Stupid Fast, by Geoff Herbach. This is a really fantastic book. The character is so perfect. But there's some strong language that would make this inappropriate for probably most 12-year-olds. But I will finish it because it is beautiful. It is such a fantastic book, well told story and believable characters.
The Sinner's Grand Tour: A Journey through the Historical Underbelly of Europe, by Tony Perrottet. Would you pick up this book because you wanted to read a memoir of a trip across Europe dragging a couple of whiny kids? Or would you pick this up because you want to read about historical curiosities? The author is way too heavy on the former, a trend that I've been noticing in alot of the nonfiction I've been reading lately. I want to read about the thing you actually should be researching, not how hard and annoying it was for you poor, poor man trying to do the research. I so did not finish.
I felt the same way about the language. The author said he didn't even realized he used it, which is almost even more disturbing!
ReplyDeleteit is difficult to realize how much you say things you shouldn't ("mommy, you said 'stupid' again!" "mommy was wrong and is very sorry, sweetie.") until you try to self-censor. still, someone, some reader, editor, or reviewer along the publishing road, should have pointed this out to the author. the language adds nothing to the story, does not make it better for older readers; all it does is make it inappropriate for younger ones, when without it, this book could have had a much wider readership.
ReplyDeletei can't get out of my mind your library patron who felt "boobs" was inappropriate language for her. i don't even know that patron, and i'm proud that she knows what's right in her own reading material.
do my thoughts make sense? i'm slightly elevated on cold medicine.