Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

*Raises hand* Pick me, pick me. 

I have read all of Hopkins’ books, and love them with all my heart and soul, but they were the property of the Houston Public Library.  The library of Hannah doesn’t have any of her works ... but needs one.

Ellen Hopkins attends the Teen Book Festival here in Rochester, N.Y., every year and she is one of the BEST. The Humble, Tex., Teen Lit. Fest is really missing out by uninviting this extraordinary author. “Crank” is still one of my favorite YA books, and “Tricks” is in my queue of books to read.

I’ve never read her, but now I’m intrigued. I think I would both read the book AND donate it to my (awesome) local library after I was done with it. Or, if they already have enough copies, I could lurk creepily by the local high school in a black trench coat and surreptitiously hand it to some kid walking out.

This made me so angry. There was NO reason to do that. I’m sure there are plenty of teens there who would have loved the chance to meet Ellen. Her books have helped so many people.

Censorship DOES blow.

I’ve long meant to pick up Crank to read myself and then pass on to my daughter, hearing all this crap has just made me determined to get it sooner rather than later.

*grumbls some more*

It is terrifying that censorship still exists in it’s most ugly and uninformed states. People making decisions on books they have neither read nor discussed with their peers. Very foolish and I agree, I wish the publisher would air lift in enough copies of her books to blanket the whole town of Humble! Wall paper that fools office with the pages!

In the mean time love the giveaway…if I win a copy it’s going to a local library!

SPAM WORD: Together42

I know there is something witty to say there…but I am just to irritated to think of it!

I have 5 Ellen Hopkins books sitting on my physical TBR at home, I will definitely have to read them and review them in honor of fighting censorship. I do follow her on twitter, and she is awesome. It really bothers me that she would be disinvited from this book festival. Really uncool, Texas, really uncool.

I’d love to see Ellen’s books everywhere.  If I get a copy, I’ll either donate it to our local library, or if they already have it (they might), I will send it to a teenager I know who is smart and—gasp!—unafraid of intelligent books about serious matters.

If it’s not too much trouble, could you let me know on Twitter if I get picked? Twitter name is AudryT.  I enter contests, and then I forget to check them… O_o (Hazards of a busy life.)

I’m sending him a letter now. This is ridiculous. I feel for Ms. Hopkins and for all her fans in Texas who won’t get the opportunity to meet with and speak to her. The people involved should be ashamed.

I read the front cover, and what’s the issue.  Most YA know that stuff already.  Those kind of books have always been around.  AND these kids read about this stuff on the internet, TV and other places.  Read it with your child and discuss it.  The principal should have taken the time to review the book before making the decision.  Or asked the hard questions of the librarian and the parents.

Ellen Hopkins is a talented and important writer of modern YA fiction. Her books are powerful and artistic studies of issues that profoundly affect many teens. They are important reads, both for teens who deal with issues like drug use and sex abuse and also with teens whose lives have been touched by families and friends who deal with. And also by teens who have no personal experience like that at all.

As a teenager, I often used novels to explore issues that I was curious about but were outside the realm of my experience. Reading about a girl dealing with drug addiction was a completely safe way for me to learn.

I have also heard Hopkins is an excellent speaker and presenter.

I feel bad for the teens who will be missing out not only on Hopkins’ presentation, but also on the presentation of the other authors, and for the librarians and organizers who are dealing with the backlash after trying to create a marvelous event for their community.

I’ll be more than glad to donate it to the local library… or if they already have it & don’t need/want another copy, I will find another library who needs/wants it.

(of course, I’ll gently read it first.)

Not only does censorship infuriate me, but when such a dedicated author such as Ellen Hopkins is placed into the fire it really perturbs me. The youth of today should be entitled to read material which will better their judgement, and help them have a greater understanding of the world around them. By censoring books we are certainly denying them of their rights as growing citizens. To teach our children that censorship is acceptable is a horrifying mentality in my opinion. I will try to do my best spread the word on this matter, and I will personally try and get many others involved. Thank you for placing this issue in the forefront where it belongs.

I love Ellen Hopkin’s books! I’m outraged and if I were her I’d be on a rampage! I can’t believe it, I’m sure plenty of people were looking forward to seeing her there. I know I’d do anythign to meet her. She’s an amazing, true author.

That is absolutely ridiculous! I’m outraged!  Hopkins’ books are the only books my husband reads cover to cover.  Amazingly enough (even though we live in a small town), Ellen Hopkins visited our library and since I work at the reference desk, we got to go to dinner with her!  She signed all his copies but would use this copy to donate to our library :)

Wow. That is whack ladies. Those people should also on the same note not be allowing their kids on the net and certainly not watch the tv, and yeah they should blank out the radio, because bad stuff is everywhere.
I have read Crank, Glass and Burned, and discussed them with my teen daughter when she was reading them. It is very sad that the people in Texas are not going to see Ellen. I would read this book and pass it on to my library, because that is where I have checked out her other books that I read. There are also several other of her books at my daughter’ school. Maybe if more adults would read these books, we could notice more signs when kids are having problems, instead of pushing out the authors who write them.
Good job ladies!

I just sent this letter to Mr. Sconzo:

I am saddened to hear about the quick and unjust decision made to uninvite Ms. Ellen Hopkins from your Teen Lit Fest.
It is not to late to make amends, and would certainly show the teen population that it okay to make poor, rash decisions – providing you apologize, change your ways, and make amends. Just like in Ms. Hopkins’s books, and others of that type, which show humans being, well…human. We are flawed. We make mistakes. But a good author, one with a conscience, can show all this to the reader and help pull the reader to the light. But if the darkness isn’t shown – then the light has no purpose. If there is no truth in literature, why would we want to read it? Sometimes that truth is gritty, hard to write about, hard to read about, but even worse to live it.  Thank God for those writers who do dare take something like that on, and who help provide a perspective that can sometimes make a real difference in people’s lives.  I truly hope that you see the error of what this decision has done and re-invite her to attend.

Since it’s Texas, this doesn’t surprise me. And nothing against Texas, my mom lives there, I used to live there and loved it. But extreme right-wingers have control there. Did you know they’re currently in the process of rewriting the history textbooks that will be used in their public schools? Yeppers. They’re rewriting history to better suit their right-wing agenda. One of the things they’re doing is replacing Alexander Hamilton with a religious figure of the time because Hamilton was such a controversial figure. There’s tons more andit’s infuriating. The New York Times carried an article about it just the other day. I recommend everyone who’s interested look it up and see what’s going on down in cowboy country. It’s a real eye-opener

I have a teenaged son who reads any and everything he can get his hands on, especially books he’s interested in like SF/F, YA, and paranormal.  Most of the time, I read the books first and then hand them over to him.  Now that he’s older, that doesn’t always happen.

We were at the Niles public library and he brought a book back from the stacks and asked if I’d read it.  It was Ellen Hopkins CRANK and I told him that I hadn’t yet but I’d heard good things about it.  He smiled, put it in his to-be-checked-out stacks and returned to the graphic novels. 

Jumping to the end of this narrative, he checked it out, read it and loved it.  He asked some questions too and OMG isn’t that the whole point?  Not laying out a road map for kids to go out and emulate bad behavior but to start a dialogue with them about things they might not understand?

I’m so upset on behalf of Ms. Hopkins that it’s not even funny.  I believe I might know of a suitable outlet for all this frustration and anger (no cussing, I promise) and his email is already listed.

Wow, that makes me sick. The fact that he admitted that he relied on someone else to… well. I emailed him. Here is what I said! BTW - I haven’t ever heard of this author or her books but they sound great. I am more disgusted with his actions. I hope he issues an apology and makes things right. You never know.

Title: Disappointed
I was really disappointed to read about how you dis-invited Ellen Hopkins to the 2011 celebration.  Relying on someone else to make your decisions and censor novels and authors is a shabby thing to do. I can only hope that you can look at your actions and make things right.

Kristi Davis

Lemme get this straight. In order to not offend the delicate sensibilities of a few, the pleasure of Ms. Hopkins is being denied to everyone? That’s fucked up.

Here’s a thought, if you’re not a fan of Ms. Hopkins’ work (I think you’re a twit to not seize on the opportunity to discuss these very real issues with your children.), don’t attend the event.

I don’t go to church. I believe that many of them are bad influences. But you don’t see me demanding that churches be shut down. I simply don’t go.

(Captcha word? Start86. Yeah, I’ll start 86-ing those who believe that censorship is okay.)

Screw commenting - somebody please send out PRESS RELEASES!

Nothing like the bright spotlight of public exposure to make bullies scurry back into the crevices.

I’d say pick me, but I kind of want to go buy a copy or 12 now. And maybe ship them to Texas. But thank you for the rant. You said everything that was in my head, just more eloquently and with far fewer expletives.

PK, you put it so well!  Books that talk about tough subjects are meant to open dialogues with teens and kids.  And how fantastic that your son does so!

I’ve never read any of her books and had her books on my radar.

I’m not entirely surprised about censorship (afterall, there is a banned books list, right?), but I am about how blatant and unashamed he is about it.

If won, I would definately donate to my library…

Wow. I can’t believe they’d go so far as to disinvite her just because a few overly-cautious/controlling people thought her books aren’t “appropriate”. Not a fan of her books? So what? That doesn’t mean the teens who ARE fans wouldn’t like to hear her speak.

I share your rage. My sister-in-law is a high school librarian at an underfunded city school and she will be very grateful for the donation if the book should happen to come my way. And if it doesn’t, I may just buy Ms. Hopkins’ entire list and donate it.

This is just unbelievable. I live about 10 mins away from Humble and was looking forward to this festival. I will no longer attend.

I think they handled this very wrong. I hope they get such a large amount of protest and emails, so they can realized they handle this like a child and not a Adult.

Well, will have to look into these books for my oldest now. I don’t get some people. What makes them think they have the right to decide what others should and shouldn’t read? Drives me insane. If that one person doesn’t like the books, fine, no one’s making her read them, but to deprive others of the opportunity? It’s taking things too far.

In other words, I’ll echo everyone else. Censorship SUCKS!

I did a quick check of Orange County (FL) Public Library and all of Hopkins’ books are available in bound form—and many in electronic formats. “Available” is perhaps heady, as all 14 copies of CRANK were checked out and a waiting list is forming.

Censorship is cowardice. 

It’s also self-defeating and , as Chris Crutcher says, the best advertisement for a book ever.  Every time one of his titles is censored, his sales skyrocket, because everyone wants to know why.

