Meg Rosoff 'wants to show her solidarity with JK Rowling'

[Toomuchtea]

She's described in an article in The Times as 'wary ... but wants to show her solidarity with Rowling'.

Hope this link works because I can't see any option for a share token but if I have got it wrong and some kind soul can tell me how to get it right I'll try again.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meg-rosoff-i-have-a-theory-that-adolescence-goes-on-for-the-rest-of-your-life-lk3fbfzxn

Trying to find the answer to my Patrick Ness question has turned out to be another frustrating exercise in language not being fit for purpose.

Turns out he did write the DW series (it's called Class) and it was praised for its "LGBT" characters. I think this means they're gay males and Ness was offering up the kind of representation he specifically craved as a kid. But it's honestly hard to tell, because in every article I've come across so far they're described as "LGBT characters" - as if they somehow manage to be all four demographics at once.

Maybe I'm wrong about Ness being a hypocrite. But I can't think of any examples of him standing up for young lesbians against this conversion therapy culture of "learn to love the opposite sex if they identify as being like you". And it's clear he saw the issues all too clearly when Meg Rosoff wrote it with young gay men.

I wonder what his stance is.

I don't know what his stance is on trans people, but he does write brilliant teenage characters. His book 'More than this' explores some of life's big and around death, sex, love, life after death, and is an excellent read for thoughtful young people. It has the most beautiful (gay) sex scene - actually not sex, but intimacy and care. I wish there were more YA books that showed this kind of attitude to relationships.

I’ve temporarily lost my passion for reading, bizarrely about the time the GRA thing hit my radar... however I am now going to purchase some of Meg Rosoff’s books and try to claim back my love of books.

I've often found that new YA fiction or re-visiting childhood favourites is a good way to re-boot my reading habit.

I have an absolutely massive literary crush on Meg Rosoff. She won’t be told what to do or say or write by anyone, and she’s also a fascinating person.

@highame

This is interesting. My grandson was telling me about the talks that had been given at school about trans kids. My grandson has been brought up to understand differences and accept them but he has also been taught to discuss stuff. He said that he felt as though you couldn't say anything, so everyone just sat there quietly. Not a good look really, is it?

I wonder whether we can suggest our children as questions like 'are we allowed to ask about it?', 'why aren't we allowed to ask about it?'. Leading on to 'But how do we know it's true?', 'how do we know if someone's just pretending?'

You can question things without questioning them.

When I watched the Dr Who which had the male aliens carrying the babies, it didn't look like he'd drunk the cool aid. It was more like the monty python sketch. Perhaps it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Patrick Ness = behaving true to form.

I like Meg Rosoff.

Her books sound like even if you didn't end up loving them at least theyd be interesting failures rather than "played it so safe that the readers all got bored and nodded off halfway through", and that's kind of a relevant point in that people who aren't willing to go to the thoughtcrime-y places tend to write rather dull books.

I've found them variable. What I Was and How I Live Now were outstanding IMVHO. I plodded through another that seemed to be a character without a plot, and then there was I think an historical story that I couldn't face - rather lost track after that. The new one, The Great Godden, looks interesting, though the previews read like a 21st c I Capture the Castle ...

“My daughter is good; she says, ‘You can think that, Mum, just don’t say it.’ ”

I found this really sad. I admit to having discussions with my mum as yo what she reposts on facebook but it's more "This reads like..." - I certainly wouldn't tell her not to say something.

It's the new world though, no one allowed to say what they really think.

I have bought Meg’s new book on pre order. A 21 century I capture the castle is just what I need.

She is number one best seller in young adult fiction at the moment on Amazon.

Thanks for the share token.

I liked this said by 23 yr old daughter "You can think that, Mum, just don’t say it.’ ”

Sums things up nicely.

'She adds that she remembers, while writing that book, thinking, with regard to the 93-year-old writer Jan Morris, who transitioned in 1972: “Why if she is going to be a woman is she such a ridiculous woman?” Poor Jan Morris and her twinsets and pearls.

This seemed unnecessarily mean to me. I remember ages ago - perhaps 25 years ago or more - seeing a late-night highbrow TV discussion between Jan Morris and the ex-Bishop of Edinburgh, a really interesting guy who had abandoned establishment religion and saw himself as an agnostic (can't remember his name). Jan Morris came over as a lovely person and said openly something like, "I know I'll never be a real woman. Look at me." She also spoke about her wife with respect (though of course we don't know her wife's side of the story). And as far as I know, Jan Morris has never sided with the new trans rights activists but just got on with her life quietly and respectfully - like lots of old-school 'transexuals', I expect.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention that.

Why do you think Meg Rosoff shouldn't call someone ridiculous if she finds them ridiculous?

Strange.

She's not wrong about Jenner.

Why do you think Meg Rosoff shouldn't call someone ridiculous if she finds them ridiculous?

It just seemed a bit unnecessarily mean, like I say, towards a person that IMHO doesn't deserve to be associated with this whole debate. If Jan Morris was one of those who tried to close down debate or shouted TWAW at every opportunity - or was a figurehead for the new trans movement, like Caitlin Jenner - then fair enough perhaps, but she's not. I'm not really criticising Meg Rosoff for what was probably a throwaway remark. But I think the journalist should have left it out.