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When the news started coming out about the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, many of us have been reacting strongly on social media sites and sharing in the disbelief that something so horrible could happen in an elementary school in an idyllic New England town. We have watched the stories of sadness and heroism on the news. We know that children at Sandy Hook Elementary, who should never ever witness terrible violence, saw things that as adults we cannot even imagine. People have started debating gun control and mental health care. I decided that what I wanted to say was too long for a Facebook post; and I wanted to share it with the teachers, librarians, and homeschoolers who read my blog, so here are some thoughts on this unusual Sunday post.

After 9/11, we didn’t feel safe. How could we? People didn’t want to fly. They didn’t want to go on a subway or train. Even a bus seemed frightening. People didn’t want to leave home or go to national monuments. But somehow, we got over it; and now we do all of these things again and most of them without fear. Why? I believe it’s because of the security that we now have at airports–the very security we complain about when we are running late for our plane or traveling with a tired and hungry toddler. But it’s the very security that makes me feel safe to travel. When I go to the Arch in my hometown of St. Louis, I’ve complained about standing outside in the heat or cold, while waiting to go through the metal detectors or have my purse AND diaper bag checked. But I am thankful that the security now exists. I can go to the Arch and have fun with my family.

We need to feel like our schools are safe–just like airports and national monuments. To me, a new security system and REQUIRED safety policies are what we need to implement in EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL as well as money for more counselors–especially in the high schools. To feel safe in schools, we need new policies, and they need to be strict like airport security. Stop debating gun control (although I do question why any American needs a permit for a semi-automatic weapon?) and mental health care (although I agree it is extremely expensive to get help for mental illness), and start focusing on new policies. REGULATE and GIVE MONEY to schools, so they can protect our children.

EVERY school needs an entrance where after school starts, a person–teacher, parent, custodian, principal, student–has to be LET IN by someone already in the school. I’ve been at schools who have been able to do this. You open the front door and a camera greets you as well as a locked door. You push a button. The secretary sees you, and you state your purpose. If the secretary thinks you are all right, then she lets you into the school. And obviously one thing we are learning from Newtown, where something like this was in place, is that the glass needs to be thick and hard to break at the entrance, if possible.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not blaming any school security. I worked in schools. I was briefed on what to do with my students if a shooter came into the room after Columbine. We had a code word if we needed to protect our students. I still go into schools as a children’s author; and most of the time, only one door is unlocked. But I can walk in that door and walk right past the office where I am supposed to check in as a visitor. These schools are doing the best they can to protect their students, and they need MONEY to create more security, which is what we are going to need. I think at least all middle schools and high schools need to put in metal detectors–again we need money for this. I know we don’t want to go to school in a “prison,” but we are beyond that now. Did you watch the news this morning? Besides Newtown, there was another man shooting bullets in a busy mall parking lot and an 18-year-old arrested for planning a shooting at his high school.

We can’t let this tragedy stop us from going places. Our children still need to go to school. We need to go shopping at a mall. We need to watch our kids at their basketball game or gymnastics meet. But we need to stay safe, and I think the only way to do that is to implement policies in our schools like officials and legislators did in our airports after 9/11.

One last thought–I remember being scared to death to go to school and teach on 9/12/2001. The faculty had a brief meeting with our counselor before we were turned loose to our students. I taught fifth grade at the time, and these students WANTED to talk about what happened. They NEEDED to talk about what happened. The way I approached it was I put on the board when they walked in: Something terrible happened yesterday. If you would like to write about it in your journal, please do. If you would like to write about something else, feel free. If you would rather read, that’s a great choice. Then when I started class, I asked students to tell me what they knew or if they had any questions. This started a wonderful discussion that I will never forget, including this question, “Is a plane going to hit our school and kill us?”

Imagine what kids are thinking about tomorrow then–I encourage you to let them talk if they need to and use the resources around the web to figure out how to talk to them. Here’s a link I found: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/12/newtown-school-shootings-kids-fears

Peace to you.

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Mockingbird
Kathryn Erskine
middle grade/ya

Every once in a while I run across one of those stories with a main character so beyond the bounds of my everyday existence I marvel at how anyone could create her/him and do so in such a believable way.