As a parent of a seven year old I can tell you that tv and movies make it really hard to let kids just be kids. Having a book that discusses issues parents don’t or won’t is a must. Or hey maybe they can watch tv and think that happily ever after endings are real life. TV and movies expose kids to unrealistic views of drugs and sex at an increasingly earlier age. Someone needs to show the true side of the story.

Censorship is never pretty, and when no research is used to justify it then it becomes a joke. If the guy had been able to articulate why he didn’t feel the book was right I could respect him. Disagree with him but respect him. But to base his judgment on the opinions of others is stupid and dangers. You have brain use it!

Okay….that’s just my 2 cents.

Maria

censorship just makes me so angry.

This is seriously infuriating. Ms. Hopkins is an AUTHOR, not a serial killer.  What are people afraid of?  She might influence kids to what…read?  Write? Learn? Develop an imagination?

And if kids are reading her books, the fact is…they’re READING.

My parents didn’t censor my reading material—ever.  I grew up reading Stephen King and other horror authors.  I didn’t grow up to become an ax murderer, a prostitute, a drug addict.  I didn’t go through any of the things parents worry about, like teenage pregnancy. In fact, I didn’t marry until my late twenties, didn’t have a baby until I was almost 30.

I learned so much from books, even though they were fiction.  Very adult fiction. What I read took me out of the small, isolated town I grew up in. Reading engaged my imagination, taught me reading and writing skills, taught me lessons I still think on today. (As an added bonus, I know exactly how to kill vampires and zombies, and you never know when that’ll come in handy!)

My reading material contained violence, drug use, and, gasp, sex. And I grew up to serve in the military, become a meteorologist, and become an author myself, because the written word captivated me, and authors inspired me.

I’m SO writing a letter to Mr. Sconzo. And I’m going to tell him exactly what I said here. (Minus the vampire/zombie thing…)

I’d remind the principal that the teens are a time when children are naturally curious, confused and on edge.  Literature is a safe way for them to explore the scary things in their world—sexuality, dark feelings, constant temptations to explore the forbidden and a society that seems to push them to both grow up fast and yet stay a child.  A teen lit festival that showcases fun, silly reads and sensitive, deep reads can appeal to both the child and the adult in teens.  They need to be exposed in a safe way—through books—to the scary and potentially distructive things that they’ll encounter.  And they WILL encounter these things no matter how we wish they wouldn’t have to.  They need to have fun escape tales to spark their imagination.  Providing a broad platform for all kinds of literature is extremely important.  I urge you to reconsider your ban on Ms Hopkins’ books.  Children need to encounter the problems she discusses in the safe environment of a book so that they can think about these things and discuss them and their feelings with trusted adults like their teachers, their parents, their ministers.

(If I were to win, please donate my book to Teresa Stevens’ sister-in-law’s underfunded city school.)

This kind of thing makes me really sad. Having a book deal with such subject matter is a prime opportunity for parents and teens to openly discuss drug abuse. I’m constanly surprised at the ignorance that is out there all in the name of protecting our children. I’ve not read the books, but you can bet I’ll pick it up when I can.

Ironically, one of my upcoming books has a subplot dealing with censorship…it gets my heroine in a bit of trouble. Had to chuckle when I saw this happened in Texas…where my story is set. I’d wondered about plausibility. Now I know.

Very sad.

It seems like the sponsors of this festival should hear the outrage, too. A quick mcgoogle reveals they are the Humble Education Foundation and Kingwood Speech and Pathology. It’s been a long time since I lived in the Houston area, but I have a very hard time believing it’s changed enough that speech and education groups wouldn’t jump for joy at kids reading anything that engages their interest. They might not be so thrilled that authors are dropping out. Given Sconzo’s response thus far, I don’t believe he’ll pass along what the sponsors ought to hear. If the HISD Education Foundation, which claims on its website to “[inspire] minds beyond the books,” hears the opinions of outraged parents and authors, perhaps they’ll withdraw support. Ditto to KSP.

This is so aggravating!!  This isn’t even censoring books- this is censoring a person sharing your space!!  *Shakes fist at the morons of the universe*  I’m definitely writing the superintendent an e-mail to let him know that the whole world can see his censorship and the world DISAPPROVES.

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to censor what their child reads (except for books advocating hate or maybe something written way above their age group). But I truly can’t imagine trying to censor what OTHER people’s children read. I will write Mr. Sconzo.

I read Crank. It’s an excellent book, and one that reaches teenagers. At the time, I was working in a high school special ed class for kids with severe behavioral and/or emotional disabilities, and I borrowed the book from one of my students.

The girl I borrowed it from, a junior at the time, had NEVER been able to read a book cover to cover without a teacher’s guidance; she didn’t have the attention capabilities. She had NEVER chosen a book for pleasure reading. And yet she picked up Crank on the school librarian’s recommendation, read it cover to cover, and told us that reading it had made her reconsider some of her “partying” behavior.

So yeah… Humble, Texas’s superintendent and the librarian that canceled the appearance need a heaping helping of humble pie.

Captcha: neither93… Neither the librarian nor the superintendent apparently recognize the contribution Ellen Hopkins has made in the YA world. And that’s a shame.

First off I am shocked by the Censorship shown by the librarians. I will admit there are books out there that I would hope that any child I have contact with would not read without some adult guidance (i.e. some adult who will discuss with them what the book was about) but in that they serve a purpose.

I remember reading “Go Ask Alice” as a teenager and seeing “Blue Lagoon” then as well as “Foxes”,  all these things could have been Censored (and I think they were) but instead they served as something that I read and my mom read and talked with me about (yeah she tried to be cool…It did not work, but I appreciated it later). Thing is “Don’t stop teens from reading something, but be willing to read it yourself and talk to them about it. Who knows what they might tell you.”

When I was 19, my college was the first in our city to put on a production of The Vagina Monologues.  I was excited to take part, as it’s a very female- and sex-positive show, and the proceeds were to go to a local organization that aids rape survivors.

One week before opening, our posters were ripped down.  Because God forbid anyone learn that women are strong and powerful and awesome and it’s NOT OKAY to disrespect them.

All it did was get us a sold-out show, and we brought the house down.

The point?  Censorship blows, and it is always, always, always carried out by the uninformed.  Hooray for Ms. Hopkins for writing life-changing books for teens, and for the other authors withdrawing in support.

If any Humble teens are reading this?  Get your hands on her books!

sun29: The sun’ll come out when censorship ends!

I wrote a reprimand to Mr. Sconzo (whose name sounds like scuzzball, fyi).  For someone who is supposed to be looking out for the education and well-being of young adults, he sure is going out of his way to stifle information and education in a safe space.

Pick me! And yay for trying to create fun out of the censorship.

It’s Texas - the same state that just kicked Thomas Jefferson out of the history curriculum and replaced him with John Calvert.  There are plenty of sane normal people in Texas, but it’s currently being taken over by extreme right wing religious nuts.  I’m surprised they didn’t gather in a circle and burn her at the stake.

Is…is this Footloose?  Are we living in a Kevin Bacon movie?  Will John Lithgow preside over the book burning?  I am assuming the book burning comes next, right?

A few years ago I did a paper on censorship and learned of how horrible it is. Ever since then I have not been able to hear the word censor without going off on some sort of rampage. lol. I’m a teenagers and personally most of the stuff in real life is just as bad if not worse than what are in books. Books teach you the effects and consequences of things such as sex and drugs in a way teachers and parents never can. They are way more helpful than harmful.

you also have to wonder at what the parents who complained about ms. hopkins books, read themselves. i bet their choice of books is worse then what their kids read. what good does censorship actually do, people would be more interested in the censored books, movies, etc. because they were censored to begin with. the superintendent should have used his brain for reading her books instead of listening to closeminded people. the kids will learn from some other source but will it be a good source like ms. hopkins or from a bad source. i haven’t read her books but i think i will give them a try.

Argh! As a future librarian (and former/current library employee) the thing that pisses me off the most about all this? Is that it was started by a librarian. I mean, come on! I’m also willing to bet, dollars to donuts, the parents she rounded up to go complain had likely never read the books themselves either, merely objecting on what they were told. Bah.

That said, I’m no longer considered ‘young adult’, I guess, but I still read lots of YA fiction, meaning now I’m tempted to go see if my local library has Hopkins’ books—and if they don’t, to ask them to please get them, because they sound like books a lot of teens I know might love to have access to.

I didn’t send an email to the superintendent, but I did send an email with a link to the Librarified blog to my aunt who is a librarian in TX, offering to donate Ellen Hopkins books to her library. I hope it helps spread the good word.

To quote Oscar Wilde, “There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.”

Completely aside from parenting, everything I learned that got me through the worst of my own teenage years came from books, when it didn’t come from experience. I love books, and turn to them always to get me through tough times, and the very idea that there’s an author who not only writes about issues, but wants to talk about them, and has been shot down for that, makes me furious.

I can only be grateful that Ms. Hopkins has found as much support as she has, and hope that someone gets through the thick skulls of these people that acknowledging the issues facing teens doesn’t make them happen, and in fact, can prevent them.

So, I hope I don’t offend anyone who is currently living in that area of Texas, but I was born in Houston and grew up in a little town near Humble, called Splendora. (It’s grown some.) I can honestly say many towns just like these are digging themselves into a hole because they censor people/events/art/etc. or do other things to block out new ideas, while simultaneously facing the exact issues being discussed! I love Texas and still consider it Home, but honestly, in little towns all over America teens and children are facing ugly, terrible things like meth and other drug use, teen pregnancy and sexual health concerns, extreme social issues like depression and suicide, etc etc.

We have to stop it!!
And the only way to truly make children want to stop it is not to punish, censor and humiliate them, but to make them believe there are better ways of life.

I can’t think of any way to do this better than through a book.

I haven’t read this author’s work, but as a 20 year old, memories of my teen years are still fresh, and I could sympathize with the struggles those characters might go through.

I am very saddened by the news of this censorship, because it reminds me of friends and peers I’ve known who dealt with addictions, etc. One even died. Who knows what might have happened if they read a book about it before going down that path?

I bought Crank for my daughter’s 14th birthday last month and she seems to have made it through in one piece, without becoming a degenerate or anything!  Gosh!

I just checked and my public library has 14 different Ellen Hopkins YA books including audio formats, and the new one is on order. 

Kudos to the authors and librarians who are fighting the good fight against censorship.  I’m much more worried about the material our young people don’t have access to—like sound information on human sexuality—than that which they can access.

