This book I would probably categorize with "No Choirboy" because they are both true stories about how kids can seriously mess up their lives. Teens usually think they are invincible. But both of these stories prove that they aren't and that what they do can have serious consequences.
What I liked about Snoop, was that although she had a hard life, she still took blame for the way her life turned out. She had foster parents who tried to raise her well and were there for her. And she saw firsthand how drugs and that kind of hard living ruined lives, but she still felt compelled to live that life. She was told repeatedly that living like that would lead to something bad happening, but she did it anyway.
The other good thing about these books is that they can teach huge moral and ethical lessons without being didactic. If I told a kid not to do drugs and not to murder anyone (who knew it needed explaining?) I come off as an uncool old person. BUT, if they see a book where the teens who lived it wrote it, well then it's just reality and not preaching and forcing lessons on them. Both of these books are very readable.
I know this was really just supposed to be about Grace After Midnight, but I didn't get to talk about No Choirboy in my Hotlanta blog of condemnation.
I wasn't an at-risk teen, I grew up knowing exactly what was expected of me and how I was supposed to get there. But, there are so many kids who aren't that lucky. And both of these books really brought that home for me.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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2 comments:
OK, so you did read it. Wow, no Twilight reference, I'm shocked.
Great post! I love what you say about Snoop and how she was able to reflect on what she did right and how she screwed up when she was a teenager...I agree with you that it all felt very real and very heartfelt. I wonder what we would say had this been a work of fiction, though? Would we feel any different? I don't have any answers; I'm just thinking on my feet here.
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