Tag Archives: Sarah Ockler

Banned Books Week: Debs Speak Loudly

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Graphics from ALA

Last week I blogged about Wesley Scroggins editorial in which he called for the removal of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, “a book called Slaughterhouse Five” (’cause, yanno, you might not have heard of this Kurt Vonnegut guy) and Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer from the schools and curriculum in his local schools. An editor’s note reported that superintendent of the Republic said that Twenty Boy Summer was under review, while Slaughterhouse Five had been removed from the curriculum.

I explained in my previous post why I think Ockler’s book is so amazing. Scroggins at best grossly misinterpreted it and, at worst, is purposefully misrepresenting it. Either way, we fellow Debs took this attack personally. But, organized by Saundra Mitchell, we are taking the high ground and we’re giving readers a chance to decide for themselves what they think about Sarah’s book. Debs Speak Loudly is a chance for you to win one of 100 copies of Twenty Boy Summer donated by us and Sarah’s publisher, Little Brown. So head over to the post and leave a comment — it’s as easy as that to enter!

Speak Loudly

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Others who follow Laurie Halse Anderson’s blog will have read with dismay about the man in Missouri who equated her book, Speak, about a girl who is raped, with pornography. I am sure I cannot say as well as Laurie’s fans the power and impact of this book. She collected the responses into a poem which you can see her reading here:

I would also recommend you read Saundra Mitchell’s response to Scroggins opinion piece.

In addition to attacking Speak and classic Slaughterhouse Five (which he introduces as though his readers may not have heard of it), Scroggins sees fit to call filthy one of the more powerful books I read last year: Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer. Ockler’s debut novel tells the story of Anna, who was secretly having a relationship with her best friend Anna’s older brother, Matt. After Matt dies, she is stricken with grief, but can’t speak about the depth of her pain. It is poignant and powerful, a thoughtful examination of grief and friendship. In his description, Scroggins gets some of the events right, but when he claims the book “glorifies” some of the things that go on — well, clearly he needs to learn how to read for nuance and tone.

Please support Laurie and Sarah. Please share your experiences as Laurie has asked. Let’s make our voices stronger than those who would silence us.

Debs Pageant: Sarah Ockler

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In Secrets of Truth & Beauty, Dara is a former child pageant star. So, in order to introduce you to the wonderful authors and characters of the 2009 Debutantes, I am hosting a Debs Pageant on my blog.

20boyToday I am very excited to introduce you to a character from Sarah Ockler’s 20 Boy Summer. Not only is she a fantastic author who is rightfully drawing comparisons to Sarah Dessen, but also she is the one who organized this whole Debs Blog Tour.

Character name: Frankie Perino
Age: 16
Biography: I’m main character Anna’s best friend. Since my brother Matt died last year, things have been really tough on everyone, and kind of weird between Anna and me. I’m really hoping our trip this summer will help her forget stuff and bring us closer again.

What is your talent? Definitely fashion and makeup. At least, those are the things that come easy for me, and that people expect me to be good at. I would love to sing, though no one has ever heard me. Well, just Matt, but he’s not here anymore.

What will you wear for the evening dress competition? Something tight and silver, long, flashy but not trashy, you know? I definitely need to look hot in this thing, but I don’t want to look, like, overdone.

Who is your escort? Can I pick my BFF Anna? Honestly I’m so tired of guys right now that I’d rather spend the night hanging out with my best girlfriend, even if I am in the hottest dress of the season.

And now for the interview portion . . . What’s the biggest challenge facing today’s youth?
The biggest challenge facing today’s youth is finding a way to be ourselves without fear of judgment. After my brother died, most of my friendships died, too. Everyone thought I didn’t want to talk about Matt, so they stopped asking about him, and the more I tried to find meaning in my life, the more unconnected – I mean, disconnected – I felt. It’s really hard to figure out how to be a “normal teen” when the meaning of “normal” keeps changing, and then when something crazy happens in your life, everyone seems to judge without asking. So it gets easier to live up to those judgments and bury the real you somewhere deep inside. I don’t mean to make this all about me. I see the same thing going on with all of my former friends. They’re all acting out these roles, like ways they think people want them to act, but I can see the truth in their eyes. I know how to look for it now — that look, I mean — because it’s the same one staring back at me every morning in the mirror. We’ve all got a long way to go before we can figure out how to be ourselves. Ugh. Listen to me going off. Anyway, how is this dress working out? Anna and I really know how to rock metallics, right?!

Thanks Frankie and Sarah!

If you want to find out more about Sarah, please visit her website.

To purchase her book, you can order it from Barnes & Noble, or go to your local bookstore. I asked Sarah for a bookstore recommendation, and here’s what she said:

If you’re in the Buffalo area, check out B is for Books in Orchard Park, NY. It’s an indie specializing in books for teens and kids, and Jane (the owner) is wonderful. We’re doing a Twenty Boy Summer Girls Day at the store on June 25, and I can’t wait! We’re going to make sea glass jewelry and drink lemonade and talk about books — yay! B is for Books is truly a great shop!

So shuffle off to Buffalo everyone!