I get on my knees and thank God every time I see my teenage son reading anything between two covers.  There’s nothing I’d keep him from reading and as he is coming of age in a different time from when I did, I figure there’s much I can learn from him and his views of any reading material out there.  I’d love to win the copy, but if not, I’m making it my mission to go get all her books and stock them in my own personal library right away.  What in heaven’s name are people so damned worried about their kids finding out????

Thanks for keeping us aware that censorship is alive and well.  I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, when so many people would silence those who have viewpoints different than their own, rather than listen and contemplate the possibility that they themselves might need to reconsider.

I have read most of her books and think this controversy issue is just dumb. She is a brilliant writer who has inspired countless teens to refrain from substance abuse. Her book Flirting with the Monster teaches all the negative side effects. Don’t censor the messenger, Ellen Hopkins is just telling it like it is. Her writing style is unique and out there she deserves to stay at any teen literature conference.

Must go look up that author and make sure we have some in the libraries in Dublin City, I’m sure the children’s buyer would like to have a few.

What?  You’re telling me I can’t read something Ms. Librarian?  Guess what the first book I’m buying when I hit B&N next?  Yeah!

As soon as I heard this author was dealing with censorship, I thought to myself, “Her book must be good and worth reading. I shall read it.”

As someone who also lives in Houston suburb…

I can’t say I’m surprised. Google TX Board of Education, I’ll wait.

Yup, that’s the shit we have to put up with down here. The literate, the logical, those who think the world isn’t flat - our children suffer. We suffer.

I swear to you I quiz my child every couple of months or so about what he’s being taught. There are certain words I’ve told him that he is tell me about immediately if he hears them in school.

I am friends with Ph.D & scientists down here, we are doing what we can. We know we are fighting the good fight, but some days all it does is make me want to cry.

//This is the email that I sent to Superintenden Scunzo.  Police33?  Sounds more like Fahrenheit 451 to me.//

I’m certain that by now you have been overwhelmed with emails, letters, phone calls, and the like from people either praising or condemning your decision to uninvite author Ellen Hopkins.  I know that I will probably be lost in the avalanche, but I still wanted to put in my two cents nonetheless.

First, some particulars about me.  I am a dedicated reader and have been since I was barely 4 years old, thanks to parents who took the time to read to me.  I have worked as a volunteer in libraries since I was in high school.  I am a former bookseller.  I have never read Ms. Hopkins’ works, but have met many teens and parents who have.  And more importantly of all, I abhor censorship and banning of books and/or authors.

I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with parents and teachers who highly recommend Ms. Hopkins’ books to their teens and pre-teens.  Why?  Because the books don’t glamorize the subject matter, whether it is drug use or sex.  Perhaps you might consider doing your own research rather than simply relying on one person’s own prejudices.  If, once you read the books, you still believed that they were somehow dangerous for the teens attending your event, you could have had an opposing viewpoint for a balanced and intelligent discussion.

It seems that whenever I hear of censorship nowadays it comes out of Texas.  Frankly, that makes me embarrassed to be of Texas pioneer stock.  My family was one of the first to live in the Grapevine area.  My Great Aunt’s family farm is actually part of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.  These were people who believed in making their own decisions.  It appears that this independence of thought and opinion has faded away.  A great pity and not the way to advertise your town.

At this time my hope is either that you come to your senses and reinvite Ms. Hopkins and thereby restoring your standing as an educator or, if you’re unwilling to reconsider your actions, that all the authors who were invited will decline to appear, just as Matt de la Pena and Tera Lynn Childs have done.

Lizabeth S. Tucker

ACK! And they let that Twilight crap go uncensored? Hello? It’s okay for our kids to read about vampires? but not things that really happen. stupid. I’ll buy the darn books myself for my daughter, but you could pick me for this one please ??? :)

okay, after85, I’m not THAT old yet ;)

Banning books always seem such a misguided thing to do, what with the internet and all.  Banning a book just brings the book to the consciousness of the people, be it adults/parents or kids.  So, who loses out really?  Only the kids who rely on their school or public libraries for books; all others will just buy them online or in stores.

Besides, given what’s going on in pop culture (TV, movies, games), I don’t think any book can be so subversive.  How many kids shoot up their peers after reading a book?  Even “Catcher in the Rye”?  I’m not saying that books don’t affect readers.  After I read Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in 7th grade, I thought they were the stupidest teens in literature and I would never be that stupid when I was their age; no killing myself over a boy for me.  Now, I personally wouldn’t buy neither of the Ellen Hopkins books mentioned because they are not the type of books I generally prefer to read (although I may check them out the next time I’m at the bookstore).  However, that doesn’t mean that I would not want others to read them if they are so inclined.

This makes me sad for the children of Humble, TX.  My parents had very strong opinions on censorship, allowing me to read whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.  All children should have that right.

Now, now, there has to be someplace where narrow-minded, bigoted people can raise their 2.2 tow-headed kids in abstinence-only peace. 

Bravo to the other authors for not standing for this insult.

My parents actually discussed things with me. I was allowed to be curious and learn. If they felt things were inappropriate for me they explained why I needed to wait until I was older. I don’t think they ever censored a book. They thought it was great that I wanted to read and learn and hated it when others wanted to tell them how to parent me. Glad I had them!

Censorship, what a useless endeavor. Growing up, I went through a stage when I deliberately sought and read every banned book I ever heard.

Of her books, the only one I’ve read is Crank. And yes, it is some crazy serious subject matter. I’d love to say that kids these days don’t need to read a book like that, don’t need to learn about that sort of thing. But that would require a massive amount of self-delusion. Kids get hooked onto drugs. They are young and impressionable and drugs are “cool.” We need authors to tell it like it is. We need someone to show the disgusting, life-destroying truth in gritty, dirty words. We have to rip off the “cool” veneer and expose the druggie life for what it is. Kudos to Ellen Hopkins for writing about this subject. And shame on Guy Sconzo for not seeing the truth of that. I hate hate hate adults who think that hiding the bad things of life from kids will somehow protect them. That is wrong and just plain asinine. I hope Mr. Sconzo reinvites Ms. Hopkins and sends her a profound apology.

It’s so frustrating - and pointless too because surely the publicity makes the school look silly and raises more awareness of the books.

When I was 10, I borrowed Jaws from the school library - thinking I could snap it shut when things got too tense! My teacher didn’t think I should read it - not because the shark would give me nightmares, but because there was a scene of a woman changing her tampon. He spoke to my mother about whether I should read it. She said words to the effect: If she wants to read it, let her. If she finishes it, good luck to her.

So I read it, scared myself silly, got nightmares about sharks and skimmed over the toilet scene because it was boring!

Thank you mum for giving me the freedom to choose what to read.

Oh sure, the best way to deal with difficult issues is to pretend they don’t exist. Kids won’t find out about them another way than in books. [/sarcasm]

It’s not like people could talk to their kids about what they’re reading and how it affects them using books as a starting point.

That’s too hard.

That’s why we should be emailing Mr. Sconzo our thanks; he has taken the prerogative out of the hands of parents because they don’t need to read it for themselves or make their own opinions.

He’s got their backs, along with their eyes and ears.

I can’t praise Ellen Hopkins and her books nearly enough. My 23yo son was never much of a reader unless it was car repair manuals or books like “Rewiring Your House” and “Building Your Own Garage.” That was until he found a copy of Crank in a motel room while he was traveling for work. He started reading just for something to do, but quickly devoured it—and then bought every book of hers he could find at the local Barnes and Noble. When he passed them on to me, he gave them his highest praise, “They’re so good, they’re like Jolly Ranchers.” (He’s a JR addict.)

And they are. They are gritty and real—and yes, disturbing at times—but so is life. These books don’t pretend life is always perfect and rosy, and they don’t pretend teenagers are too young, too stupid, or too innocent to know what’s happening around them. That is exactly why they are so powerful and so important.

As a Texas librarian, I’m peeved at the Texas librarians who are making us all look bad. Then again, I haven’t been all that pleased with the things some of our local school libraries have been doing, like banning an entire series, one that kids had even asked to have included in the school library.

I’m adding “Crank” to my list of books to read during “Read Banned Books Month.”

Okay, this stinks like a wet dog rummaging through a week’s worth of garbage. The only thing I can add is human nature dictates that as soon as something (or someone) is declared off-limits, that only makes said banned person or object more desirable. Ellen will get her paybacks, I’m certain of it. In fact, I’ll be very disappointed if she doesn’t. What a crappy and rude thing to do to an invited, and then uninvited, guest!

There are so many losers in this situation- the fans of Ms. Hopkins lose out on meeting her, the fans of other authors who would have attended this event lose out on meeting them, potential fans of ANY of these authors lose out, and frankly, the people who no doubt have put or will put a ton of energy into planning this event will lose out.  I have not heard a scrap of information about this event that’s not connected to this debacle in some way.  What a bummer for those people too.  I guess it shows how one act or situation like this can have really dramatic consequences.  Plus, situations like this seem to always result in more people wanting to read the books in question to see what all the fuss is about- I’m not sure how Mr. Sconzo figured that uninviting Ms. Hopkins to the festival would somehow keep her books out of peoples’ hands. 

Also, can I ask a stupid question? If these books are so controversial, why wasn’t this explored BEFORE invitations went out to authors? It seems like kind of bad form to be doing this sort of stuff after folks have already confirmed they’d attend an event.  Why didn’t the person who voiced a complaint do so earlier?

I was not born in Texas, but I did a lot of my growing up there.  And I lived the longest in Midland, TX (yes, the same town that the Bush family hails from).  Let me tell you, not all librarians and school administrators in Texas are this freakin’ cowardly.  You know what books I read out of my junior high library - the Clan of the Cave Bear series.  Seriously, a YA book about sex or drugs might be considered “graphic” to some, but I don’t think my 13-year-old brain has quite recovered from the things that Jondelar’s penis did to Ayla!!  I’m sure they considered it anthropological, but those books were far more graphic than many of the first romances my mother gave me to read. 

My interpretation of the above situation is that the librarian was extremely calculated in her actions.  She went to the parents before she went to school administration.  This does not excuse Mr. Sconzo’s actions, but nothing makes a superintendent or principal yank or add anything to a school sponsored event faster than angry parents.  I mean, at Midland High School, we still prayed publicly on the loud speaker before football games because religious parents were pissed that we said the Pledge of Allegiance during homeroom but didn’t say the Lord’s Prayer!  All the arguments about the separation of Church and State fell on deaf ears, and so this was considered the acceptable compromise.  Not that that stopped these same parents from bringing it up again at EVERY school board meeting. 

