[CASL-L] Response to David - and something else Nutmeg

[Williams, Linda]

I am forwarding this note from Kelley Gile, Chair of the Nutmeg Selection Committee that chose Reboot as a 2016 Teen Nominee in response to Sue Crean’s post to CASL (at the bottom of this email). I will be attempting to add resources to my page on Reboot as well, so watchi this space: https://ctbooksets.wordpress.com/2015/05/01/reboot/ ~ Linda Williams

FROM KELLEY:

"Thanks so much for your interest.

Age-appropriateness is a matter of professional and personal opinion.  I had the honor and pleasure of working with 15 extremely dedicated individuals- six school librarians, six public librarians, and three students. We read 87 books in 9 months, and had a meeting every other month to discuss all the books we read. At the end, we narrowed down our choices to our top twenty books, and then had extensive discussions about balancing our final top ten list in terms of appropriateness, genres, reading levels, and student appeal. Choosing books for 7th and 8th graders can be a very challenging task- the kids almost always prefer to read about characters somewhat older than themselves, and are very leery of any book that seems too little kid-ish. The main focus of the Nutmeg books is to encourage children to read for enjoyment, so we did our best to choose quality books with a lot of appeal for 7th and 8th graders, and we had many, many discussions about the age appropriateness of most of the books we read.

It was my committee's decision that "Reboot" was appropriate for 7th and 8th graders, and I wholeheartedly support them in this. As I've already mentioned, this is an opinion, and as everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course you are more than welcome to disagree. There appears to be some disagreement even between professional journals, since SLJ lists the book at grades 7 and up, but Booklist rates it as appropriate for grades 8 - 12.

I hope this helps, and I hope I've managed to explain the process to you- at least a little bit.  If you feel strongly about having your opinions heard about the age-appropriateness of any of the Nutmeg books, I would highly recommend to you to volunteer to be on one of the committees. It is a lot of work, but it is extremely satisfying and rewarding, knowing that you are utilizing one of your passions to enrich many, many children's lives. Thanks again for contacting me."


It is a fact that SLJ lists the book at grades 7 and up, and Booklist rates it as appropriate for grades 8 - 12. I could go into detail about why the shower passages Ms. Crean included screen shots of are terribly important to the back story of why the main character feels non-human and how it adds to the poignancy of her eventual relationship. I could point out that at no time are there any descriptions of sex, the characters don't have sex or even approve of the sexual practices of their fellow reboots, and that the distinction is definitely made between love and sex... but I feel I shouldn't have to do that. People will always have their own opinions- that's what makes life interesting- and discourse should always be encouraged. However, it was my committee's professional opinion that the book was appropriate for 7th and 8th graders, and I totally support them... and I hope you will too.

-Kelley

Kelley Gile
Teen Librarian
Cheshire Public Library

>
>
> Hi all,
> I don't consider myself a prude, or ultra conservative, but I was a little shocked by Reboot (Nutmeg Teen Nominee) when the author described the showers as being used for sex - basically recreational since she made it clear that humans connect sex and love, but Reboots don't.  There are a few other mentions later in the book. I have no trouble with Wren and Callum kissing, but I felt that the description of the showers was really not necessary and offensive in a book for grades 7-8.
> I have shown it to a few other people whose opinion I value and they agree this book is a better fit for high school.  I am having a rough time picking YA books for this age group. I believe that discussing sexuality is fine, and kids having relationships if done well and not graphically is fine. I think learning to navigate both an emotional and  physical relationship is important, and if done well (like FIOS, Laurie Halse Anderson, Sarah Dessen) is perfectly acceptable.
> Thoughts?
> Thanks,
> Sue Crean
>
> --
> Mrs. Sue Crean
> Library Media Specialist
> 21st Century Skills Teacher
> Whisconier Middle School
>
>

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