Challenged books

While this isn't my section, it does seem that many books that are challenged or banned come from the YA section. That section is near and dear to my heart. Was when I was a kid and a teen, and still is as an adult.

I don't like the idea of someone not liking parts of a book and therefore wanting to deprive EVERYONE of that book. Just because your school has an anti-alcohol group, doesn't mean that there shouldn't be any books where characters are depicted as drinking. We all learn different things from reading. And if all you read is the page where the character has sex for the first time, and not the next chapter depicting her worries about the consequences, you may want to ban something that's actually reinforcing your message.

And what prompted this?

http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20100517/FON0101/5170327/1985/FONent

Now, this worries me, as it seems like there have been more of these in the news as of late. So, what does that have to do with me? A librarian who orders graphic novels for adults, which we have defined as 16+?

Well, a lot.

If more and more challenges are appearing, how much longer will it be before someone takes a hard look at a YA graphic novel section and is shocked and appalled by what they find?

Which bring me to part of the reason for this blog. Not all graphic novels are appropriate for teens.

There. I've said it.

And I want to repeat it. Having a graphic novel section for adults is important. It allows you to put "edgier" titles in the library, but in a clear demarcation that tells parents that it might not be suitable for younger children, even if it is a graphic novel (comic book). It also allows those of us that are older a section where we can get books that have mature themes.

I'm not for taking a tally of how many swear words are said or posting a break down of the different incidences of sexual situations that are in the book, nor am I for showing a tally of how many times drugs or alcohol are mentioned.

What I am here for is to let you know what is in the graphic novel. I find it disturbing how little there is for graphic novels, for adults. I also find it disturbing how many graphic novels that are "adult" are on the YALSA list. I can't seem many kids checking out "The Photographer". As cool as the concept of the book is to me, as an adult, it's not really one I see the kids flipping through.

And while I'm rambling, as I have a tendency to do, the end decision lies with the individual librarians, who know their community.

As I have often said, my section is 16+. Why 16+? Because our YA section is grades 7-12, but since we have some Rebecca Caudill's in the YA, we get 4th graders on up in the YA section. We felt is was more appropriate to put the older teen stuff in the adult section. The kids know where it is, and do check out some of the books from there.

Do I think a 16 year old can handle The Watchmen? Sure. It maybe something where they don't get all of it, but they should be able to handle the story and the adult content. Do I think a 12 year old can handle it? I would say no to that.

And while it does depend on the individual child, those are the guidelines with which we work.

Is it perfect? Not be a long shot. But it's working for now.

Refresh, refresh

Refresh, Refresh
Danica Novgorodoff, Benjamin Percy, James Ponsoldt
978-1596435223

To Sum: Three boys in a small country town await news from their dads who are serving in the US Army, overseas. While they wait, they keep hitting refresh on their computers hoping for an e-mail; they beat each other up to toughen up; and they get into normal high school trouble. They also face the fact that life isn't easy.

Things to Watch Out For: Well, they boys fight and drink. They beat each other up, as well as a few other people. The language can be a little crude, but, it's probably a lot closer to how boys actually talk.

Where to Shelve: This one was rated in one of the catalogues at work as 16+, which meant for my library that it goes in the adult section. However, I think most older teens could handle this. If you have just a high school section, this would probably be fine there. However, since we have 7th grade on up, but also have 4th graders on up coming to the YA section, we shelved it in Adult.

I do like that it's a graphic novel (based on a short story by Percy) that shows the hardships for the young men left on the homefront. We have lots of stories, movies, books, about the soldier's life, and some on life on the homefront. But this deals with a modern war and modern young men. It's different enough that it might just catch the interest of the teen boys.

How I Heard About It: It came through School Library Journal? The YA librarian and I talked about where to shelve it. It also appeared in a few other journals.

