Author - Leslie Simon
ISBN - 9780061195396
Publication Date - 2007
Plot - This is a loving tribute, or possibly a satire, to all things Emo. For the teenage set, this would be a book written to see if one fits into a particular type of subculture, while for the older set trying to explain whether or not the people they know would fit into this sub-culture. Emo, according to the book, is not just a style of "emotional" music that developed in the 80s and really took flight in the mid to late 90s. Emo is a whole entire lifestyle. It is characterized by several important qualities. The first is depression. Misery loves company as the author puts it, and depression has driven this subculture together to form a unique bond. The second aspect is Effort(lessness). This requires a great deal of effort to look like one doesn't care about themselves. Then there is Empathy, or deep feeling of another person's pain. We move onto faith, which is a firm belief in whatever an Emo person believes, regardless of the evidence to the contrary. Then there is Insecurity, or the realization that someone somewhere is having it better than you are. And the final rule of the Emo subculture is non-athleticism. One should not, must not be caught dead doing anything that would include the word exercise in it. While the entire book exists in this tongue in cheek style, there is a method to the madness of the author, who is trying to appreciate the people of the scene (as they consider themselves to be of this scene), while having a level of self-depreciation at the same time. They are paying homage to what it means to be Emo.
Book Review - While the style of this book is firmly tongue-in-cheek, it is a fascinating read about all things emo. It has a list of people and whether or not they fit into the Emo subculture and why: selecting John Mayer as completely un-emo while Kelly Clarkson maybe considered slightly emo. It directs one's attention to one of the largest methods of emo communication at the release of this book, MySpace. While most think of this as a social networking site, it is appropriate that it was so popular among the emo culture that in that it allowed exposure to a lot of lesser known bands that people could connect with. While music is not all of emo subculture, it is an essential part of it. I was even taken a back about the listing of "porn" sites that are considered emo. While this may get the censors out in mass, certainly the self-depreciating humor about it all will alleviate some of the vociferousness involved in any attempt to censor the material. Overall this book is a useful manual to all things emo, and should be a welcome read for anyone who wants to know if they too might be emo.
Reader's Annotation - Sad? Depressed? Wanting to cry when things go wrong? You don't have to worry about whether you fit into someone else's mold of who you are. You just might be emo.
About the Author - Primarily into the indie music scene Leslie Simon has written a couple of different efforts covering the indie music scene and its various incarnations. She lives in Los Angeles where, according to her bio, she hunts down Zack Galifianakis trying to make sure that she marries him, or gets a restraining order placed against her, whichever may come first. It is this self depreciating wit that infects much of her writing.
Genre- Teen Non-Fiction
Curriculum Ties - A class could discuss satire and comedy in Literature.
Booktalking Ideas - Have people discuss the music that they listen to and see if they qualify for being emo. Follow the pattern of the book and try to describe other music fads and see where everyone might fit.
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 9+
Challenge Issues - Buried in the book there is a section on emo pornography. While I had heard about one of these sites before because Showtime had run a special on it, I am certain that parents might complain if they knew about this particular content.
Overcoming Challenge - There are only two ways I can see of overcoming this challenge. One is to focus on the comedy and tongue in cheek nature of the writing, as it elicits a kind of humorous response about having a porn emo site, and hope parents anger is somewhat abated. The other is to be willing to interfile it with the rest of the non-fiction making it not so readily available and considered specifically for teens, even if teens might take the most interest in it.
Why Included - While I am way too old to be considered emo, much of the emo subculture started around when I was growing up. Many of the large influences to the emo music scene were among my favorite bands, like The Smiths and The Cure. I also wanted to have something specifically non-fiction and yet directed at a teenage audience.
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