Erskine has done so with her character, Caitlin. A fifth-grader, Caitlin has Asperger's Syndrome. She's really smart but has a really tough time understanding and expressing emotion. Maneuvering through life means learning an exhausting list of facial expressions that decode what what people are thinking and/or what they really mean. Add to that that the the person who helped her maneuver the world, her older brother, has been killed in a school shooting.

Erskine bites off a huge chunk of storytelling with her character and the external event of a school shooting. She maneuvers both phenomenally. Caitlin is one of the best characters I've read lately. I had no idea what it's like inside the mind of a child with Asperger's. Erskine gives her readers a glance. It's a glance that doesn't pity. It doesn't minimize. It is. As such, I came to both empathize and understand Caitlin. It's a phenomenal bit of writing. Add to it weaving Caitlin's story seamlessly together with the affects of a school shooting on a community and exploring how to find "closure" and this work moves from phenomenal to unforgettable.

The one aspect of this novel that I was less impressed with was that it, like When You Reach Me, relies on an outside piece of art, in this instance To Kill a Mockingbird, to carry part of the story. One day I may do this myself and kick myself for not understanding or for finding fault with this particular writer's tool at present, but when a writer can weave as well as Erskine, story doesn't need outside art to support it, or deepen the emotional resonance. It's already there. And there in spades. For me, bringing in the outside world in this way detracts from the story being told. It pulls me outside Caitlin's story. It also expects a lot from that external art and the reader. I'd hazard a guess that not many children today have seen, To Kill a Mockingbird. Thus, what effect will the film really have on the reader? Wouldn't a fictional film do the job even better by staying within story by being a created part of it?

If you're looking for a deep story about school shootings, how they affect a community, what it must be like to "feel" and perceive the world as a person with Asperger's all wrapped into a story that pulls you toward it in a gentle but insistent way, read Mockingbird. There is so much here. Much to discuss. Critique. Enjoy. Ponder. And grow from.

Read it.

For other great Spring diversions, hop over to Barrie Summy's website. She's got temptations galore!

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Columbine by Dave Cullen. Twelve Publishing. 2009. Copy from library.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, high school seniors, entered Columbine High School. They killed twelve students and one teacher, and then committed suicide.

Dave Cullen has covered the story since day one. Columbine is about what happened on April 20th; what led up to it; and what followed.

In particular, it firmly ends many of the myths surrounding Columbine. Interestingly, the truth has been out there; Cullen wrote The Depressive and the Psychopath, published in Slate, in April 2004. Yet ask most people, and they won't say this was the case of a psychopath but rather the result of bullying and jocks and revenge and disappointments.

Why? Because it's easier to think that what happened was fixable -- "Let's not bully!" "We can stop bad things from ever happening by just being nice!" rather than admitting that at sixteen -- the age Harris, then a sophomore, first began planning his attack -- a teenager was a psychopath. Rather than addressing how we recognize and treat depression in teenagers. Rather than trying to know when a dark twisted story for creative writing is a sign of a future Stephen King or the warning (or boasting) of future killer.

It's easier to think Harris and Klebold snapped because of one incident, one loss, one act than to consider that as early as April 1998, police were aware of death threats, pipe bombs, and hate-filled websites to the point where a warrant was drafted for Eric Harris's house.

"Outcast" is a comforting label to use, because we can see those outcasts and tell ourselves, "not OUR kids." When the truth is, the two teenagers had jobs, friends, dated -- Klebold went to his prom the weekend before the attack -- and were intellectually gifted. Klebold was part of the "Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students" program in elementary school. Harris's teachers were consistently impressed with his knowledge and intelligence.

Columbine is not an easy read; and it's a book that cannot be put down. Cullen starts with weekend of the school shooting, then both backtracks to bring us fully into the heads of Harris and Klebold and goes forward, relating what happens during the attack and the years afterward. We uncover, slowly, what happened and why the teenagers planned what they did as well as see what actually happened and the aftermath, including how the media, investigators, parents and survivors reacted.

Both Harris and Klebold left a stunning amount of information about what they were thinking and planning, in journals, websites, diaries, diagrams, and school assignments. Cullen is especially effective when contrasting the face Harris presents to adults (counselors, lawyers, teachers) as having "learned his lesson" and saying all they want to hear with his private journals that spill over with hatred and contempt and amusement in having fooled yet another person. These teenagers had plenty of people who listened to them. Who wanted to help. Yet not many were in touch with one another to compare information to realize the full picture of what was happening; and Harris was a gifted liar.

