#marvin redpost

[dash-n-step]

Baby's first trans reading

[annies-scrapbook]

kissed my elbow one time when i was a kid and it was all downhill from there

Why are you lgbtq+? wrong answers only GO

[curewhimsy]

A book I read in my childhood just randomly popped in my head and yeah, that book did not have to be as bordering-on psychological horror as it did.

It was called Marvin Redpost: Alone at my Teacher’s House.

I was 7 when I read it and do not remember details but it was horrifying enough that I still remember IT.

So basically this kid was in charge of like, taking care of his disliked teachers dog and had to be alone at their creepy house after school. And it was described in a very intense and grim way, and the target audience was 6-11 year olds I’m guessing?

And in the end of the book, the kid visits the house and finds the dog dead. And he becomes absolutely traumatized and guilt-ridden that he thinks the teacher will think HE was the one who killed the dog. And his grim emotions are described in GREAT INTENSE DETAIL.

And to make matters worse, the book described “piles of dog vomit strewn all over the house” in the buildup scene to the boy finding the dog’s dead body in the bed and I think it played a heavy hand in my vomit phobia.

So yeah, I would classify this book as psychological horror… for children.

[maddie-grove]

Little Book Review: Is He a Girl? (Marvin Redpost #3)

Author: Louis Sachar.

Publication Date: 1993.

Genre: A chapter book, for children.

Premise: Nine-year-old Marvin Redpost learns from eccentric classmate Casey Happleton that, if a boy kisses the outside of his elbow, he turns into a girl. Wildly curious, Marvin gives it a try (with a great deal of difficulty) and spends the next day wondering if it actually did anything. He doesn’t look any different, but he is able to hang by his knees from the jungle gym.

Thoughts: My second grade teacher read this oddity of a book to the class back in 1998-1999, and it stuck in my head, for obvious reasons. It was available on Libby, so I figured why not revisit it. It’s a charming book, in many ways, with some valuable lessons. Sachar pokes gentle fun at the idea of “boy things” (gross-out humor, a game called “wall ball,” wearing only pants and not skirts) and “girl things” (jacks, hopscotch, giggling). Marvin’s curiosity about what it’s like to be a girl and interest in “girl things” are portrayed in a positive manner (even though he goes back to rejecting jacks after he manages to kiss his elbow again). There’s also a nice arc in which Marvin befriends a “weird” girl who’s teased by the other boys, both out of compassion and because she’s pretty cool. Plus, the use of schoolyard lore is charming and funny; it reminded me of hearing a very garbled version of the urban legend from Candyman, which made it sound like Candyman wouldn’t kill you, but would give you clinical depression.

This is a book that comes across differently in 2020 than 1993, though. I don’t think the book is intentionally transphobic; its presentation of gender is complicated enough that I’m not sure it’s unintentionally transphobic. For example, Marvin seems to believe that gender isn’t defined solely by physical characteristics; he entertains the possibility that he’s been turned into a girl despite his unchanged appearance. Being introduced to this idea might dispose readers to be less transphobic. But is the reader supposed to see this belief as silly, given that it’s based on an absurd schoolyard rumor? Then again, is the reader supposed to rule out the possibility that (in the fictional world of Marvin Redpost) this schoolyard rumor has truth to it? Louis Sachar’s books often feature supernatural elements, such as the lady with the psychic third ear in the Wayside School series or the maybe-legit generational curses in Holes, so it seems possible. 

Also, I (a cisgender woman) had no idea that people could be transgender when this book was read to me. When I found out a few years later, thanks to a short paragraph about Christine Jorgensen in a history book, my response was, “Oh, that’s cool--people can be women if they want to be women. I like being a girl, so I get why they’d want to.” That attitude didn’t come from my parents at the time--was it Louis Sachar’s influence? And, if it was, would it have affected me the same way if I’d had a clue about some people being transgender, which many second-graders likely do nowadays? I don’t know! I guess I think there was little harm and much good in this book when it was published, but I’d definitely want to have some follow-up discussions with my (hypothetical) child if they read it.

Hot Goodreads Take: “I'm not sure if grammar-school-age children read books like this anymore,” opines one reviewer. “Kids are practically starting to have sex in as early as 6th grade -- I'm appalled!!” 