When are people going to learn that it is not the books, the TV, the movies, the video games, etc. that will harm your children, but it is the censorship of them and the refusal to talk about an questionable content that leads children to harm?  I did not drink, have sex, or try drugs like most of my friends in junior high and high school because my parents always talked to me frankly about what these things are, what they mean for one’s life, what their expectations of me were, and did not censor my access to knowledge about them.  If I had question, then I could ask them - no matter how uncomfortable we both might be.  If I had concerns, then I could voice them.  If I needed help because my friend got too drunk to drive me home or a boy tried to do something I didn’t like, then I could call them anytime and from anywhere.  My parents were not my friends; they were my parents, but they also respected me and the good job they did raising me.  For this reason, I did not, like many of the people I know from Texas, end up addicted to Meth, or pregnant at 16 and thrown out of the house, or trying to run away because some boy I met on a school trip told me he “loved” me, or married to the first boy who asked just so I could get out of Midland, Texas.  Censorship causes far more harm than good, and I’m very glad to see that other authors are now withdrawing in support for this even because the worst thing we can do is let this keep happening.  I’m sorry the kids have to suffer for it, but in reality, they already were based upon the asinine behavior of those in whom they should be able to trust.

I started college as a Library Science major. I switched out, but have never lost sight of the motto on our anti-censorship fundraising t-shirts. “In a world of so many views, who has the right to choose?”

The individual, that’s who. Someone should be allowed to make choices for themselves. I was limited by my parents in what I read as a kid, mostly for my own preservation (and really, wanting to read Stephen King at age 10 is a little young, even having waited til I was 12. I will make a different decision for my kids, you better believe it), but it wasn’t out of ignorance, and we always talked about it. I didn’t drink, do drugs, or get into bad situations growing up because my parents educated me well, and listened to me when I needed to know something. It makes me fear for kids today, when I think that process isn’t happening anymore.

As a book reviewer, avid reader, and a library employee, the idea of censorship literally makes me sick. I know reading helped shape who I am today, and without tooting my own horn a little too much.. I’m a pretty damn good person. When I was a teenager, my Mom would let me read books she knew were too old for me, but they started some amazing discussions. I learned a lot from the books I read, and from being able to speak to my mother about the issues that came up in the novels. Not only did this help me mature, but it also made me closer to my mother. If only this practice was possible for other teens.

If I were to win, I’d love to read and review the book on my blog, and get the word out about censorship. Censorship helps no one. If a parent is so upset over the issues in a book, read it with your child and talk to them afterwards. Ignoring the issues just makes it worse.

As a librarian in a small-town Texas library, who just put Crank and Glass out on the shelves today after receiving them in a bag of YA donations recently, I have to say… Awesome!

Censorship controversy = more people wanting to read a book.

I almost feel sorry for the censors who haven’t figured this out. Almost.

-GASP!- SEX?! IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL!?
An Outrage, I tell you! We must keep this filth away from our children, lest they become crack-addled baby makers!

(Please note, while I know the ladies in the Bitchery can smell sarcasm a mile away, here’s my boilerplate ‘that was sarcasm’ statement for those who cannot comprehend.)

The irony is not lost on me, denying them a resource that could be what they need and change their lives for the better, and ending up what guardians feared they might turn into if they -actually- read it.

Coming from (what I think is) the first of the ‘Pregnant-at-16-is-now-the-cool-thing-to-do-sex-is-everywhere’ generation, (I’m 20. Graduated in ‘08, wrapping up my second year in college, and can count on at least one hand how many girls from the classes of ‘08, ‘09 and ‘10 from my school are Pregnant) I feel the need that the topic should be covered.  Books like ‘Tricks’ help get the point across, because a book is not a preachy teacher or a confused and over-protective parent. It’s like your friend—frank and honest, and if worded correctly, hits you to the core. And I am a strong believe that the right sentence can inspire a change, a new outlook, or save a life.

Now I’ve never read the book, but I feel the need to check it out at least, to see how ‘bad’ it really is. Most likely nothing most 13-14 don’t know already and the old biddy is just blowing steam out her ass.

Derp, that’s “13-14 year olds”.

The only thing I can think of that would encourage that librarian to pick her “snitchers” is that she is uncomfortable with the book.  Many adults DO get uncomfortable with sex in a YA book.  I’ve had parents FREAK OUT on me because we read “October Sky” (or Rocket Boys) by Homer Hickam.  It chronicles his life growing up in WVA and learning about rockets and the science behind them.  In one chapter (as a teen boy) he has sex.  It’s in the back of the car and it ruins his friendship with the girl because it was all out of pity for him.  He spent the rest of the book (the emotional side) struggling with his actions.  He was UPSET that he had sex with someone he didn’t love or at least like.  It was a great example of what NOT to do and how people CAN AND DO hurt after random sex.  And that even boys have emotional issues with sex.

Did the parents get that?  No.  Did the KIDS?  YES!  But I was in hot water for a bit until I had the parents actually read the damn book.  They didn’t WANT to deal with it.  They WANTED to bury their heads in the sand and pretend their children aren’t exposed to sex.

Having just had a baby girl… I get not wanting her to grow up.  But the reality is, she’s going to grow up.  And *I* am her protector.  *I* am the one who needs to inform her of all these things that go on and TALK ABOUT THEM WITH HER.  If it takes books, pamphlets, sock puppets… whatever to do it so SHE feels better about life, then that’s what I have to do.  It’s not about me anymore.  I’ve had the sexy times (and I will again hoho!) now it’s my job as a parent to bring my baby girl up with confidence and dignity in herself.  And being a book-o-phile I’ll probably use books to get her there! :)

I lived for 25 years in a small town in the Interior of British Columbia, surrounded by First Nations communities. The crystal meth problem in small communities has become such a problem that it is fast outstripping any other social evil, destroying a generation of bright, determined, and gifted young people. 

Meth is a terrible drug, quickly addictive and destructive.  The pot dealers spike their joints with meth, which is reasonably cheap and easy to manufacture, so that kids who are experimenting with a ‘soft drug’ become hooked on something that will kill them.

Now I live in a big city, and work in the poorest neighbourhood in a rich country. I see the meth addicts walking the street - their legs and arms flopping as they try to keep their balance.  Their bodies are actually asleep, exhausted because their brains, constantly needing another hit, will not shut off and let them stop moving.

Yeah.  Let’s NOT tell our kids about this.  Let’s allow them to find out about it all through someone who REALLY cares about them: their friendly local drug dealer.

Hopefully more will read the books as a result of the censorship. Well done to the authors who withdrew from the festival.

Did the parents get that?  No.  Did the KIDS?  YES!  But I was in hot water for a bit until I had the parents actually read the damn book.

@Flo - You had them read the book, and they didn’t refuse to do so? That’s pretty impressive.

My stand on this is the same as when the Harry Potter books were being banned at certain schools. If you don’t want your children to read them, then it is YOUR responsibility to make sure they don’t read them. There are parents who find these books to be a way to reach out their children and discuss topics that may otherwise be uncomfortable. It is NOT, nor has it ever been, up to the school to decide what is right and wrong for a child. That is the parents’ responsibility.
My senior year of high school. My economics teacher thought we should see “Wall Street”. My parents had to sign a permission slip to I could watch a movie with cuss words in it. Trust me, what was coming out of my friends’ (and my) mouth was worse than anything that movie had to offer. Most of us were doing worse things.
My point is…where do we draw the line? What’s next? Book burning? Let’s hope not or we are going to lose some of the finest literary pieces in our history.
Stepping off of my soapbox now… thank you!

Wow! I hope she didn’t attend the same library program as me, because our professors will be humiliated if she came from our program. I applaud the other authors for backing out of the Teen Lit fest. What I don’t applaud is that a few people’s rash, uninformed decisions about what they think is ‘best’ just cost the students of their schools a great opportunity to hear from and interact with some great authors. Hopefully, those kids will learn more about censorship and informed decision making from this debacle.

So sad—so stupid—so typical.  Everyone else has said it better than I possibly could.  If I win, please donate the books to the Humble Public Library (assuming they have one).

Censorship is absolutely awful and needs to stop! As a young adult about to go off to college in hopes of becoming an editor things like this severely scare me. I feel so bad for Ms Hopkins! That has to feel horrible to be uninvited to speak somewhere! 

There was an article in our local paper today about a parent trying to get our school board to censor a book.  The school board fearing being sued, said no to the censorship.  I am glad they said no, but I was furious that they agreed that the book in question was morally (according to the personal values) of the board members wrong.  I absolutely feel for this author and think that it’s great that so many others have pulled out in support of her. Censorship is wrong.  Kids reading (no matter what they choose) is good.  At the very least books about sex and drugs (and with cursing)can open a dialogue to issues kids deal with daily.

Well, if Mr. Sconzo was looking for an effective way to get ALL the middle schoolers in Humble to read Hopkins’ books, he couldn’t have picked a better way.

It never fails to amuse me how self-defeating censorship is and how nobody who advocates censorship EVER understands that point.

I would love to have a copy of her book for our library system here in Omaha.  They seem to be the most popular place for budget cuts.  I swear I have more books than they do & that’s not even counting my Kindle books.

I wonder if we could sick the ACLU on that principal?  That would really rile things up. LOL

Off to write letters.

Diane

People like this make me embarassed to live in Texas.  What a bunch of idiots—I hope all the kids in the district get wind of this and Hopkins’ sales go through the roof.  If I win I will happily donate my copy to my daughter’s middle school or the public library here in San Antonio.

This sort of story is always so baffling and worrying for those of us living in other countries and other societies.  The United States was founded on truly enlightened and liberal social values; you actually have a constitution that guarantees free speech and religious freedom; you make it very clear that you want to fight oppression and injustice wherever it occurs even in other societies.  Yet paradoxically, you also have these utterly weird citizens that are evidently just panting to get back to the repressive Medieval social and religious values that your founding fathers and mothers so nobly and triumphantly rejected.  All societies have their bigots and extremists, of course, but in Europe, they are more likely to do their foaming and ranting somewhere on the sidelines, where they can be ignored, rather than being allowed to run local library services or, heaven help us, schools.
I would say to Mr.Sconzo and his supporters, do you really want people from outside the USA to look askance at Humble, TX, and say, ‘Oh, they’re pretty ignorant, primitive types down there, you know:  into censorship and probably book-burning too, if they had the chance’.  I know enough Americans personally to be sure that such people are not typical Americans, but when they get themselves into the news, real damage is done to the international reputation of the USA.