This book does not glorify Harris and Klebold. Cullen shares minute by minute, second by second, their actions at the beginning of the book, with the first two students killed and the mayhem starting. But he does not continue the intimate timeline of what went on in the school until the end of the book -- when we have a better realization of what Harris and Klebold intended (blowing up the school to kill all inside, regardless of jock, friend, preppy, Goth) versus what happened (the bombs did not work). Then, the end -- and while some moments in the library are shared, including what happened to some individuals as well as refuting the Cassie Bernall myth, Cullen thankfully does not share a second-by-second account of the slaughter in the library.

Cullen keeps this book factual, without ever being voyeuristic. It is not a "true crime" book. There are no photographs of Harris or Klebold or their victims; no crime scenes; no diagrams of the school. We do not see photos of the guns they used or illustrations showing where the bodies fell.

Columbine does something else; it reminds us why we need good professional investigative reporters. This book reflects a tremendous amount of time, effort, work, dedication, talent, professionalism and caring. Newspapers, magazines and journals must find some way to survive their current crisis so that people like Cullen can continue doing their job.

What does the reality versus the myth mean? Especially for readers and reviewers of books where the myth of the bullied shooter crops up again and again? As I said above, I personally think bullying gives us the answer we want. We can use it to stop bullying (if you're mean, you could turn that kid into a killer); we give ourselves the illusion of control (I'll be nice to that loner and that will change his life); and it allows us to be "anti" the popular kid (we always knew those popular jock cheerleader preppies weren't as nice as they pretended). All which play out in books and novels and film.

I read Hate List by Jennifer Brown before reading Columbine; but I had read Cullen's articles on the shooting and reviews of the book. As I say in a review planned for later this summer, Brown does not go the "blame the bullying" route (though bullying takes place). Instead, she backs away from labelling that shooter at all; and the main character in Hate List reminded me of the numerous friends of Harris and Klebold who, while aware of their fondness for guns or a hobby of making pipe bombs, had no idea they were planning a massacre.

Links: Reading Rants review
A look at the Oprah taping with Cullen (ultimately Oprah decided not to broadcast it)

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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Yesterday's tragic news in Geneva County, Alabama raises many questions about rampage shootings, which are becoming an all too familiar news headline. Jonathan Fast, Associate Professor of Research at the Wurzwelier School of Social Work, Yeshivia University, addressed many of these complex issues in his groundbreaking study of school rampage shooting, Ceremonial Violence.

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Jonathan Fast, author of Ceremonial Violence: A Psychological Explanation of School Shootings, will discuss his new book at Barnes & Noble in Greenwich Village on Wednesday, October 1, at 7:30pm. Recently featured in Salon, Time, and New York Times Book Review, Fast's Ceremonial Violence examines the motives behind these shocking acts of violence.

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Salon's Laura Miller takes a look at what turns an angry, alienated teen into a school shooter in her penetrating review of Jonathan Fast's new book Ceremonial Violence: "School shootings, at least those that kill only one or two people, have come to seem almost commonplace. The killing of one 15-year-old by another 15-year-old in a Knoxville, Tenn., high school cafeteria on Aug. 21 barely registered on the national radar screen. In order to make a name for himself, any malignantly narcissistic adolescent with a dream will need to aim for a body count in at least the low two-figures. Gun control opponents assure us that allowing teachers (and even students) to carry guns will help the situation by enabling potential victims to defend themselves against the likes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The Supreme Court seems inclined to oblige them, and perhaps regular shootouts will become a high school rite of passage, just like the prom and smoking behind the gym. Deeper, more systemic repairs to our culture will be harder to come by. Like the bullying prevention programs Fast describes in the final chapter of "Ceremonial Violence," such measures demand "attentiveness, self-scrutiny, consistency, detachment, and dogged attention to detail." And that sure just doesn't sound very American."