Other Reviews
http://engl.iastate.edu/news_items/graphic-novel-adaptation-of-benjamin-percys-story-refresh-refresh-published-1.html/
http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/refresh-refresh-review
http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/graphic-novel-picks-fall-2009-teens-other
http://therumpus.net/2009/11/refresh-refresh/
http://www.ala.org/template.cfm?template=/CFApps/awards_info/award_detail_home.cfm&FilePublishTitle=Awards,%20Grants%20and%20Scholarships&uid=5136A2EB25F1418E
(It's on the YALSA list of best graphic novels for teens 2010)
http://lit.newcity.com/2009/09/29/graphic-novel-review-refresh-refresh/


Other links:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23070
http://www.benjaminpercy.com/graphic%20novels.htm

Alan Moore's The Courtyard

Alan Moore's The Courtyard
Alan Moore
978-1592910601

To Sum: A series of murders where the mutilations are very similar as are the dissections, seem to be done by three people with nothing in common. A Fed with a specialty in Anomaly Theory has been sent undercover to find out what's going on. The Fed thinks the murders are tied into a drug called Alko. It's a Lovecraftian tale done in the nearish future.

What to Watch Out For: Well, this deals with H. P. Lovecraft and the mythos he came up with. There's some disturbing imagery, drug use, and talk about mutilated bodies, with some small pictures of parts of the bodies. (Think crime scene photos.)

Also, if you have the same version I have, the language on the intro may offend some. However, it sound like how some people might speak. Not everyone is genteel in their language, and there are people that use language that make sailors sound like schoolboys.

Where to Shelve: It's Alan Moore. Adult. 'Nuff Said. Truth be told, this is probably one of the milder Moore graphic novels I've read. It's not bad in the least bit, but it lacks the depth of say, Watchmen or V for Vendetta. However, it's a trippy, light read.

How I learned of it: Amazon, I think. I was reading up on another graphic novel, and saw this one. Alan Moore is a popular author, so I picked it up.

Other Reviews:

http://www.sfsite.com/01b/tc168.htm
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2009/01/spotlight-graphic-novels-of-january.html
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/104565211541595.htm
http://www.avatarpress.com/thecourtyard/
http://www.mania.com/alan-moores-courtyard_article_36485.html

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters

Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters
Mike Grell
ISBN: 978-0930289386

Green Arrow was one of the first characters I latched onto after being reintroduced to DC Comics. I read Kingdom Come, and in there, he's portrayed dressing like Robin Hood (Sean Connery's Robing Hood from Robin and Marion to be exact). And I love all things Robin Hood, so, he became someone that I wanted to know more about. I was recommended The Longbow Hunters by my comic book guy (every one should have a comic book guy, btw.)

To Sum: By day - Oliver Queen, a man who's getting older and feeling it. He and his love - Dinah Lance - move to Seattle to open a florist shop, but are surprised by the violence and drugs they encounter. By night/undercover - Oliver Queen is Green Arrow, a costumed hero with the ability to shoot a bow and arrow very accurately, and fast. Dinah Lance is Black Canary - a regular woman who uses detective skills and a solid martial arts background to take on the bad guys.

This story is way better than the summary. It was the start of Green Arrow comic being used to tackle grittier real life issues. Hate crimes, drugs and drug use, and more were tackled in the pages of Green Arrow. Green Arrow really focused on trying to help the "little guy". It's a superhero comic that's grounded in reality - no superpowers between the two of them (which is why Black canary doesn't have her sonic scream.)

This story has two prongs. Ollie/Green Arrow dealing with someone who is taking out big whigs using a bow and arrows, and Dinah going undercover to track drug shipments. The two story lines eventually converge.

Things to watch out for: This is a story about two grown ups, doing things grown ups do, as well as fight crime with realistic consequences (you got shot with an arrow and you bleed, sort of consequences). Ollie also tends to do things tastefully naked.

However, the one page that people may find disturbing is where Dinah Lance is being tortured by a sadistic man. Many people assume that she was also raped at that point, but the author has often commented on the fact that, no, she was just brutally tortured. (And isn't that enough?) While I'm usually not a fan of "female gets kidnapped and the hero swoops in to save her", it works here. What Dinah was doing, she was doing alone, and somehow was found out. Ollie doesn't just swoop in and save her and everything is alright - no, he has a moment of blind rage. This is the Ollie that most of us who are fans of Green Arrow know.

