Bitch YA Book Club

For our final YA book club, Nona Willis Aronowitz asks Erin Blakemore and Jennie Law what they thought about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Add your own answers to Nona's questions (or come up with your own discussion points) in the comments section.

Next up for the Bitch YA Book Club is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. If you're like me, you've been meaning to read this book since high school, and you're thrilled to finally have an excuse to do so. We'll be discussing Francie's coming-of-age story right here on the blog on Friday, August 5th.

For this month's YA book club, Ellen Papazian asks Erin Blakemore, Jennie Law, and Jessica Stites what they thought about Ash by Malinda Lo. Add your own answers to Ellen's questions (or come up with your own discussion points) in the comments section.

Discussion after the jump!

Next up for the Bitch YA Book Club is Ash by Malinda Lo, a queer and feminist retelling of the story of Cinderella. We'll be discussing the book on Friday, July 1st, so you've still got some time to get your hands on a copy!

Ellen Papazian will be asking Erin Blakemore, Jennie Law, Jessica Stites, Nona Willis Aronowitz, and YOU to share thoughts on the book. Interested in joining the book club? There's no need to sign up! Just read the book and look for the blog post on Friday, July 1st. We can't wait to discuss the book with you!

For this month's YA book club, Jennie Law asks Erin Blakemore, Ellen Papazian, and Nona Willis Aronowitz what they thought about Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Add your own answers to Jennie's questions (or come up with your own discussion points) in the comments section!

Have you been following our online YA book clubs? If not, there's no need to worry. We've still got three YA books left to discuss on our blog, and our next discussion is happening just one week from today! On June 3rd we'll be discussing Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Then, on July 1st we'll share our thoughts on Ash by Malinda Lo, and on August 5th we'll discuss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. We'd love to have you involved in these conversations!

For this month's YA book club, Jessica Stites asks Erin Blakemore, Jennie Law, Ellen Papazian, and Nona Willis Aronowitz what they thought about Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. Add your own answers to Jessica's questions (or come up with your own discussion points) in the comments section!

Links ahoy!

• HuffPo reports on Rachel Maddow's statement that "[g]ay people—generally speaking—have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can." Do you agree?
• ColorLines talks about the attack on a trans woman at McDonald's and the questions it raises about hate crime laws. Questioning Transphobia also speaks out about the shameful incident. (Trigger warning for transphobic violence.)
• Bitch Flicks recalls bell hooks' still-pertinent words about race and gender in films.
• On Trans/plant/portation, Bitch contributor EvMaroon humorously dissects a bizarre religious invitation.
• Feministe discusses the myriad frustrations with clothes' inconsistent sizes.
• Also at Feministe: Will you be near Madison on May 26-30? Check out WisCon, the feminist sci-fi and fantasy convention! Past panelists include Emily Horner.
• Feministing gives a run-down of a Times article about colleges' failure to comply with Title IX.
• Gender Focus explores the societal notion that cats are for girls and dogs are for boys.
• Twisty unpacks the slut-shaming and victim-blaming in recent news stories at I Blame the Patriarchy. (Trigger warning for domestic violence and sexual abuse of a minor.)
• TransGriot updates us on Caster Semenya's athletic plans.
• The Arizona Republic talks about the many negative repercussions of the hateful SB 1070. (via Racialicious)
• Bitch contributor Sady Doyle hilariously snarks on reality TV mogul Aaron Sorkin's abysmal-sounding next show at Tiger Beatdown.
• AfterEllen interviews Malindo Lo, author of Bitch YA Reading Club's selection Ash, which we'll be discussing in July!
• Bitch contributor s.e. smith gives guidelines on "How to Evaluate Disabled Characters in Pop Culture, for Nondisabled Viewers."
• Have you seen the Budweiser commercial with the soldier implied to be queer? If not, Mother Jones has you covered.
• Our Turn: Feminism for Newbies remembers Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.
• RH Reality Check tells us more about the infuriating "Don't Say Gay" bill. (reposted at AlterNet) In happier news, Queerty explains Sir Ian McKellen's homophobia-busting school tour.
• Speaking of... Queerty's coming back!

Thoughts? What have you been reading?

Welcome to our first Bitch YA Book Club! Today, Erin Blakemore asks Jennie Law, Ellen Papazian, and Jessica Stites what they thought about Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. What did you think about this book? Add your own answers to Erin's questions (or come up with your own) in the comments section!