Gotta Love Sarah

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BasicGuy has another award winning post titled "It's not Time to Retreat, but to Reload." Check it out. I think Sarah is right-on.

About Paul West

Paul West is a freelance writer and novelist. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Paul claims to be a "Prune Picker," though he now makes his home in Taylorsville, Utah.

You can follower him on Twitter: @PaulWWest

Published: Monday, March 29, 2010

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Again by Laurie Halse Anderson. Frankly, "Prom" disappointed me. She was nominated for the National Book Award with "Speak" but I can't help wondering whether she only had one good book in her? Maybe she'll write another good one someday, but "Prom" just didn't grab me. There was no trouble in the first few chapters for me to get concerned about. Then, she describes how the main character (girl) was hot for some loser. I suppose if I'd read on, I would have gotten concerned for the MC's judgement, but I got tired of wading through the first few chapters and gave up.

Maybe someone else will have a different opinion.
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I just finished reading "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anders. It's a YA story that won "National Book Award Finalist" several years ago. Frankly, I enjoyed this book more than I did Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol." It's a not-too-edgy story about how a 9th grade girl copes with having been raped by a 12th grade boy. There are a few scenes that I don't see as being necessary, except to let us understand her mood, but overall, the story is great. Very poignant. And Ms. Anders' writing style is great. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to write YA.

What I especially liked was that the story was told without foul language, vulgarity, and without being graphic when it came to the rape depictions and it still was an exciting read. So, for those of you who say you gotta be "realistic" I say, you're being lazy. Our youth hear enough of that garbage in school. They don't need to hear it from us adults too. We need to be better examples.
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