Dear all two readers of this blog,
It has come to my attention through a number of notable sources (including Libba Bray's blog) that YA author Maureen Johnson's simply wonderful Bermudez Triangle has come under attack in Oklahoma, due to the fact that she (gasp) "discusses homosexuality in a positive light." Oh for Pete's sake (and Paul and Mary's for that matter) are we in the 21st century or what?! Gay people and their families, friends, and allies exist, we're not going away, we're not shutting up, and there will be books written about us! GET OVER IT ALREADY!
First, read the article.
Then, read Maureen's blog on this and leave a comment to tell her how much you love and support her.
When you've finished doing that, please view my Reading Rants: A Guide to Books that Rock! write-up of The Bermudez Triangle, which I happened to dig very much:
Johnson, Maureen. 2004. The Bermudez Triangle. New York: Penguin Group.
370 p.
The Story: A jealous classmate at Nina’s eighth birthday party christened best friends Nina Bermudez, Avery Dekker, and Melanie Forrest the “Bermudez Triangle.” Now it’s the summer before senior year, and the uber-close Triangle is splitting up. Smart, hyper-organized, natural born leader Nina is attending a pre-college program at Stanford, while sarcastic hipster Avery and quiet, girly redheaded Mel stay behind in upstate New York and take waitressing jobs at local Irish-themed chain restaurant, P.J. Mortimer’s.
Nina quickly acclimates to her new surroundings, and soon falls for a fellow student, Steve Carson, a cute blond “eco-warrior” from Oregon, who she ends up kissing after a grueling all night study session. Meanwhile, to their combined great surprise, Avery and Melanie discover they have a mutual physical attraction when they jokingly kiss one morning after a sleepover, and it turns into the first of many make-out sessions. Mel has always sensed she was gay, but never had the courage to tell anyone. Avery knows she likes Mel, but isn’t sure that she wants to be labeled a lesbian just yet, and insists that their relationship stay secret. Both of them are concerned about Nina’s reaction when she returns, but can’t decide how to tell her. In the end, they simply keep quiet and begin avoiding Nina, who senses something is wrong when she tries to invite Avery and Mel out for a girls’ night out not long after she returns, and instead they ask along good-natured fellow P.J.’s waiter Parker, who has no idea what is going on, but is happy to be included as he is nursing a slight crush on Mel.
The truth comes out when the Triangle goes school shopping and Nina accidentally walks in on Avery and Mel kissing in a fitting room. The resulting conversation is awkward and leaves Nina feeling like a third wheel. Nina, who has enough to keep her busy and distracted as student council president, decides to focus on getting early acceptance to Stanford, where she will see Steve again next fall. Meanwhile, Mel is making Avery feel claustrophobic, because she constantly wants to be with her, even during Avery’s piano-practicing time, which Avery considers sacrosanct. Avery and Mel get a huge fight after a classmate witnesses and comments on seeing them in the gay/lesbian section of the bookstore. Neither of them tell Nina about it, but one of the students’ she is on council with asks, “How long have your friends been gay?” which causes her to worry.
Rumors begin to spread about her and Mel, so Avery decides to take matters into her own hands by joining a garage band with some guys she knows to get out of hanging out with Mel. She also begins a casual romantic relationship with bandmate Gaz, who Nina sees her kissing in a car after the student council fall hayride. Nina confronts Avery, who begs her not to tell Mel. Parker, who’s heard the rumors at school, asks Mel if she’s gay, and when she confirms it, he becomes her new confidante, as Avery is avoiding Mel and Nina is too busy to listen to her problems.
When Avery cancels their Thanksgiving weekend plans, then doesn’t call Mel for two weeks, Mel finally turns to Nina for help. Nina sees a chance for them to all be friends again, so she confronts Avery and tells her that they all need to talk. But Avery gets angry at Nina’s interference and tells her to butt out. The same day she finds out she is accepted to Stanford, Nina has to tell Mel that Avery doesn’t want to go out with her anymore. Mel is inconsolable, and becomes completely withdrawn, which doesn’t help Nina when she needs someone to talk to after Steve dumps her over the phone. Avery sees how sad Nina is after the break-up and tries to talk to her, but Nina doesn’t trust her anymore and blows her off. Avery worries that she’s pushed Nina too far, and their lifelong friendship may be over.
