Banned Books Week: The Fault in Our Stars Gets Pulled From Shelves!

Its still Banned Books Week.

And with banned books week comes an influx of people that are still trying to ban books.

I take this week to recognize that there are books out there that push the buttons for others. I take it to recognize that some authors work their asses off just to be pushed down again. And that sucks. I like to kind of take this week to take those books that are so frequently challenged and shove it down the throats of those who don’t want to read it.

Sort of. I’m not THAT mean.

But anyway, story the stories that have been hitting the airwaves this week have included lists of frequently challenged books you should be reading, quizzes on how many you’ve actually read and even a woman who is rewriting the Harry Potter series to make it appropriate for her very Christian family (its up in the air whether this is for real or an elaborate satirical hoax…)

But I just found out recently that the Riverside Unified School District in California has recently banned The Fault in Our Stars from their libraries and have pulled them from the shelves. Apparently, the sexual content is too inappropriate and its also too much for teenagers to read about teenagers discussing death and morality. It would be too difficult for them. Apparently.

11870085

Now, look, I’ve made this clear. I think its up to each individual parent to decide with each of their children what they feel is appropriate for them to read. Personally, I think you should give children more credit and that they’ll be able to handle it. I also think if you, I don’t know, crazy concept, TALK to your children about the content you’re worried about in the book, and open yourself up to them for questions if they have them, then there should be no problem with them reading that book. But again, its your decision to keep that from your kids, if you want. I’m not a parent and I’m certainly not the parent of your child.

But here’s the thing: WHY WHY WHY WHY. Why do you think shielding your child from the realities of the world is a good thing? Why? I don’t understand that. Yes, this book has sex in it. The teenagers have sex. Insert eye roll here. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably repeat myself a million times more…teenagers have sex. Jeez. At least John Green did it in such a beautiful and tasteful way, with them being in love, with them making the choice responsibly and for them using protection, and all of that.

But I think the part that really got to me about this (besides the fact that Riverside is literally down the freeway from me, and I’m so massively disappointed in them), is that they were so highly concerned with the approach of death and mortality in the book. It would be too much for the young readers to handle.

Look, we die. And while the thought of it is literally one of the scariest things in the entire world to me, literally, it was one of my biggest fears ever…reading about it helps me actually. Its helpful to me to read about this, when other people talk about it (in books) and I get to listen. Because its a reality and reading that sort of thing makes me feel comforted. Its one of my favorite parts of the Harry Potter series. I like being able to deal with the things that scare me through books, through a second hand experience.

So why are we hiding this from our children? Why do you think keeping this book, especially a book that is so insanely popular and loved by so many teens, is going to shield them from this reality? Sure, I would give this to a younger child, maybe, but a preteen/teenager, sure. I was reading adult mystery novels, with blood and violence and and murder when I was like ten years old. TFiOS is nothing compared to that. I may think its a little overrated based on the insane popularity it is but its a great book and a lot of teenagers love it and find a connection with it. So why keep it from them?

Also, your kid is reading! That’s fantastic. Do you know how many kids are NOT reading? If your kid wants to read a book, let me them! Again, talk to them about the things that you might be concerned with and always, always, always be there to talk to your kids openly about the things they have questions with. I swear, your life will be SO much easier that way instead of just pulling the books off the shelves.

But again, this is just the opinion of a blogger, who, yeah, isn’t a parent, but its what I think, and I just don’t believe in ever censoring a person from reading something they want to read. Ever. Besides, I think John Green’s reaction to this banning in the Riverside school district sums it up just perfectly:

Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 3.30.51 PM

Happy Reading everyone :)

Banned Books Week: The Fault in Our Stars Gets Pulled From Shelves!

Its still Banned Books Week.

And with banned books week comes an influx of people that are still trying to ban books.

I take this week to recognize that there are books out there that push the buttons for others. I take it to recognize that some authors work their asses off just to be pushed down again. And that sucks. I like to kind of take this week to take those books that are so frequently challenged and shove it down the throats of those who don’t want to read it.

Sort of. I’m not THAT mean.

But anyway, story the stories that have been hitting the airwaves this week have included lists of frequently challenged books you should be reading, quizzes on how many you’ve actually read and even a woman who is rewriting the Harry Potter series to make it appropriate for her very Christian family (its up in the air whether this is for real or an elaborate satirical hoax…)

But I just found out recently that the Riverside Unified School District in California has recently banned The Fault in Our Stars from their libraries and have pulled them from the shelves. Apparently, the sexual content is too inappropriate and its also too much for teenagers to read about teenagers discussing death and morality. It would be too difficult for them. Apparently.

11870085

Now, look, I’ve made this clear. I think its up to each individual parent to decide with each of their children what they feel is appropriate for them to read. Personally, I think you should give children more credit and that they’ll be able to handle it. I also think if you, I don’t know, crazy concept, TALK to your children about the content you’re worried about in the book, and open yourself up to them for questions if they have them, then there should be no problem with them reading that book. But again, its your decision to keep that from your kids, if you want. I’m not a parent and I’m certainly not the parent of your child.

