Waiting on Wednesday (29)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

Dear Bully

edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones

Coming September 1, 2011 - Preorder it below

Indiebound | BN | Amazon | Borders

I hadn't heard anything about this book, so when I saw it up for grabs at ALA this past weekend I was immediately intrigued. I snatched up a copy before they were all gone and fell in love. In this anthology, seventy authors including A.S. King, Carolyn Mackler, Carrie Ryan, Ellen Hopkins, Heather Brewer, Jon Scieszka, Kiersten White, Lauren Kate, Lauren Oliver, Lisa McMann, Lisa Schroeder, Megan McCafferty, Michelle Zink, Mo Willems, Nancy Werlin, and R. L. Stine share their personal stories about bullies. Even though this is a book I have that I'm not technically waiting on, I wanted to share it with you in case you hadn't heard about it. I hope you all add it to your goodreads and visit the Dear Bully website.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
John Green and David Levithan
Publisher: Dutton
Released: April 10, 2010
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT
Pages: 310
Source: Bought

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them both legions of faithful fans.

Every once in a while, something truly great happens. Like when your two most favorite authors team up and write a book together. Crazy, right? I mean, who doesn't want that to happen? You can imagine my excitement for this book. I went to the bookstore the week it came out... and bought something else. The next several times I shopped for books I picked it up... but then set it back down. I broke down and finally bought it February, nearly a year after its release, and STILL waited weeks before finally reading it. Why am I so crazy? There's a reason for the madness, I swear.

What if it wasn't good?

What if John wasn't funny or David wasn't poetic or their individual brilliance clashed when brought together? Crazy talk, I know, but it could happen! I was so afraid of this book. Afraid of it not living up to my expectations, afraid of never being able to relive that first time experience if it did.

If there is anyone else out there feeling like I did, just pick the damn book up already! There's a reason it was a NYT bestseller and YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick! It's John Green and David Levithan! Do you really think they're capable of not delivering? Didn't think so. So save yourself any added grief by just reading it already.

Chapter one opens with John Green's Will Grayson: "When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose."

Chapter two opens with David Levithan's will grayson: "i am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me."

After reading the first two chapters I breathed a sigh of relief and got comfortable. I don't think I've ever laughed as much while reading as I did with this book. John in particular is so good at making the tough, uglier aspects of life funny. This is so important, because if we can't laugh at ourselves, even when things are bad, then it's a lot harder to trudge through the crap.

Will and will are great on their own, but it's after they meet and Tiny becomes their link that the story really gets going. I wish I could describe Tiny Cooper for you, but words won't do him justice. He is a character you will never forget, but you really need to read it for yourself to understand.

This novel is, in a word, stellar. It is brilliantly funny yet poignant, and I wish I hadn't waited so long to read it.

Guest Post: Lee Wind

Today I am incredibly honored and excited to have Lee Wind of I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read? on the blog! I am a huge fan of Lee's, and I hope those of you who aren't familiar with him will visit his site and take a look around. Basically, Lee offers up his site as a safe haven for people of any and all sexual orientation to talk about YA books with GLBTQ themes. This includes reviews, quotes, poems, and Lee's thoughts on current events pertaining to the GLBTQ community.

I've been a follower of Lee's blog for some time, and I am ever amazed at the important, relevant content he posts. It is a huge source of inspiration to me; I can't imagine how empowering it must be to young people struggling with their identities. I sincerely wish you all take the time to visit his blog and commend him on the incredible work he's doing for today's youth.

When I emailed him a few months ago requesting a guest post, I was hopeful but doubtful. Lee is a busy man, and I am so privileged to host him here at bookmarked today. He suggested we repost his Challenged Book Challenge, and I graciously agreed. While this sort of topic usually comes up in September, I think it is completely relevant today when there are articles such as this one being published. It's very unfortunate that there are people out there attempting to censor such amazing and important literature, but people like Lee remind us that we can gracefully stand up to these bullies and decide for ourselves what to read.

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The ALA releases the Top Ten most frequently challenged books of 2010:

Let's Make It A Reading Challenge!

