Throughout the years I have read a lot of debate about YA novels and their content. A member of NCTE just posted a link to Sherman Alexie's commentaries on the content of his YA novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
What a powerful article! It reminds me a lot of hearing Chris Crutcher advocate for YA novels. I highly recommend that you read the full article, but here is one of my favorite sections, the last paragraph.
"And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons—in the form of words and ideas—that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed."
This article is amazing. thanks for sharing! We've been talking about banned books lately and this will really add to the class discussion.
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