[LM_NET] Young Diamond Books

[Dawn Sardes <yayagoddess@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

I am, it, at times, seems, fighting a losing battle to get teens interested in 
quality teen literature.


I have posted her before about young African-American teens, mostly female 
gravitating toward the urban, Triple Crown trash that's out there.

These books depict and glorify the "gangsta" lifestyle, drug dealing, prostitution 
and very graphic sex.  Morality, consequences of such behavior, etc are ignored.

Well, I was thrilled a couple months back to see that a publishing company called 
Young Diamond Books was coming out with books billed as "Young Adult Urban Tales."  
The back cover lauds it's first release, "Ride Wit' Me," by Katina King, thus:

"Finally a street tale strong enough for a grown up yet appropriate for a teen."

Well, I just got my four copies in.  I read it--the entire book, in an hour and a 
half.

First, let's begin with the cover.  A voluptuous young girl is shown wearing next 
to nothing, with the top of her head cropped off.  Well, obviously, this means that 
nothing this girl has above the ears has any relevancy to the story.  

It reads like a 7th grader wrote it (my apologies to 7th graders).  Very poor 
editing.  Similar words are mistaken for each other (EX: Quiet and Quite, Accept 
and Except).  The dialog is inane, the exposition redundant.

Then there is the story. Mercedes is a spoiled little Daddy's Girl, the only child 
of a big time Black Mafia Kingpin.  Dalvin is the only son of his rival.  So, there 
is a Romeo-Juliet type dynamic going on, but this book is totally lacking in the 
beauty of language to truly make a comparison.

Lot's of brand-name dropping, of clothes, expensive car models, etc.  

Graphic depictions of sex, oral sex, without any discussion of birth control or 
even worry about pregnancy or disease.  Violence galore.  There's an attempted 
rape,  a shooting.  You name it, it's in there.  All except for any consideration 
for law, morality, integrity, any discussion or even thought as to if it is wrong 
to enjoy living in the lap of luxury with money that was earned by peddling poison 
and pain to the masses, money that was earned via the destruction of a lot of 
people & families.

They even provide discussion questions in the back that ignore this dilemma.   
Well, I guess such  issues just are not important enough. 

How dare these people promote this trash as "Teen-Friendly?" This is nothing more 
than child pornography, pure filth.  

DO NOT BUY THESE BOOKS FOR YOUR LIBRARY!!

Well, gotta go.  I have to make a trip to the garbage dumpster now.  I also think I 
need to go home early to take a shower.





Dawn Marie Sardes
Teen Services Librarian
Euclid Public Library
Euclid, OH
yayagoddess@sbcglobal.net.omit.this
Check out my Harry Potter Fan Fiction at:
http://www.fanfiction.net/~yayagoddess

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