Lawn Boys (Taboo Treat)

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One of the things that immediately endears you to Mike is that he truly enjoys being a landscaper — he has a real talent for topiary. He takes pride in a profession society sort of deems a job for folks on the lower-tier. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have big dreams — for instance, he plans to write the Great American Landscaping Novel. If you need another reason to like Mike: He's also an avid reader, getting recommendations from his new friend Andrew, a librarian at his local branch. (Andrew steers him clear of "MFA fiction" — Evison, a proud graduate of the "school of life," delights in pointing out how "MFA fiction" is overwrought and boring.) Lawn Boy Farm Services has been a family run business providing expert service to Downham Market, most of Norfolk and surrounding counties since 1969. We are suppliers of garden machinery from top manufacturers including Ariens, Arbortec, Briggs & Stratton, Cub Cadet, Hayter, Honda, Husqvarna, Stihl, Tanaka, & Toro. My Grandmother is the kind of person who always thinks that no matter how bad things might seem, everything will always come out all right. Her hair could be on fire and she’d probably say, “Well, at least we have light to read by.” Later in the month, on a meeting of the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, two other speakers, spurred by the Texas challenge, denounced Evison's book, alongside Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer: A Memoir, "for sexually explicit language, scenes and imagery including what one speaker called 'homoerotic' content." A third speaker also "seemed to critique the books for their LGBTQ story lines and themes." [9] In response, officials said the books would be removed from libraries and two committees would be created to assess if the books are appropriate for high school students. According to a Fairfax board member, several members of the board "have received messages promising physical violence or even death over their perceived support of the books." [9] In November 2021, Fairfax County Public Schools decided to return the two books to its high school libraries following a committee review. [11]

NCAC (2022-01-18). "Wayzata, Minnesota, School Removes Lawn Boy Against District Regulations". National Coalition Against Censorship. Archived from the original on 2022-10-13 . Retrieved 2022-10-13. So, you can definitely say, this book is edgy. It is being told by one person named Mike Muñoz. Our protagonist is cynical, because of the life that he has lived...hasn't been too kind to him. He feels that the "system" is against him. Sometimes, we are products of their environment. This being said, I have hear RICH people curse just as blatantly as POOR people.I work at a staffing agency where we primarily work in the light industrial space. Through this, we encounter people from all walks of life and I have grown to respect the people I refer to as "my people". Here's an excerpt that really resonated with me:

I did find that this book has a male gaze problem, but since it is written from the perspective of a young man...struggling with his sexuality...it doesn't seem unwarranted. There are a LOT of juvenile sex jokes and the idea rating of others...with the goal of labelling them in one category or another. Not that anyone would like this (especially as an adult), it does happen between kids (also, knowing this is something we do not encourage, but shun for our children to do). We see early on in the story, that he has a tough home life. Single alcoholic parent. Has gone through many husbands/boyfriends. Money was always tight. Two kids and his best friend (who is annoying) who practically lives with them (bc of his own home life not being perfect).We believe that our children have become better citizens because they learned to find their way through books, and now are approaching their lives in the same way. We continue to have "good" discussions with them...even to this very day. The material "is patently offensive in the description or depiction of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sadomasochistic abuse, or excretion" [17] So, yes...there is a LOT of curse words. My wife and I do not curse (cuss) in general. Every once in a while...one slips through, but for the most part...we do not. BUT, I have read many books with these words in them...and whether we like it or not, they are in our society and they are used prolifically in certain parts of our society. Lawn Boy is about the ups and downs of the life of Mike Muñoz. Mike lives in Washington State and loves landscaping. I loved the setting of the book because I live in Washington and knew all of the cities mentioned, cheering for the Seattle Seahawks and local flavor of the area.

Another thing I loved? The book doesn’t pretend that people don’t have flaws, but those imperfections are obviously only one small part of a complex human being who has other qualities. Mike’s mom smokes a lot, but she works 50+ hour weeks to support her kids. His best friend says bigoted shit but begs his smug boss to give Mike a job. His mom’s boyfriend lets his junk hang out but is really good with his special needs brother. Mike’s boyfriend has big metal braces and his efforts at activism sometimes go really wrong but he tries really hard to live the best life he can. The imperfections are there more as part of a complete portrait than anything else, and I love how forgiving Mike and the book are in this regard. Cho, Aimee (September 24, 2021). "Fairfax County Mother Complains of Sexual Books in Public School Library". NBC News4 Washington. Archived from the original on September 29, 2021 . Retrieved September 29, 2021. Mike enjoys reading, has great passion for tree sculpting and landscaping, loves his family and is persistent… and despite his faults, you will love him too! A heartwarming story with many colorful characters – fun and entertaining, while at the same time bringing to light how ethnicity, education, money and perception all play a role in success. I highly recommend it! a b c d Natanson, Hannah (September 28, 2021). "Fairfax school system pulls two books from libraries after complaints over sexual content". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021 . Retrieved September 29, 2021.

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I reread (re-listen audio) per seeing it as #2 on the 'Most Challenged' top 10 books in the new 2023 Almanac. I was glad for this ending, as Mike has a good heart. Yea, there are some 'penis' references here that get books like this on banned lists, but that is not the crux of this story. Surely you want Mike in your community. In 2022, Lawn Boy was listed among 52 books banned by the Alpine School District following the implementation of Utah law H.B. 374, “Sensitive Materials In Schools." [14] Forty-two percent of removed books “feature LBGTQ+ characters and or themes.” [15] [16] Many of the books were removed because they were considered to contain pornographic material according to the new law, which defines pornography using the following criteria: I desperately wanted this to be a 5-star read as the book has for several years been among the most often challenged/banned books in the country, but alas I found it awkward, overly sentimental, filled with contrived characters, and more intent on making points than on telling any naturally developing story. I don't generally read YA, and the only other Evison book I have read earned a 1-star review from me (I did not realize it was the same author until well into this book or I might not have read it.) I am the wrong reader for this. All that said, Evison clearly set out to make points regarding sexuality and gender, toxic, masculinity, economic disparity, disability, race, and the erosion of decency, and he makes them. I always consider in reviewing a book whether it appears the author accomplished what he was trying to accomplish, and Evison did that. That got me to a 2.5. Albanese, Andrew (2023-04-24). "ALA Releases Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25 . Retrieved 2023-05-01.

Lawn Boy is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel written by Jonathan Evison and published in 2018 by Algonquin Books. It tells the story of Mike Muñoz, a young adult Mexican American who has faced hardship ever since his childhood and is now going through a phase of self-discovery. The difference between the haves and have nots, the privileged and not, is never more in stark contrast than Evison sets them in this novel. If you're a Mike Munoz — born without a silver spoon and unwilling to compromise your morals — is the willingness to work hard really enough to make Lawn Boy has regularly been the target of controversy and censorship in the United States. In 2022, the American Library Association reported it was the seventh-most-banned and challenged book in the country due to its inclusion of LGBT+ content and being considered sexually explicit. [6] Lawn Boy was one of American Library Association's Alex Awards recipients of 2019, "for the ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences." [5] Controversy and censorship [ edit ]If you read this book, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it. I wouldn't have minded my kids reading it in school, though I and my wife would have read it BEFORE hand. We were very involved in what they read. Never banning books, but we did postpone books that we felt were not age appropriate.