ttfn - by Lauren Myracle

In my research on censorship I have read a lot about Lauren Myracle, but had not actually read any of her books before. She is often compared to Judy Blume, I think as much for the fact that putting her name on a book will almost guarantee a challenge, as much as for her ability to speak so well to the generation she writes for, and about.


I must admit that I had a bit of trouble reading this, as the book is written entirely in text messages. My late-baby-boomer self was distracted by the shorthand, and creative spellings. The messages are between three high school friends Zoe (a.k.a zoegirl); Maddie (a.k.a madmaddie); and Angela (a.ka. Snow Angel). This book, along with others in its series, is among the top ten most challenged books of the new millenium. Reasons cited include references to oral sex, sexual experimentation, drug experimentation, and nudity - top it all off with a runaway teen and you've got yourself a bestselling book that's guaranteed to be challenged by parents all over the country! I have to say that none of this bothered me so much, though, as the fact that these girls were hardly ever at the library, and when they were there, they were NEVER looking for books or doing research. In two of the three cases where libraries are mentioned in this work, the girls specifically say they are in the school media center in order to IM each other (and here I have to admit that I almost missed these library references because of the use of the term "media center" instead of library). The other use our heroines come up with for libraries is for finding an electrical outlet to facilitate hair styling! Ah, well, at least they weren't using the library for their sexual hook ups or drug dealing.