Everyone coincidently meets up at the school Valentine’s Day dance. Nina is manning the ticket booth when Mel shows up with Parker and Avery comes with Gaz. Avery and Mel meet in the bathroom, and Avery, tired of trying to figure out her sexuality, suggests getting back together. Mel wisely turns her down and leaves. Meanwhile, Parker, who has transferred his crush from Mel to Nina, gives Nina a ride home and asks if he can kiss her. Nina agrees on one condition: that Parker is not her “boyfriend,” as she is loath to get into another serious relationship after Steve. Parker consents, sure that he can eventually change Nina’s mind.
On Nina’s birthday in March, Steve emails, saying he’s sorry about the break-up. The same day, Mel tells Nina she’s finally going to come out to her dad. (Mel’s parents are divorced and she lives with her father.) Parker takes Nina out for her birthday, but gets angry when she tells him about Steve’s email and he learns that she’s thinking about getting back together with him. Then, to make matters worse, when Nina gets home, she gets a call from Mel’s dad, who wants to congratulate her about getting into Stanford. Nina misunderstands and thinks “the news” he is referring to is Mel’s coming out, and then accidentally outs Mel, who hasn’t told her father yet. This has clearly been Nina’s worst birthday ever.
Mel weathers the storm of her mom’s disapproval about her sexuality with her father and Avery’s support. She slowly begins to gain confidence in herself as she carries on a flirtation with a girl she met at a dance in a neighboring high school. So she is ready to support Avery when she has to audition for acceptance to an NYC music college. Mel convinces Nina and Parker to drive with her to Avery’s audition to surprise her. But everything goes wrong: a freak snow storm makes driving impossible, Mel accidentally locks the keys in the car at a rest stop, and Parker can barely bring himself to talk to Nina. But, despite all odds, they make it in time to wish a touched Avery well. Avery passes her audition, everyone makes up with everyone else, and the Triangle even manages to rustle up another girl at the audition for Parker to flirt with. They end the day by celebrating with coffee and hot chocolate.
The Message: Life is change; learn to embrace it. Nothing stays the same forever. A strong friendship can weather any storm. Good friends bring out the best in each other.
Who’s it for? 8th-12th grade. The breezy text could go younger, but the exploration of coming of age issues like sexual identity, and romantic relationship navigations, along with the sheer number of underage drinking scenes, make this better suited to older teen readers.
Why it rocks:
• Voice: Johnson tells her story in third person, from multiple perspectives, allowing the reader to understand and experience each of the Triangle’s unique “points” of view.
• Plot: Despite the light-hearted tone, this is a surprisingly in-depth examination of the amorphous nature of adolescent relationships, and how the shifting landscape of those relationships helps shape the character of the future grown-up inside. And by focusing on the three way friendship and love in all its wonderful, terrible forms, Johnson neatly dodges the “Gay Problem Novel” label.
• Pacing: Chronologically arranged by seasonal holidays and school events, dialogue-heavy chapters and changing formats (email, letters, locker notes) make this thick book read fast.
• Characterization: The three girls are sympathetically portrayed and nicely rounded. Nina learns to take change in stride, Avery learn not to be too hard on herself, while Mel discovers both her voice and her inner “butch.” Minor characterizations also add zing to the story, including Nina’s klepto-Stanford roommate Ashley and the endearing Parker, whose off the wall remarks provide welcome comic relief among all the female angst.
Hook it up with: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series (The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Girls in Pants, Forever in Blue) by Ann Brashares and The Girls series (Girls in Love, Girls Out Late, Girls Under Pressure, Girls in Tears) by Jacqueline Wilson
Read more about it:
Booklist: 11/01/04
Horn Book: 04/01/05
Kirkus Review: 10/01/04
Publishers Weekly: 12/06/04
School Library Journal: 11/01/04
V.O.Y.A. (Voice of Youth Advocates): 10/01/04
Finally, feel free to visit my Reading Rants Closet Club list for some more great GLBTQ reads.
Remember, Banned Books Week is September 29-October 6, 2007. Celebrate your freedom to read and support Maureen's cause by checking out a banned book today!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Suspense!
Well, friends, I've gotten word that RR: the book will hopefully be reviewed by Booklist and SLJ in one of the fall issues. So as I sweat it out over here in anticipation, I thought I'd post one of my favorite entries from the suspenseful "Nailbiters" chapter. Here's what I wrote about Acceleration by Graham McNamee:
McNamee, Graham. 2003. Acceleration. New York: Random House. 210 p.
