“From What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright. Bold the true statements, then put on a Scottish accent and complain about the kids nowadays.”

1. Father went to college

2. Father finished college And more. He’s a teacher with a masters plus something…

3. Mother went to college

4. Mother finished college

5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor Several cousins are doctors

6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. We were exactly the same class.

7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.

8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.

9. Were read children’s books by a parent Often by my parent, but mostly my grandmother. We think it’s how I learned to read so early (age 3).

10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
(trumpet)

11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18

12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively

13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18

14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs

15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs

16. Went to a private high school

17. Went to summer camp
Girl Scout Camp at Camp Archibald

18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18

19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels Some did, and some didn’t.

20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 I was the oldest, but my sister got hand-me-downs.

21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them

22. There was original art in your house when you were a child My dad had a friend who painted a picture of his father’s barn. Nothing fancy, but it was pretty.

23. You and your family lived in a single-family house We lived in an apartment until I was three while my father was building our house.

24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
They’re still paying on it.

25. You had your own room as a child
I shared with my sister for a few years until my parents put on an addition.

26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18

27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course

28. Had your own TV in your room in high school

29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college

30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 I went to Bermuda with my school choir when I was 15.

31. Went on a cruise with your family

32. Went on more than one cruise with your family

33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up

34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

Total. 20. I guess according to these standards I was privileged, thought I never thought of myself that way. We were a typical middle class family in a small rural town.

1. Unwind – Neal Shusterman

You might expect a book about the pro-life/pro-choice debate, especially one written for a younger audience, to come off simplistic and/or didactic. You might expect platitudes and easy answers. You would not expect Unwind. At least I didn’t. I am a huge fan of dystopian fiction and so I gave Shusterman’s latest a try. Set in the aftermath of a civil war over abortion rights, the book focuses on how the compromises made to create peace have created lasting effects. In this world, abortion is now illegal and the state homes are overrun with unwanted babies. Families have the chance of being “storked” by mothers who do not want their babies. But when a child is between the ages of 13-18, parents can choose to have an unwanted child “unwound,” or dismantled for transplant parts while the child is still alive. The unwound teen remains “alive” but scattered throughout hundreds of people. The overrun state homes solve their crowding problems by systematically unwinding a percentage of their teens based on intelligence and talent. The questions posed by this book are so immense that I am still thinking about them over a month later. I am also still thinking about the way Shusterman brilliantly crafted the thoughts and experiences of a teen actually undergoing the unwinding process. It, like the rest of Unwind, is deeply disturbing, haunting, and moving.

2. Before I Die – Jenny Downham

Books about dying teens are nothing new. I mean when I was a teen Lurlene McDaniel and her endless weepies full of sick teens were all the rage. But this book is different. It is not sappy or manipulative. It’s brutal and honest and real. Tessa is not a saint. She’s selfish and a bit whiny.. and well she’s pissed. But wouldn’t you be too if you were dying of leukemia at age 16? So she comes up with a list of things she wants to do before she dies. (Hence the title.) Sex, drugs, love… she’s squeezing decades into months. But in the end, thought the list provides some plot guidance, the novel is really about Tessa and her interactions with her family and friends. It’s really a wonderful book. I am not a crier, but I was reading the book at work and I had to go hide in the bathroom for the last few chapters.

3. Spanking Shakespeare – Jake Wizner

And now for something completely different. As gut wrenching and emotional as the first two books are, this one is is brilliant and funny. I had to stop reading it at work, or in public, because I laughed so loud and so often it was becoming embarrassing. Really a wonderful book.

4. Slam - Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is the only author of one of my top 5 favorite books (his entry is High Fidelity) who is still alive, a fact a mentioned to him when I got my advance copy signed at ALA in June. He quickly inquired if that was because I had killed the others. He was joking (I hope,) but he might not have been if he had seen me “stalking” him throughout the convention center before that, following him from reading to panel to event, etc. The book is awesome: teen pregnancy, random time traveling, a talking Tony Hawk poster. What’s not to love? A great mix of humor and emotion, as usual.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

When I started this list, I told myself I was not putting this on here. It doesn’t need publicity, it doesn’t need to be talked up, but then I thought… that’s not fair. Just because something is popular, doesn’t mean it’s not good. And this book was very, very good. Rowling’s improvement as a writer from the first book is extraordinary.

6. Mistik Lake – Martha Brooks

7. 13 Reasons Why – Jay Asher

8. Twisted – Laurie Halse Anderson

9. Extras – Scott Westerfeld

10. Boy Toy – Barry Lyga

I also need to find some buttons and ribbon. I’m not much for capelets or cowls, but I’m crushing on the idea of the Wisp as hood.