Something to Speak For

There are a lot of things that piss me off while simultaneously making me want to cry.

Animal abuse.

Child abuse.

Racism.

Sexism.

And one of my personal I-Despise-This-In-Particular-s:

Censorship.

In North America, every September school boards hold what are basically civilized book burnings, where they pick and choose from On High what books are suitable for our impressionable youth to intake.

This year, one of the targets is Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson.

I don't know why I haven't written about Speak before, but now I have to. People like El Ignoramus, otherwise known as Wesley Scroggins, have to be stood up to, or we will all be reading nothing but Millie Buys a Dress.

Speak is about a girl named Melinda, who is raped the summer before ninth grade. She is so traumatized, she cannot speak. She loses her friends. And she is all alone, trying to deal with something that no-one ever should.

Mr. Scroggins (known from here on as El Ignoramus, or EI) is saying that Speak, with its two sex scenes, is like pornography.

Okay, let's rewind. The sex scenes in Speak are in no way designed to get someone "hot and bothered". They are about RAPE. They are scenes of violation. Abuse.

There is nothing enjoyable about them.

Speak is a voice for all victims of abuse. It has given those who cannot speak a chance to be heard, in a way that they cannot.

Recently, a girl was gang raped by seven young men while up to a dozen people watched. She was drugged, and pictures were taken of the rapes, then plastered all over the Internet.

Girls her age are saying it was her fault, that she was on drugs, that she was willing.

That youth are so horribly ignorant on issues like consent and assault is frightening, and raises important questions about what our generation is being taught about sex. Speak is an important educating tool to talk about these issues, to teach and to learn. Banning it is like putting a gag in every victim's mouth.

Please read Speak. Read it in public, at school, in your home.

Read it sitting in front of the offices of ignoramuses like Scroggins.

Fight back by reading, and learning, and teaching.

Pissed off and sad,

AT/RR

My Name is Amy Stun, and I Read:

JODI PICOULT.

Probably every person in the free world who looks in a newspaper, library, or bookstore has heard of Jodi Picoult, most likely for her hit book My Sister's Keeper. And the thing is, her books are fairly complex. There are twists, betrayals, secrets, and double-crossings quite frequently. She has (to this intrepid reporter's view) captured the legal system almost perfectly and deftly maneuvers telling the story from multiple points of view.

That being said, Picoult is definitely not a perfect writer. Sometimes, her "subtle" hints can be annoying, as with the her sometimes cloyingly detailed descriptions of emotions. One has to wonder occasionally at character's vivid descriptions of their feelings, pasts, presents, and futures - they don't seem like realistic representations of what people would actually do. However, Picoult always delivers an engrossing, long, and generally satisfying read ideal for planes, road trips, and weekends away or at home. And in this world of Bestsellers and Literature, Picoult delivers smart, interesting Bestsellers.

MY FAVOURITE JODI PICOULT BOOKS

1. Salem Falls

Modern-day retelling of The Crucible. Always a good read. Full of creepy teenage girls and secrets. FUN!

2. Plain Truth

Dead baby. Teenage mother. Amish farm. Seriously insane plot. It's got two of my favourite things in crime books: teen mothers, and minorities. Both people who have complicated stories and points-of-view.

3. My Sister's Keeper

NOT A FEEL GOOD BOOK. I cry so much reading this book I get dehydrated. No joke.

4. The Tenth Circle

Again, not so much a feel good read. But interesting in its portrayal of Inuit traditions and teen sexuality.

Pick one up for a weekend, chickie poos. You won't regret it.

xoxo AT/RR