The Story: It is the summer before senior year, and Duncan is stuck with the most boring job ever: assisting in the Toronto Transit Commission’s Lost and Found Department. While it does allow him to escape the heat wave everyone else is suffering from aboveground, Duncan is finding the process of assigning lost umbrellas, jackets, and eyeglasses an “expiration” date, and weeding those items that are “past due” for donation to the local YMCA incredibly tedious. But the bleak job suits his mood, which has been dark ever since the Labor Day holiday weekend last year. That was when Duncan tried and failed to save a girl named Maya who drowned in dangerous riptides on Lake Ontario. Ever since then, Duncan has suffered from terrible nightmares where Maya is screaming underwater, begging him for help. His parents tried therapy and medication, but nothing helped, and now Duncan fears that his guilt and regret over the accident will never go away.
While packing up lost books, Duncan comes across a leather journal with no name or address. As he begins to read it, he is disturbed to discover that it is full of descriptions of animal mutilations and arson attempts. As he reads further, he finds that the author is contemplating murder. He’s even staked out three women that he sees regularly on the subway, along with the times that they ride, and the stops where they get off. Duncan realizes that he has found the journal of a would-be serial killer. But now that he has it, what should he do? He’s afraid to turn it into the police, least they think it belongs to him. It also occurs to him that the act of finding this man, and keeping him from hurting anyone else, may finally ease his guilt over Maya’s drowning and end his nightmares.
Duncan begins to do research on the man he has dubbed, “Roach.” He enlists his two best friends, Vinnie and Wayne, to come with him to the air-conditioned public library while he looks up information on serial killers. He finds a book by an FBI profiler that states there are three childhood behaviors that are shared by most serial killers: cruelty to animals, bedwetting, and the setting of fires. This information frightens Duncan so badly that he decides to take Vinnie, the more serious of his two friends, into his confidence. Vinnie convinces him to take it to the police, but when he does, the bored desk cop is so dismissive that Duncan knows the journal won’t be taken seriously. He takes the it back and resolves to find Roach himself, and then involve the police once he knows exactly who the man is and where he lives.
Duncan asks for Vinnie’s help, and his friend reluctantly agrees, even though he doesn’t think it is a good idea. “Me and you going after this guy…is like the hardy Boys meet Hannibal Lecter.” Nevertheless, Vinnie uses the directions and locations written about in the journal to create a map of Roach’s activities, and discovers that all of the incidents Roach wrote about took place in the same 6-7 block radius, a working class neighborhood called Wilson Heights. Meanwhile, Duncan has discovered an old receipt in the journal that indicates Roach received an employee discount at the local mall. Now that they have narrowed down the man’s possible home and work place, they focus their attention on the mall. After deducing that Roach might be a security guard because of his need to have power over others, they follow two likely candidates home, but are disappointed when both men end up having families or girlfriends. Duncan is so disheartened that he considers giving up altogether.
Then, they receive a huge break: Roach himself comes to the Lost and Found, looking for his journal. Duncan is shocked to finally see his imaginary nemesis in the flesh, but after pretending to look for the lost journal (it’s actually hidden at the bottom of his closet at home) he tells the man he can’t find it. Roach leaves, and Duncan tells his boss he’s taking lunch so that he can follow him. After he watches Roach enter a small nondescript house in Wilson Heights, then leave a short while later, he decides to call Wayne for help. Wayne is a semi-retired shoplifter and consummate lock picker, and while he’s annoyed that Duncan hadn’t informed him until now about he and Vinnie’s secret project, he agrees to pick the Roach’s front door so Duncan can take a look around.
With Wayne’s help, Duncan no only gets into the house, but is able to access the locked basement as well. But they must tread quietly, as they discover Roach’s old, deaf grandmother is watching television inside. Duncan explores the basement while Wayne waits outside. He finds animals in jars of formaldehyde, a police scanner, and a small windowless room which seems to be awaiting a captive, before he hears footfalls on the stairway. He hides in the room, but it’s too late, Roach has returned and realized someone is in his sanctuary. Duncan bursts out of the room, brandishing the metal bar used to barricade the door as a weapon. Roach has a knife, and they each get in one blow before Duncan manages to run up the stairs and out of the house. Bleeding badly from a cut ion his arm, Duncan races to the subway station, pursued by Roach. Wayne sees him leave, but loses him on the side streets. Duncan makes it to the subway platform, but the train doesn’t come right away and Roach has time to catch up. After a short tussle, both of them end up on the tracks, but Duncan is able to roll away under the platform edge while Roach, who is disoriented, is hit and killed by an incoming train.