We had a censorship controversy at my town’s high school here in NJ not long ago. The drama club decided to stage “The Laramie Project” but got shut down by both the principal and superintendent of schools. Luckily due to the strong stand of the drama club advisor, the students and community, this decision caused them lots of bad publicity, and the play was reinstated. It was a great success and played to full houses. I hate censorship.

@AgTigress:

In our defense: where do our religious crazies come from? Europe. Every time somebody got too weird for Europe, they came over to the US. So basically we were Europe’s safety valve.

Low population density makes it worse.When these immigrants got here, they didn’t stay in cities, because they’d had bad experiences there. They went out into the country and formed their own small towns and villages, where today, they remain enough of a majority to consistently return people to the school board, city council, and state legislature. It’s no shock that these things always come from states with large rural areas.

Well, I’ll bite, though everyone will hate me here.  This is one of the reasons quite a few parents feel under attack by the public schools.  I haven’t read these books (something I feel I have in common with the majority of posters) but I can tell you middle schoolers having sex (and it sounds like explicit sex too) in a book makes a lot of parents very very uncomfortable.  You see, THEY want to have this conversation with their own kids on their own time, (or not have the conversation AT ALL as the case may be) and not be forced by someone else’s agenda into having the discussion before they feel its appropriate.  I’m sorry but when you have books and movies and tv and music pushing and pushing and pushing sex at a younger and younger age it does have an effect and the effect is negative.  Depicting younger age kids having sex amounts to porn.  I am confused why anyone else would think otherwise.

Librarians love these issues because they get to do a lot of pontificating and feel morally superior to all the dumb hicks who are trying, no matter how ineptly to protect their kids. Everyone gets on their high horse about censorship.  Really.  So none of these kids will be able to read these books ever?  Because, you know Amazon and the Internets don’t exist? And of course now they will want to read it, as everyone has pointed out.

I am heartened a librarian had the courage to speak out against the radical left in her profession and stand up for the moral majority of her student’s parents and community. Believe me, she is in the minority and will face much hate (witness the comments here!) for what she said and did. I wish other YA librarians would speak out against the porinification of children’s literature.

Ok…start the hating on me.  Because I am obviously a small minded bigot with no education who needs tutoring on the First Ammendment.  There I’ve said it.  But feel free to repeat ad infinitum if it makes you happy.

idiots. I will email and would love to donate a book to my child’s school. Thanks for posting this.

For Sconzo, ignorance is bliss.  Like Pilate, he washed his hands of the issue and passed the buck to the head librarian, without even bothering to read! Disgraceful. In the meantime, teens are struggling with gender identity, sexual intimacies, stuff that most adults are uncomfortable talking about with their kids.

The anti-Hopkins camp probably thinks that reading about sex on YA would promote promiscuity or sexual experimentation. Wake up, people! Would they also ban Judy Blume?

@Marie   i understand the fear. true, kids are having sex at younger ages, a sad trend which you can argue is influenced by racy mtv’s, cable shows, peer pressure, and lack of parental guidance. but don’t you think that a writer with hopkins’ sensitivity could help some of these kids from falling thru the cracks? what she writes isn’t porn. porn is just a piece of work that has no literary merit and its goal is to simply stimulate sexual desires. her works aren’t about that. YA with sexual content isn’t porn. they’re about profound issues, such as self-image and self-esteem, and rooted in reality (yes, kids do have sex). pls do not confuse it as porn. (do you consider adults having sex in a book porn as well?)

What makes me sad is that Jersey Shore, Real World, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and so many more, these are the shows my teens and their friends are watching (to my chagrin) that glorify drinking, sex, fighting, trash talking, etc….  Our children (it starts so young these days) are exposed to this lifestyle and want to emulate it & there is always the hope they too may one day be on a reality tv show/star. 

As a mom of an 14, 18, & 21 year old I LOVE when my kids read books of Ellen Hopkins caliber!  In not only tackles subjects that they are exposed and/or have experimented with and makes them THINK but it also gives US (my child & me) an opportunity to discuss the issues in a neutral setting. 

Thank you Ellen Hopkins for your gift of writing and reaching out to teens and their parents thru your work!

Censorship sucks.  And I say this as a librarian who has dealt with her share of challenges, and actual removal of materials from the library by superiors.  Ellen Hopkins is a great writer and kids devour her books.  They’re not for everyone, but no book is really for everyone, now is it?  But for the kids her books speak to, well, it can be life-changing.  It’s unfortunate that censorship still happens, and quietly, so no one knows what has transpired.  Thanks for bringing more awareness to this issue.

But, Marie, that’s the point of Hopkins’ books—they _don’t_ glorify pubescent sex.  They show the consequences.  And not in a clinical way that someone would if one were sitting in a counselor’s office discussing something scientifically—which, as we all know, is NOT the way kids discuss tihngs.

In CRANK, she tells the story from the perspective of the addict, using the disjointed language of someone who can’t quite think straight.  The book is not about the drug, but about the consequences—like, waking up in one’s own chunks.  Her target audience is not six year olds, but teenagers, who are at the age where, if they have not had first hand experience with drugs, they likely know someone who has.  It’s one thing to look at your stoned friend who is so mellow or entertaining, and another to get a view of what they will work so hard to hide, which is the dark side of addiction.

This is not glorification or pornification.

Is it ugly?  Yes.  Is it angsty?  Yes.  Do teens love it?  They gobble it up.

The best thing about them, as I have told countless parents who asked whether or not to buy one, is, the prosody style Hopkins uses means it doesn’t take long to read.  A parent has a great opportunity to read what their child is interested in without making much effort (I’m a fast reader, and CRANK took about 45 minutes for me), and then they can talk about it together.  What other book give a parent (who usually feels a great deal of time constraint) that opportunity?

My thanks to Mr. Sconzo for bringing this author to my attention.  My own library has 14 copies of her work in various media formats.  I ordered a copy of Crank for myself today.  Without his action, I probably never would have heard of her.  I hope she has a long and successful career writing thought-provoking and challenging books for YA to read.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Will she be reinvited?  Will Mr. Sconzo melt under the heat lamp of public scrutiny? 

I’m staying tuned.

@Marie—

Not hating, just disagreeing with you.

As a conservative (in the life-style sense, not the political sense) Christian myself, I understand the need to shelter/filter information for our children.  Which is why I have my children in a private Christian school.  I’m glad I have the choice. 

HOWEVER—it is not the job of public schools and public libraries to censor in order to dictate morality.  (Yes, there’s a need to make sure that there are some decency guidelines in place—but that’s a different issue IMHO)  The Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment clause give very clear guidance about what government-sponsored organizations can and cannot do.

Separation of Church and State.  Very very important.  And seemingly ignored by the “moral majority.”

Which is why I’m a Libertarian.  Yeah—I tick off both sides… ;o)

If you pick me for a book, that is cool. I had to comment someplace anyhow. I found out about the story via the Bookshelves of Doom blog, which has links to other accounts including this post. I also follow Smart Bitches on my feed reader (gotta keep up with genre fiction, and you do very well for romance, but I digress). When I found out about the story, it just made my morning, and not in a good way.

For one, it did not surprise me. I live in TX (due to my job), and censorship like this rears its ugly head every so often. This is the land where they want to rewrite school textbooks to remove key historical figures from the history curricula and insert pseudoscience into biology textbooks (the creationist thing was defeated, the social studies not so much). So, what’s another little bit of censorship by some vocal and loud minority who think they can dictate what the rest of us can read? What gives them the right to tell me what I let my child see, read, or listen to? It’s sanctimonious hypocrisy at its worse, and they have more in common with the Taliban than they do with American values.

To be honest, it’s situations like the one in Humble that make me ashamed to live in this state, a state that has so many other positive things, but let’s its reputation be ruined by stuff like this. So please, do keep protesting. Do keep sending that superintendent and his ilk the e-mails. Get more authors to withdraw until they have no one for their precious festival. Because at the end of the day, the reasonable majority have to stand up and say enough is enough.

Best, and keep on blogging.

I live in a country where discussion of sex is still a pretty big taboo. Mothers don’t talk to daughters, teachers don’t talk to students, no one talks to anyone, period. And everyone thinks this is all perfectly fine.

But then we hear about the 15-years-old girl who died trying to secretly get rid of her baby so she wouldn’t be stigmatized, or the naive friend of a friend who didn’t know that you could get pregnant “doing it” and I wonder if everything is really all that fine.

Usually I look to books for comfort. Sometimes, though, I look to books for the truth. I haven’t read any of Ellen Hopkins’ books yet, but if it has so many people up at arms then I believe there must be quite a bit of the real picture in it. From where I’m standing, an author being frank about the real world sounds no less than commendable.

My library has several of her books. I bet the people who complained have never even opened one of her books.

Oh and one more thing.

*climbing up on soapbox*

Let’s not forget that no matter how much (or little) we teach, admonish, discuss, converse about, enlighten our kids about how it’s best to wait to have sex until ________ (whatever your teach your kids); that unless you handcuff them to your waist 24 hours a day,

they DO have a choice about what they’re going to do with their bodies and who they’re going to do it with.  

Kids are smart and resourceful.  10 minutes (or less) is all it takes and some can, and do, do it in the most uncomfortable and inventive places!

Let’s talk about options, consequences, and strategies to keep them out of harm’s way. 

Talk talk talk talk talk.  They may roll their eyes.  But they’re listening.  And listen listen listen listen listen.  Be the safe person they WANT to talk to about the awkward stuff.

*climbing down off soap box now*

As I librarian, I must say that I suspect that the “middle school librarian” is not really a librarian at all - no doubt a teacher with some sort of school board designation to “qualify” her to run the school library.  Censorship is just one of those things that librarians take very seriously and we fight it everywhere we see it.  Unfortunately too many libraries are being run by people who call themselves librarians without proper accreditation.

@Brooks*belle   hear, hear! it’s sheer madness to have one person be the moral adjudicator of an entire school. and i wouldn’t be surpised if those parents who got caught up in the librarian’s fear-mongering didn’t even bother to read one line from hopkins’ book.

