Comments on: On Young Adult Fiction

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:59:44 +0000

My dad thought the only books I should read were the Bible or school books. My mother read everything and she NEVER forbade me to read any of her books. Some of them had some rough stuff in them. Including cussing. I did the same thing with my children. I only told them that some books might have disturbing things in them or they might not truly understand things in them and to come to me if they had questions. I don’t believe in censoring or banning books.

By: Aliart

Aliart — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:21:28 +0000

I hear ya regarding the books available .. you’re quite a bit younger than I, so it was even worse for me (lol). I remember when my mother had to give permission for a friend to loan me (gasp!) The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, as i was only 10 at the time. That was it for me — I was hooked.

Regarding swearing — they’re only words. My son found a way around it — I love Gary Larson cartoons. There is one with heaven/hell goes something like this:

Welcome to Heaven, here’s your harp. Welcome to HELL, here’s your accordian. Boy did I hear that one for a long time.

I’m very disappointed about Angels, I tried to get it yesterday at my local Border’s and they did NOT have it in stock yet.

Have a great weekend all.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:01:15 +0000

The figures in the tea boxes, and possibly the ones you bought at the store are made by Wade.

There’s a whole collectibles market for them, and I think there are a couple of books about them. My mom has a whole bunch of them, and I have some of the ones from the tea boxes. We also found them in Christmas crackers a couple of times.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:33:27 +0000

Heh. I think I was six or seven when my mom caught my sister and I cussing up a storm during one of our make-believe games. She told us, “If you’re going to use filthy language, do it in the bathroom where filth belongs.” We were delighted, because hey! Permission to use all the naughty words we could think of! So we locked ourselves in the bathroom and said every cuss word we had ever heard, plus a bunch we just made up. It was hilariously fun – for all of five or ten minutes, and then the appeal definitely wore off. She never had to ask us to clean up our language again.

Now, as an adult, I swear rather more frequently than I should, but it’s a great way to let off steam and I don’t do it in public (usually). My children both know they can say any word they want to – in the privacy of their bedroom or the bathroom. Otherwise they’d better watch their language, and they’re very good about it.

Anyway, I can’t wait to read Strange Angels. I love a story that feels real – sharp edges and swear words included. I’m really looking forward to this.

By: mazoku

mazoku — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:29:00 +0000

The upside of being the “funny and not-only-a-little-nuts” aunt is that I can keep on cussing like a deckworker and my friend will simply use me as bad example to her daughter: “See Alice? Don’t talk like aunt Mazoku or you’ll end up half-nuts like her”.

And I hear you on YA in the early 90s: I was pretty desperate about them. That’s why I read Stocker at 10 (that would be in 1995). And “Silence of the lambs” at 11: I was curious. I’d seen the movie a couple years earlier. And no, my mother still doesn’t know. She thinks I’m weird all by myself.

By: martianmooncrab

martianmooncrab — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:17:27 +0000

I still have the little ceramic animals from the tea boxes from the 60′s, & my ceramic Packy from the zoo when he was born.. maybe you could ebay those criteria and see what comes up.

I remember that even if you couldnt check an adult book out from the Library, you could sit and read it THERE. I really didnt care so much for adult fiction, but the non-fiction is where I went. Dewey is good for us. 812, 309, 123 .. its all good.

By: May

May — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:45:51 +0000

I hear you on the timers thing.

I’ve been online since I was like 12. Somehow, I met this girl who was about to start university and a much older guy — I think. I was 12…mid-twenties was OLD!

And there was a point where us two girls thought it was hilarious to say stuff like f*** f*** f*** for no reason at all. Neither of us would ever have said it in real life. Our parents would probably wash our mouths out with soap — mine probably still would, so I keep it clean around them, which is sometimes difficult because I’m quite the potty mouth when I’m ticked.