tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post1208768291589860998..comments2023-12-22T09:04:09.898-08:00Comments on Six Boxes of Books: TOO DEPRESSINGWendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-19696675619920888552009-06-09T13:58:24.892-07:002009-06-09T13:58:24.892-07:00PA! PA! I CAN'T SEE!PA! PA! I CAN'T SEE!Kathleen McDadehttp://www.technoearthmama.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-13490264881947299142009-06-07T05:09:24.598-07:002009-06-07T05:09:24.598-07:00Nope, it's Silver Lake that starts out with Ma...Nope, it's Silver Lake that starts out with Mary being blind, but yes, the actual going-blind aspect happens between books. And I'm sure you're right about her remembering the TV show and not the actual books (though even as a kid I remember thinking the scenes where Mary's losing her vision were pretty hokey, even for LHOTP). I definitely agree that The Long Winter would have been a better example.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-64023661331213956352009-06-06T20:02:32.684-07:002009-06-06T20:02:32.684-07:00I didn't have time to do a very well thought o...I didn't have time to do a very well thought out post; part of what bothered me about the Mary/Blind bit is I think it shows an awareness of the TV show, not the book, which is why she used the wrong book-name. I do appreciate the idea of going even further back in time to show darkness in books teens were reading.<br /><br />Mary didn't go blind in the books; it happened between them. (If I recall correctly, By the Banks began with Mary being blind? Two or so years had passed since the prior book?) <br /><br />I think if Roiphe had read the LHOTP books recently, or at all, she would have picked Long Winter to illustrate her argument. As a grown up rereading? The near starvation, the flat out stealing, the cold, that was much darker than Mary's book-storyline (IMHO.)Liz Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16671844475303001610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-48194921373114305272009-06-06T19:43:08.132-07:002009-06-06T19:43:08.132-07:00Yes, exactly, Rhiannon--it's remembering that ...Yes, exactly, Rhiannon--it's remembering that kind of scene in The Hunger Games that made me go back and add the comment. Most of the killings, eh--not so very bad. But the whole idea of the society and the way things are manipulated--that's definition dark.<br /><br />As I mentioned on Liz's blog, though, I don't think the purpose of the article was to imply that this is a new trend, and that's why she did bring in Mary Ingalls. Very likely she was either asked to write something about this "new trend", or that's the article she set out to write, but realized that wasn't a very good thesis. Argh, cannot believe I'm standing up for Katie Roiphe.<br /><br />Ocelot, I do think that maybe there's been a little shift at least this season, that the very bestselling / most talked about books are particularly bleak--compare If I Stay and Wintergirls, for instance, to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which was much sold and talked about not long ago. But yes, definitely agree that there's always been fluff and always been bleak.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-7185588627432064782009-06-06T18:53:14.527-07:002009-06-06T18:53:14.527-07:00Just read the article. Ugh, journalists. The poor ...Just read the article. Ugh, journalists. The poor things have to find SOMETHING to write about that sounds vaguely current, and end up with a total beat-up about something being NEW NEW NEW when, really, we all know that stories of death, anorexia and suicide are far from new.Rhiannon Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-70304133640856635752009-06-06T18:46:23.354-07:002009-06-06T18:46:23.354-07:00I found moments of The Hunger Games very dark--pro...I found moments of The Hunger Games very dark--probably the most striking moment was when nothing was actually happening: Katniss was standing on the mine waiting to be transported into the arena, all alone, pretty sure she was about to be hacked to pieces and her sister and mother starve to death. Very affecting. Anyway, off to read that article you mentioned now...Rhiannon Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-63216888662849860212009-06-06T13:38:42.773-07:002009-06-06T13:38:42.773-07:00I just finished The Hunger Game a few hours ago. I...I just finished <i>The Hunger Game</i> a few hours ago. I agree - very much not "teens trying to kill eachother", but definitely dark.<br /><br />Have you read the <i>Tomorrow, When The War Began</i> series? That's what it reminds me of most strongly, though there are plenty of other stories that are closer in plot.<br /><br />I don't understand the WSJ's article. Has there really been such shift from <i>Gossip Girls</i> to darker subjects? Both categories have been there as long as I've been reading YA. Has their proportionate popularity actually shifted recently, or is the author setting up a false dichotomy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704532387089251856.post-48170943289171881562009-06-06T12:49:23.771-07:002009-06-06T12:49:23.771-07:00Wait, what am I saying? The Hunger Games is crazy...Wait, what am I saying? The Hunger Games is crazy dark. I guess when I don't think about it hard, the parts of The Hunger Games that really stick in my head are the funny parts. "Thanks for the knife" is probably my favorite line (though I may be misquoting it). Even THAT--oh, yeah, Wendy, that's not dark at all. Someone tries to throw a knife through Katniss's skull; whoop-ti-do. <br /><br />I guess I just have this reaction to people describing it as "teens trying to kill each other", which doesn't really get its essence.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11690852339559706714noreply@blogger.com