But here’s the thing: WHY WHY WHY WHY. Why do you think shielding your child from the realities of the world is a good thing? Why? I don’t understand that. Yes, this book has sex in it. The teenagers have sex. Insert eye roll here. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably repeat myself a million times more…teenagers have sex. Jeez. At least John Green did it in such a beautiful and tasteful way, with them being in love, with them making the choice responsibly and for them using protection, and all of that.

But I think the part that really got to me about this (besides the fact that Riverside is literally down the freeway from me, and I’m so massively disappointed in them), is that they were so highly concerned with the approach of death and mortality in the book. It would be too much for the young readers to handle.

Look, we die. And while the thought of it is literally one of the scariest things in the entire world to me, literally, it was one of my biggest fears ever…reading about it helps me actually. Its helpful to me to read about this, when other people talk about it (in books) and I get to listen. Because its a reality and reading that sort of thing makes me feel comforted. Its one of my favorite parts of the Harry Potter series. I like being able to deal with the things that scare me through books, through a second hand experience.

So why are we hiding this from our children? Why do you think keeping this book, especially a book that is so insanely popular and loved by so many teens, is going to shield them from this reality? Sure, I would give this to a younger child, maybe, but a preteen/teenager, sure. I was reading adult mystery novels, with blood and violence and and murder when I was like ten years old. TFiOS is nothing compared to that. I may think its a little overrated based on the insane popularity it is but its a great book and a lot of teenagers love it and find a connection with it. So why keep it from them?

Also, your kid is reading! That’s fantastic. Do you know how many kids are NOT reading? If your kid wants to read a book, let me them! Again, talk to them about the things that you might be concerned with and always, always, always be there to talk to your kids openly about the things they have questions with. I swear, your life will be SO much easier that way instead of just pulling the books off the shelves.

But again, this is just the opinion of a blogger, who, yeah, isn’t a parent, but its what I think, and I just don’t believe in ever censoring a person from reading something they want to read. Ever. Besides, I think John Green’s reaction to this banning in the Riverside school district sums it up just perfectly:

Screen Shot 2014-09-25 at 3.30.51 PM

Happy Reading everyone :)

Weekly Fangirl Round Up!

Nerd Girl News

 

A new trailer and poster has been revealed for Love, stomach Rosie, medicine starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

Naomi Watts joins the cast of Insurgent, page as Four’s mother.

Cassandra Clare announces that there will be Simon Lewis short stories in the near future.

 

A new full-length, extended trailer for The Giver has been released!

 

The leader of Candor has been cast, welcome Daniel Day Kim to the Divergent family!

The new trailer for Gayle Forman’s If I Stay movie adaptation is released, and includes scenes from the prologue.

Watch the first trailer for the movie adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ The Best of Me.

Michael Gambon, aka Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter movies 3-8, has been cast in a role in JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy! Find out the rest of the casting here!

Check out the first two chapters of Robert Galbraith’s (aka JK Rowling) second novel, The Silkworm, and make sure to preorder it through your indie bookstore!

Will the Song of Ice and Fire series by one book longer than anticipated? George RR Martin’s editor suggests this might be so!

Star Wars Episode 7 adds two fantastic ladies to the cast: Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)! Fun fact: Gwendoline was recently cast as Commander Lyme in Mockingjay!

Want to learn Dothraki? Well, with this new companion software, you can!

Set photos have been leaked from the upcoming Star Wars movie, and it looks like we’ll see a bit of the Millennium Falcon!

JJ Abrams has an interesting response for the leaked Star Wars Episode 7 photos.

Both John Green and Nat Wolff talk about the upcoming adaptation of another of John’s books, Paper Towns.

George RR Martin wants to put you in A Game of Thrones…and kill you. Find out how it could be you!

Rumors are abound that Benedict Cumberbatch could be starring in a Dr. Strange movie!

Ant-man gets a new director in the form of Peyton Reed!

Teen Wolf fans: the official trailer is finally here!

The cover for Abbi Glines’ new novel has been revealed! Check it out!

The Fault in Our Stars opens up to a huge box office weekend, aims to beat out Shailene’s other blockbuster hit this year, Divergent.

The DUFF has officially begun filming, check out all the photos we’ve seen so far!

A trailer for Maggie Stiefvater’s Sinner has been released!

Sherlock Season 3 has hit Netflix (along with Orange is the New Black) and it includes bonus features!

Posts and Vlogs

Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend Book Challenge

Fictional Crush of the Week: Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments Series

Five Reasons to Read Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn

Favorite and Least Favorite Moments of City of Heavenly Fire (Spoilers)

May Book Wrap Up

California June Book Events!

Vlog: Monday Missions 8

Vlog: HUGE May Book Haul

Tuesday Top Ten: Most Anticipated Summer Book Releases

“Yes, Adults Should Be Embarrassed to Read Young Adult Books”: A Response 

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L.A. Times Festival of Books 2014: Day One and Day Two Recap Vlogs!

