Books

Those of you who know me, know I love books.  When I was younger I did almost nothing but read books, climb trees, make things I read about from books....everything was books.  I loved books.  I still love books, but some things make it harder to actually sit down and read.  Such as school.  Anyway, I wanted to talk about books.  Sort of.
Some books are absolutely wonderful.  I always loved Alice in Wonderland.  So whimsical, I suppose is what you would call it.  I read it several times.  I also read Little Women several times, as well as Eight Cousins, and the Little House on the Prairie books.  I had read the first Chronicles of Narnia book by the time I was six.  Well, actually, that depends on which book you're counting as the first.  I read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  I also read some books that couldn't exactly be classified as 'classics' of any type.  I read  The Boys Start the War and The Girls Get Even.  The Girl With the Silver Eyes, Babysitting is a Dangerous Job, The Furthest Away Mountain, Dragon Rider, Boxcar Children, Twelve Candles Club....  Anything I could get my hands on.  Anything.
I still read books.  I read books like Sold and This Song Will Save Your Life.  I still read the Chronicles of Narnia books and just recently I reread The Girl With the Silver Eyes.  I just finished a book called Out of My Mind.  I read books with titles like Tempest.  Once.  Unfortunately, in English, I'm reading a book called The Great Gatsby.  Personally, I see nothing great about him at all.
I read Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Realistic, Romance, ANYTHING.
Some really good books I've read were: This Song Will Save Your Life, Out of My Mind, Thirteen Reasons Why, Because I Am Furniture.  And those are just some I can remember the titles of.  And do you know what every single one of those books is at least somewhat about?  Bullies.  In This Song Will Save Your Life, the main character is the butt of every joke and for some reason wants to be popular.  There's one point where she tried to kill herself.  Where did the title come from?  She came across a warehouse 'night club' where she became a DJ.  Out of My Mind is about a girl with cerebral palsy (as far as I know, the story isn't true.)  She can't talk, she can't walk, but then she gets a device that she can bang on with her thumbs and write out what she wants to say, and it will say it for her.  That's how she shows her smarts.  She's so smart she's put in a "smart bee," but her 'team' leaves her behind at the last minute...they don't like her, because of how different she is, because they don't understand her.  Thirteen Reasons Why is about a girl who kills herself.  But, she leaves behind 7 cassette tapes, with thirteen of the sides recorded on, and these tapes get passed around to thirteen people, each side explaining to each person what effect they had on her decision to kill herself.  Because I Am Furniture is one of the saddest ones, because it's about a girl who is abused in her own home.
Yes, I read sad books.  I also read happy ones.  But what I want to point out is that these books are popular.  People read them.  And do you know why?  Why do people read any books?  They read educational books to learn, funny books to laugh, but why sad books?  Because they relate.  And that makes me mad.
No one.  NO ONE.  Should ever have to relate to books like that.  Why does these books sell?  Why does everyone love them?  Because they relate.  And they shouldn't have to relate to books like that.  And I know I just repeated myself, but it makes me so mad.  There are people who bully and it's like they don't even stop to think, "Wait, this is a person too.  I'm hurting another human."  And what I don't understand is why.
Don't give me that crap about, "Their daddy isn't home," "They're hurt inside," "They're insecure," "They're just teasing."  They choose how they act.  Your daddy isn't home and they're hurt inside?  Okay, so why make others hurt inside?  You're insecure?  Okay, do your best to make no one else feel insecure.  You're just teasing?  Are you my friend?  No?  You have no right to tease me.  That is reserved for my family and friends...people who know not to cross the line.
Do your part....don't help add to the population of people who relate to sad books like that.
~Katie X(