Whatcha Thinking Thursday

It's time for Whatcha Thinking Thursday, hosted by me! Here's how it works. Each Thursday I'll simply blog about something book related that's weighing on my mind. Feel free to comment away if you agree or disagree (just keep it clean, okay?), or if you want to post to your site either on the same topic or about whatever it is you're thinking about go right ahead. I just ask that you link back to here. Also, make sure you add your blog to the list so we can find you!

This week is banned book week, and while it would make sense to post something along those lines, I have to admit that with almost every other post on my site pertaining to BBW I felt like it was a little overkill- plus I'm thinking about something else.

The names of female leads in book...why can't I remember them.

This stuck me the other night as I was raving about Jeri Smith Ready's Shade. I was telling someone about it and cou;dn't for the life of me remember the lead charecters name. The boys are Logan and Zachary, Zachary's dad is Ian, then there's Mickey, Connor, Dylan, Siobhan, Eowyn, Aunt Gina and.... what is her name and why can't I remember it. It's not the first time I've noticed thsi phenomenan. I have to think really hard about who it is that's in love with Sam in Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver series, and niether of the names from Cassie Clare's books stick with me even though I can name almost every one else from both the Mortal Instruments series and Clockwork Angel.

Then it me- I can't remember the names of female leads because I completely internalize these charecters. Especially when they are written from that charecters perspective. I read it as if I am them, and when I think back on the books I'm thinking about it like I was in it. Strange deal that one is. I only realized it when I woke up this morning after having a dream about Shade in which every charecter was speaking to Kate, aka me. This means that the books are written so well that not only do I really like reading them, but I have a genuine attachment to them. I love that, even if it means when I need to do a 5 star review I have to go look up who exactly it is that I'm writing about!

For the record- The lovely ladies are: Aura (Shade), Tessa and Clary (Clockwork Angel and Mortal Instruments) and Grace (Shiver)- all excellent and memorable names!

How about you, do you have any quirks when you read?

Banned Book Week: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Summary:
Once upon a time I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time I didn't know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Why it was banned: Living Dead Girl is listed on this years ALA Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009-2010 Here's what they said: Challenged, but retained at the Effi ngham, Ill. Helen Matthes Library (2009) despite concerns about its graphic content and the unsatisfactory ending. The book is about a fi fteen-year-old’s perspective of living with her captor after being forcibly kidnapped and imprisoned at the age of ten. The book has received several accolades from book critics.

From the author: While preparing for Banned Book Week I had the good fortune to email with Elizabeth about her thoughts on the challenge. She had the following to say about Living Dead Girl being banned/challenged.

"I think it’s easy to get outraged over a child’s abduction, and what happens to him/her, but it’s also equally easy for us to see something—someone—that makes us uncomfortable, a moment or an expression that give us pause, and to do nothing.

And that moment where we see and turn away is the heart of Living Dead Girl. Alice’s story isn’t just about what she endures with Ray. It’s what she endures at the hands of the world. How it doesn’t see her.

How the world turns away.

How we turn away.

As far as banning/censoring Living Dead Girl, it has happened, and I suspect it will keep happening. I can’t tell people what to think or how to feel about the book, and if what I’ve written upsets them, I believe they’re entitled to their opinion, just as I was free to write a story I felt needed to be told.

And while I don’t believe any book should be banned, I know there are those who feel differently, and though I hope that Living Dead Girl will be read and discussed, if there are those who want the book banned, then--well, we do all make choices when it comes to what we want to see, don’t we?"

What did I think: I recently discovered Scott when I came across her book Something, Maybe. So when I saw her book Living Dead Girl on this years challenged book list I knew that I wanted to read it. I have very mixed feeling about this book. On the one hand it's horrifying and heartbreaking. It was hard for me to read, because it is a hard topic to think about. That is the power in Scott's writing. The book makes you squirm because you know it's right. That this happens to some people, that you might have seen them on the street, that you might have looked away. Not only was Alice taken and kept, but she encounters people everyday who should have stepped in, but didn't. Like I said, horrifying. That being said, it's a book that should absolutely be read. It reminds us to keep our eyes open to those around us. To really look and to give ourselves permission to help if we think something is wrong. If you don't, for whatever reason, there could be an Alice who is suffering. I think this book is magnificent and if you haven't read it, head to the library, this one is on the must-read list.

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Check out Scott's website for more information about all of her books. Of course, don't forget to enter the Banned Book Week Giveaway, which contains a SIGNED copy of Living Dead Girl.

Banned Book Week: House of Night Series by PC and Kristin Cast

Summary: House of Night is a thrillingly engaging book series that follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird, who gets “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Tulsa and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledglings like her.

It’s within the school’s walls that the heart of the action takes place as Zoey meets new friends, finds love, comes to terms with how her life will be different now and begins to realize her awesome new powers.

Here’s the deal though: Yes, Zoey’s a vampyre now. But she’s still a teenager – with all the humor, angst and confusing feelings any other teenager has. (from houseofnightseries.com)


Why it was banned: This series has been banned all over the place, and according to P.C. Cast's blog post of last year, it is actually the most banned series in the state of Texas! The ALA's Banned and Challenged book list for 2009 includes the following listing: the entire teen vampire series was banned for sexual content and nudity. Since the series has not been completed, “Stephenville ISD actually banned books that have not yet been published and perhaps even books that have yet to be written. There is no way the district could know the content of these books, and yet they have been banned"

From the author: P.C. Cast wrote a blog post about the challenge last fall entitled Free People Read Freely- it's worth reading the entire post, but this paragraph really stuck out for me:
"The case for writing realistically for teens is many faceted. First, there is the credibility issue. As I've said before, kids know whether you get them or not, and that's regardless of if we're talking about standing before hundreds of them in the classroom or writing for them. Also, I always write what I'd like to read, and I know teenagers too well to want to read/write Pollyanna stuff about them. And then it comes down to the fact that ignorance is not bliss. Avoiding subjects that are uncomfortable doesn't work for me on lots of different levels: I believe in sex ed. I believe in talking to my daughter honestly about life's unpleasantness. I believe in facing issues head-on with teens, even if it means I write the most banned series of books in Texas. Let's just be honest about what our kids are dealing with on a daily basis and open communication lines with them so that they don't have to face those things alone!"

My thoughts: First- to be honest I have not yet finished this series. I've read the first two books and have the next on reserve at the library- I'm 2nd in line (finally!) and I can't wait to keep reading. I have to say that I find these book really entertaining to read. Yes there are references to sex and nudity, but if we are being honest with ourselves, these are things that teens deal with. Do we sometimes wish they didn't? Of course. Should we turn the other way and pretend it doesn't exist? No. There is nothing to gain from that sort of attitude.

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More about P.C. Cast you can hit up her website or blog and the House of Night Series has it's own webpage with all sorts of fun stuff as well. As always- don't forget to enter my Banned Book Giveaway contest which inclused a copy of the first book in the House of Night series, Marked!