{I turn off the internet for five minutes, and…}

BOOM. Controversy. Shrieking. Finger-pointing. Vitriolic ranting.

New Lanark D 082

I see I can’t leave you people alone for even a minute.

I’m not in the habit of listing every award I’ve won on my blog, mainly because there just aren’t that many, and also because it gets to feeling weird and icky and self-serving, and I’m pretty sure that’s not why you’ve stopped by. So, last week when I was included on a new Best 100 Young Adult Books list, along with Harriet the Spy, and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, I was pleasantly cheered, but not intending to write about it. I thought, “Huh! A magazine whose stated goal is ‘to point out the insidious, everyday sexism of popular culture, propose alternatives, and celebrate pro-woman, pro-feminism pop products,’ thinks Mare is cool and profeminist too! Excellent!”

Then, I pretty much went on with my life, which included, helping Tech Boy through some weird viral pneumonia and, wrestling yet again with the end of this @*%$!*& novel, (Which I’d really like to get into shape this week, please, God).

…meanwhile, back at the ranch, the list was surveyed by the internets. And lo, it was seen as Not Good. This morning I read through my usual blogs – Colleen Mondor, John Scalzi, Sarah Wendell – and discovered that sometimes being on Greenwich Mean Time means I am so behind the curve. Apparently as of yesterday, other fine publications once included on the list were yanked for various reasons. Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels, for one, which is odd, considering that it’s a Printz-winner and is beautifully written and intensely literary. It is a book that readers may not like, as Lanagan also writes things which are disturbing and intense, but she “tells the true” in a way which speaks movingly of real life, as seen through the fractured fairy tales she uses. (Think fairy tales minus Disney – the originals, as written, where people lied, bled and died – and you’ve got the gist.) Because Lanagan’s book was on the list, I thought it was there because the list-compilers had read and appreciated it, in spite of its dark and painful aspects.

Tallinn 137

Um… no. They hadn’t read it. They put it on a list because they’d researched it and it sounded good, and then, based on an excerpt which someone provided and a very virulent criticism which led to them finally reading it, they removed it. This was true of other books as well, some of which were removed – the common denominator of all books removed is that they dealt with rape… which apparently the people who screeched felt was too upsetting for feminist women to have to read about. (That’s simplifying a great deal, but it seemed to be the upshot of the issue, most things considered.)

Well, obviously, this is a Problem. Mainly because it’s a problem which seems to dog young adult authors. Do any adult mainstream novels have people trailing after the authors, pointing fingers and screeching about their content? Not so much. But somehow, YA has its self-elected Gatekeepers, and boy do they like to point fingers and screech and ban. This is not to say that the people who had issues with the Lanagan book and others may not have reasons, but I’m not sure that having a reason is an excuse to apply your reading preferences to the world at large… and to demand that books be removed from a list, or a library, or a classroom. Further, to my mind this list of books was included in an adult-marketed magazine, and if adult people had issues with the books on the list, they could, then, fail to finish reading them… but screeching and finger-pointing is apparently a right listed in the Constitution after that bit about “the pursuit of happiness.”

Woodlands 4

Anyway, now many authors whose books were listed are pretty darned ticked. And yesterday, many, many of them said, in mostly polite and intelligent tones, Dear List Makers, please remove me from your list, as I don’t support your book-bannin’ ways.

Well. I didn’t. Ask to be removed from the list, that is. Mainly because all of this drama happened while I was asleep in bed and I fear it would be a sort of also-ran/copycat move by now; more of a gesture than an act with any real meaning. The list is out, people are officially incensed, and that’s pretty much it. Also, I didn’t request they remove my book because I don’t care to engage with the over-the-top shrieking going on in the hundreds of comments on the site – you’ll note I didn’t even link to it (linking to it drives traffic to their site, which I do not choose to do). But mainly I didn’t do it, because I am sort of wondering what, if anything, it means to still be ON that list. And, I’m thinking that the list, with its cross-outs and arrows and shrieking commentary notes in the margins, now has no meaning whatsoever.

It’s kind of like the scratch paper at the end of study hall. It was useful to scribble on to figure things out. Now that you’ve learned, throw the wadded up list away, and move on to the next class. No doubt the world has something else to teach.

8 Replies to “{I turn off the internet for five minutes, and…}”

  1. Staying out of the fray seems like a sane decision. I think it’s great to question lists and have discussions about them, but I’m not sure they’re worth getting angry about. A list only has as much meaning as people choose to give it.

    Although, I’m glad any time your books get some extra attention. They deserve it. Speaking of which, good luck with that book ending. I am, as ever, eagerly awaiting your next book.

  2. A ditto of a wow here.
    All I know is that I loved Mare. I went into the book expecting it to be more about the girls (which it was, of course), but I loved being immersed so fully into Mare’s world. Brava. List or no list, it’s a keeper and a great book for girls.

  3. Wow! I missed this, too. It sounds as if it was a great list before all of the kerfuffle. And yes, what Laura Salas said: Mare deserves to be on there!

  4. Wonderful post, Tanita, and welcome back. I hope Tech Boy is fully recovered 🙂 I plan to step away from the internet very soon, too, to give myself my own ‘writing retreat’ of sorts and tackle the end of my own novel. I just hope and pray I have the discipline to do it! The best of luck with your WIP and congratulations — you’re a dynamo.

    Lists! Lists! The root of the problem here, as you say, is that the books on the list weren’t read by these compilers, which is disturbing! Bask in the fact that their research showed Mare’s War to be worthy. You also raise an interesting point about the added scrutiny leveled at YA which I hadn’t previously considered and which is a complex issue.

    And, please, do share your good news with us and your many accomplishments. We’re happy for you and want to share in the celebrations — you deserve all the nods, accolades and awards you receive. Yo Go!

  5. Well, crap. They didn’t READ the books they put on their list? What the…?

    Oh well. Mare deserves to be on there, and I like your decision to stay out of the fray. Go, Mare! I read you and loved you!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.