Every year about this time the American Library Association comes out with their list of the top 10 most challenged books in America. Books that are seen by some as too dangerous to be in library collections. Books that some people not only want to make sure their own children don't read but these people want to make sure no one else's child gets to read them, either.

Often, these are the books that challenge stereotypes. That tell it like it is. That change (and save) lives. Sometimes they're just a good story that contains something controversial, and sometimes they're, well to some people, challenging.

In 2010, once again the #1 most challenged book in America was one of my favorite picture books of all time, "And Tango Makes Three."

But... They're so cute!

What's "dangerous" about this book? By telling the sweet (and true) story of two male penguins who become a couple and then loving parents, "And Tango Makes Three" directly challenges the stereotype that gay men can't find love - that we can't be parents, and if we do somehow become parents, we can't be good parents. Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, with Henry Cole's heart-warming illustrations, have created a story where it's so clear that LOVE is what makes a family - and with the parallel of penguins - readers see that gay love is that same kind of love.

There are other wonderful books on this list of the top ten most challenged books: "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins, a searing novel in verse about a good teen girl's descent into drug addition. Ellen has gotten so much flack about her books in which teens make bad decisions with sometimes horrible consequences - they're riveting and wrenching and so important - because no one who reads "Crank" is going to think, "wow, I gotta try that stuff. It sounds great." Because it doesn't.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, a wonderful, funny, and not-afraid-to-look-at-the-ugly-stuff novel that I talk about in my Smashing Stereotypes workshops all the time as an example of how writers can deal with stereotypes not by ignoring them but by tackling them head-on.

There are popular books like "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins and "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer.

There are queer books, like "And Tango Makes Three" and "Revolutionary Voices."

And even a few books I haven't heard of till now. (Sonya Sones! Your books are awesome, but I haven't read this one... yet.)

So I want to put out a CHALLENGE to you:

Let's read them.

Let's read all ten of these books as our protest to the ridiculous notion that books of literary merit should be pulled from library collections to avoid offending certain people.

Here are the ten titles with the reasons given for challenging each:

Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence

3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit

4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins

Reasons: drugs, offensive language, and sexually explicit

5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence

6. Lush, by Natasha Friend

Reasons: drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

7. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones

Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint

9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie

Reasons: homosexuality and sexually explicit

10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence

Because a book that is challenging shouldn't be challenged - it should be read and discussed.

Namaste,
Lee

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Thanks so much, Lee, for the guest post! I've (ashamedly) only read two of the books on the list. I'll have to remedy that soon!


You can find Lee on his website, Facebook, or on Twitter.

Waiting on Wednesday (28)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

Because of the special feature running this week and next, this edition of WoW lists more than one book, and some have already been released. But just because they're available doesn't mean I'm not still waiting to read them!

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Shine by Lauren Myracle

What books are you waiting on this week? Do any of them have LGBT themes?

The Bermudez Triangle

The Bermudez Triangle
Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Razorbill
Released: October 12, 2004
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 384
Source: Bought

Lifelong best friends Nina, Avery and Mel face their first separation the summer before their senior year, when Nina attends a ten-week summer program at Stanford. But how much can happen in ten weeks?

Plenty, it seems. Nina finds herself blindsided by Steve, the quirky yet adorable ecowarrior down the hall. Too bad he lives in Oregon and she's from upstate New York. When the Stanford program ends, she has to wait 8736 hours before she can see him again. Somehow, even calculating that number doesn't comfort her.

At least she'll soon be reunited with Mel and Avery. But Nina isn't the only one whose life was turned upside down in ten weeks. While Nina was gone, Mel had her first real kiss. With Avery.

Mel knows it's love. But Avery isn't so sure. Is she really gay - or is it that everyone wants to be with Mel?

I'm pretty embarrassed to admit to you, readers, that I have not read a single book by Maureen Johnson until now. I always knew I needed to get to her, but now that I've realized what I've been missing all this time, I am truly ashamed. Not only has Maureen penned eight Young Adult novels, but she has also contributed to several anthologies and is pretty much the queen of Twitter.