I haven’t read any of Ms. Hopkins books, but I intend to now. Here’s the email I sent to Mr. Sconzo:

Dear Superintendent Sconzo,

I come from a long line of Texans, and it was with dismay but not surprise that I read yesterday of the “disinviting” of author Ellen Hopkins to the Humble Teen Lit Fest. I taught in an Oregon public school for several years, and when parents objected to a book, there was a form for them to fill out. They had to list the specific lines or passages to which they objected, and explain why. I can’t think of a time when the parents actually filled out the form and returned it to our librarian.

Perhaps your school district needs such a form. It could save you from the embarrassment of appearing intolerant and uninterested in your students. I hope that you, as an educator, share my belief that one of education’s most important goals is to teach students to think for themselves. The current situation concerning Ms. Hopkins is anti-education, anti-student and anti-American. I urge you to read one of her books before condemning her, and to ask the parents and librarian who instigated the situation to give you specific examples to support their objections.

Sincerely, etc.

piece28: if needed, I have 28 more pieces of my mind to give Mr. Sconzo.

People need to have their heads surgically removed from their rectums if they think that if kids don’t see it/read it/hear it they’ll never do anything they’re not supposed to.  Ok, show of hands - who here ever did something as a teen that they knew they were supposed to?  If you don’t talk to them about issues or let them get as much info as possible, then you’ll end up with kids who don’t know how to cope or make educated decisions about thier lives.

Here’s some ideas for the principle and the parents who don’t like Ellen (or any particular author):

1.  Don’t let your child go to the festival.  This isn’t a mandatory event.  Better still, to keep them from being exposed to any “adult” or non-approved ideas—don’t let them out in public.  Or be around other teenagers, because you know THOSE people are a bad influence.

2.  If you let your child go to the festival, either trust them enough to know to stay away from authors or topics you don’t want them to see, or resign yourself to holding the hand of your untrustworthy teenager the rest of their life.  There’s nothing that guarantees teenage angst more than not trusting them to make good decisions, so let’s avoid the issue altogether by not letting them make any.

3.  Cancel the festival altogether.  By all means, it isn’t a profitable thing.  If the community is going to be up in arms, God knows the principle has greater stressors on his mind, like, how to keep from laying off 20% of his educators due to budget.  Better still, lets quit worrying about educating anyone altogether, because they’ll be exposed to ideas and it costs money.

It looks like the festival is going to fail anyway.  I can almost hear the librarians who actually organized it crying silently in their stacks.  Several authors have cancelled in response, and while there are apparently hoardes of them waiting with baited breath to take their place, I know the organizers are the ones who feel most defeated at this point.  I wish I could reach out and give them a hug and tell them how much their efforts are appreciated.

Censorship is horrible - shame on the librarian who called for her uninvitation! If I win this book, I’ll read it, then donate it to my system’s AWESOME teen collection.

I don’t normally comment, but I feel I must show my support. I’m a mother of a preteen boy and studying to be a middle school teacher. This age was a very hard time for me and I made some VERY bad choices, but they could have been so much worse if I had not been exposed to important issues through books. I became sexually active at the age of 13 (bad decision) but because I was exposed to the consequences, I ALWAYS made sure I was protected. Same with drugs (age 17) and drinking (age 11). I try so hard to get my straight as an arrow son(must come from his dad) to walk on the wild side and read a banned book and talk about the issues, but he doesn’t feel he needs the book to start a discussion (I guess that’s a good thing). As far as censorship, it is a very slippery slope. I’m sure someone can find a reason to ban any book without trying very hard. For criminy sake, there are even dictionaries on the banned books list! If parents want to “guide” what their children are reading, I suppose that falls under “parenting”. If the schools feel that they have books in their collection that some parents may not want their children to have acess to, then sign a waiver. I have to sign a waiver every year so my son can check out books in the library. Guess I’m going to need to ask if they have “elected” to not stock certain books so I can make sure I have them at home.

sense19: it shouldn’t take any sense-ible person 19 seconds to realize this is not appropriate!

This is so crazy-making to me! As someone who suffered from a dearth of reading material during my childhood and teens (until I started reading romance), the fact that some ignorant idiot will censor others’ reading material—without reading said material!!!—because it might make them yanno, *think*, and stop kids from meeting an author who makes them think, just blows my mind. And not in a good way.

NOT in defense of Mr. Sconzo but he can be replaced by his school board and it is possible for the loud, vocal minority of parents to bug the school board enough that they would remove him. Its entirely possible that he was looking out for his job by acting as he did. I believe Ms. Hopkins that she was invited but perhaps there was an official school letterhead or some sort of invitation that was not yet sent out to her and the superintendent used that excuse to claim she wasn’t invited. While I do think letters should definitely be sent to Sconzo to man up and stand up for teen education and literacy, I also think maybe letters should go to that school board, letting them know that it is not cool for a couple of parents to dictate who gets to be invited to the literacy festival. Since the school board is Sconzo’s boss, they should be made aware of the fact that other people have an opinion about this matter too, and that the majority of parents would probably want Ms.Hopkins invited to the fesitval. Why not send letters home with the students, inviting them to a special school board meeting? What about making copies of the books available to the parents to read, so they can decide for themselves if these books are the devil? I live in a suburb of Houston as well. I know that there are a lot of right-wingers here. But I doubt all of those parents agree with what these few have managed to do. I know a head librarian in the same county as Humble (unfortunately not the head of the Humble library but still.) I’m going to ask her about the Humble library hosting an info session on these books and this author and what it means to ban books like these. Because no good can come of it.

@alisonh - I agree completely. As I’ve had time to consider this - I really think the “librarian” who started this probably doesn’t have an MLS or MLIS degree at all. She may (or may not) have a teaching degree. It depends on what the rules are for library staff at that particular school. I’m saddened to see the OTHER librarians in the district (the ones who fought tooth and nail to KEEP Ms. Hopkins in attendance) being tarred with the same brush as the “librarian” who really behaved in an underhanded manner by going out to recruit parents who shared her views before approaching administration. The other librarians are probably just as horrified as MOST of us posting on this blog are by the censorship being practiced here.

It looks like the contest is still open, so if I won the book I’d definite donate the copy to my library. We can’t keep Ellen Hopkins’ books on the shelves and her books always have a waiting list.

Funny - my verify word is data54. I’m a reference librarian so that completely works for me. Grin.

@Karenmc:  I think your e-mail to Sconzo is really excellent;  very calm and measured in tone, and with positive suggestions for things to do, rather than only things not to do! I love this especially:

Perhaps your school district needs such a form. It could save you from the embarrassment of appearing intolerant and uninterested in your students.

:D
Having a specific form for objectors to complete, with precise citations and precise reasons for the objection, is a great idea.  Of course, many of the objectors would still cheat, by not reading the whole book, but at least they’d probably be forced to look at it, rather than simply parroting what someone else has said or quoted.

GRRRR… Don’t they know that I’m pretty sure kids see worse, read worse, say worse, do worse?!  I remember when Clan of the Cave Bear was big reading in sixth grade… cause that is proper reading for a 12 year old.

This is ridiculously shameful.  How in the world are we still so close-minded as a society to let this happen?  I’m with you SBSarah, it sure as hell wasn’t my parents who convinced me to stay away from drugs and sex until I was old enough to know how to deal with that (not that they weren’t great, but there wasn’t even a “just say no” conversation in my house).  Unless Ms. Hopkins wrote “Go drugs!  Go sex!” in her books this is just freaking ridiculous. 

Things66: 66 things I could do with dog poo to seriously upset that librarian’s and that superintendent’s day.

I read “Go Ask Alice” when I was 13 years old and questioning everything.  I’m so glad I did.  It kept me on the straight and narrow at least until I got out of High School. ;)

When I was a Senior in High School, my English class read several books that had previously been banned and it opened my eyes to censorship and it all comes down to fear.

I think our country has gone weird with censorship these days. As a mother I constantly encourage my teenage daughter to read books on the censored list. I read YA and my daughter and I share YA that we enjoy with each other. And though I do keep an eye on what she reads and may ask her to wait to read certain books I don’t think she’s ready for, we are always open to talking about why I feel she should wait. I had not noticed Ellen Hopkins books before, but now? I think it’s time for a trip to our library (who have several of her books in many media formats) for my daughter and I to share yet more books.
As for Mr. Sconzo? I hope by now he regrets his decision, but have a feeling he has deeply moored himself to self-righteous indignation that his decision has been challenged and brought to so much attention. He seriously makes me glad we homeschool.

I read Hopkins’ book Burned a few years ago and it was so amazingly real and raw that I immediately snatched up several other titles.

Usually when I discover a new author I blaze thru the backlist, but with Hopkins I had to space them out.  I am no longer a teenager.  I cannot live in the angst-space…I may only visit.

I would love to read Tricks.

Silver Lining for this whole debacle:

I bet a bunch of kids in Humble Texas (at least) who never would have picked up Crank or Tricks will race out to find a copy of the now “illicit” books.

I also bet/hope Guy Bozo I mean Sconzo is crushed by the deluge of emails from cranky lit-advocates.

If you read, if you write, you must send an e-mail to Guy Sconzo. Censorship affects all of us.

I’m off to send my e-mail. I’m also going to have to check out Ellen Hopkins’  books.

This fired me up so badly that I think there is a burn mark on my computer chair.  Behold, sisters of the bitchery (I know I’m a brother, but let the gay boy be a sister for a little while), my email in it’s entirety to the asshat/associate of the asshat who made Ellen Hopkins be all insulted and shit:

Mr. Sconzo,

I was trolling the internet today and came across a monstrous post on one of my favorite blogs, concerning one of my favorite authors of all time, Ms. Ellen Hopkins.  This author in question has published several New York Times bestselling books, has been garnered with praise from every library and teen lit organization on the planet, and is just a generally awesome person.  I myself have read several of her books and have loved every single one of them; the prose is wonderful and the stories speak of the real problems that affect the world today.  Teenagers appreciate realism.  We’re a frank bunch, Mr. Sconzo.  So you can imagine my distress when I saw this post.  How could such a lovely woman and such a talent author with so much to talk about be removed from a teen literature festival?  How?

Censorship.

Yes.  The dirty word.  Censorship.  Truly an awful thing, that censorship.  So why do you do it?  Is there a reason?  Is it impossible for teenagers to understand that what she’s writing about in her books is real BUT something they should learn from instead of emulate?  I can answer that one.  NO.  In fact, Ellen Hopkins writes those books with such a brutally honest perspective that we know all too well the hard life of a drug addict or a teenager dealing with abuse or someone who tried and failed to commit suicide.  They are helpful and deal with those issues that some people can’t find the courage to address - whether in their children or in themselves.

