Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Jan21

I’m not sure where to start with this YA title, nor where to end. First of all these thoughts from a blogger named Amanda on sex and marriage directly relate to my appreciation or lack thereof for Ms. Ockler’s book, so read what Amanda says first.

Then, I’ll tell you up front that I agree with Amanda. Sex within marriage is a wonderful, blessed thing. Sex outside of marriage is, at the very least, a dangerous and bad idea. With that perspective in mind, it was difficult for me to read about the decisions the girls in the book Twenty Boy Summer make, even though the book portrays accurately a certain mindset and cultural norm that is all too common these days.

To be clear and concise, Anna and her best friend Frankie make a pact to meet at least twenty boys during their summer vacation, “do a little test-drive”, and maybe manage to get rid of the problem of Anna’s virginity in the process. The reasons leading to and surrounding this little challenge are a little complicated, and since those reasons are the best part of the story, I won’t give them away. Suffice it to say that Frankie’s gone wild for a reason, and she’s trying to get Anna to join her. The problem is that these girls have a skewed perspective about sex and love and boys and virginity. Virginity is an albatross that must be consigned to oblivion as quickly as possible. It probably won’t be that pleasant, but it must be done. Then, life, and perhaps good sex, can commence.

One problem I have with the novel is that no one ever expresses an opposing viewpoint. Neither of the girls thinks to look at sex and virginity in a different way. The boys they meet are fairly decent, but definitely place a priority on sex. The girls don’t talk to their parents and in fact, spend the entire summer vacation deceiving Frankie’s parents into thinking they are total innocents. Instead, they’re really sneaking out at night to meet boys on the beach and going to a wild party and visiting San Francisco alone. Not one person over the course of the entire novel tells Anna and Frankie that “having sex permanently alters your relationship with someone: makes you connected to them forever in a really transformative way” and that perhaps virginity is a gift to be guarded and saved until marriage instead of an albatross to be discarded ruthlessly.

In other words, I get it that the way Frankie and Anna think in this book is the way lots of teens in our culture think. I get that they are hurting and longing for any kind of connection, and I don’t want a preachy kind of book where the two girls end up in major trouble because of their bad choices or where they’re lectured by someone older and wiser. But I do wish that somehow an alternate view of sex and commitment could have been presented.

The other half of the book is about friendship and grief recovery, and that part was quite poignant and moving and real. However, the two halves aren’t really halves, and the illicit sex part sort of spoiled the story for me. I’ve been accused of not wanting my (YA) books to have any sex in them at all, but I really don’t think that’s it. I just want the author to be honest. And I don’t think it’s honest or helpful to tell young people that sex is something you’ve got to experience in order to grow up, the sooner the better, and there are no emotional or physical consequences connected with premarital, promiscuous sexual relations.

Not true. Not even in New York or on the beach in California.

Here’s a lovely video at Amazon with the author, Sarah Ockler, telling what she was trying to achieve with Twenty Boy Summer. She talks mostly about the “half” of the book that I liked.

The Best YA You Haven’t Read

Jan21

Kelly of YAnnabe is hosting a blog blitz to highlight our favorite YA titles that need a little more buzz. Check out her round-up of the Best YA You Haven’t Read for bloggers’ lists of books that deserve a second look.

Relatively new, and not as well known as they should be:
Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison. Semicolon review here. “Tory’s rise to fame as a rap/hip hop producer is fraught with temptations and with danger to his reputation and even his life. But Tory’s “moms” is praying for him, and he finds a friend who keeps him grounded.” For those who are looking for more books featuring People of Color, this one ought to be on the radar.

I really didn’t think Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins got nearly enough attention when it came out last January, even though everyone loves Mitali and her blog. Semicolon review here.

Isle of Swords by Thomas Wayne Batson. Semicolon review here. I loved this 2007 pirate adventure, and it has a sequel, Isle of Fire that’s just as good.

The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank. Semicolon review here.

After by Amy Efaw. Semicolon review here.

Oldies but Goodies:
Escape from Egypt by Sonia Levitin. Semicolon review here.
The Faraway Lurs by Harry Behn. Semicolon review here.
A Winter’s Love by Madeleine L’Engle. Semicolon review here.
The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks. One of my favorite YA titles of all time is a basketball book about two boys. And I don’t even like sports. But this book is about so much more than just sports; it’s about friendship and authenticity . . . Well, read it , and tell me what you think it’s about.
The Hawk and the Dove by Penelope Wilcock. This book and its sequels should have sold a million copies, but it’s a quiet little book, not one to jump onto the classic or best-seller list by itself. The books are made up of stories that a mother tells her daughters about a monastery and the monks who live there. All I can say is that’s a deceptively simplistic description, and the book has some profound insights into the meaning of mercy, and vocation, and repentance, and lots of other stuff–not to mention some great, very sticky (as in, will-stick-with-you-for-a-long-time), stories.