Which...okay!! There’s a lot to unpack here:

I am just not sure that’s true. I keep hearing that teens are having sex later and less often, because they’re always on their phone and too busy with school. Unless these sixth graders are having a last hurrah before they need to devote themselves to Algebra, I doubt they’re “practically starting to have sex” in any significant numbers. 

If a sixth grader is “practically starting to have sex,” I’m worried about a lot of things, but “are they making the time to read light-hearted chapter books” isn’t high on that list.

The Marvin Redpost books are young for sixth grade--like, they’re probably most appropriate for nine-year-olds, like the protagonist--so they’re probably safe from the apparent middle-school sex scourge, anyway.

I don’t know whether the reviewer is saying that sex makes you worse at reading (because you only want to have sex), better at reading (because it makes you crave more sophisticated fare than Marvin Redpost), or the same at reading (but you want to read sexier stuff now). 

Ma’am, this is an Arby’s a review of a cute chapter book for kids.

[vacuum-cranium]

There was this story I read back when I was maybe seven or so that I randomly think about from time to time; it was about a boy who was told that if you kiss your elbow you turn into a girl who, invariably, does exactly that. I remember thinking that was really a cool idea. I recently found it again! "Marvin Redpost: Is He A Girl?"

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/900499.Is_He_a_Girl_

[baka-monarch]

I found that old book about a guy who licks his elbow and turns into a girl.

Idk.

I never finished it, but I hope it ends with a lesson about gender dysphoria and how it's okay to not identify with the gender you're assigned at birth.

It probably doesn't.

But I hope it does.

[readlikereblogrepeat]

I’m just here to yell about how much bs “Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth” is

Damn book ended with a kid believing that he couldn’t be some other guy’s kid (despite a preliminary genetic test saying he might be compatible) because the dude had an accent and he didn’t

BRUH

ACCENTS AREN’T GENETIC

[straightmengaythots]

It was this kind of art!!! If anybody has these books, can y'all tell me who the artist is?

Does ANYBODY know the name of the schoolbook fiction art style that's the exact opposite of the romance/smut oil painting covers of that one lady?

Hers were adults in sensual positions, dark, moody, realistic.

The schoolbook fiction ones were kids in a silly situation OR being bewildered, they were bright and colorful, and while realistic, they had a surreal feeling about them?

The art style I'm thinking of is literally right between the art of The Bailey School Kids and Goosebumps.

[darklightescape]

baby trans culture is reading that one marvin redpost book in elementary school and then spending a week trying to kiss yourself on the elbow

[roarformeprettylion]

List of Banned Books

How Many Have You Read?

Children’s Books:

Allan, Nicholas. Where Willy Went

Allard, Harry. Bumps in the Night

Allard, Harry. The Stupids series

Allington, Richard. Once Upon a Hippo

Ancona, George. Cuban Kids

Avi. The Fighting Ground

Babbitt, Natalie. The Devil’s Storybook

Bailey, Jacqui, and Jan McCafferty. Sex, Puberty, and All That Stuff: A Guide to Growing Up

Bannerman, Helen. Little Black Sambo

Birdseye, Tom. Attack of the Mutant Underwear

Blume, Judy. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

Blume, Judy. Blubber

Brannen, Sarah S. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding

Brittain, Bill. The Wish Giver

Brown, Laurie Krasny, and Marc Brown. What’s the Big Secret? Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys

Brown, Marc Tolon. Buster’s Sugartime

Butler, Dori Hillestad. My Mom’s Having a Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy

Carle, Eric. Draw Me a Star

Christensen, James, C., Renwick St. James and Alan Dean Foster. Voyage of the Basset

Clutton-Brock, Juliet. Horse (DK)

Cohen, Daniel. Ghostly Warnings

Cohen, Daniel. Phantom Animals

Cole, Babette. Mommy Laid An Egg

Cole, Joanna. Asking About Sex and Growing Up

Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. Jump Ship to Freedom

Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. My Brother Sam is Dead

Collier, James Lincoln, and Christopher Collier. With Every Drop of Blood

Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War

Coupe, Peter. The Beginner’s Guide to Drawing Cartoons

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach

Dahl, Roald. The Witches

de Haan, Linda. King & King

DeClements, Barthe. Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You

Elliot, David. An Alphabet for Rotten Kids

Fierstein, Harvey. The Sissy Duckling

Fogelin, Adrian. My Brother’s Hero

Fox, Mem. Guess What?