There's also things that come up from the past as to why the big whigs are being hunted, which ties into a string of "modern" prostitutes that are being killed.

I will say, that I find the artwork amazing. While the story line is not for children, it's a good one for adults. Ollie questioning his age, which is something few heroes ever do.

Where to shelve: Oh, adults. This started off as being part of DC's "Mature Line", which eventually became Vertigo. And this definitely falls into the mature side of things.

Other reviews:

http://www.noflyingnotights.com/greenarrow.html#greenarrowlh (It's second to last)
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/97379109637884.htm
http://www.comicbookbin.com/greenarrowlongbowhunters000.html

Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto

Place holder for next week



Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto

To Sum: Dark and twisted humor, front and center. Strips from an on-line comic strip (web comic) are collected. Despite the candy colored cover and insides, really, heed the warning on the cover page of "For Mature Audiences".

What to watch out for: It's hilarious, and offensive, in the best possible way. There are lots of sexually cartoony images and innuendos (I liked the Hammer Man coming home to find a screw in his wife - who is a board in a bikini. The next scene is Hammer Man fighting with his neighbor Screwdriver Man.) There's plenty of wrongness here, but it's done in a way that one of the pages at work said "I'm so offended, but I can't stop reading." Which pretty much sums it up. It's offensive, but you want to know what's on the next page.

Where To Shelve: Adult. No hesitation with this one. It says right inside the front cover "For Mature Audiences" and Dark Horse (the publisher) lists it at 16+.

How I learned about it: It had been reviewed in a journal or catalog, however, it was a bear to actually get. Also, the review mentioned the hilarity aspect, but not really the adult and wrongness (in the right way) of it.

Reviews:

http://www.shinyshelf.com/2007/11/10/the-trial-of-colonel-sweeto-and-other-stories/
http://www.playbackstl.com/content/view/6774/167/
http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/08/29/the-trial-of-colonel-sweeto-by-nicholas-gurewitch/
http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/13-825/The-Perry-Bible-Fellowship-The-Trial-of-Colonel-Sweeto-and-Other-Stories-HC
http://www.avclub.com/articles/comics-of-note-november-9-2007,22511/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2007/nov/02/bloodshedcrueltymurderthes
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/11/the_perry_bible_fellowships_fi.html

New Yorker Magazine did an interview with the creator:
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/11/nicholas_gurewitch_kind_of_reg.html

Book of Bunny Suicides

Book of Bunny Suicides
Return of the Bunny Suicides
Andy Riley

The books can be found individually, in a set, as a postcard book, in a Big Book of Bunny Suicides.

I said somethings about these books earlier, but I figured it's time to expand.

To Sum: Cartoon drawings of fluffy bunnies killing themselves in unique fashions. Some of them are just one panel, others span up to six (maybe eight). Often times there's cultural references - mostly to things adults would get. Very British in humor, not surprising given that the creator is, funny enough, British. Generally, however, these ways of suicide are not very likely to occur in real life, or by most humans. Part of the humor is that these bunnies are bound and determined, and often, it's not even noticed by the humans that are right there. (The one exception is Darth Vader.)

Things to Watch Out For: Well, there isn't a whole lot of sex. There's not a whole lot of nudity (unless one counts the fact that the bunnies are not wearing clothing). The thing that people will take note is the fact that these bunnies are trying to kill themselves - in very unrealistic scenarios. However, the idea of suicide seems to be the one people who have complained about this book are latching onto.

These are meant to be funny. They aren't meant to encourage suicide, but to poke fun at it. Some of the suicides are so elaborate, or so out there, that you know not to take it seriously.

Where to Shelve: This is going to be one of those where I fall back to who was the intended audience. Given the references, most of which anyone alive and functioning in the 80's would get, I would have to say this is for adults. Would 13 year-olds get the jokes? Most likely. But there are probably some that would go over their head. Like, say this panel:



Most adults have been exposed to enough British humor/culture that they're going to get most of what's going on, as well as having been alive for the cultural references. (Okay, most of us don't really need to have been alive to understand the hand-gesture to Hitler, but the statue of Saddam falling? The Doctor Who joke?) I will say that the humor is very, very British.

