i never read young adult fiction
or whatever you call younger than young adult fiction
well
that's not completely true
i read are you there god, it's me margaret
at least
i think i read it
and
a wrinkle in time
i read little house on the prairie
but
i think i read all those because i was required to read them
i didn't identify


my mother
when i was in third and fourth grade
was terrified that i was retarded in some way
now
don't get me wrong
i was an A student
for most of my third grade year
i had the highest average in my math class
there was no actual reason for her to think i was retarded
but
i wasn't reading big enough books
and
although i was reading things like this
i was reading them in the library
so she never knew
but
you've gotta read stuff like that
if you're poor white trash

you don't have to read stupid kid books
never identified with any of em

i read, later, alice in wonderland
and i read it again and again

finally
i made my mother proud
by choosing this
and this
which she finally considered long enough
but
i really liked these books
could relate to them
and i didn't relate to most of those longer kid books

then
i found interview with the vampire
and i was off and running with regular people books