Duncan survives with twenty stitches, a broken arm, and a concussion. He, Wayne and Vinnie decide never to tell anyone what really happened. As far as the police know, Duncan’s attack was a botched mugging, as he claims he can’t really remember what happened. Duncan burns the journal, goes back to work at the Lost and Found, and after a session of night swimming with Vinnie at the public pool, is relieved to realize that he can no longer hear Maya’s underwater screams.
The Message: It’s dangerous to take the law into your own hands. Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself.
Who’s it for? 8th-12th grade. The topic is gritty, but not any more so than most of the crime dramas on television that most teens are well versed in, and may even watch with their parents. McNamee sprinkles the text with several facts about serial killers, which may prompt older readers to do some research of their own into this fascinating, disturbing topic.
Why it rocks:
•Voice: Duncan’s first person narration makes the fast-moving action that more immediate and compelling. His conversations with Vinnie and Wayne are often humorous, and help offset some of the frightening tension.
•Plot: McNamee’s premise of a serial killer’s journal turning up in the subway Lost and Found is nothing short of genius, and sets the stage for a suspenseful thrill ride that only grows more exciting with the turn of each page. The subplot of Duncan’s prolonged grief over the drowning accident sometimes gets in the way of the heart-stopping action, but will help explain Duncan’s motivation to the rule-following teen readers who have a hard time understanding his persistent pursuit of the dangerous Roach.
• Pacing: Relentless. McNamee never lets up the tension; from the moment Duncan finds the diary, he and the reader are inexorably pulled towards his final meeting with Roach.
• Characterization: Duncan is nicely rounded, as are Vinnie and Wayne, who each threaten to steal scenes every time they come onto the page. Duncan’s parents are excellent examples of caring, working class people who don’t have much material resources, but are trying to set a good example for their son.
Hook it up with: Tenderness by Robert Cormier
Read more about it:
Booklist: 09/15/03
Horn Book: 04/01/04
Kirkus Review: 09/15/03
Publishers Weekly, starred: 11/10/03
School Library Journal: 11/01/03
V.O.Y.A. (Voice of Youth Advocates): 12/01/03
McNamee, Graham. 2003. Acceleration. New York: Random House. 210 p.
The Story: It is the summer before senior year, and Duncan is stuck with the most boring job ever: assisting in the Toronto Transit Commission’s Lost and Found Department. While it does allow him to escape the heat wave everyone else is suffering from aboveground, Duncan is finding the process of assigning lost umbrellas, jackets, and eyeglasses an “expiration” date, and weeding those items that are “past due” for donation to the local YMCA incredibly tedious. But the bleak job suits his mood, which has been dark ever since the Labor Day holiday weekend last year. That was when Duncan tried and failed to save a girl named Maya who drowned in dangerous riptides on Lake Ontario. Ever since then, Duncan has suffered from terrible nightmares where Maya is screaming underwater, begging him for help. His parents tried therapy and medication, but nothing helped, and now Duncan fears that his guilt and regret over the accident will never go away.
While packing up lost books, Duncan comes across a leather journal with no name or address. As he begins to read it, he is disturbed to discover that it is full of descriptions of animal mutilations and arson attempts. As he reads further, he finds that the author is contemplating murder. He’s even staked out three women that he sees regularly on the subway, along with the times that they ride, and the stops where they get off. Duncan realizes that he has found the journal of a would-be serial killer. But now that he has it, what should he do? He’s afraid to turn it into the police, least they think it belongs to him. It also occurs to him that the act of finding this man, and keeping him from hurting anyone else, may finally ease his guilt over Maya’s drowning and end his nightmares.
Duncan begins to do research on the man he has dubbed, “Roach.” He enlists his two best friends, Vinnie and Wayne, to come with him to the air-conditioned public library while he looks up information on serial killers. He finds a book by an FBI profiler that states there are three childhood behaviors that are shared by most serial killers: cruelty to animals, bedwetting, and the setting of fires. This information frightens Duncan so badly that he decides to take Vinnie, the more serious of his two friends, into his confidence. Vinnie convinces him to take it to the police, but when he does, the bored desk cop is so dismissive that Duncan knows the journal won’t be taken seriously. He takes the it back and resolves to find Roach himself, and then involve the police once he knows exactly who the man is and where he lives.
