Pink

Pink by Lili Wilkinson (Harper Teen) ISBN: 978-0-06-192653-2

Plot Summary

Ava enrolls herself in the Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence because she's questioning her identity.  She loves her girlfriend Chloe, but she wants to experience what it would be like to be "normal."  She trades her black outfits for pink, makes friends with Alexis (the most popular girl at Billy Hughes), and pursues a relationship with Ethan.  These simple plans turn out quickly to be extremely complicated.  Ava lies to Chloe and her parents about her new life.  She doesn't land a part in the musical (which would guarantee her extra time with her new friend and crush), so she joins the stage crew.  As she tries to play a matchmaking Emma for her new stage crew colleagues, she only succeeds in alienating herself and learning that her new friend Alexis is homophobic.  Ava plans a last ditch effort to mend every broken relationship and figure out where she belongs.

Critical Evaluation

Ava embodies the anxiety many teens feel in high school writ large.  Many of us feel like imposters at certain points in our lives, but Ava manages to feel like an imposter in every aspect of her life.  She's uncomfortable in her role as a goth lesbian where she feels the need to hide her ambition, but equally uncomfortable as a pink clad heterosexual Pastel (the in-crowd at Billy Hughes Academy) where she has to hide her sexuality -- even if she's questioning it.  She doesn't even feel comfortable among the more welcoming stage crew crowd, because she doesn't know who she is.

It's painful to watch Ava entangle herself more tightly as she manages to fail in nearly every endeavor she takes on (with the exception of her schoolwork where she somehow manages straight As while living multiple lives), but it all seems to underscore the novel's theme that there really is no such thing as normal.  As Ava's mother Pat notes girls liking boys isn't normal "It's just common" (p. 257).  And in a moment that underscores the entire message of the book Pat tells Ava 

"You know, a very wise woman once gave this piece of advice to women everywhere: 'Be strong, believe in freedom, love yourself, understand your sexuality, have a sense of humor, masturbate, don't judge people by their religion, color, or sexual habits, love life and your family.'" (Wilkinson, 2009 p. 256)

 Ava asks her mother 

"Who said it?  Was it Germaine Greer?"
My mother's face twisted in a half-amused, half embarrassed smirk, "Er, no. It was Madonna." (Wilkinson, 2009 p. 258)

Reader’s Annotation

Ava tries on a new life at a new school leaving her goth clothes and the fact that she has a girlfriend in the closet.  But when she blows the audition for her new school's musical, she joins the stage crew to be near her new friends in the play.  But her time spent with the stage crew forces her to think hard about who she really is and what she really wants.

Information about the author

From the author's webpage:   

When I was six, my parents took me to China on holiday. I really wanted my mum* to read me Snugglepot & Cuddlepie, but she was understandably over the gumnut babies after the ten zillionth read, so she suggested that I might try reading it by myself.  

And that was the day I learnt to read in my head.  

Since then I’ve read many, many books, and written a few as well.  

I was first published when I was 13, in Voiceworks magazine. 

I studied Creative Arts at Melbourne Uni, and then went and taught English in Japan for a while. When I came back, I got a job at the Centre for Youth Literature, at the State Library of Victoria, where I managed a website called insideadog.com.au, about books for teenagers.  

I’m now studying for my PhD and writing full time. I live in Melbourne. I am an only child, but my parents have a very cute dog called Rita who they love more than me**.  

*You might have heard of her. Her name is Carole Wilkinson. 
** Mum has asked me to let you know that this is not true. (Wilkinson, 2013)

Genre

LGBTQIA

Curriculum Ties

The book may not tie specifically into California Language-Arts standards, but the book may be important for students who feel like they don't fit in, who are questioning their identity, and who are questioning their sexuality.

Booktalking Ideas

1) I might focus on the notion of feeling like an outsider or an imposter.  I think everyone can identify with that feeling at some point in life.
2) The book has a positive message for people who are questioning their identity or sexuality.  This may also be an appealing "in".

Reading Level/Interest Age

The novel talks about sex and includes several scenes of drinking alcohol, which might recommend this as a 9th grade and up novel.  The interest level would likely be the same.

Challenge Issues

Wilkinson includes many lesbian and gay characters in the story.  Characters drink alcohol and speak openly about sex.

I would openly greet any patron who presented a challenge to the work, giving them ample time to detail their complaint.  I would listen attentively.  To respond to these challenges I would have some reviews of the work on hand.   I would be prepared to explain that as a public institution libraries "cannot limit access on the basis of age or other characteristics" (ALA, 1999).  I would have copies of the library's collection policy on hand.  I would be prepared to politely discuss that parents can control what their children are exposed to by coming to the library with them and examining books they check out.  If the Teen Advisory Group had written reviews of the book I'd have them handy.  While it may be of little comfort to certain parents, I would also be prepared to discuss my staunch support of intellectual freedom and abhorrence of censorship.  As a last resort, I would be sure to keep copies or a reconsideration form on hand.

For this particular novel, I might point to the awards it's won as well.

Why did you include this book in the titles you selected?

2012 Stonewall Honor Book
2012 Lambda Literary Award nominee

References

American Library Association. (1999). Strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips 

Wilkinson, L. (2009). Pink. New York: Harper Teen.

Wilkinson, L. (2013). The story of a Lili. Retrieved from http://liliwilkinson.com.au/about