Week 8 Sex in YA Lit: "Anatomy of a Boyfriend" by Daria Snadowsky

Snadowsky, Daria. Delacorte, 2007. 

Pages [272p.][$9.99] ISBN [0385733208]

From Goodreads: "Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.

And then came the fall."

As a teenager I can recall reading this book (around it's release date, when I was 17 years of age). At the time I really did quite enjoy it as I was on a "Rom-Com kick" (primarily those romantic comedies written in Simon & Schuster's Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies imprint). That being said, reading it some 5 years later I must admit that I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first time around (for a number of different reasons, one being that I can no longer relate to the high school-aged characters like I once could, another that I have read so many books of this nature since then that I can't help but compare them, and so forth). My personal opinions of the novel aside, I do appreciate the book quite a bit, namely due to it being such an instrumental book in the history of YA- introducing sex to young readers. 

At the time that I read this book I knew very little about the realm of sex, aside from what I had learned in school during sex ed. classes. Therefore, this book taught me a number of things, perhaps more than any of those classes did, for instance, not only about safe sex practices (Snadowsky makes explicit mention of what form of birth control is being used, and discusses those options which aren't being used, such as diaphragms), but also about the human body (Snadowsky also doesn't follow the trend in YA of authors "dumbing down" their content, namely in the form of medical jargon, Dom references her GRAY'S ANATOMY a number of times during the text) and sexuality. 

That being said, as we made mention of last class during our graphic novel discussion I know that the question as to whether or not you would recommend this book to a YA may come up- some believing that it has questionable content. Personally, I was never monitored/ censored in what I read as a child and teenager and therefore I do not see myself ever posing those limits on someone.

WEEK 7 Reading Across Media and Formats: "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier

Telgemeier, Raina. GRAPHIX, 2010.
Pages [232p.] [$9.95] ISBN [0545132053]

From Goodreads: "From the artist of BSC Graphix comes this humorous coming-of-age true story about the dental drama that ensues after a trip-and-fall mishap.

Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there's still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly."

Raina Telgemeier is the author of a number of BSC GRAPHIX graphic novels including, but not limited to, SMILE, DRAMA, KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA, and AGNES QUILL: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MYSTERY. SMILE is a standalone, based upon Telgemeier's childhood. As Telgemeier writes, "It's all true. I was in sixth grade when I fell and knocked out my teeth, and I have been dealing with the consequences ever since. I had braces, a lot of surgery, and a lot of awkward smiles as a result. The comic SMILE was born out of a need to get the whole experience down on paper, since I spent so much time telling people about it" (Source). Smile was a 2010 New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2010, a 2011 ALA Notable Children's Book, a 2011 YALSA Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens pick, and a Children's Choice Book Award Finalist (Source).

Admittedly I had never thought that I would read a graphic novel, however, after having finished this I am kicking myself for having waited so long to do so. I believe that, while quite humorous, the content of the story is one in which many readers can relate to (I personally can having experienced a similar situation to Raina when I was also in grade six). I wish that I had had this novel at that time to reassure me that I was not alone during such a difficult and awkward time in my life.

I believe that this novel will appeal to readers of all ages with all that it has to offer- enchanting and appealing illustrations, the narrative which flows easily, relateable characters and situations, humor, and so forth.

YALSA's Great Graphic Novels of 2013

Alongside announcing their YALSA also announced their list of Great Graphic Novels of 2013. This list is composed of 55 titles divided by fiction and non-fiction. Included among the selected titles are DRAMA by Raina Telgemeier, STEVE JOBS: GENIUS BY DESIGN by Jason Quinn and Amit Tayal and A FLIGHT OF ANGELS by Alisa Kwitney, Rebecca Guay and others.

YALSA's 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults

YALSA recently announced it's 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults. Of the 102 books I have read 10- THE PLEDGE by Kimberly Derting, THE DIVINERS by Libbra Bray, CROAK by Gina Damico, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green, THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa, ENCHANTED by Alethea Kontis, THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas, AU REVOIR CRAZY EUROPEAN CHICK by Joe Shreiber, and GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers.

Of those that I have read I highly recommend CINDER, a book whose elements you wouldn't think would work together but do (cyborgs, aliens, futuristic society Cinderella), THE IMMORTAL RULES, a different sort of vampire tale, THE PLEDGE, a dystopian I can confidently say is like no other I have ever read before, and GRAVE MERCY, featuring a character who could give even Katniss Everdeen a run for her money.

Of those that I haven't read I am most curious about UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan, TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson (which I've had sitting on my shelves, untouched, since its release date), GRAFFITI MOON by Cath Crowley, SCARLET by A.C. Gaughen, INSIGNIA by S.J. Kincaid (again, another book I've had since its release date), I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga, and THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers.

Have you read any of the book included on the list? If so, thoughts?

Fun Facts About YA

-In the summer of 2012 NPR Books undertook a survey to determine which are the best ever young adult books according to popular vote. Included in this list are THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green, the DIVERGENT series by Veronica Roth and the PRINCESS DIARIES series by Meg Cabot
-According to Publisher's Weekly 55% of YA books are bought by those between the ages of 30 to 44 (78% of those in this age category buy the books for themselves rather than for a YA in their life)
-YA is the world's fastest growing genre (Fantasy and realistic-fiction are the most popular genres within the realm of YA)
-After J.K. Rowling's success with the genre many other big named authors decided to try their hand at it (for instance, Joyce Carol Oates)
-YA lit has the support of many big names behind it including TIME magazine book critic Lev Grossman
-A recent topic in the world of YA that has been both dominating blogs and Twitter has been on sex in YA (This topic has primarily stemmed from Simon Pulse announcing that they would be adding an additional 10,000 words to Abbi Glines' THE VINCENT BOYS series, 10,000 words which contain "explicit, adult sexual content"-For more thorough analysis of this topic visit STACKED)