Many Happy Returns: January 20th

Jan20

Blair Lent, b.1930. Illustrator of one of our favorites, Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel. Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo! I can say it fast. Can you?

I really believe Tikki TIkki Tembo is one of the best picture books ever. It came in at number 35 in Fuse #8’s Top 100 Picture Book Poll, quite a respectable showing. I found the video of this Weston Woods production at Fuse #8.

Wow, that takes me back to when we used to watch filmstrips in the filmstrip viewer in my school library. Does anybody else remember filmstrips?

Blair Lent died last year (2009) on January 27th, just a few days after his 79th birthday. He won the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations for another Arlene Mosel book, The Funny Little Woman.

Love Story by Erich Segal

Jan19

LONDON — Erich Segal, the Ivy League professor who attained mainstream fame and made millions sob as writer of the novel and movie Love Story, has died of a heart attack, his daughter said Tuesday. He was 72. More . . .

I haven’t thought about Love Story in ages, but I was one of those weepy teens back in the 70’s who came, saw, and cried. I have enjoyed seeing a much older (wiser?) Ryan O’Neal on the TV series Bones.

Many Happy Returns: January 19th

Jan19

poe
Edgar Allan Poe, b. 1809.
Semicolon’s Favorite Poets: Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe: Annabel Lee.
Edgar Allan Poe: Tintinnabulation.
Quoth the Raven.
Tricia reviews Nevermore: A Photobiography of Edgar Allan Poe by Karen Lange.
In which I am stripped of my romantic illusions about the poem Annabel Lee by Someone Who Knows (at Wittingshire).
The Edgar Allan Poe Calendar, a blog celebrating the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe.

I think I like John Astin’s rendition better, but Mr. Jones is not bad.

Quotes of the Week

Jan18

“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti. People might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, uh, you know, Napoleon the third and whatever . . . and they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, ‘We will serve you, if you get us free from the Prince.’ True story. And so the Devil said, ‘Okay, it’s a deal.’ . . . Ever since they have been cursed.” ~Pat Robertson
O.K. I think Pat was wrong about his story and wrong about the way God works. God doesn’t curse a whole country with an earthquake or any other disaster because some evil people got together and did a little voodoo ceremony, if they ever did.
However, I listened to the clip, and Mr. Robertson is obviously concerned for the suffering of the people of Haiti, asking people here to pray and to donate money for relief. Even though his theology and his history are both a bit (a lot?) wonky, he doesn’t deserve the lambasting he’s received from some quarters. See this blog post by David Sessions.
Gene Veith on what really happened with Haiti and Napoleon and why we owe Haiti.

Al Mohler: “Does God hate Haiti? God hates sin, and will punish both individual sinners and nations. But that means that every individual and every nation will be found guilty when measured by the standard of God’s perfect righteousness. God does hate sin, but if God merely hated Haiti, there would be no missionaries there; there would be no aid streaming to the nation; there would be no rescue efforts — there would be no hope. . . . In the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.”

Google reconsiders China: We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.
I don’t know what they mean by finding a basis for cooperation with the Chinese government, but it’s about time Google refused to be stooges for the censors in China.

And the Winners Are . . .

Jan18

Newbery Medal
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Semicolon review here.

Newbery Honor Books:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Semicolon review here.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick.

Caldecott Medal
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.

Caldecott Honor Books:
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon. Illustrated by Marla Frazee.
Red Sings from Treetops by Joyce SIdman. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Sibert Medal
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone.

Sibert Honor Books:
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton. Semicolon review here.
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose.

Printz
Going Bovine by Libba Bray. My thoughts, mostly negative.

Printz Honor Books:
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman.
The Monstrumologist by Richard Yancey.
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp.
Tales from the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance 1973 by John Barnes.

My two favorites, Anything But Typical and Marcelo in the Real World won the Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience. Too bad, but better than nothing, I guess.

Many Happy Returns: January 18th

Jan18

Alan Alexander Milne, b. 1882
The Most Important Book I Read in College and other Milne links.
Favorite Pooh quotes.

Did you know that Milne wrote a parody of Conan Doyle and of Pope called “The Rape of the Sherlock”?

His first book was called Lovers in London, a collection of sketches about a young Englishman and his American sweetheart. Doesn’t that sound sweet? Milne was ashamed of the book and said that he hoped it never came back into print.

He wrote plays and was a good friend of J.M. Barrie, also a playwright.

