Banned Book Week: Christine Johnson Guest Post

I am so excited to have Christine joining me today on the blog. Christine' debut novel Claire de Lune is racing up the charts and I am so happy to have her posting with me.

Christine grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended DePaul University where she met her husband. She majored in Political Science which she says that, "for the record... is a totally useless degree" (which makes me laugh). She lived in Chicago for several years with her husband and held a string of jobs while there and eventually moved back to Indianapolis. She now lives in an old house in an old neighborhood with her husband and kids along with too many books and a weakness for anything sweet. She says that if writing were a full time job, she would be a workaholic and that she likes making things up and writing them down and having people read them.

I asked Christine to share her thoughts on book banning and censorship and this is what she had to say...

I’m going to say something now that seems really obvious to me, but I’m afraid to voice it because what if the book banners haven’t thought of it yet?

But still. Bravery in the face of uncertainly and all of that, so here goes:

Book banning is stupid. It’s stupid because IT DOESN’T WORK. It BACKFIRES.

Do you have any idea how many books I’ve read specifically BECAUSE THEY WERE BANNED? As soon as someone doesn’t want me to read something, I want to know *why*. I want to see what all the fuss is about. And I’m an adult. As a teen (a very, very responsible teen - seriously. I rebelled, like, not at all,) I was even more that way. It’s . . . I mean, it’s so common it’s a *stereotype*, right? The teen who does something just because they’ve been told not to? Because it’s not “good for them?”

There is no teen on earth who sneaks around reading Moby Dick under the covers, or behind a math book on the bus. (If there is such a teen, I’d like to talk to them. For real.) But any book that promises trouble and possible moral ruination? High school students will work to procure that book, and then they will go to great lengths to read it. In other words - they’ll act around banned books the way most adults wish they’d act around Shakespeare.

When books are banned, they get national media attention. Twitter lights up in their defense. And their Amazon sales ranks? Those go crazy. While it’s hard on an author in many ways to have their work attacked by book banners, it often serves as a sales boost for those particular titles. If book banners don’t want students reading a particular book, they’d be better off quietly pushing it to the back of the shelf. Demanding that it be off limits just makes it more desirable. Authors and publishers are constantly trying to generate buzz - and book banning does exactly that.

So, no, I don’t want to see books banned or challenged, because having access to quality literature - even if it’s about difficult subject matter - taken away from teens makes me cringe. But I hope that when those same teens hear the voices of would-be book banners raised in protest, they’ll do exactly what I have done so many times. That they’ll hop in the car and head straight to the nearest bookstore or library, to see for themselves what all the fuss is about.

Wow... amazing words, Christine! Thanks a million. Make sure to visit Christine HERE and see what else she has up her sleeve when it comes to reading and writing. Have a great day everyone!

Waiting on Wednesday (17)

Thanks as always to Jill at Breaking the Spine for WoW!!

There are so many good books coming out this year! I posted the other day about the great ones coming out in March (check that out here) so I wanted to give you two others that have caught my attention.


Pegasus by Robin McKinley

A gorgeously-written fantasy about the friendship between a princess and her pegasus

Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pegasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication.

But it’s different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close—so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo—and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.

Isn't the cover of this one beautiful?! Pegasus hits shelves on November 2, 2010

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Torn between two destinies?

Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

Another beautiful cover! Claire de Lune hits shelves on May 18, 2010.


Happy reading everyone!