbidden red ribbon won’t earn her a beating. A good blend of hard and soft tales, despite the somewhat mushy and romantic-al book cover.

And now, the best for last! Judy Blume, a veteran YA author who’s taken many pot-shots for her ground-breaking novels, has assembled and edited some awesome shorts by other YA authors who have had to deal with censorship. The stories themselves aren’t ABOUT censorship, but showcase some really fine writing that perhaps censors wouldn’t let us read if they had their way. I don’t think there was a story here I didn’t love. Julius Lester writes about the son of a civil rights hero who falls for the only white girl in his African American lit. class. Paul Zindel writes about the revenge wrecked on an evil cheerleader by a lonely fat girl. Rachel Vail writes about a female basketball star who, after having sex for the first time, wonders what all the hoopla was about. And Walter Dean Myers delivers a lyrical, beautifully written story about how hard it is for his main character to reconcile his campus life at a small liberal arts college with his home life in Harlem, where his sister is slowly losing her battle with drugs. And each story comes with a personal note from the author about their thoughts on censorship. Really fantastic stuff. I envy you if you haven’t read it yet, ’cause you’re in for a delicious treat. I ate it all up in two days flat!