Dorothy Parker wrote a very critical review of The House at Pooh Corner to which Milne responded that he didn’t write it for Dorothy Parker but rather for the children who loved Pooh. ” . . . no writer of children’s books says gaily to his publisher, ‘Don’t bother about the children, Mrs Parker will love it.'”

Quotes:

Ideas may drift into other minds, but they do not drift my way. I have to go and fetch them. I know no work manual or mental to equal the appalling heart-breaking anguish of fetching an idea from nowhere. (Autobiography, 225)

When I am gone
Let Shepard decorate my tomb
And put (if there is room)
Two pictures on the stone:
Piglet, from page a hundred and eleven
And Pooh and Piglet walking (157)…
And Peter, thinking that they are my own,
Will welcome me to heaven.

Blogs from Haiti

Jan18

Adventures in Life: “Hymns were rising up all around us by groups of people singing praises in the streets, calming themselves with their faith, relying on spiritual strength to hold them up. It did not cover up the wailing. The sirens.”

The Livesay (Haiti) Weblog: “The Haitians say, “kenbe fem” or hold/stand firm. Our prayers in the days ahead are for exactly that. And for those coming to their aid – that they will be able to do the same.”

There Is No Such Thing as a God-Forsaken Town: “Please, please pray. Things are worse than anyone can imagine. Our whole family is fine and our house and school are standing and apparently undamaged. 14 others at our house.”

Ellen in Haiti: “There needs to be a massive aid effort to restore order (I saw random incidents of mass hysteria), feed people, and get clean water to the population. Large refugee camps need to be set up throughout the city and it will be important to have security forces that can restore order, especially as time goes on. There also needs to be a huge effort to evacuate people who were injured by falling debris and concrete.”

Real Hope for Haiti Rescue Center blog.

The Apparent Project: “Haitians pray with hands waving and eyes open, much like the early church “orant” posture for prayer. The hills and streets were alive with waving hands, and above the wailing and weeping, we could hear many people saying “Meci Jezi, Meci Senye” (Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord).”

Buxman Haiti: “Shock can carry you a long way – you feel numb and just function. I keep waking every morning hoping it was just a bad dream. I have a home, water, food.”

Life and Times of the Mangine Many: “Everyone here mourns. The Bible says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” I ultimately trust God and believe his word is truth… but man, right now– there just is no comfort to be found… everyone has lost someone. There is no one here to be the comforters.”

Rollings in Haiti: “The reality is that no one has any answers right now about anything. We don’t know what food supplies will be like in two weeks or even a month. We don’t know how much fuel will be available. Nobody knows much of anything right now.”

Cry Haiti: “Haiti is a country in which so many people had nothing, and yet now, these people have lost everything. The Haitian staff tell me that schools, universities and workplaces have been obliterated. The government buildings have all been damaged or completely destroyed. None of the government ministers can be located. When all is said and done, there will be no return to normal in Haiti.”

Semicolon Book Club: Off to a Slow but Steady Start

Jan17

I’ve been trying to get a book club going, both online and in person, for a couple of years now. Last year I got people committed and chose books for each month, and then stuff happened. January and February went fairly well, and then March got crazy, and in April my dad died. Then sometime in May or June I lost all of the information on my computer, and when I got it back, it didn’t include the email addresses and the list of book club participants. And things went downhill from there.

However, although I may not be consistent, I am persistent. So I’m ready to start over again. If you would like to participate in the Semicolon Book Club, here are the possibilities for 2010. We’ll be discussing the books here at the blog Semicolon on the dates indicated. We also may meet at my house for tea and discussion, if I get any takers who live here in Houston. If you want to read with us, email me (sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom) with your choices for books in the months that have more than one book listed. I’ll tabulate the votes, and get back to you with the final list based on what people choose.

Then, on the dates indicated, I’ll have a post (with Linky) where you can leave comments and links to your thoughts, and where you can read what I have to say about the book of the month. I’m looking forward to it.

January: Nonfictional inspirational
Discussion date: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Esther by Chuck Swindoll. Everyone loves a transforming story. Rags to riches. Plain to beautiful. Weak to strong. Esther’s story is that, and much more. It is a thought-provoking study of God’s invisible hand, writing silently across the pages of human history. Perhaps most of all, it is an account of a godly woman with the courage, wisdom, and strength to block an evil plot, overthrow an arrogant killer, and replace tragedy with joy in thousands of Jewish homes. Through Esther’s courageous struggle to help her people, Swindoll explains the power of divine providence in volume 2 of the best-selling “Great Lives” series. (Publisher’s blurb)

February: Christian classic novels
Discussion date: February 27, 2010
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Graham Greene explores corruption and atonement through a priest and the people he encounters. In the 1930s one Mexican state has outlawed the Church, naming it a source of greed and debauchery. The priests have been rounded up and shot by firing squad–save one, the whisky priest. On the run, and in a blur of alcohol and fear, this outlaw meets a dentist, a banana farmer, and a village woman he knew six years earlier. Always, an adamant lieutenant is only a few hours behind, determined to liberate his country from the evils of the church.
OR
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. This tale of two princesses – one beautiful and one unattractive – and of the struggle between sacred and profane love is Lewis’s reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche and one of his most enduring works.

