When I was in middle school, the book being passed around was It (Stephen King). I had a few passages read aloud to me and it was enough to turn me off ever reading the whole thing.
Natter 64: Yes, we still need you
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
The only "scandalous book that lots of people read" in my high school (that I knew about) was Go Ask Alice.
After all the fuss, it was a bit of a letdown to finally read it.
My mom tore out the X-rated pages from Straub's Ghost Story when I pointed them out to her and asked questions, but gave me the rest of the book to finish reading as she had no objection to me reading about murder cover-ups, vengeful ghosts, and Gregory & Fenny Bates.
Go Ask Alice and Forever were the scandalous books I remember reading in middle school.
I want my kids to read. Period.
In MEME news - I hate writing self evaluations.
The only book that I can remember my mother ever telling me I couldn't read was Jephte's Daughter by Naomi Ragen. I borrowed it from my sister, and my mother took it away from me after I'd already read several chapters. I have no idea why that particular book was not allowed, since I'd read plenty of books with much more graphic sex and violence by that time.
Similarly, I wasn't allowed to watch the movie Murder in the First. Only movie I was ever told I wasn't allowed to watch.
I hate writing self evaluations.
See if Matt's mom still has the X-rated pages from Ghost Story that you could submit instead....
I want my kids to read. Period.
For that, I would suggest Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.
t rimshot
I can remember my mother complaining to my dad that he shouldn't leave books like Michener's Caravans lying around where I could pick them up and read them, but she never told me not to read that or anything else.
All in all, I think I'd rather my kid had the freedom to read whatever s/he wanted whether I knew about it or not.
Jess, I think I am in agreement with you.
OMG, I loved Ghost Story.