Places I Never Meant To Be
Edited by Judy Blume
Published: 2001, Simon & Schuster

With this book, I was not sure what to expect at first. Well, that is not entirely true as I have come to learn that anything with Judy Blume’s name attached will most certainly be enjoyable. However, I do not, generally, enjoy short stories. I like big books. You know, the kind of book that throws you completely into a world of someone else’s making for more than 10 minutes at a time. But here I was; faced with one book and twelve short stories. What is a girl to do but read? So, read I did, almost in one entire sitting and…it was fantastic! Each story was so very different from the other, in time, in content, in style. In (almost) one sitting I was introduced to twelve different worlds and twelve different authors I may have previously heard of but never explored, and I liked it. It was like being in the proverbial candy store; only with no cavities and a healthy mental awakening. What tied all of these authors together for this collection was that each one had been challenged by the CensorKooks (as Paul Zindel calls them). At some point during their careers these authors were faced with an individual or group of individuals wanting to restrict or even prohibit their work. After each of their stories, the authors contributed their own perspectives on censorship and in doing so, awoke a consciousness in me I had not previously had. In fact, till this moment censorship was almost a fictional concept for me. I had heard of it, I had read of it happening to other people but I did not think I had ever been in its immediate presence. I was wrong, especially after reading Jacqueline Woodson’s take on knowing when it is happening (page 83). I was truly surprised to find that it could in fact be happening without my acute awareness and that, in itself, is an incredibly terrifying possibility. So I want to thank these authors for their work, for their perspectives, for reminding me of my responsibility to them as a reader and my responsibility to myself as a writer. And, of course, thank you Judy for, once again, opening my eyes to the world around me and reminding me of who I am and what I need to do. If you write, this is a must read. If you read, this is a great opportunity to explore new fictional destinations. Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend my (almost in one) afternoon.

Favourite lines from the book...

Censorship is crippling, negating, stifling…Readers deserve to pick their own books. Writers need the freedom of their minds. That’s all we writer’s have, anyway; our minds and imagination. To allow the censors even the tiniest space in there with us can only lead to dullness, imitation and mediocrity. (Norma Fox Mazer, page 35)

The thing about censorship is – one doesn’t always know when it’s happening. You walk into your library looking for a certain book and it isn’t there. Is that censorship or the fact that the library couldn’t afford to buy it this time around? You walk into your classroom and notice only certain kinds of books on the shelf. Is that censorship or a teacher’s aesthetic? (Jacqueline Woodson, Page 83)

Books give us a glimmer of complexity and wonder of life. All this, the censor would deny us. (Harry Mazer, Page 98)

I’m not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative. I’m doing it because I feel like writing about real life. I still can’t believe there’s anything objectionable about telling it like it is. (Norma Klein, Page 195)