Misfit continues a Tattered Journey

LK: First of all, I’d like to thank Juliette Terzieff for hosting the Tattered tour today because a young adult novel is a little off the grid for her normal topics. Although, once Katie gets started I think you’ll see it’s a much better fit than what you might think. One random selected commenter will win a paperback copy of Misfit McCabe along with Prince of Wolves by Dave Gross. To be entered for consideration for the Kindle grand prize comment and either Like Juliette’s Facebook page, follow her on Twitter (@jterzieff), or become a member of the Zombie Survival Crew.

Tattered is the third novel in the heartwarming young adult series, Misfit McCabe. A little about the book:

What do Sunday afternoon court proceedings, cheerleader tryouts, and a book burning have in common? Katie McCabe is back in action.

After her nemesis Harvey is found guilty and sentenced to community service, Katie wants to believe her troubles are over, but Harvey won’t rest until he gets revenge. When blackmail rears its ugly head, she’s caught between friends and enemies putting her growing relationship with Tom at stake. Books go up in flames and Katie’s world rains down in tatters.

Juliette and I have been friends for a while now. We met through twitter and have become friends through a whirlwind of crazy, but now I’d like to introduce Katie McCabe, the fourteen-year-old main character of Tattered.

Katie: Hi! Ummm… I didn’t realize it was going to be this intimidating… Wow. You’ve done so many things. Not only that, but I hear that you are ready to fight zombies. That takes some guts. But I guess if you’re passionate about something, you just go out and do something about it. And I heard that what it’s really about is being prepared for whatever comes along. *whispers* Zombies kinda scare me. *clears throat*

Anyway, I guess I understand because I feel pretty strong about censorship. As a teenager, every day it seems like someone is deciding what I should or shouldn’t read. And it makes me angry. The people in my town recently went nuts and tried to take half the books out of the school library. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it was a bunch. Then they did the same thing at the public library! Why should someone who doesn’t even know me make decisions about what I can handle between the pages of a book? I recently read about a book which had been banned for an ENTIRE country — can you believe that? But actually, censorship goes beyond controlling what a person can read, or watch, or see… in some ways it denies us the right to prepare.

Books give us a safe environment to experience things outside of what we might normally experience. I think that’s what drives me the craziest. That people don’t understand that I can read about an experience in a book and while it may be tough to stomach sometimes because it’s a rough situation, I can learn from it without having to go through the experience in real life. The books which are banned are usually things which have dark topics: rape, incest, drugs, violence. Isn’t it better that I meet those things between the covers of a book for the first time rather than in real life? Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to avoid a situation like that because of something I’ve read in a book, or if I can’t, maybe I will be comforted by knowing I’m not the only one to experience it.

*sheepish grin* I guess I got a little carried away. Thanks for allowing me to come and talk about something I care about.

LK: Put the puzzle below together for part of the code to receive a free Misfit McCabe ebook. And make sure you visit Heather McCorkle on tomorrow’s stop on the tour. And for all details on the tour, the prizes, and the stops, please visit Griffie World.




19 thoughts on “Misfit continues a Tattered Journey”

  1. Well said, Katie. When I was younger everything I knew came from between book covers. I lived in the middle of no where with little in the way of technology and my parents never censored what I read so I could understand the world outside our secluded neighborhood. If they’d have listened to the school and even other parents, I wouldn’t have been prepared for the culture shock of moving to a big city with a huge gang population. Knowing just how to pry out someone’s eye because it was in a book comes in handy for self defense. Just sayin’. 😉

  2. What age group is this geared for? My 10yo would love the topics, but maybe it’s a little too advanced for her? 4th grade

  3. Hi LK and Katie,

    I’ve read a book that has been banned and I didn’t understand why. It’s just one persons view of a situation. It doesn’t make any sense. If you don’t want to read it, close your eyes. Or better yet, just don’t buy it. We (I’m 12) should be able to make our own choices on what we read not have someone tell me what I can’t read.

    I had to like you with my mom’s facebook because I am not old enough to have a facebook yet. I hope that counts. But I do have a twitter at @KidBookDiva and I did follow you. Thanks!

