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Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780374386672
ISBN number: 0374386676
Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: September 22, 1999
Publishing house: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Age index: Young Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 910047
Studio: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Booklist, Top 10 Gay and Lesbian Books for Youth
Amazon.com Review:
High school condom distribution and a hotly contested sex education curriculum set a small New England town's blood boiling and books burning in The Year They Burned the Books, an issue-driven novel by Nancy Garden. Jamie Crawford is the senior editor of the 'Telegraph,' her high school's newspaper, but the publication of her editorial in favor of the school's new policy to distribute condoms happens to coincide with the election of a new, highly conservative school board member. As a result, Jamie suddenly finds her editorial voice gagged. Soon the school's health books have been removed from the classrooms for 'review,' a conservative parents' group stages a library book burning, and Jamie's beloved teacher is forced to resign as the newspaper's faculty advisor. Jamie's personal life also becomes more complicated as she tries to deal with her physical attraction to Tessa, a new girl at school. Then, on top of it all, Jamie and her best friend Terry (who is openly gay) are the victims of an attack by a group of conservative students and Jamie has to decide if she can handle the consequences of coming out.
Teens love controversies, especially those involving young people, and there is scarcely a hot topic here that Garden doesn't touch. Yet in spite of the scene-stealing issues, Garden's timeless message that hardship shapes character is illustrated well in Jamie's transition from a 'maybe,' (as in 'maybe gay, maybe straight')to a 'probably' by novel's end. An excellent choice for use in high school discussions about censorship and free speech. (Ages 13 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert
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Rated by buyers -
Good book on the startling nature of homophobia, especially for younger readers (grades 8-11)
Rated by buyers -
Jamie is a high school student in a small New England town, and she is the editor of her high school's newspaper. She thinks she may be gay. One of her best friends, Terry, thinks that he may be gay also. They don't want to tell anyone else, though, for fear of being targeted more by bullies in their class.
The school year starts with controversy--the nurse's office has implemented a program to distribute condoms to students who go to the nurse's office for them once a week. Jamie writes an editorial for the paper in support of the condom distribution, and the school paper and its advisor are attacked for it.
Then things go really downhill. A woman with a hidden agenda is elected to the school board, on the campaign promise that she will help people in this community return to values and morals. When she is elected to the school board, she starts a very conservative religion-based group. Their mission is to remove from the school's curriculum any mention of anything except abstinence as a method of birth control. She argues that the schools should be teaching that sex before marriage is morally wrong. This woman also wants removed from all libraries and all curricula any mention of homosexuality, especially if it is presented as simply an alternative lifestyle, instead of something evil and wrong.
Jamie's life is in turmoil. She feels as though she can't admit she is gay when the environment in her town has turned to violently against homosexuality. She feels bad for her friend Terry, who is trying to have a relationship with another student, Ernie, who is desperately trying to repress the fact that he is gay, for fear of what will happen when people find out. Jamie is attracted to a new girl at school, but can't figure out if this girl is gay or not. To make matters worse, Jamie's old best friend, Nomi, is a member of a church group that states without exception that homosexuality is wrong. Jamie is stuck in the middle of the controversy. Will she stay true to herself?
This was a really compelling story of what it is like to be gay in high school these days. I liked that the main characters, despite all of the stuff going on around them, were strong and at peace with themselves and their sexuality. The story was complex and didn't really have easy solutions, which is realistic for these issues today.
Rated by buyers 
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Author Nancy Garden has received critical acclaim for her work, including the American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award for her lifetime contribution in writing for young adults.
Garden is no stranger to the issues presented in this book. First, she understands what is to be gay youth. Secondly, she knows what it is to be the target of censorship. Her book _Annie on my Mind_ was burned on the steps of the Kansas City School Board building (1993) and removed from the shelves in Olathe, Kansas.
Although printed 6 years ago, it feels as though it were ripped from today's headlines. Homophobia is rampant and using hatred and/or fear of homosexuals is perfectly acceptable in today's political climate. Recently an Alabama state legislator introduced a bill to bar the use of state funds "for the purchase of textbooks or library materials that sanction, recognize, foster, or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle." The bill would also remove items already in libraries and prohibit theatrical productions at state-funded institutions of such classics as Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or the appearance of classroom speakers who discuss homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle.
In today's political climate I recommend everyone read _The Year they Burned Books_ for a look at the affects of censorship. It's an easy, yet thought provoking read. This is one fictional story that is relevant today.
Rated by buyers -
Could there be anything else in this book? Censorship, homophobia, the religious right, sexuality, suicide--I can't think of a book that attempts to tackle so many issues at once. Not that Garden doesn't handle all of the issues well. I am particularly impressed with how she works in a minor physical altercation--a level of homophobia not seen in her earlier novels, and, I suspect, a reaction to the homocide of Matthew Shepard the same year. This novel raises many questions and is a must read for gay and straight teenagers.
Rated by buyers -
The Year They Burned the Books is about a group of high school students who run the school newspaper. When the paper's editor, Jamie Crawford, writes an editorial supporting the new Health Ed curriculum, which includes condom distribution, a controversy erupts. Jamie and her friends' views are opposed by fellow students, the new school board member, and even Jamie's good friend, Nomi. Can Jamie still keep her friendship with Nomi while coming to terms with her own beliefs and sexuality? I liked this book because most of the characters and situations were realistic and believable.
The only things I didn't like were Lisa Buel's comments; they really made me mad. In this case for me, being fair to everyone was difficult. Something that confused me was why some of the kids were so Bible-obsessed. I have never seen kids like that in my life. Also, I don't remember any passage in the Bible saying homosexuality was evil. What Bible were they reading?
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