Guys, doctor I just had SUCH an amazing weekend. This weekend was the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at U.S.C., where the entire weekend is dedicated to the amazing culture of reading. It’s one of my favorite weekends of this year, and this year was no disappointment.

There was a team of five us: me, Sylvia from Fangirl Feeels, our friends Cassandra and Alexandra and my sister, Jessica. We had our game plans, and despite minor hiccups along the way, we managed to do everything that we wanted to do.

I met (and met again, for some) amazing authors this weekend: John Green (OHMYGOD), Rainbow Rowell, Lauren Oliver, Marissa Meyer, Sarah J Maas, Robin Benway, Veronica Roth, Lauren Myracle, Leigh Bardugo, Deb Caletti, Kiersten White, Andrew Smith and Stephanie Perkins.

But I won’t keep you from seeing my awesome vlogs. I vlogged while at the Fest so you get some pretty awkward and hilarious moments from me, a short video of my conversation with John Green and…lots of awkwardness haha.

Check it out!

Day One!

Day Two!

Yay! I hope you enjoyed seeing the awesomeness that was my weekend!

I managed to grab extra copies of Cinder, Anna and the French Kiss and Fangirl for a giveaway. There will NOT be a giveaway for the month of April (as of now), but there is a HUGE giveaway coming for my Blog Birthday in May so keep an eye out to see how you can get your hands on these books!

Oh! And don’t forget you can check out ALL the pictures on the What A Nerd Girl Says Facebook page here!

Happy Reading Everyone!

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Divergent Giveaway: Win a Copy of Divergent Signed by the Author and Cast!

Happy Divergent Release Day!

I hope you all are going to the theaters today (and ALL WEEKEND) to go see this movie. Remember guys: movie sequels are only made if the first one is successful so let’s go out, visit this see Divergent and get Insurgent made!

So I hope by now that you all have watched my vlog recap of my time at the Divergent Black Carpet Premiere in Los Angeles. It was an absolute blast and I had such a great time. I am so glad I was able to meet people like Theo and Miles and Ansel. SO much fun.

Check out my full collection of pictures from the premiere on Facebook here.

Check out my vlog about the premiere here.

Luckily for all you who were unable to attend, my friend Abby got an extra book signed and by a TON of the cast and it looks like its time for me to have a giveaway!

Make sure you read this whole post! Its VERY important!

Here is the Prize: 

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One Copy of Divergent Signed By: 

Author Veronica Roth
Kate Winslet (Jeanine Matthews)
Tony Goldwyn (Andrew Prior)
Ansel Elgort (Caleb Prior)
Theo James (Four)
Miles Teller (Peter)
Ashley Judd (Natalie Prior)
Zoe Kravitz (Christina)
Maggie Q (Tori)
Amy Newbold (Molly)
Christian Madsen (Al)

The Rules (Yes, there has to be Rules): 

The contest will run from today, March 21st to April 4th!

The winner will be contacted within 12 hours of contest end, and if the winner does NOT respond within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

The contest IS International :)

Make sure to come back every day to tweet about the giveaway and earn extra entries!

Share with your friends!

This contest is in no way endorsed by Veronica Roth, Neil Burger, Lionsgate Company, Summit Entertainment, Katherine Tegen Books, etc. WhatANerdGirlSays is not responsible for any lost or damaged prizes.

The Catch (Yes, There’s a Catch)

Now, that’s a ridiculously amazing prize. Look up above at that list. That’s incredible and it took some hard work to get those signatures. Which means I expect some hard work to be done to earn this prize.

There are a TON of ways to enter, so enter a LOT. Do all of those entries! Show me that you want this. Every person who does every single thing on the rafflecopter list will be entered into a special secret giveaway. Please email a snapshot of your completed rafflecopter to whatanerdgirlsays at gmail dot com.

There are also options to show off your Divergence. Show me you are Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. More details in the rafflecopter. Those who do those entries will also be entered in the secret giveaway!

Are you ready to enter already? Here you go!

Enter Now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Divergent Black Carpet Los Angeles Premiere Vlog Recap!

Hey guys! How’s it going? I hope you’re having a wonderful week and I hope that you’re planning on going out to see Divergent tomorrow. You all know how important that first weekend is for a movie, viagra in order to get a sequel so go out there and watch it guys!

As you guys might have seen on my Twitter and Instagram and Tumblr and Facebook, I went to the premiere on Monday. It was an absolute blast, and I just…I had so much fun.

Now instead of writing up a recap of the premiere, I decided to do a vlog instead. I know, right? I’m becoming more and more determined to do more vlogs.

So here we are, check it out on YouTube, my vlog of the Divergent premiere!

If you’d like to see all the pictures that I took from the premiere, you can check them out at this link on the official What A Nerd Girl Says facebook page. 

If you’re curious about the song that’s playing in the video, its a song called “Small Talk” by a band that I just discovered last week, Green Light Theory. You can check them out on Facebook. They are trying to get on Warped Tour so what little I can do, I’m trying to do!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to check out my epic Divergent giveaway! You’ll be sorry you missed it!

Thanks for watching guys! Happy Fangirling :)