So…why?  Why does it matter if a parent or two disapproves of this?  Or a middle school librarian?  It is a teen literature festival, and Ellen Hopkins has left one huge mark on teen literature through her writing.  Not having her - as well as the other authors that are more than willing to step out of the festival because of this atrocious event - will be a huge down-grade in quality of the Teen Lit fest.

Before you say that her work is too rotten or dark, look at all of the other bestselling books.  Thirteen Reasons Why.  Tithe.  Going Bovine.  They all have a level of dark humor and brutality that go with a realistic worldview.  As a teenager, your decision on the removal of Ms. Hopkins is insulting and does indeed make me want to vomit.  Preferably on whoever decided that having Ellen Hopkins at a Teen Lit Fest would be a bad idea.

She’s one of the most successful writers for teens today, and is herself a beacon of hope for people that go through tragedies.  Each of her books comes from the experiences she had while dealing with a daughter who was addicted to drugs, or having a gay son.  She is exactly the kind of role model teenagers need.  Someone who is strong, and who brings no judgment on others’ faults.  She turned what was a negative into a positive and an inspiration that led her to a thriving career as a writer.  If that’s a bad thing to show teenagers, then I must be delusional.

Be assured that I will not end with this letter.  This is an act of censorship that is unbecoming of this day and age, and I will be telling everyone I know in the book world about the injustice of it.  You have denied someone the right to show teens some excellent and real facts of life, as well as inspire future writers going through such hardships, and that is not something one can forgive easily.  Whether you invite Ms. Hopkins back or not, remember that here is a teenage reader telling you that this is cause to boycott the festival.  It’s a great thing you’re doing - well, it WAS a great thing.  Now, it’s just another reminder that some people cannot understand that teenagers are just as grounded in reality as adults.

You’ve insulted me, but more importantly, you have insulted Ellen Hopkins and the tens of thousands of people that read and love her books.

-  John

I’ve never been one for privacy, folks.  They have made me angry.  That never turns out well for anyone.  :mad:

Censorship in rural Ohio in 1987: The school board required my high school English teacher to cut out a page from our Mass Media textbook. Remember the old Nastassja Kinski ad with the snake draped over her body? Well, it’s more than twenty years later, so I’m a little vague, but I think the point was parody as a form of advertising and the book showed both the original ad and a photo of a hairy fat guy with a snake in the same pose. My teacher kept all those evil, debauched, banned pages in his desk. When we got to that part of the book he explained censorship, pulled the pages out, passed them around, and THAT I never forgot. Shout out to Mr. Baughman, retired English teacher in Ohio! (There’s a darn good reason for the First Amendment AND a darn good reason for teacher’s unions, right there in one story.) 

And I’ll pass on being entered for the book - I won last week!

@Marie

I don’t think anyone is going to attack you on here, Marie.  There is a reason we are all angry, and it’s because Ellen Hopkins’ books AREN’T like that.  If they were, I’m sure everyone would be having a very different type of rant/argument.

I have to admit that I one up you on reading her books.  And newsflash to you and anyone else that hasn’t read them:  They don’t glorify sex.  And more importantly, it isn’t even explicit.  We are not talking erotica with several pages of a scene that are giving extreme detail and hoo-ha.  Her books are, if anything, a great way to show teens what NOT to do. 

The librarian in question had every right herself to speak out about her concerns, but they are not grounded enough in my humble opinion to be of any importance.  It’s about the teens, and Ellen Hopkins’ books have helped a lot of teens.  Helped.  So, it would make sense that the author herself helps teens.  Not to mention she’s a great example of overcoming hardships and turning them into positives.  She’s an advocate for gay rights and writes realistic gay characters because her son is gay.  She is able to write about the toll and addiction of drugs because her daughter used to be a drug addict.  She is such a wonderful example to teens because she took these troubled spots and turned them into useful things that help other people.

While people have a right to speak out about things they feel are wrong, I don’t think any of the above is wrong - certainly not wrong enough to remove it from a festival celebrating the movers and shakers of Teen Lit.  And no one will burn you.  We’re the classy bitches that don’t do such things. 

earlier59 - I wish I commented earlier.  Like 59 comments ago.

My ex-boyfriend teaches 4th grade in Chicago Public Schools and was a little worried when one of his students was reading Crank.  His concern was that she, at 9-years-old, may not be mature enough to process the literature, but he read it himself so that he’d be able to effectively discuss the themes with her.  I was so proud of him for turning a challenging situation into a teaching experience for him and for his extremely bright student. 

This is the answer to dealing with challenging, dark, or morally ambiguous material.  Read it yourself, and engage your child/student in a productive dialogue.  Censorship is a tool of ignorance and totalitarianism.

I read this post and all the comments with interest. A small town school in my area just “banned” a book from its libraries, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. This book has won multiple awards and deals with cliques, roughness in sports, etc. I haven’t read any of Ms. Hopkins’ books and I’m currently between YA readers(my “baby” is 22 and my oldest grandchild is 3). If I win, I can always donate to that library!!!!

........whaaaaat.  I don’t even have words for this o.O

My youngest just graduated from high school and it is amazing to me how little the school shares with the parents about the real problems in the school.  Also, their solutions were ridiculous.  When a student was found with heroin in the bathroom their solution was to lock all the bathroom doors so no one could use them.

When I review YA and children’s books for my friends and their kids, I do point out any sex or violence in them just in case my friends want to read the books before letting their kids do so.  This way, they are informed beforehand.  Doing this for my friends is vastly different from banning a book without even reading it.  I wonder what Guy Sconzo would say about “Tender Morsels” by Margo Lanagan; although it is written like a fairytale, in contains, very circumspectly written, incest, abortions, gang rape, and sodomy (after reading this book and “Split” by Swati Avasthi - about domestic violence and child abuse - I gave up reading any YA books for weeks).

Well . . . y’all just don’t understand Texas.  It used to be a country all to itself, and it still acts that way often.  I pretty much just smile and nod now instead of arguing with people, because these are people who just think that if you have a different opinion, you are a stubborn old rascal who doesn’t care if she’s wrong.  In other words, other viewpoints are just WRONG if not SINFUL TOO, and if they themselves ARE wrong, they don’t want to be right.

Still, there is plenty of “underground” stuff going on.  Austin and some other places are still rebellious, and Dallas isn’t quite as Neolithic as it likes people to believe.

The UPSIDE of all this?  Why, you know what it is already, hon.  ANYthing that you ban, hide under the bed, or try to have burned before the kids can see it becomes THE THING for kids to see, have, do, or read!  So with her books being made a no-no, this will cause a great surge in underground popularity.  Kids who might not have bothered to read them will do it now, just because.  This always works.  It’s reverse psychology.

My AP English teacher, who had 30 years of teaching experience, was brought up before the school board ten years ago for “teaching racism.”  What was her sin?  HUCKLEBERRY FINN.  She asked them if they’d read the book, and they righteously shouted, “NO, MA’AM!!” She tried to explain that Twain wrote from a position of satire and parody and that you had to realize that he’s REALLY saying slavery is wrong and that Huck is being told by society the WRONG things.  But she could not get through to them. They couldn’t get past Twain’s use of the vocabulary then in common use.  Anyhow, she was completely amazed when they took it out of the high school libraries and off reading lists.  Same happened with LOLITA, A SEPARATE PEACE (“implies gayness”), THE OUTSIDERS, all of Vonnegut and Henry Miller (who is still dirty—I re-read him recently, and, yep, he’s still dirty even by today’s standards!) and several other worthies.  It just made the students sneak to read them.  *sigh* People need to increase their reading comprehension, but they don’t wanna.  They like being silly.  The good ones eventually catch on.

I don’t normally comment, but I couldn’t let this go especially considering it happened in my backyard (so to speak).  I’ve just sent an email to one of the local news stations.  I hope they pick up the story because this is ridiculous and the public should be aware of such decisions.  Wow…

I’d never heard of Hopkins before this thread, but now I’m curious to read more.

I attended school in this area (New Caney ISD) and this situation is sadly not unusual.  The administrators lisen to a select few parents or teachers and then slide these decisions under the radar without input from the greater community.

My mother has taught literature to sixth graders in the town immediately north of Humble for twenty-six years.  She tries to find at least one interesting fantasy novel a year for her advanced students to study.  She usually has one parent, about every other year, object to the fantasy novel.  I am proud of the way she handles this situation.  She assigns an alternate book and requests that the parent read the objectionable novel and get back with her , just in case she “missed something offensive”.  The parents usually end up letting the kid read the book, because after reading it, they realize they overreacted.

Not everyone in Texas is a conservative, right-wing idiot.  They are just a lot louder than the rest of us at the moment, but we are working on it!

Sometimes you just must make a stand.  I’m so proud of my friends in the YA author community who refused to attend this festival after this.

I have never read any of her books but this makes me want to read it and then pass it on to my nephew who is always looking for something to read.  I cannot stand people who make decisions based on someone else’s opinion without getting the facts themselves.  Don’t they realize that this will just make the kids want to read these books more?  Hey wait, that works out well for the author.  :)

Can I add….

Kids can do what they want with their bodies when they want and it’s really almost impossible for a parent to stop them.  HOWEVER!!!!!

If one more damn teenager tries to explore their sexuality DURING SCHOOL TIME WHILE A CO-TEACHER IS HOLDING CLASS I WILL STRING THEM UP!  FROM A YARD ARM!  I don’t even know what a yard arm is… but it seems like a fit punishment.  Keep the damn PDA out of my classrooms and hallways mmk?

There’s a time and a place and parents need to hammer THAT into their children’s heads as well as the courage to respect their own bodies and not give in to pressure.

I have to say I love when censorship backfires and actually does the opposite of what the uptight stidiots intended.  This may increase her readership exponentially.  Like others before me this has made me curious to read books that I probably would have passed up, not because they aren’t good but because as YA they likely never would have hit my radar.  Bring on the books and show the censors so righteous rage.

Nothing any author could write is scarier or more explicit than an unsupervised 14 year old’s facebook/ myspace posts.  Parents need to start censorship on their kid’s computers and just HOPE the kid will sit down to read a book.
Best wishes to Ellen, I hope the support you’re getting from your readers and the blog community are keeping your spirits up!