Fox, Paula. The Slave Dancer

Garden, Nancy. Holly’s Secret

Geisel, Theodor Seuss. Hop on Pop: The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use

Geisel, Theodor Seuss. If I Ran the Zoo

George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves

Gordon, Sharon. Cuba

Grove, Vicki. The Starplace

Hahn, Mary Downing. The Dead Man in Indian Creek

Hanford, Martin. Where’s Waldo?

Harper, Charise Mericle. Flashcards of My Life

Harper, Kathryn. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Harris, Robie. It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health

Harris, Robie. It’s So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families

Harris, Robie. Who’s In My Family?: All About Families (Let’s Talk About You and Me)

Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean

Henson, Jim. For Every Child a Better World

Hergé [Georges Remi]. Tintin in America

Hergé [Georges Remi]. Tintin in the Congo

Herthel, Jessica, and Jazz Jennings. I Am Jazz

Hill, Douglas Arthur. Witches and Magic-Makers

Homes, A.M. Jack

Ignatow, Amy. The Popularity Papers

Jukes, Mavis. It’s a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe and in Charge

Kehret, Peg. Stolen Children

Kellogg, Steven. Pinkerton, Behave!

Kilodavis, Cheryl. My Princess Boy: A Mom’s Story About a Young Boy Who Loves to Dress Up

Kotzwinkle, William, and Glenn Murray. Walter the Farting Dog

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time

Lewis, Richard, comp. There Are Two Lives: Poems by Children of Japan

Lindgren, Astrid. The Runaway Sleigh Ride

Lowry, Lois. Anastasia Krupnik series

Lowry, Lois. The Giver.

Madaras, Linda. What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons

Madaras, Linda. What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters

Martin, Michael. Kurt Cobain

Mayle, Peter. Where Did I Come From?

Mercado, Nancy E., ed. Tripping Over the Lunch Lady and Other Short Stories

Merriam, Eve. Halloween ABC

Merriam, Eve. The Inner City Mother Goose

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us

Nelson, O.T. The Girl Who Owned a City

Newman, Leslea. Heather Has Two Mommies

Okimoto, Jean Davies, and Elaine M. Aoki. The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption

Opie, Iona. I Saw Esau

Orgel, Doris. The Devil in Vienna

Pardi, Francesca, and Tullio F. Altan. Little Egg (Piccolo uovo)

Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones (

Parr, Todd. The Family Book

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia

Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins

Perritano, John. Amityville

Peters, Lisa Westberg. Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story

Pilkey, Dav. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby: The First Graphic Novel

Pilkey, Dav. Captain Underpants series

Pittman, Gayle E. This Day in June

Polacco, Patricia. In Our Mothers’ House

Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials series

Quinlan, Patricia. Tiger Flowers

Reavin, Sam. The Hunters Are Coming

Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three

Rodgers, Mary. Freaky Friday

Rosen, Lucy. I Am Bane

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter series

Ruby, Laura. Lily’s Ghosts

Sachar, Louis. The Boy Who Lost His Face

Sachar, Louis. Marvin Redpost: Is He a Girl?

Schniedewind, Nancy. Open Minds to Equality: A Sourcebook of Learning Activities to Affirm Diversity and Promote Equity

Schreier, Alta. Vamos a Cuba ( A Vist to Cuba)

Schwartz, Alvin. And the Green Grass Grew All Around

Schwartz, Alvin. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat

Schwartz, Alvin. Ghosts! Ghost Stories in Folklore

Schwartz, Alvin. Scary Stories series

Sendak, Maurice. In the Night Kitchen

Sherman, Josepha, and T.K.F. Weisskopf. Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts

Silverstein, Shel. A Light in the Attic

Smith, Jeff. Bone series

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley. The Egypt Game

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver

Steer, Dugald. Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin

Stine, R.L. Goosebumps series

Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand

Stroud, Jonathan. The Golem’s Eye

Stroud, Jonathan. Ptolemy’s Gate

Tamaki, Mariko, and Jillian Tamaki. This One Summer

Taylor, Mildred D. The Land

Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Telgemeier, Raina. Drama

Texier, Ophélie. Jean Has Two Moms (Jean a deux mamans)

