Great review :-) But... I'm confused why you say you love that her parents want to know where she is and who she's with, but then complain that they don't let her have a computer in her room? That's part of the package--you can't tell what your kids are doing online if they've got a computer with internet access in their room, right?
Ack... I didn't realize it would post if I hit Enter, so sorry for the double post :-) Anyway... I absolutely adored Connor, too.
And I really do wish more young people would read this book. To me it's what YA should be about... it lets you explore something you might not otherwise (BMX biking) but also lets you think about issues and how to handle
them (what to do when the boys don't like you because you're better than them, how to handle getting your parents to let you do something you really, really want to do, etc. Just really great stuff :-)
I like the fact that parents care and have some real power, but some things are (in my opinion) going overboard. Controlling cell phones, no computer in a room, searching their things... Children are people, and they deserve some privacy. If you don't give it to them, the results won't be positive. It breaks people and encourages them to do really stupid and crazy things, to lash out.
That's a good point. I'm not a parent, and I'm old enough that it wasn't an issue for my parents, but I just would worry about my kids talking to some stalkery perv thinking it was a kid their age and it was really some creeper :-p
I wouldn't. What bad can talking do? Unless a kid is planning to meet with that person. And what is this obsession whit kids talking to strangers on the internet? Is that what kids do? They think "cool, now I can talk to people!". Shit, nobody chats these days. There are creepers on the streets. That's the ones you have to worry about. Protecting your children from the real world is not going to help them. We grow up and learn by doing dumb shit. I'm surprised I'm alive, with all the choices I made XD But hey, it was part of growing up.
Well, that's the idea is that they "meet" someone online and are lured into meeting them in Real Life, thinking it's a kid their age, and it's really some perv and the poor kid's never heard from again. And in fairness, while it does happen, I don't think it happens terribly often (though I've no idea what the stats are on that). But yeah, there's been several instances in the States where a kid turns up missing and then when the cops look at the child's computer, there are HOURS worth of convos with someone who turns out to be an adult. And then everyone thinks "How did you not know your kid was talking to this person?" and the answer is because the computer is in their room with full internet access and the parent either aren't home or aren't monitoring the kid's internet usage.
Something else that also has happened--parents getting sued for thousands of dollars because their kid has downloaded masses of pirated songs and software. Again, because they turned the kid loose with no supervision so they had no clue what they were doing. I guess I fall into the camp that the Internet is kind of a whole world. Turning a kid loose on the Net isn't much different than giving them a car and letting them do whatever. As for searching a kid's stuff--my parents never did, but I had no illusions of privacy. For the most part they respected my space and my stuff, but if I'd ever given them a reason to be suspicious, they'd have searched my room. I also wasn't allowed to have boys in my room. My parents were somewhat strict, so that probably colors my outlook, too.
Anyway, I agree you shouldn't be overprotective of kids, but I also think it's a good idea to know what they're up to, because a lot of times kids just don't have the experience to know when they're being manipulated or lied to. I have a story about that, and I was actually 19. I had met a guy and really liked him and we were talking constantly. I was home for the summer, so my mom actually knew what was going on. At first she was excited for me because he seemed really nice, but after a couple of weeks, she told me she thought he was married because of little clues (always calling during the day, etc.) I argued up and down but it turned out she was right. Anyway, my point is that I never would have guessed it in a million years--I just didn't have the experience to even think of the possibility of a man renting an apartment with buddies to give the illusion that he was single, etc., so sometimes I do think parents CAN steer kids in the right direction.
Anyway, I don't want you to feel like I'm arguing with you, per se, I just enjoy debating stuff and discussing things and I like hearing others' viewpoints :-) And also sorry to have written a short book in response to your comments :-)
And I really do wish more young people would read this book. To me it's what YA should be about... it lets you explore something you might not otherwise (BMX biking) but also lets you think about issues and how to handle
them (what to do when the boys don't like you because you're better than them, how to handle getting your parents to let you do something you really, really want to do, etc. Just really great stuff :-)
Something else that also has happened--parents getting sued for thousands of dollars because their kid has downloaded masses of pirated songs and software. Again, because they turned the kid loose with no supervision so they had no clue what they were doing. I guess I fall into the camp that the Internet is kind of a whole world. Turning a kid loose on the Net isn't much different than giving them a car and letting them do whatever. As for searching a kid's stuff--my parents never did, but I had no illusions of privacy. For the most part they respected my space and my stuff, but if I'd ever given them a reason to be suspicious, they'd have searched my room. I also wasn't allowed to have boys in my room. My parents were somewhat strict, so that probably colors my outlook, too.
Anyway, I agree you shouldn't be overprotective of kids, but I also think it's a good idea to know what they're up to, because a lot of times kids just don't have the experience to know when they're being manipulated or lied to. I have a story about that, and I was actually 19. I had met a guy and really liked him and we were talking constantly. I was home for the summer, so my mom actually knew what was going on. At first she was excited for me because he seemed really nice, but after a couple of weeks, she told me she thought he was married because of little clues (always calling during the day, etc.) I argued up and down but it turned out she was right. Anyway, my point is that I never would have guessed it in a million years--I just didn't have the experience to even think of the possibility of a man renting an apartment with buddies to give the illusion that he was single, etc., so sometimes I do think parents CAN steer kids in the right direction.
Anyway, I don't want you to feel like I'm arguing with you, per se, I just enjoy debating stuff and discussing things and I like hearing others' viewpoints :-) And also sorry to have written a short book in response to your comments :-)