If ya wanna, of course. But yes--cue da-da-da-DUM music--ttyl is being challenged, AGAIN.

This time, it's the Wasau School Board in Wisconsin who will be voting (tonight!) on whether to keep ttyl on the shelves of a local middle school.

The parent who wants it gone suggests it refers to "sex acts and sexual language" that most middle-school kids don't yet know about and shouldn't be exposed to.

In a comment left on the Wasau Daily Herald's website, another critic argues that ttyl should be banned in the name of good taste. Is it a sign of, erm, how far I've come that that comment made me giggle? Or is it just sad that I've gotten so used to being banned that I can laugh at it? Either way, I'm thinking Mr./Ms. "They Should Ban It in the Name of Good Taste" and I wouldn't find ourselves sharing too many opinions if we, say, got together for tea and crumpets.

But lots of people have also posted smart, well-thought out, provocative responses. And hey! Why not join'em? Go here to let peeps know what you think!


Build your own Blingee



P.S. Check it out! Top secret first-ever sneak-peek of a new fall book!!!!!


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P.P.S. Oh! And, YES! You can still vote for THIRTEEN for the Children'd Choice Book Awards, if you were wondering!!!! Whatcha waiting for?

Remember the parable of Jesus and the Crossed-Out Myracle?

Well, I've got a new chapter for you.

I went to Austin to do an exclusive interview with NBC...and confused eye-blinking ensued. The confused eye-blinker was me. Why? Well, I think I'll let YOU weigh in. Heck, I'll even make a contest out of it!

What you need to know:
*the interview was 13 minutes long
*the portion NBC aired was 2 minutes long (remember, if you choose to watch it, to hit the "video" button above the picture of ttyl)

What you need to do to enter the contest:
*watch 'em both and tell me a) whether or not you think they send different messages, and b) if so, what?

Link your response to this entry by Sunday, November 30th, if you want to play. I'll put everyone's name in a bag (or something...maybe a turkey carcass?), and one randomly-picked contestant will win a BLISS shirt!

As I've said before, I get many MANY lovely emails from fans. (Thank you, sweeties!!!!!)

But recently I've gotten a whole slew of un-lovely ones, and it just makes me so frustrated. And sad.


Do these angry adults not get that I actually LIKE you tweens and teens SO SO MUCH that I want to write good and honest stories that will--ideally--help you on your journey to become the kindest, truest people you can be?

Obviously not.

Here are four of the latest:

Letter the One:

Dear Mrs. Myracle,

My 11 year old daughter, who is an avid reader, went to our public library and chose a book published by you. First she read Eleven and enjoying it the next week she picked the next book in the series Twelve. As she began reading she told me it was about girls and “developing”. Immediately I decided to look at Thirteen and upon reading a few chapters I saw that the author gave a detailed account of French Kissing! I decided that I needed to read Twelve to see the content and was horrified to read about thongs, French kissing, tampon insertion, hard ons and erections. I find it hard to believe that this is appropriate information for a pre-teen and am appalled that you would publish a book to be marketed to such young readers. Are these books reviewed for age appropriate information?? Would you honestly be comfortable to let your children be exposed to this information in such a crude way??

I have spoken to the children’s librarian at my local library and she was shocked. I plan on telling the head librarian and expect these books to be placed in another section of the library, not where young innocent readers can check them out. I will also forward this letter to all of the moms I know telling them not to let their children read your books. Upon telling several of my friends of the disgraceful content they were outraged.You should be ashamed of yourself.

Sincerely,

Head in a Hole


Letter the Two:

Ms. Myracle --

I picked your discusting book, ttyl, up off my thirteen year old daughter's bed. She had been lent it by another thirteen year old. If your book were a CD, it would have an EXPLICIT warning on it. If your book were a movie, it would R-rated for adult situations and language. But, since it's a book, it's on the shelf in the Teen section at Barnes and Noble without any advanced warning.

I am really disappointed that you are using the popularity of text messaging among teens to promote topics that one might read about in Penthouse minus the fantasie. Spend some time developing a real story about girls who are more than just promiscuous, self-centered teens.

Signed,

Bad Speller

Letter the three:

Hi Lauren,

I wanted to let you know that my 10 year old daughter loves your
books. I felt comfortable with letting her read up to Thirteen so
that it would be age appropriate. I love the fact that they are by
age so that as a parent you have the right to "guess" what would be
appropriate for your child. However, she was reviewing books that she
wanted to get, and found that you had authored other books and was
interested. Much to her and my astonishment, she read a summary
regarding Kissing Kate. First it included drunken party -- not a good
choice for a 10 year old and then the kissing of best friends. I have
felt uneasy and robbed of my daughters innocence since she read that.
I am shocked that a book marketed for twelve years and up would
include that. I thought I had an open mind until that moment.