Toriyama, Akira. Dragon Ball: The Monkey King

Willhoite, Michael. Daddy’s Roommate

Winter, Jeanette. The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq

Winter, Jeanette. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan

Yep, Laurence. Dragonwings

Young Adult Books:

Adler, C.S. The Shell Lady’s Daughter

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alva0rez, Julia. In the Time of the Butterflies

Anaya, Rudolfo A. Bless Me, Ultima

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Twisted

Anderson, M.T. Feed

Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Anonymous. Go Ask Alice

Asher, Jay. Thirteen Reasons Why

Atkins, Catherine. Alt Ed

Atkins, Catherine. When Jeff Comes Home

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale

Barnes, Derrick. The Making of Dr. Truelove

Barron, T.A. The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy

Baskin, Julia, Lindsey Newman, Sophie Pollitt-Cohen, and Courtney Toombs. The Notebook Girls: Four Friends, One Diary, Real Life

Bauer, Marion Dane. On My Honor

Bauer, Marion Dane, ed. Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence

Benioff, David. City of Thieves

Block, Francesca Lia. Baby Be-Bop

Block, Francesca Lia. Girl Goddess

Block, Francesca Lia. I Was a Teenage Fairy

Block, Francesca Lia. The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold

Block, Francesca Lia. Witch Baby

Blume, Judy. Deenie

Blume, Judy. Forever

Blume, Judy. Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson

Blume, Judy. Tiger Eyes

Bode, Janet, and Stan Mack. Heartbreak and Roses: Real Life Stories of Troubled Love

Bower, Bert, and Jim Lobdell. History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond

Boyle, T. Coraghessan. The Tortilla Curtain

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451

Brashares, Ann. Forever in Blue, the Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

Burgess, Melvin. Doing It

Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game

Cart, Michael. My Father’s Scar

Cast, P.C., and Kristin Cast. House of Night series

Chambers, Aidan. Dance on My Grave: A Life and Death in Four Parts

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts

Clerc, Charles, and Louis Leiter, comp. Seven Contemporary Short Novels

Cohen, Susan, and Daniel Cohen. When Someone You Know is Gay

Clinton, Cathryn. A Stone in My Hand

Colasanti, Susane. When It Happens

Cole, Brock. The Facts Speak for Themselves

Cole, Brock. The Goats

Colfer, Eoin. The Supernaturalist

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games Trilogy

Conly, Jane. Crazy Lady

Cooney, Caroline. The Face on the Milk Carton

Cooney, Caroline. The Terrorist

Cormier, Robert. After the First Death

Cormier, Robert. Beyond the Chocolate War

Cormier, Robert. Fade

Cormier, Robert. Heroes

Cormier, Robert. I Am the Cheese

Cormier, Robert. Tenderness

Cormier, Robert. We All Fall Down

Coville, Bruce. Am I Blue?

Cox, Elizabeth. Night Talk

Crawford, Brent. Carter Finally Gets It

Cruse, Howard. Stuck Rubber Baby

Crutcher, Chris. Athletic Shorts

Crutcher, Chris. Chinese Handcuffs

Crutcher, Chris. Deadline

Crutcher, Chris. In the Time I Get

Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk

Daldry, Jeremy. The Teenage Guy’s Survival Guide

Dandicat, Edwidge. Krik! Krak!

Danforth, Emily M. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Davis, Deborah. My Brother Has AIDS

Davis, Jenny. Sex Education

Dawe, Ted. Into the River

Dawson, James. This Book is Gay

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen

Deuker, Carl. On the Devil’s Court

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother

Dorfman, Ariel. Death and the Maiden

Dorris, Michael. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Draper, Sharon M., and Adam Lowenbein. Romiette and Julio

Drill, Esther. Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL

Duncan, Lois. Daughters of Eve

Duncan, Lois. Killing Mr. Griffin

Eleveld, Mark, ed. The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation

Elish, Dan. Born Too Short: The Confessions of an Eighth-Grade Basket Case

Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man

Erlbach, Arlene. The Middle School Survival Guide

Ferris, Jean. Eight Seconds

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby

Forman, Gayle. Just One Day

Franco, Betsy. You Hear Me? Poems and Writings by Teenage Boys

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Frank, E.R. America: A Novel

Frank, E.R. Life is Funny

Freedom Writers. The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them

Freymann-Weyr, Garret. My Heartbeat

Friend, Natasha. Lush

Gaiman, Neil. Neverwhere

Gaines, Ernest. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Garden, Nancy. Annie on My Mind

Garden, Nancy. Good Moon Rising

Gardner, John. Grendel

Giles, Gail. Shattering Glass

Glenn, Mel. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?

Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies

Gould, Steven. Jumper

Gray, Heather M., and Samantha Phillips. Real Girl/Real World: Tools for Finding Your True Self

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines

Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars

Green, John. Looking for Alaska

Green, John. Paper Towns

Greene, Bette. The Drowning of Stephan Jones

Greene, Bette. Summer of My German Solidier

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey

Halpern, Julie. Get Well Soon

Hartinger, Brent. Geography Club

Hautzig, Deborah. Hey Dollface

Heller, Joseph. Catch-22

Hernandez, Gilbert. Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories

Heron, Ann. Two Teenagers in Twenty

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders

Hinton, S.E. Taming the Star Runner

Hinton, S.E. Tex

Hinton, S.E. That Was Then, This is Now

Holliday, Laurel. Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries

Holmes, Melisa, and Trish Hutchison. Hang-ups, Hook-ups, and Holding Out: Stuff You Need to Know about Your Body, Sex, and Dating

Hopkins, Ellen. Crank

Hopkins, Ellen. Identical

Horowitz, Anthony. Snakehead

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner

Howe, James. Totally Joe

Huegel, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God

Hurwin, Davida. Time for Dancing

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World

Hwa, Kim Dong. The Color of Earth series

Jahn-Clough, Lisa. Me, Penelope

Johnson, Maureen. The Bermudez Triangle

Jukes, Mavis. The Guy Book: An Owner’s Manual

Kehret, Peg. Abduction!

Kenan, Randall. James Baldwin

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon

King, Stephen. Carrie

King, Stephen. Christine

Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate

Klein, Norma. Beginners’ Love

Klein, Norma. Family Secrets

Klein, Norma. Just Friends

Kleinbaum, N.H. Dead Poet’s Society

Knowles, Jo (Johanna Beth). Lessons from a Dead Girl

Koertge, Ron. Arizona Kid

Koertge, Ron. The Brimstone Journals

Koerge, Ron. Where the Kissing Never Stopped

Korman, Gordon. Jake Reinvented

Kuklin, Susan. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out

LaCour, Nina. Hold Still

Larson, Rodger. What I Know Now

Lebert, Benjamin. Crazy: A Novel

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird

Lester, Julius. When Dad Killed Mom

Levenkron, Steven. The Best Little Girl in the World

Levithan, David. Two Boys Kissing

Lipsyte, Robert. One Fat Summer

Locker, Sari. Sari Says: The Real Dirt on Everything from Sex to School

Lockhart, E. The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them

London, Jack. The Call of the Wild

Lopez, Tiffany Ana. Growing Up Chicana/o

Loux, Matthew. SideScrollers

Lyga, Barry. I Hunt Killers

Lynch, Chris. Extreme Elvin

Lynch, Chris. The Iceman

Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things

Mackler, Carolyn. Love and Other Four Letter Words

Mackler, Carolyn. Tangled

Mackler, Carolyn. Vegan Virgin Valentine

Martin, W.K. Marlene Dietrich

Martinac, Paula. k.d. lang

Mazer, Harry. The Last Mission

McBain, Ed. Alice in Jeopardy

McCormick, Patricia. Cut

McCullers, Carson. The Member of the Wedding

McKissack, Fredrick, Jr. Shooting Star

McNally, John, ed. When I Was a Loser: True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School by Today’s Top Writers

