Is the weekend already here? Where did the week go? I think I spent most of the week in a tizzy over my inability to make decisions. I certainly didn’t spend it winning any home school of the week awards.
It IS February. That time of year when thou mayst in me behold lethargy, apathy, and general malaise. I spent most of yesterday ignoring my children, hiding in the bathroom and the back porch, in order to read a frustrating book. Actually, it was a book I could have loved and I would’ve loved, if it weren’t for a few choices the author made. The book is The FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper, written for young adults. It is the second in a series, but I didn’t realize that when I checked it out from the library. The concept is fun: a group of 4 young royals (and their illegitimate cousin) from the sovereign island nation of Montmaray, hypothetically across from the coast of Spain, escape to England to live with their aunt when their island nation is captured by the Nazis. It’s 1937, and the aunt wants the girls to be debutantes, so there’s talk of dresses and parties, but the two older girls (actually cousins) are more interested in British literature and pre-World War II politics. The aunt supplies all the finery for coming out and sets up their social calendar. Even though they are royals, their nation was not rich, and they lived like commoners there. So they have to learn how to behave in society and figure out how to reclaim their island, if they can.
In the meanwhile the Germans are advancing across Europe, but the British are adhering to their policy of nonintervention. So the young FitzOsborne’s cause scandal with their bad manners and for standing up to Fascists and stuffy Conservatives. They don’t quite go to the length of becoming Communists, but they and all of the smart characters are atheists; even the Jewish tutor is an atheist Jew. The only religious character is the crazy house-keeper who is locked up in the insane asylum because she attempted to murder one of the main characters. In addition to being an atheist Communist sympathizer, the young king of Montmaray is in love with his male cousin. I think he’s supposed to be a version of Sebastian Flyte from Brideshead Revisited, but neither he nor his sisters have any angst over his sexuality or lack of faith. They are all too enlightened.
They aren’t able to win back their country, but they do make the government aware of their plight. The book ends with World War II just about to explode, and the sequel is on the way. I wish I could like this book and look forward to the sequel, but I’m frustrated by young adult books that try to undermine faith and morals. I have a double standard for books for kids – I don’t mind reading about an atheist in a book written for adults, but I don’t want my kids reading books that normalize behaviors that I don’t want them to have. Is this being a controlling parent? I visited the author’s blog to find out more about her and came across this discussion: http://michellecooper-writer.com/blog/2011/11/that-gayya-thing/ . Interesting. I guess I’m one of those readers like the Youth Librarian who holds YA lit to a different standard. Censorship of children's books is an issue I have conflicted feelings about. I want to hide from issue books, if not hide them.
2 comments:
I definitely think YA should be held to a different standard.I read all sorts of things I shouldn't as a teen because my mom didn't ever try to police my reading. And it wasn't good for me at all. In fact as I'm going through my bookshelves and trying to purge some of the excess one of the questions in the back of my mind is whether I want the kids to stumble upon the book and think it's ok to read because it's on mom's shelf-- as I did when I was younger. Several books I rather like have gone into the give away box because I don't think they are appropriate for younger readers. I'm not saying there won't be any books in the house that have more touchy subject matter, but I'm trying to be thoughtful about what I keep and why.
Melanie - we must have had a similar experience with our parents' shelves... which is why I gave away the Ken Follett book.
It's a tough call about what's appropriate. There's a lot in common between this book and Brideshead Revisited, but I'd much rather older teens read BR, because it gives so much weight to issues of sexuality and lack of faith. What's concerning is the wide variation in Young Adult books -- and I can't keep up!
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