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Jonathan Fast's new book Ceremonial Violence is reviewed in the current issue of Library Journal: "Fast, a novelist as well as a professor of social work (Yeshiva Univ.), explores the psychological roots of school violence through in-depth case studies of six young shooters, including Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine High. While the author hypothesizes that all of the shooters see their acts as cleansing and elevating rituals, he shows that there is no single underlying situation—parental neglect or low IQ, for example—that invariably led these young people into difficulty. Most of these teens felt alienated from their peers, although some seem to have been goaded into action by groups of aggressive so-called friends who pushed them to commit violent acts. The case studies are compelling; fans of true crime will like the book as pure narrative, while parents and educators will appreciate the suggestions for identifying potentially violent students. This is a good companion to Katherine S. Newman and others' Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings, which explores the same situations from a sociological viewpoint. Recommended for all academic and most public libraries."

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Jonathan Fast's intriguing study on school shootings, Ceremonial Violence, is noted in Elissa Schappel's monthly column in Vanity Fair on hot new book releases. The result of over five years of research, Ceremonial Violence analyzes the events leading up to and comprising some of the most chilling school rampage shootings in recent years and their aftermath. For the first time, the tragic events of Columbine, Virginia Tech, and others are examined in a way that truly illuminates the causes and effects of this disturbing phenomenon.

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Coming this September is an important new book on one of most serious issues of our times: school rampage shootings. Author Jonathan Fast, Ph.D., spent five years researching these senseless tragedies. Ceremonial Violence: A Psychological Explanation of School Shootings analyzes the Columbine high school shooting and four other cases and explains for the first time why teenagers commit school rampage shootings. With a clear grasp of the elements of abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, sociology, and neurology that contribute to the homicidal mindset, Fast offers us a means of understanding and coming to terms with these tragedies.

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Happy Saturday!! What a fantastic week it's been for Dona and the release of her book, HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI. It's sitting next to my bed in my to be read stack -- for when I'm done with the eight Rita entry books I have to read. Yikes!!

So, I don't really have a topic to post on, so I thought I'd just talk about a few of my favorite things...

One of the best things about being a writer and having so many writer friends is getting to whoop it up when they sell their first book. My buddy, Maria Geraci, sold her book, THE CHURCH OF BUNCO, on Thursday to Berkeley Sensations. Whooooohooooo for Maria. This is totally an example of getting the book to the right editor who'll love it.

My friend, bestselling author, Gena Showalter, and her best friend, Jill Monroe, did a hilarious author interiew spoof on YouTube. You'll laugh until you cry!

I have a new favorite movie! While I'm watching one of my favorites now, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (mmmmm...Paul Walker!), I have to say that RATATOUILLE is the best movie I've seen in a long, long time. What a beautiful movie! And I'm just in love with Remy. Hmmm...Paul Walker or Remy...it's a tough decision. LOL!!



And it's Saturday. Is there any better day of the week than Saturday? You get to sleep in, laze about, not commute, and do whatever you want.

So, what are some of your favorite things?

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (May 2008, Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (May 2008, Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Begins May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

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I don't know about you, but here in the frigid northeast, there's nothing I want to do more than stay indoors, curled under blankets with something warm to drink, some comfort food and a great book to read...

Like Dona's awesome debut, HOW TO SALSA IN A SARI!!!



(Can you tell how proud we are of Dona here at Books, Boys, Buzz?)

And what's the perfect comfort food? Well, mashed potatoes, of course! Sure, you might say, "but I don't need instructions on mashed potatoes." It seems simple, right? However, there is a way to make them perfect. Here's my secret:

1. You want a really sticky, starchy potato. Best are Idaho baking potatoes or the large Yukon Gold potatoes. If you use Idaho, use three medium sized ones, or four large Yukons. This’ll make about four ½ cup servings.

2. Peel them and rinse them off. Cut them into equal size pieces. If they're equal sized pieces, they'll cook more evenly. Usually, I third the potato and then half the thirds. Fill a large pot on the stove with warm water from the tap and drop the cut potatoes in. Make sure the water completely covers the potatoes. To the water, add a good amount of salt. Two teaspoons, at least. The salt will flavor the water and the potatoes as they cook and that much salt won't be absorbed all into the vegetables.

3. Turn to high and cook for 20-25 minutes. You can test the potatoes' done-ness by sticking them with a sharp knife. You want them tender, not tough, but not too mushy.

4. Before draining, take a measuring cup and fill it carefully with about 1/3 of a cup of the cooking liquid and set aside. Turn stove down to low. Pour potatoes carefully into a colander and drain for a moment and then return the potatoes immediately to the hot pot. You will hear the potatoes "sizzle" as this is the remaining liquid evaporating.

