A review by nharkins
Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block
1.0
i'm gonna sound like some fundamentalism old fart here,
but i really think this book is NOT appropriate for "young adults"
because it paints teen pregnancy with the author's
trademark modern-fairy-tale brush.
i'm sorry, but a teenage girl purposefully having children with
two gay teenagers is NOT a realistically stable environment for
the children of those children^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hyoung adults.
nina argued that this kind of book can help kids who were
victims of fucked-up situations pull out of spiraling into more
victimizing circumstances by not thinking that they're "broken".
it's an interesting observation, which makes me think of literature
as *prescription* medicine... which can be dangerous when used
recreationally/without the symptoms.
i do admire books which take me out of my comfort zone (see also
China Mieville's 'Perdido Street Station'), which this one obviously did,
but i very much object to its marketing targeting young adults.
I'll even make the assertion that kids who seek out non-young-adult
books on their own (probably many of us* :), can more critically handle
the concepts therein, because it's a different trip when you weren't
*expecting* to get dosed.
* - shit, i've read way more young-adult novels after 30
than i ever did when i actually was a "young adult",
thanks to authors like Philip Pullman.
but i really think this book is NOT appropriate for "young adults"
because it paints teen pregnancy with the author's
trademark modern-fairy-tale brush.
i'm sorry, but a teenage girl purposefully having children with
two gay teenagers is NOT a realistically stable environment for
the children of those children^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hyoung adults.
nina argued that this kind of book can help kids who were
victims of fucked-up situations pull out of spiraling into more
victimizing circumstances by not thinking that they're "broken".
it's an interesting observation, which makes me think of literature
as *prescription* medicine... which can be dangerous when used
recreationally/without the symptoms.
i do admire books which take me out of my comfort zone (see also
China Mieville's 'Perdido Street Station'), which this one obviously did,
but i very much object to its marketing targeting young adults.
I'll even make the assertion that kids who seek out non-young-adult
books on their own (probably many of us* :), can more critically handle
the concepts therein, because it's a different trip when you weren't
*expecting* to get dosed.
* - shit, i've read way more young-adult novels after 30
than i ever did when i actually was a "young adult",
thanks to authors like Philip Pullman.