Duncan asks for Vinnie’s help, and his friend reluctantly agrees, even though he doesn’t think it is a good idea. “Me and you going after this guy…is like the hardy Boys meet Hannibal Lecter.” Nevertheless, Vinnie uses the directions and locations written about in the journal to create a map of Roach’s activities, and discovers that all of the incidents Roach wrote about took place in the same 6-7 block radius, a working class neighborhood called Wilson Heights. Meanwhile, Duncan has discovered an old receipt in the journal that indicates Roach received an employee discount at the local mall. Now that they have narrowed down the man’s possible home and work place, they focus their attention on the mall. After deducing that Roach might be a security guard because of his need to have power over others, they follow two likely candidates home, but are disappointed when both men end up having families or girlfriends. Duncan is so disheartened that he considers giving up altogether.
Then, they receive a huge break: Roach himself comes to the Lost and Found, looking for his journal. Duncan is shocked to finally see his imaginary nemesis in the flesh, but after pretending to look for the lost journal (it’s actually hidden at the bottom of his closet at home) he tells the man he can’t find it. Roach leaves, and Duncan tells his boss he’s taking lunch so that he can follow him. After he watches Roach enter a small nondescript house in Wilson Heights, then leave a short while later, he decides to call Wayne for help. Wayne is a semi-retired shoplifter and consummate lock picker, and while he’s annoyed that Duncan hadn’t informed him until now about he and Vinnie’s secret project, he agrees to pick the Roach’s front door so Duncan can take a look around.
With Wayne’s help, Duncan no only gets into the house, but is able to access the locked basement as well. But they must tread quietly, as they discover Roach’s old, deaf grandmother is watching television inside. Duncan explores the basement while Wayne waits outside. He finds animals in jars of formaldehyde, a police scanner, and a small windowless room which seems to be awaiting a captive, before he hears footfalls on the stairway. He hides in the room, but it’s too late, Roach has returned and realized someone is in his sanctuary. Duncan bursts out of the room, brandishing the metal bar used to barricade the door as a weapon. Roach has a knife, and they each get in one blow before Duncan manages to run up the stairs and out of the house. Bleeding badly from a cut ion his arm, Duncan races to the subway station, pursued by Roach. Wayne sees him leave, but loses him on the side streets. Duncan makes it to the subway platform, but the train doesn’t come right away and Roach has time to catch up. After a short tussle, both of them end up on the tracks, but Duncan is able to roll away under the platform edge while Roach, who is disoriented, is hit and killed by an incoming train.
Duncan survives with twenty stitches, a broken arm, and a concussion. He, Wayne and Vinnie decide never to tell anyone what really happened. As far as the police know, Duncan’s attack was a botched mugging, as he claims he can’t really remember what happened. Duncan burns the journal, goes back to work at the Lost and Found, and after a session of night swimming with Vinnie at the public pool, is relieved to realize that he can no longer hear Maya’s underwater screams.
The Message: It’s dangerous to take the law into your own hands. Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself.
Who’s it for? 8th-12th grade. The topic is gritty, but not any more so than most of the crime dramas on television that most teens are well versed in, and may even watch with their parents. McNamee sprinkles the text with several facts about serial killers, which may prompt older readers to do some research of their own into this fascinating, disturbing topic.
Why it rocks:
•Voice: Duncan’s first person narration makes the fast-moving action that more immediate and compelling. His conversations with Vinnie and Wayne are often humorous, and help offset some of the frightening tension.
•Plot: McNamee’s premise of a serial killer’s journal turning up in the subway Lost and Found is nothing short of genius, and sets the stage for a suspenseful thrill ride that only grows more exciting with the turn of each page. The subplot of Duncan’s prolonged grief over the drowning accident sometimes gets in the way of the heart-stopping action, but will help explain Duncan’s motivation to the rule-following teen readers who have a hard time understanding his persistent pursuit of the dangerous Roach.
• Pacing: Relentless. McNamee never lets up the tension; from the moment Duncan finds the diary, he and the reader are inexorably pulled towards his final meeting with Roach.
• Characterization: Duncan is nicely rounded, as are Vinnie and Wayne, who each threaten to steal scenes every time they come onto the page. Duncan’s parents are excellent examples of caring, working class people who don’t have much material resources, but are trying to set a good example for their son.
Hook it up with: Tenderness by Robert Cormier
Read more about it:
Booklist: 09/15/03
Horn Book: 04/01/04
Kirkus Review: 09/15/03
Publishers Weekly, starred: 11/10/03
School Library Journal: 11/01/03
V.O.Y.A. (Voice of Youth Advocates): 12/01/03
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