  4. I’m totally against censorship too! I even have a t-shirt that says, “I read banned books” that I wear every year one of the days for banned books week. =)

    I used to work for a middle school, and helped buy books for the library. It’s how my own library got so big. But I remember having to deal with parents who wanted books pulled from the shelves. It’s not that easy. The Principal can’t just walk into the library and pull a book or order a book pulled. It has to go through the School Board. It’s a huge deal. But here’s a thought: be AWARE of what your kids are reading. This woman hadn’t even attempted to read the book before meeting with the Principal about it (I did, however and there’s nothing in it any average 7th grade girl wouldn’t already know).

  5. I’ve never understood why people feel the need to censor what someone else can read. Just like Katie said, I would much rather experience bad things through a book than go through them myself.

  6. Oooh – I was going to reply to the comments, but don’t see the ability to do so individually, so here goes…

    Eisley – Thanks!!

    RC – (From Katie) I’m so glad you understand. Having grown up in a very small town, if I didn’t read it in a book, I didn’t get to experience it or learn from it. And growing up without a mamma, there are things Daddy had trouble talking about with me, so books help me understand things I otherwise wouldn’t.

    Daria – I’ve had 10-year-olds read the first in the series (Misfit McCabe) who were advanced readers, in conjunction with their teacher as a classroom project which prompted discussion about the topics. But it depends on the readiness of the reader in question. For the subsequent books, there are topics, which are not necessarily beyond the grasp, because I’m not sure I agree with that, but a 10-year-old may not be ready for. They are something I’d recommend you as the parent read first, so you know what they contain, and then you might want to discuss things as they come up. As a 10-year-old, I read widely. And since this is a discussion of censorship, my feeling always has been that kids self-censor. If they are reading something they are not ready to deal with, they will stop reading, and maybe come back to it when they are more ready to face the concepts between the covers.

    Iona – (From Katie) You are so right. We SHOULD be able to make our own choices and not be told what we can’t read. Besides, if someone tells you, you can’t do something, doesn’t it just make you want to do it more? Or maybe that’s just me.
    (From LK) No worries about the FB follow – you’re still entered for the Kindle. 🙂

    Jinxie – Love the t-shirt! And I know it isn’t easy, the cases that crop up can be appalling. And a fair amount of the time it comes out that the person objecting to the book has not read it. Awareness of what is between the covers is key – especially if you are going to object to it.

    Lora – AMEN!!

  7. What makes me the most angry is when people try to get books banned and they haven’t even read the book. This happened with Speak, which is about a rape. The guy who wanted it banned was calling it “soft porn.” No, he had not read it. If he had, he would realize it was empowering victims of sexual assault. (And in no way is rape “soft porn”!!!!!) I don’t think the book ended up banned, because there was enough public outcry. When I was a kid, if I ever read something in a book that I thought was wrong or that confused me, it prompted conversations with my mom and gave me more understanding of the world. I disaprove of book banning.

  8. Books offer a world of knowledge and I can definitely say I have learned a tons of things from reading. I think everyone should have access to them and have a right to decide what they want or don’t want to read. I’ve always believed choices should be available and it’s sad to see books banned in which an author doesn’t not have a voice or outlet and a reader does not get to read it. Great post.

  9. Gabi ~ Speak, unfortunately, always seems to be on the hit list. I’m not sure I understand why. In my mind, this is a book which should be held up as something that SHOULD be read, rather than trying to take it off the shelves. With rape statistics being what they are, can we afford to bury our heads and deny the victims the validity of their experience? The title alone says what the book is about — Speaking out about what happens, not to be silenced.

    Fiery Na ~ I’m right there with you. So MUCH of the knowledge I have in my head (and there are several who will tell you that’s a scary place to be… 🙂 ) is a direct result of books I’ve read. I didn’t deliberately go out and research the topic, but through it cropping up in the fiction I read, I know the topic exists and sometimes I will delve even further to learn more. I have always believed that Knowledge is Power and knowing, even if it is bad, is better than not knowing at all.

  10. Maddy ~ I agree with you that books get banned for dumb reasons. In fact, you might be surprised at some of the books that have been banned, or at least challenged. You may have read them, found no reason to even suspect that someone else could find them objectionable, and therefore do not know that they have been challenged or banned.

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