Mead, Richelle. Vampire Academy series

Meyer, Michael, ed. Bedford Introduction to Literature

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight series

Morrison, Toni. Beloved

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon

Mungo, Raymond. Liberace

Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels

Myers, Walter Dean. Hoops

Myracle, Lauren. ttyl; ttfn; l8r g8r series

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Alice series

Nix, Garth. Shade’s Children

Nixon, Joan Lowery. Whispers from the Dead

Nunokawa, Jeff. Oscar Wilde

O’Brien, Sharon. Willa Cather

O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried

Oates, Joyce Carol. Sexy

Ockler, Sarah. Twenty Boy Summer

Oh, Minya. Bling: Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels

Orwell, George. 1984

Parish, James Robert. Whoopi Goldberg: Her Journey from Poverty to Mega-Stardom

Park, Barbara. Mick Harte Was Here

Parks, Gordon. The Learning Tree

Paulsen, Gary. Harris and Me

Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die

Pelzer, Dave. A Child Called It

Picoult, Jodi. Nineteen Minutes

Pike, Christopher. Bury Me Deep

Pike, Christopher. Chain Letter 2

Pike, Christopher. Die Softly

Pike, Christopher. Last Act

Pike, Christopher. The Listeners

Pike, Christopher. The Lost Mind

Pike, Christopher. The Midnight Club

Pike, Christopher. Remember Me 3

Pike, Christopher. The Star Group

Pike, Christopher. Witch

Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed

Pomeroy, Wardell. Boys and Sex

Pomeroy, Wardell. Girls and Sex

Rapp, Adam. The Buffalo Tree

Reiss, Johanna. The Upstairs Room

Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging

Rennison, Louise. Knocked Out By My Nunga-Nungas

Rennison, Louise. On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God: Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

Reynolds, Marilyn. Detour for Emmy

Riley, Andy. The Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don’t Want to Live Anymore

Rivera, Tomas. And the Earth Did Not Devour Him

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye

Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow Boys

Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican

Sapphire [Ramona Lofton]. Push

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Schouweiler, Thomas. The Devil: Opposing Viewpoints

Scott, Elizabeth. Living Dead Girl

Selzer, Adam. How to Get Suspended and Influence People

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare)

Shusterman, Neal. Unwind

Sidhwa, Bapsi. Cracking India

Sittenfeld, Curtis. Prep: A Novel

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Smith, Lee. Fair and Tender Ladies

Smith, Patrick. A Land Remembered

Snyder, Jane McIntosh. Sappho

Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Moher Dies

Sones, Sonya. What My Mother Doesn’t Know

Sonnie, Amy, ed. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Spies, Karen Bornemann. Everything You Need to Know About Incest

St. Stephen’s Community House. The Little Black Book for Girlz: A Book on Healthy Sexuality

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men

Stine, R.L. Double Date

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Eighteenth to Twenty-First Century Art, Third Edition

Stone, Tanya Lee. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl

Srasser, Todd. Give a Boy a Gun

Summers, Courtney. Some Girls Are

Tarbox, Katherine. A Girl’s Life Online

Taylor, Mildred D. Mississippi Bridge

Touchette, Charleen. It Stops With Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl

Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

von Ziegesar, Cecily. Gossip Girl series

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple

Walker, Kate. Peter

Watkins, Yoko. So Far From the Bamboo Grove

Wersba, Barbara. Whistle Me Home

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Like Sisters on the Homefront

Wittlinger, Ellen. Sandpiper

Wolfe, Daniel. T.E. Lawrence

Wolff, Tobias. This Boy’s Life: A Memoir

Wood, Maryrose. Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love

Wright, Richard. Native Son

WritersCorps. Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems

Zindel, Paul. The Pigman

Zwerman, Gilda. Martina Navratilova

Classics:

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Ulysses, by James Joyce

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding

1984, by George Orwell

Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway

As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

Native Son, by Richard Wright

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin

All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair

Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie

Sophie's Choice, by William Styron

 Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles

Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs

Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh

Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence

The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller

An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser

Rabbit, Run, by John Updike

Source: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

[quasi-normalcy]

Oh, also, one of Louis Sachar’s “Marvin Redpost” books turned me into a goddamned transsexual, so well done there too.

[dash-n-step]

past me knew what was up but was also so very stupid

What is your gender?

I’m a dude.

