This book has raised a lot of questions and is certainly considered to be controversial. With Meridian school district recently banning it, it has received a lot of press time. This was one of the required reads for the YA lit. class I'm taking at Boise State. While you'll notice in my post that I did find the book to have a lot of redeeming qualities about it, I would probably not recommend it to many (if any)....it is a good book, but my moral compass points me away from it, in some instances. Read my post and decide for yourself if it is something you'd like to read and/or something you'd give your teenager to read.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this read and the situation in Meridian. On the one hand, I found the book to have many redeeming qualities. While I could not personally relate to many of the topics this book centers around I know a lot of kids who can: bullying, poverty, growing up in a small community, living in a place where your future is basically decided for you (not for Junior, but for most of the rez kids), seeing the ugly side of alcohol. There were also points that really did resonate with me. Things like a close-knit family, loyalty to friends and family, and having dreams and wanting to make something of oneself. This read contains so many points of contention that aren't always talked about in our society that are REAL life for kids, day in and day out and I think that some students would find a great deal of comfort in being able to relate to Junior and his story.
On the flip side of that, as a parent, if my 15 year old came home from school with this book and told me that they were reading it for class I would not be happy. While I am not trying to deny the fact that kids deal with things I have never dealt with in my life, that our world is an ugly and scary place, that (many) teenagers are already discussing these topics on their own, I am saying that I believe it to be important to have our minds (especially the minds of our kids) dwelling on wholesome things. As a parent, I am not scared to have conversations about these things with my child. In fact, I believe it is VITAL that I do, because of the world we live in. However, I don't see the need for having these topics (masturbation, pornography, alcoholism, etc.) present in the things my children are reading or watching. I already know that I will probably be considered by many to be a parent who shelters their child, but that isn't my aim. I am going to be particular about the things my children view and read, but I realize they will have friends and go to school and be exposed to many things I don't approve of. That is the reason I'm not going to pretend these things don't exist. We will discuss them. My kids will be aware. They will be knowledgeable, but they don't need to fill their minds with the types of things that they shouldn't want to fill their lives with either.
Maybe Meridian school districts efforts should be applauded? Maybe they are trying to think about the future and help to put off the degradation of society as they see fit. Maybe it is a way bigger issue than just banning this one title? Just something to think about.
As far as what Megan Cox Gurdon wrote, I agree and disagree at the same time. Books can be a great outlet for kids who don't have supportive adults in their lives. Especially those kids who have to face things every day that most of us would never consider having to deal with. That being said, my mind keeps coming back to one point in all of this and that point is the degradation of society. I keep thinking, "If I deem it appropriate for my 15 year old to be reading about masturbation and pornography and sex and drugs and expletives, etc., what is going to be deemed appropriate material for my grand kids to be reading/viewing when they are 15?" Unfortunately, our world is only getting worse. 15 is the new 30 and in 10 years 8 is going to be the new 20. Not in a good way.
***Note: this book and the articles we read have really got me thinking. I think it has to kind of be "to each their own". While I previously mentioned not wanting my kids to fill their minds with things that they shouldn't fill their lives with, I don't feel as strongly about some other topics of contention (e.g. you could say I shouldn't let my kids read books about superheroes because they are filled with crime and villains, but I don't have a problem with superheroes at all...)I don't know. I think books and movies and the things we let our kids fill their minds with have to be considered one at time, depending on the child and their age, and what the parent feels to be best. I do know I don't have all the answers, but I want to be the best parent I can be for my children and I am doing my best to learn what that looks like as I go.
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