Saturday, April 10, 2010

Changes

So I haven't been keeping up with my blog as much as I'd like. I don't want to this to just become a dumping ground for me to post all the books I get for review and I have decided to make a change. Tonight at dinner my friends and I were talking about the political role blogs can play, and while it is definitely not necessary for a blog to be political or discuss controversial topics, it is a good place for these topics when they arise. One of the things I am most interested in the study of YA literature are the voices that have typically been silenced. There has been much discussion about the lack of books, and book reviews, of YA lit by or about POC (People of Color), as well as other groups of people who are oppressed or minoritized (which isn't a really word, but it means what it sounds like.) Specifically I am talking about books by and about LGBT people. Lots of blogs don't want to focus on books that fall specifically within this category which is totally valid, I mean not everyone has focus on a 'very important issue' but I have decided I want to.

So this is where the changes come in, I am going to try to review mainly books by or about POC and LGBT people (or both!) I already have some books that fall into that category, but now I will hopefully have a lot more! Of course, if I read something that I consider to be "the best book ever" and it doesn't fall into that category, I am still going to review it.

My hope is, as a teacher and a future librarian, one day we won't need to have specific places to go to discuss these types of books, that the literature students, teens and everyone reads is just naturally diverse. But until then, here goes!

1 comment:

  1. i think this is fantastic! one of the things i've noticed with lgbt lit is how much of it is focused on the hardships and the struggles -- and while that's valuable, it's refreshing to read something like boy meets boy by david levithan, where the characters get to live out an ideal lgbt life and just be kids in love.

    also, i know it's gotten lots of attention, but what is WITH the continued cover whitewashing? bloomsbury did it not once, but TWICE -- even after outcry the first time (with liar)! http://jezebel.com/5451058/magic-under-glass-the-white+washing-of-young-adult-fiction-continues

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