March: Biography/History
Discussion date: March 27, 2010
Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough. A biography of Teddy Roosevelt.
OR
The Raven by Marquis James. A biography of Sam Houston.
OR
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen.

April: Poetry Month
All poems are about God, love or depression. ~Susan Wise Bauer in The Well-Educated Mind.
Discussion date: May 1, 2010
Paradise Lost by John Milton. “Recommended edition: The Signet Classic paperback, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, edited by Christopher Ricks. (New York: Signet Books, 1968, $7.95) This edition has explanatory footnotes at the bottom of each page. These are extremely helpful since Milton uses archaic expressions and hundreds of obscure classical references.” (SWB, The Well-Trained Mind) Paradise Lost is Milton’s retelling of the story in Genesis 1-3 of the Creation and the Fall.
(We were supposed to read this poem in 2009, but I didn’t do it. This year I am determined.)

May: YA or Children’s award winner
Discussion date: May 29, 2010
Wait and see what books win the Newbery and Printz awards and honor books this year. Announcement is January 18th.

June: Chunky Classics
Discussion date: June 26, 2010
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. “The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, where-in all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver’d by Pyrates. Written by Himself.”
OR
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. Though he was gentle and kind, it was Quasimodo’s crime to have been born hideously deformed. But one day his heart would prove to be a thing of rare beauty. His inspiration was Esmerelda. The victim of a coward’s jealous rage, she is unjustly convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. Her sentence is death by hanging. Only one man can save her–Quasimodo.

July: Just for Fun and Adventure
Discussion date: July 31, 2010
Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton. The novel tells the story of a schoolteacher and his long tenure at Brookfield, a fictional boys’ public boarding school. Mr. Chipping eventually conquers his inability to connect with his students, as well as his initial shyness and becomes an inspirational and much-beloved teacher.
OR
Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson. Barbara Buncle, a spinster in her mid 30s lives in the small and close-knit English village of Silverstream. Finding herself in need of a new source of income, Miss Buncle, passes over the idea of raising chickens or taking in borders and instead writes a novel.

August: Shakespeare play
Discussion date: August 28, 2010
Twelfth Night. (comedy) To be performed at Shakespeare at Winedale in August 2010.
OR
Hamlet (tragedy that we were supposed to read in 2009, but didn’t)

September: Prize winning adult novels
Discussion date: October 2, 2010
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Lyman Ward, a retired history professor and writer, returns to his grandparent’s home in Grass Valley, California – wheelchair bound and facing a progressive, crippling bone disease. His intent is to research his grandmother’s life through the news clippings and letters of her past. To write her story, Ward must fill in gaps, imagine conversations, and uncover the truths which lie hidden in Susan Burling Ward’s history. During this one hot, dry summer in a quest to know his grandmother, he will discover the meaning beneath the shadows of his own life.
OR
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. The book is told in stream of consciousness writing style by 15 different narrators in 59 chapters. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family’s quest—noble or selfish—to honor her wish to be buried in the town of Jefferson.

October: Love to Laugh
Discussion date: October 30, 2010
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. Scoop is a comedy of England’s newspaper business of the 1930s and the story of William Boot, a innocent hick from the country who writes careful essays about the habits of the badger. Through a series of accidents and mistaken identity, Boot is hired as a war correspondent for a Fleet Street newspaper. The uncomprehending Boot is sent to the fictional African country of Ishmaelia to cover an expected revolution. Although he has no idea what he is doing and he can’t understand the incomprehensible telegrams from his London editors, Boot eventually gets the big story.
(Supposed to have been read in October 2009)

November: Love to Think
Discussion date: November 27, 2010
Home Economics by Wendell Berry – A warning against the biases of free market capitalism and an exhortation to home economy.
OR
The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle. “’The Great Emergence’ refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”
OR
Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. Winner, who wrote about her conversion to Christianity in 2002’s acclaimed memoir Girl Meets God, draws on the Orthodox Jewish rituals that shaped her young adult life to rediscover the richness of those customs in her life as a Christian today. Through her personal reflections on 11 spiritual practices, including keeping the Sabbath, prayer, fasting and candle-lighting, Winner illuminates the profound cultural and religious significance of each practice within the Jewish community and modifies those practices to enrich the lives of Christians