Re: [McKinley: Deerskin warnings?]

At 02:52 PM 7/4/98 -0700, you wrote:

>I was 44 when /i first read "Deerskin" and I, too, wished at the time that
I had known ahead of time what it was about. I agree... it was not a
pleasant surprise and it definitely is not a book I'd want to have in my
collection, let alone allow my 12 year old daughter to get hold of. I am
under the impression that I am one of the oldest Robin fans on the list
(the oldest, maybe?) and when you think about the number of young people
who look to this site for info, some kind of warning might be nice. (I.e.
"includes sexual violence", perhaps? Not enough to spoil it for those who
would still want to read it, but enough to let us who don't care for that
sort of reading know not to bother.) Does anyone else agree?
>
I couldn't disagree more strongly. I gave this book to my then eleven year
old niece. I think I did tell her that it was a very emotional and
sometimes darkly emotional book; but look at any fairy tale with wolves
being split open to reveal grandmas and wicked stepmothers banishing and
poisoning young girls and tell me what's wrong with Deerskin? Deerskin is
better written and the young woman saves and heals herself rather than
waiting on woodsmen or Prince Charming. Tell me would you let your
daughter read Mark Twain? A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court or
Huckleberry Finn? Very dark and disturbing books.
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Received on Sun Jul 5 20:31:31 1998