5. After about half a minute, take your potato masher and start mashing the potatoes in the pot, on the stove, over the heat. Pour in a little bit of the reserved cooking liquid to help you as you mash, eyeballing so that you mash the potatoes into a smooth paste. Depending on how starchy your potatoes are will depend on how much of the liquid it will hold. Just don't turn it into soup...maybe only using 1/4-1/2 the cup.

6. Here is where I add 2-3 tablespoons of Brummel and Brown (yogurt butter) and 1/2 cup of reduced fat sour cream. Keep mashing and stirring everything together, keeping the stove at a very low setting.

7. At this point, salt the whole thing to your taste and add pepper. I also add fresh cut/diced chives -- maybe a tablespoon -- for taste and appearance. Taste the potatoes and if they're not seasoned to your preference, salt and pepper some more. The key is to season they while they're still on the stove and not when you put them on your plate.

8. Then, I use a mold to present them. You can use anything, really...a sugar shell, a coffee cup, or just plop them on the plate. I guarantee you, if you follow this, they will NOT be bland in the least.



Voila! You're done! Now, enjoy your meal and Dona's book!

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (May 2008, Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (May 2008, Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Begins May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

What I'm reading: (finishing, actually) NEW MOON by Stephanie Meyer

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'Tis the season!!

I have another fun giveaway here for our readers, which also includes a favorite teen book! It's a book that's debuting in eleven days. A book that I had the privilege of reading during the very beginning stages. A book that I fell in love with immediately and couldn't put down (okay, technically, I couldn't stop scrolling because it was on my computer screen.) It's got one of the most beautiful endings ever and I can't wait for everyone to read it. It's by one of my bestest buddies, Wendy Toliver and it's called THE SECRET LIFE OF A TEENAGE SIREN:

Geeky to gorgeous in sixty seconds...
Roxy's about to turn sixteen, but life isn't so sweet. As a band geek, Roxy can barely get the cute guys to notice her, much less go out with her. Then, on her birthday, Roxy is transformed into a siren: seductively beautiful with the power to control all men. She thought sirens were an ancient myth, but suddenly Roxy can get any guy she wants with just a few notes on her flute.

There are only two rules: don't tell anyone about being a siren, and don't fall in love. When she starts dating Zach, the guy everybody's crushing on, Roxy realizes she could get used to this siren thing...but how can she keep herself from falling in love?

I hope everyone rushes out to get the book on December 26th! And, for one lucky blog reader, I'll be giving away a copy of the book. Keep reading!

But wait...there's more! My editor told me that my advanced reader copies of SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA will be shipped to me next week. Sooo...I'm giving away a copy of it, as well.



Here's the blurb:

High school is already a distant memory for incoming Latimer University freshmen, Jenna, Roni, and Lora-Leigh. Jenna wants to meet cute college boys, Roni wants to get away from home, and Lora-Leigh...well, Lora-Leigh couldn't care less. She's going to LU and participating in sorority recruitment only to appease her mom. Sorority girls are pretty, rich, andsnotty, and Lora-Leigh doesn't want to be one of those girls. So she's shocked to find her self actually connecting with the sisters of Zeta Zeta Tau. And her new friend Jenna can relate. She came to sorority recruitment only because her roommate begged her to, but now she can't decide with sorority to join; she likes them all! Roni, on the other hand, knows which sorority she should join. The Tri-Omegas are exactly the type of "it" girls she would usually befriend, but Roni came to LU to reinvent herself. As recruitment progresses and the girls to make big decision, they'll need to heed the best advice there is: follow your heart. But where will it lead?

To qualify for both giveaways, please leave a comment about the absolute best, most rocking holiday present you've ever received. Winners will be announced on Wednesday!

And now...for the winners of Simone and Dona's giveaways:

For Simone's post, here are the winners!!

These people won all three titles:

WannabeWriter
Alyssa
Katie
Teen Zone

These people get to choose one title:

Charlotte
Burger
The Page Flipper
Zachariah

Please e-mail Simone your name/address to simone_elkeles @ yahoo.com (no spaces)

And for Dona's giveaway:

The winner is...

Marlayne

Please e-mail Dona at dona @ donasarkarmishra.com (no spaces)

Thanks everyone!!!

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (May 2008, Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (May 2008, Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Begins May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)

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