How I learned of it: It came out when I was working at a chain bookstore. A bunch of us flipped through it when we saw it.

Other reviews:

http://www.curledup.com/bunnysui.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/05/31/review.summer.books/index.html (review is about 3/4ths of the way down)
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6418669.html (Under the category "What's so funny?")
http://pfacker.wordpress.com/books/graphic-novels/

Past incidents:

http://www.kval.com/news/local/31282894.html
http://www.kval.com/news/local/31378584.html
http://www.lita.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2008/october2008/bunnieswontburn.cfm

In The Flesh

Have not read, nor reviewed. I think I ordered it based off of reviews in LJ and BL. Haven't had any complaints about it yet, but I pulled it off the shelf to look at it, and could see someone raisin' a ruckus over the few panels I saw.

A coworker checked it out before I could. We'll see what happens.

Just preparing in case

Reviews
http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/3707
http://www.anthemmagazine.com/story/1318
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345508713
http://pageandstage.blogspot.com/2009/04/koren-shadmis-in-flesh.html
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/5/32_5_zf_graphic_artist.html
http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780345508713?&PID=32442
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2009/02/spotlight-graphic-novels-of-february.html

Auschwitz

Auschwitz
By Pascal Croci
ISBN: 9780810948310 (Hardcover)

Impressions: I've never read Maus. It's something I've been meaning to remedy for a while, but haven't. I have read other accounts of the Holocaust - both fiction and non-fiction, but not in graphic novel format. The artwork in this is captivating - both horrific and stark, reflecting the subject matter - and it is breathtaking.

To Sum: A couple in Yugoslavia in 1993 take refuge during the ethnic war in Bosnia. The old man says that is it time to remember, and begins to talk about his time in Auschwitz - where he finally got assigned to cleaning out the gas chambers. His wife picks up where he leaves off and tells what happened to her, and their daughter. The final pages brings us back to present day, and the fate of the couple.

One might ask the question - do we really need another graphic novel about the Holocaust? Or another book on it?

This book, in my mind, tells us why we need most of them. Yes, there are a few I can do without, as they over simplify what happened, or give a distorted idea of what went on. (Yes, I'm thinking of a certain book that was written for children/young YA.) This book, however, reminds us that the Holocaust isn't just the past. Events like it are still happening. And we must remember.

Things to watch out for: There's a lot of death. Most of it senseless. There are scenes of mass murder. Of burying the bodies (naked) from the gas chambers. Granted, given the title, most people should know not to expect champagne and roses, but better to err on the side of caution.

Where to shelve: Depending on your library, adult. Some may argue YA, but that will depend on your library. If you have just a high school section, or you are a high school librarian, I think this would be a valuable addition. However, if you are a public library, I would err on the side of caution and put this in the adult section. There is little in the way of nudity, but this is the Holocaust. Croci does not shy away from death and other unpleasant aspects of the Holocaust. And he also raised a lot of ethical dilemmas, and philosophical questions.

Who to recommend this to: People who have read Maus. Depending on the teen/child - those that have read Surviving Hitler. (Which is a far superior book to Boy in the Striped Pajamas, in my opinion.) Those that read Milkweed MAY also like this. This might also be good for adults who may have read Maus, or heard of it. There are a number of graphic novels dealing with the Holocaust, and personal memoirs of that time. This, with its eye-catching cover, is a quick, but deep read. I plan on rereading it a few more times as the end sheds more light on the story.

There is also an interview with the creator and how the story came about. While it is fiction, the author did a lot of research for it.

How I learned of it: Booklist had a review, as did Library Journal. The cover is very, very eye catching.

Other Reviews:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515c2769e200d835398e1969e2
http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/2004/04/auschwitz_graph.html
http://catalog.dclibrary.org/vufind/Record/ocm52458976/Reviews
http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=1&c=20&s=422&ai=66611
http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=HARDCOVER:USED:9780810948310:8.95
http://tickettoanywhere.blogspot.com/2009/02/auschwitz-by-pascal-croci.html