Angieville

I always enjoy highlighting Banned Books Week when it rolls around each year. This year, I came across a set of videos of authors talking about censorship, reading, and the importance of books in the lives of children, young adults, families, and communities. I particularly enjoyed these two from Laurie Halse Anderson and Sherman Alexie , both authors I have read and loved and who have insightful comments on these ever-present issues. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. I've included a couple of my favorite observations from each of them. Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance. They need us to be brave enough to give them great books so that they can learn how to grow into the strong women and men that we need them to be. It makes me hope that my book becomes their gateway into other books. I know there are kids who need these books. And I know there are kids like me who aren't frightened by these books but who, you know, dream of them....

I'm so glad I finally got around to this one. The laughs were much needed. Of course, there were bouts of tears to go along with those laughs, so it probably evened out in the end. But that is the mark of the best kind of story. It made me feel genuine emotion, and not all one kind, so I feel fulfilled and stretched out, rather than left wondering if I'll ever be able to crawl my way up out of the hole.  Junior's life is unenviable. And that is putting it mildly. He lives on the Indian reservation in Wellpinit, Washington with his parents (part to full time alcoholics), his sister (a depressed basement dweller), and his grandmother (the one functional member of the family). He also has a best friend called Rowdy, a young man whose father beats him and who, in turn, beats up everyone in his path. Except Junior. When we first meet him, Junior is excited to begin his first day of high school. A self-proclaimed nerd of the highest order, Junior eagerly opens his geometry book o...