[timefriend]

yhe marvin redpost series was such a big part of my life how did i forget

[maddie-grove]

Bi-Monthly Reading Roundup: May/June

Playlist

“There Is No Arizona” by Jamie O’Neal (Where the Heart Is)

“Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys (A Virtuous Ruby)

“Corpus Christi Carol” by Jeff Buckley (The Raven and the Rose)

“Supalonely” by Benee (Chosen for the Marriage Bed)

“Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendes (A Royal Marriage)

“I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles (Anastasia Krupnik)

“Cadillac Ranch” by Bruce Springsteen (Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls)

“Molasses to Rum” from 1776 (American Nations)

“When My Little Girl Is Smiling” by the Drifters (The Lady Always Wins)

“The House I Live In” by Frank Sinatra (Johnny Tremain)

“Tangled Up in Blue” by Bob Dylan (My Ántonia)  

“Think for Yourself” by the Beatles (The White Mountains)

“Think” by Aretha Franklin (At the Dark End of the Street)

“Girls & Boys” by Blur (Is He a Girl?)

“The Other Side” from The Get Down (Small Steps)

“When Loving Lovers Love” from Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Primary Suspect)

Best of the Bi-Month

Mister Death’s Blue-Eyed Girls by Mary Downing Hahn (2012): A cathartic, haunting, multi-faceted coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of a double murder that shakes a small town in the 1950s.

Worst of the Bi-Month

Primary Suspect by Laura Scott (2018): The romance novel equivalent of a stock photo. But, like, a stock photo of businessmen shaking hands and inexplicably laughing. 

Rest of the Bi-Month

At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle L. McGuire (2010): An inspiring, highly readable account of the role of Rosa Parks and other black female activists in the Civil Rights Movement.

My Ántonia by Willa Cather (1918): A sweet, evocative, not-exactly-gay-but-kind-of-gay classic about unrequited love on the prairie, with fun bursts of violence for variety.

American Nations by Colin Woodard (2011): A breezy, colorful history of how conflicts between different regions in the US influenced the history of the country. Better in the earlier parts.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1942): A fascinating, somewhat odd artifact of older YA. Often very moving, but sometimes gets lost in the weeds of the American Revolution.

The White Mountains by John Christopher (1967): A highly enjoyable example of older sci-fi YA with excellent world-building. Feels a bit too Boy-Scout-y at times.

A Virtuous Ruby by Piper Hugueley (2015): An evocative, thoughtful historical romance that beautifully portrays a community. The main relationship could have been explored more.

The Lady Always Wins by Courtney Milan (2013): A short, clever novella that examines romance tropes in an interesting way.

Small Steps by Louis Sachar (2006): A sweet, somewhat messy sequel to the classic Holes, centered on a very likable Armpit.

Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry (1978): Charming and funny like the later Anastasia books, but more raw and episodic, not always to its advantage.

Chosen for the Marriage Bed by Anne O’Brien (2009): An above-average Harlequin Historical with an interesting heroine and a nicely spooky medieval setting.

Is He a Girl? by Louis Sachar (1993): An amusing installment of the early-chapter-book Marvin Redpost series that pokes gentle fun at gender roles and schoolyard lore. If you have an actual kid who’s reading this, you should maybe talk to them about how gender is both more and less complicated than “there are boys, there are girls, and maybe you can change genders by kissing the outside of your elbow.” Probably you should have that conversation regardless.

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts (1995): A broad and confused, yet weirdly beguiling, story of a pregnant teenager who finds a home in a small Oklahoma town after her boyfriend leaves her at a Walmart.

The Raven and the Rose by Jo Beverley (2010): An odd but enjoyably ominous short medieval romance novella.

A Royal Marriage by Rachelle McCalla (2012): A pleasant but forgettable early medieval Christian romance novel.

[needsmoreexplosions]

hey did anyone else suffer severe unexpected emotional damage from Marvin Redpost: Alone in a Teacher’s House in second grade

[mixingmetaphorsoup]

It's "Is He a Girl?", part of the Marvin Redpost series, and the character is Casey Happleton. She's not technically explicitly trans, and the book probably does not hold up very well, but it was one of the first times I encountered the idea of transness in fiction.

I remember the side ponytail specifically because there's point about how she wasn't born as a girl, so she never learned how to do ponytails right. and to this day I associate side ponytails with being trans

what was the name of that louis sachar book with the trans girl who had a side ponytail