Oh my Lord, Hotlanta.
I think I am not going out on a limb here when I say that this was the worst book I have ever read. I have a weird compulsion to finish books that I start, even when I hate them, so I did finish this. But, I wonder why it was written.
Actually, I imagine I'm not the only one who will do this, but...
As I sit here at my desk, at work, looking at my 22 inch Dell widescreen monitor (perk of being in IT what can I say?) and typing on my Dell keyboard, I am eating a Dannon Light and Fit Blueberry yogurt.
When I leave here, I will straighten out my Black merino wool DKNY sweater, and make sure my grey Gap dress pants aren't wrinkled (I'm at a loss for adding these details in, I'm already dressed...) and put on my Black hooded Andrew Marc winter coat.
I will drive my Grey 2006 Mazda3 to Queens College and sit in class. Once in class I will take notes with my Citibank pen (I am unclear why I own this, as I do not bank with them, but it's a nice pen) and my Fivestar notebook.
OK, I'm giving up here. My low-rent version of Hotlanta is depressing me.
That was not even my biggest complaint with the book. I dislike the glorification of gangster culture. I know it's prevalent, but I can't help but dislike it. I think the book would have been fine if they left it at the stepfather just being rich and the mother wanted to better her kids, (by being a huge pain in the ass.) But, noo he has to be a gangster. It just felt forced and stupid and an attempt to be hip and edgy, but it just was ridiculous to me. Then again I am very much not their demographic. I gave the book to my former assistant, who is 21 and LOOOOOVES urban fiction, I was hoping to get her take on it before we had this class, but she hasn't read it yet. I'll update when she has.
As a side note, I hear hilarious slang here (Central of QBPL) my favorite is, ice grill. As in, why you givin' me that ice grill? It means dirty look, I have no idea how widespread this is, and I think it's old and not used anymore, but being tragically white I still like to say it.
Actually, I lied, my new favorite is all up in the kool aid.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
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4 comments:
Oh come one...was it that bad? I thought parts of it were really cute, and I actually totally loved the characters...Overall, I found it light-hearted, easy-to-follow, and fun. And, I think it made the ALA Quick Picks list for a reason, and this is something I think all of us (people working with teens) need to think about...Someone, somewhere who was under the age of 18 loved this book, and I think that's what matters the most. More than our opinions, even...Because if we don't have stuff like this in the library, then we're really cheating our public...Remember, libraries need to fulfill lots of informational needs, including recreational reading, which Hotlanta definitely falls under.
Confession: I LOOOOOVED reading your Hotlanta recreation blog...I was kinda laughing out loud, and found it completely entertaining.
As for "glorification," I honestly hate that word. It's one that has been misused in many cases in a number of different situations, and I think it should be stricken from the dictionary...but that's just my humble opinion.
I just realized that "oh come on" comes across as really snarky...I swear I didn't mean it that way...
(I had a typo and it doesn't allow editing)
I didn't take it that way.
And, like I said I'm not their demographic. I didn't like those characters though. And I have a big thing about sibling loyalty and anything that portrays sisters who aren't there for each other annoys me. I guess since I have a sister...
Of course, as was an issue in class I do not think this book or these characters were representative of any culture at large.
And, I will retract my use of the word glorification and replace it with this- perhaps I'm being a puritan when I'm worried about what and how much influence books and other media have on teenagers. I guess if they have other things to influence them in a positive manner, then it doesn't matter what they watch and read. But, in the instances that they don't, I just want them to aspire higher. And I think that it's possible to write a book that's both entertaining and fluffy and doesn't portray crime in a positive light. And, I think this holds true for all types of kids. I can't tell you how many wanna-be thugs went to my all-white, mostly-Jewish High School. And, realistically there were no circumstances in my town where anyone NEEDED to turn to crime to make money. And, I'm sure that some of them are now genuine criminals. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the rap music that did it to them. ALTHOUGH, the dude who's yearbook quote was, "My mind's my nine, my pen my mac ten, my target Oceanside High School," I must say we worried about him...
Ha ha. That was cute, you forgot to mention what brand shoes and lipgloss you were wearing. I just saw Hotlanta part 2 in my branch. I will bring it to class just for you. XOXO You know you love me.
PS You know where that's from.
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