I’ve never heard of her, but this certainly got me interested.  Looks like our library system already has several copies of her books, must go check some out…

Rebyj is correct that what kids get into online is potentially worse. I am a pediatrician and talk to families about stuff like this and do encourage them to know what their kids are reading, both online and off. I also encourage families to set standards and let their kids know what they are. Kids need limits. But I set the limits for my personal kids based on my standards and my knowledge of my child. It is not necessary or correct for someone who does not know my child to do that for me, to limit what I might want my kids exposed to. I worked in a Juvenile Hall setting when my oldest was 12 and I made sure she heard some of the stories. I also took the kids to a family picnic at Juvenile Hall. I would have been thrilled to have something like one of Ellen’s book to keep the discussion going. And I am equally thrilled when I mention a book during an exam and a parent says, we don’t feel she/he is ready to read that yet. (And, no, my kids were not perfect as teens - grandkids are pretty darn perfect, though).

I don’t have any children and at thirty-six most YA novels aren’t on my radar but to this day I still remember how much of an impact Go Ask Alice had on me.  Growing up with an alcoholic step father (abused drugs on the side) who was also physically and mentally abusive towards the whole family I’d say I had a better than average chance of becoming an addict.  While it didn’t prevent me from drinking (started at 14) or smoking pot (started at 17) it did impact me and put a lasting fear in me towards “harder” drugs so when the people I partied with started lacing their blunts and moved on to coke, crack and heroine when it was around I didn’t.  Seeing the logical progression of drug use in Go Ask Alice that was “real” left a lasting impression in a way some DARE program where the teachers taught from a textbook had absolutely no chance of reaching me.  It was all scare tactics and BS and didn’t reflect the reality of drug use that I grew up with at all. 

By my early twenties I grew out of the “party” stage without any addictions but my sisters weren’t as lucky.  My oldest sister ended up in her own abusive relationship by her twenties was an alcoholic and drug addict who still struggles with relapses to this day.  My other sister was also a drug addict and while I’d like to think she would have gotten better I’ll never know because she died at age thirty-two still using.  There but for the grace of god go I… or more likely it was a combination of seeing drugs impact the people around me and books like Go Ask Alice that portrayed drug use realistically.

I don’t like censorship. And books seem to get “banned” a lot for stuff that parents don’t seem to bat an eyelid over when it’s on TV or in a movie. Why? *sigh*

I think I was about 10 when I read FOREVER by Judy Blume. It did not cause me to go out and be promiscuous. I think if kids know more about this stuff and understand the potential consequences (pregnancy, STDs, emotional hurt) then they’re less likely to go out and have sex young, not more. That was certainly the case for me. I was an advanced reader, reading well above my age group, so I read a lot of books that had sex in them when I was fairly young (10-12), but I didn’t do it in real life until many years later.

Censorship really pisses me off—especially YA censorship. I’ve seen kids who claim to hate reading mow through all the Ellen Hopkins books in a week. So many of our students love them. We can’t keep them in our school library.

When I taught a class for reluctant readers, “Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” was the ONLY book they liked—no, LOVED. These high-risk, low-attendance students started coming to school every day because they wanted to know what happened next.

I teach at an alternative high school, where I work with students who often have experienced a level of hardship in their lives most adults wouldn’t believe. 

A group of them who had lived and worked through addiction problems raised money to get a classroom set of the book CRANK. They convinced the staff to rotate the set, and allow the group to come into the classes afterward to lead discussion groups and talk about their own struggles.  It was an amazing experience, and I guarantee that it convinced a number of students NOT to get involved with drugs.  Students begged us to get more copies s that they could share with their friends at other schools.

I have kids, and I work with others daily. I understand the compulsion to shield them from the big bads, but I cannot believe its better to leave kids in ignorance about the realities of the world, and how what seems like a small decision can have huge consequences for the rest of your life.

So many thoughts… #1 the authors who have now declined to attend should change their minds & then base everything they talk about around Ellen Hopkins’ books, censorship & ignorance. #2 Not surprised this happened in Texas. I’ve seen off the top of my head at least 5 programs on Frontline, Nightline, etc. regarding epidemic teen drug abuse & indescriminate sex at inappropriate ages based in Texas. It’s OK for them to do it, just not read about it. Not saying that it doesn’t happen in other states, just that Texas seems to take pride in doing everything big, including ignorance. #3 Never turn your back on the religious conservative. I have no doubt that the offenders at the heart of this would all describe themselves as good God fearing Christians. Sorry if that offends the many actual good God fearing Christians out there. I’ve always found it ironic that God gave us the gift of free will, and organized religions have been doing their best to stamp it out ever since. These are the people who brought you the Inquisition. #4 I always like to point out that the Nazis started out by burning books.

i have not read any of her books but would like to ask a question of the people who are banning the author.  What is so different in the book than what is on the TV.  I for one would much rather let my children read books about the things in the world (fiction or real) then to have pictures of it.  If some one does not like a story then don’t recommend it, warn what kind of content is in the book, then step back and let the reader decide.  good luck with your book.

I kept pondering this, and I ended up blogging about it. Anyone is welcome to hop over and read it (http://bit.ly/awlvZI)

Best, and keep on blogging.

As a former Houston resident (Westchester HS, Rice University, and several years after graduation), I’m ashamed that this area should be so short-sighted as to believe that teen literature could be celebrated in a Teen Lit Festival that invites-only-to-uninvite such a noted writer as Ellen Hopkins.

YA lit is not the root of all evil. If teen readers are only allowed to read pablum, they will either grow up to be bland, unquestioning, poorly-educated adults, or they will fiercely beat at the intellectual bars which confined their questions and end up experimenting in real life with the types of damaging behavior behavior that they might have explored vicariously in teen literature and discovered that they preferred other options. That any librarian could be so short-sighted as to not perceive this is an embarrassment to the profession and a disservice to teen readers.

I applaud the authors who have chosen not to attend in support of Ellen Hopkins, but I also applaud those authors who have announced that they will attend so that they can speak out against this act. I hope that their determination will give Humble teens the chance to question the decisions of the Festival organizers, and will also give these teens the opportunity to choose to read Ellen Hopkins, and other honest (how did honesty in writing become elitist in the perception of some commenters, I wonder?) writers for today’s teens.

I abhor this kind of thing.  TV is much worse IMO.  There’s so much dreg on TV we no longer watch it. No cable, satellite, zip…Our local library has it’s own form of censorship that grinds my hamburger.  The Friends group (where people donate books for the sales to raise $ for the library~the library itself often takes donated books because funds are so scarce.) has taken it upon themselves to throw books away if they find the covers offensive.  I am still so mad I’m barely coherent about it…They should just have a good old fashioned book burning right on the front lawn.  Who died & made them the arbitrators of morality for the community?  Sorry….I just get so pissed about this kind of thing…Please enter me, I’ll make sure my 13 yr. old reads it and passes it along…

Wow, I’m shocked! I can’t believe the librarians would do something like that, without even bothering to read her books first. It makes me happy that some authors dropped out to protest!!

I live in Humble, Texas and in addition to banning authors on the first day of school this week my child’s middle school principal said the children were to have a moment of silence (2nd one that day) and then asked those ‘so inclined to say a prayer’ the Head Football coach at the end then said God Bless to the students.  Coach is also famous for chasing local skirts.  Great example of Christianity.  I just laugh.  Yes I complained where I also mentioned coaches notorious skirt chasing and was told by the deputy Superintendent it was legal (maybe the skirt chasing not so sure about the religious suggestions) but hey I come from the same school district who banned an award winning New York Times bestselling author from a literary festival because she was too controversial so the whole shebang had to be cancelled because most of the other authors boycotted on behalf of her. And the band director at the hogh school plans to have the band play the Catholic hymn “god of our Fathers’ at EVERY half time football performance.  Since he and the Head Football Coach attend that church it works for them. Never mind they’re changing the history books to ban Thomas Jefferson too agnostic.
For those so inclined look up what our founding fathers really believed about Christianity.  You might be upset or delighted.  Our best President, Lincoln was all but an athiest.  Figures it would take someone who got their morals from some place besides the bible to end slavery since the bible (written by rich, elite rulers) condoned it, endorsed it and explained it away.  That’s okay though my kids are tops in their classes and have already been accepted at the “elite godless’ universities and I have urged them to flee this area but my kids stand up against their teachers and peers about Christianity being shoved at them.
My sons athletic team, lead by the Captain, says a prayer before and sometimes after every practice where they coerce other kids to pray with them in a circle and if they don’t they harrass them pubically.  Don’t you just love Texas and public schools?  Privately many tell me they agree with us but are afraid of the harrassment and they admire our principles.  I also volunteer more than just about anyone I know for the public schools. I am proud to be a non-christian.  My children continue to be well liked and popular despite the shunnings by some.  These aren’t exactly the kind of kids I approve of my children hanging out with as they tend not to be self thinkers and actually have a higher rate of pregnancy and STD’s then agnostics/athiests.  We also have much higher IQ’s (obviously).
In the meantime my son can’t get a Physics book for his Honor class because they don’t have any but they just opened the brand new Football Stadium last night.  Oh I love where Humble ISD puts their priorities. Oh yeah they have pictures of Jesus hanging aroung the high school.  None of President Obama cause you know he says he’s Christian but probably is Muslim. You never can be too careful some Librarian might complain if the hang a picture of Obama.

Texan in Humble -

I’ve been thinking about your post, and I’m saddened that your view of Christians has been so tainted. It really is a shame that a faith that can be so inspiring and accepting can be so misconstrued by people who feel it’s been pushed on them. As a Christian I believe this country must keep a separation of church and state. This country is not a Christian country, but allows for all types of beliefs and disbeliefs. I do not support prayer in school. A moment of silence to reflect is fine, but I would never wish to force my personal beliefs on anyone. And, honestly, neither would Jesus. So I’m sorry that you’ve felt that Christians have forced their beliefs on you. That’s really sad.

But the point of this post, is not about Christianity, but about censorship. I admit, many people practice censorship in the name of God or Allah, so it seems fitting to drag religion into the discussion. But all of us censor to a degree - we decide what we’ll allow our children to watch or listen to, but that does not give us the right to force it on others. I am emphatically against censorship. And feel that books such as the ones Ms. Hopkins writes give all parents, whether Christian, Islamic, or Purple People eater, an opportunity to talk about serious problems in our society. Some parents wish to protect and pretend that these sort of issues don’t exist. How wonderful that we have authors willing to explore and be honest with kids about where their choices can lead them. This banning of such an author is a shame all around.

Liz Talley