I just threw away Thirteen. I'm sorry you made the
choice to write that book with that content for that age group.

Sincerely,

Open-minded No More

And finally, Letter the Four (had to save the best for last, of course):

Mrs. Myracle,

I wonder what age you are targeting with your sick books? This is absolutely unbelievable to me and I have written an email which I will forward to everyone I know!

Friends,

I wanted to share some troubling information regarding a particular book that my daughter checked out of the RMS library (she is 11 years old - 6th grade).

The book is entitled 'TTYL' and it is written by an author by the name of 'Lauren Myracle'. Apparently this is one in a series of books that has a target audience of Jr. High School girls. Here is a link to the author's website to get a complete list of these books.

http://www.laurenmyracle.com/

Apparently the first few books in the series are cute and age-appropriate for young girls, however, as your daughter proceeds into the series and gets to this particular book the material becomes HIGHLY objectionable, offensive and outright crude. I have listed a summary of SOME of the offensive material below, although this is just a sampling.

Please keep in mind that this is a book that was approved by the school district as age-appropriate material for our YOUNG daughters/(sons?). In addition, there are apparently MANY books in our school libraries that have this type of sexual, offensive content in them and there are NO warnings that advise a child/parent of the content.

The school at this point has indicated that it IS an approved book, however, they will actually READ the book and get back to the parents. In the meantime, this book, and many others like it can be having a major influence on our children.

I believe in SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY and it is up to our schools and community to NOT allow this kind of garbage in our schools. I also don't believe in the argument that 'oh they see it and hear it anyway'. I hear that repeatedly from some parents and administrators, and I can assure you that my children dont' 'hear NOR see this'...unless of course they are discussing books like these!!!

Below are some excerpts from the book:


Opening Page: For the Beer Bros, of course. Cheers!

Page 7: did he stare at your boobs?..... so watch out he makes a big deal of being all Christian but what that means is the he’s majorly sexually repressed…..

Page 13: we could b*tch slap her till she apologized…

Page 15: she said he got a total stiffie while they were talking, she said it was hysterical

Page 28: I have a meeting with Mr. H. tomorrow… Just wear a tight shirt and he will give you an “A”

Page 39: making love with Rob would be amazing, I know it

Page 45: she’s a superficial psycho-slut

Page 58: it’s cuz I had a couple of beers, that’s all…

Page 59: WTF

Page 115: what about Mr. H, that’s why you got those new jeans for to get him all hot and bothered…..

Page 150: where were you that you were drinking everclear punch?

Page 151: after discussing getting drunk at a frat party and taking her shirt and bra off…. Holy f***.

Page 165: F***.. did you tell her everything?

Page 167: if I did a striptease in front of a teacher instead of 10 million frat boys, would that be ok?

Page 168: boo-f**king-hoo. Screw you.

Page 174: discussing hot tub attire after a male teacher invites her to join him at a residence he is house sitting….. we haven’t even discussed your thong possibilities

Page 176: jana sent pictures…. From the frat party.. she was naked from the waist up, subject line was lesbo slut…. Shit, shit, shit….

Page 177: shove it up your a**

Page 186: did Mr. H talk about your bikini again? did he make any moves when you were in the car together?

Page 203: I was like paralyzed,….. Mr. H, kept inching his way toward me.

Page 205: and he (Mr. H) was wearing a speedo, which made it doubly horrific

Page 207: I love u, maddie! ur like a superhero who swoops in like wonder woman to rescue me from sex-crazed English teachers!!!

Signed,

Woman Who Has Not and Will Not Read Book in Its Entirety and Who Quotes Things Out of Context Just For Fun



Okay, sharing time is over. I just feel so...well, depressed, frankly. And sometimes--for just a millisecond--I even think, "Why do I bother?"

But then I remember: because of Y'ALL.

And so I respond to their emails, and I'm polite to a fault (to show them how it's done), and then I quote one of my heroes, fellow YA author Chris Crutcher:

"When we turn away from tough material in stories that kids face every day in real life, we take ourselves off the short list of people to turn to. Kids would much rather we found ways to discuss those tough issues than to pretend they don't exist. They will always come up in real life, it seems to me we want to be there when they do. Kids say over and over that we don't understand. Why don't we see if we can prove them wrong once in a while?"


Anyway. Le sigh. Thanks, reader-friends, for being there. Group hug!!!!