Maureen is super funny on Twitter, and I was glad to see her humor translated into her writing. There were a lot of jokes and sarcasm, which worked well with the seriousness of the issues found in this novel. The Bermudez Triangle is very much a coming-of-age story in that it follows Nina, Avery, and Mel through a very pivotal time in their lives. Senior year is a huge milestone in anyone's life, and it was great to see this threesome figure it out both together and individually.

For the first time in their lives, Nina, Avery, and Mel are spending a summer apart. But it's just a summer, right? How much can happen in a summer? A lot, it turns out. Nina returns with an experience that's hard to share with her two best friends. Even harder to share is the new romantic relationship in which Avery and Mel have found themselves. The once close-knit trio now find their friendship unraveling at the seams, unable to reconnect after so much has happened since they've been apart.

The Bermudez Triangle is a great story of friendship and its evolution. Things change and people change, but that doesn't mean friendships have to end. I think this is a very important lesson in life, and this novel captures it perfectly. Each of the three girls are dealing with so much; it was refreshing to see the way they handled it despite their uncertainty and fear.

This novel has been challenged twice due to having "no moral fiber" and "homosexual themes." While it definitely has homosexual themes, I think it has more moral fiber than the majority of books I found in my high school library. Thankfully, in both situations this book was kept on the shelf with restrictions and not banned completely. I sincerely hope Maureen saw an increase in sales after these banners brought more attention to this novel because it is a very important book for LGBT and questioning teens out there.

Let's Get Better Together

On May 31, for the third year in a row, President Obama declared June to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. This celebration month was created to recognize the LGBT community, to educate and spread acceptance, and to fight prejudice and discrimination.While I think this is an issue that should be addressed every day, I am glad our nation's leader has designated an entire month to raise awareness for such an important cause.

In honor of LGBT Month, I'm running a two-week special feature here at bookmarked, called Let's Get Better Together. The name is inspired by the It Gets Better Project, a web project created by Dan Savage in response to the suicides of several gay teenagers who were bullied. What started as a single YouTube video a mere nine months ago has since exploded: there are now more than 10,000 videos uploaded by people from around the world of all sexual orientations, including many celebrities. The project works with The Trevor Project and GLSEN to provide support for young people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning along with their straight allies.

What this means is for the next two weeks there will be reviews, guest posts, and discussions featuring LGBT characters, authors, and issues within the world of YA literature. I hope these posts will encourage you to pick up some of these books (if you haven't already) and see how important they are to today's teens. In a world where people read to relate or escape, there must be books available for everyone to relate to. And for those of us who are straight allies, LGBT books can be a surprisingly great escape.

Please feel free to interact in the comments! I'd love to know what people think, what they're reading, and any personal stories or experiences you'd like to share.

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

Bestest. Ramadan. Ever.

Medeia Sharif

Coming July 8, 2011 - Preorder it below

Indiebound | BN | Amazon | Borders

From Goodreads:

During Ramadan, we're not allowed to eat from sunrise to sunset, for a whole month. My family does this every year, even though I've been to a mosque exactly twice in my fifteen years. My exercise-obsessed mom—whose hotness skipped a generation, sadly—says I could stand to lose a few. But is torture really an acceptable method? I think not.

Things wouldn't be so bad if I had a boyfriend, but my oppressive parents forbid me to date. This is just cruel and wrong. Especially since Peter, a cute and crushable artist, might be my soul mate. Figures my bestest friend Lisa likes him, too.

To top it off, there's a new Muslim girl in school who struts around in super-short skirts, commanding every boy's attention—including Peter's. How can I get him to notice me? And will I ever feel like a typical American girl?

My thoughts:

Last year I read Skunk Girl, loved it, and immediately wished there were more books out there featuring Muslim characters. After searching Goodreads, I found this title and was surprised when I recognized its author. Medeia was actually one of my first followers. I'm so excited her book is almost here so I can finally reciprocate the support she's given me. I'm also looking forward to meeting her at ALA to thank her in person.