It just seems like asking for a banning to me. And--what a surprise--it has been.
And doesn't it seem like SLJ had to include that "squeaky clean" only because of the title?
You can read the SLJ and Booklist reviews here.
Book Description (from jacket flap):
Meet Felicia, 14-year-old student at the Manhattan Free Children's School (also known as the Pound). In Felicia's world, she and her best friends, Jess and Kat, like to refer to themselves as the Sex Kittens, and the boys they know as the Horn Dawgs.
Felicia is getting tired of waiting for a Horn Dawg to notice her uniqueness, however. So she devises a project she and the object of her affection, Matthew the Science Brain, can work on together. Felicia is determined to discover the Secret of Love with Matthew while winning both Matthew's heart and the science fair. But love has other plans.
(Doesn't it always?)
Now, before you get all riled up, YES, I bought this for the teenhole. YES, if someone tried to challenge it, I'd fight. But, you know, I almost didn't buy it. Think back to when you were in 6th grade (SLJ puts this book as for 6-9 grade; Booklist says 7-10), at the library with your parents. Or at the school library with your friends. Would you have picked up a book with the word SEX in big bubble letters on the cover? It's embarrassing.
It seemed then, and still does now, like this title was chosen specifically to perk up sales on what would otherwise be yet another nice girl romance. Read those reviews again. Go ahead, I'll wait. They aren't very good, are they?
VOYA's is better:
One of the better humorous and sexless chick-lit books, it might attract male readers. The book is a match for middle school and public libraries.
But, again, my middle-schoolers who want sexless chicklit AREN'T GOING TO GET A BOOK WITH "SEX" ON THE COVER PAST THEIR PARENTS.
Plus, how many damn times can SLJ say "light and fluffy" in one review? For reals.
Kirkus almost comes out and calls it false advertising, which is really my point, too:
Although the title belies something steamier, this is a tame offering for younger teens who enjoy Meg Cabot's and Sue Limb's books and are looking for pure entertainment.
If I pick up a book that says SEX on the cover, I've got certain expectations, dammit. This is what I don't like about most pulps, either. And I don't think your average teenage girl would disagree. Otherwise, VC Andrews' corpse is out of a job.
***
SLJ's on my shitlist right now, anyway, because they totally blew the ending of Pucker in their review.
No comments:
Post a Comment