No Takebacks -- Win TWO copies of SHINE

I am a firm advocate in not being reactionary online. There's always two sides to every story. It's best not to throw things onto the interwebs when one is in high dudgeon. It's better to wait until all the facts are known and cooler heads have prevailed and all manner of anger-management techniques have been applied.

However.

I am furious and sick at heart over the National Book Foundation's treatment of Lauren Myracle and her novel, SHINE. There are articles going up all over the web as we speak, and I'll come back and link to them later, but here's a brief summary. Last week, the NBF nominated five books, including SHINE, for the National Book Award's YA category. A short while later, they announced a sixth nominee. 

Now, the gracious thing to do, the classy thing to do, the RIGHT THING TO DO, would have been to say, "Heavens, there's a lot of quality YA literature out there. Six nominees won't hurt anyone and will bring recognition to an additional outstanding book. Carry on."

This did not happen. Instead, it is looking like the NBF called Lauren Myracle and said she should withdraw her book from consideration. And she did. Because she has class. And because, I would assume, that being told that the committee did not actually want her book in the running made the whole thing a bit less appealing. Like being told someone's mom MADE them invite you to the party, and they don't really want you, but since their mom said the HAD to invite you, well, okay, fine. Show up.

I'm outraged, and my heart is just bleeding for Lauren right now. When I was nominated for the Golden Heart, my first reaction was disbelief. "Are you sure? There has to be a mistake. Are you absolutely sure Am I delusional?" But...it was in print! It was on the RWA website! All my friends were congratulating me! It was public knowledge! But there was always a fear that someone would turn up and say, "Oh...sorry. Math error. We got the wrong Erica O'Rourke. There was a mixup with the paperwork."

I wasn't the only finalist who felt that way, either. It's a natural reaction, when something really wonderful and unexpected happens, to think that you're dreaming, or that there's been an error. But eventually, you let yourself believe it's real. And for the NBF to do this...to essentially tell Lauren she had earned this well-deserved accolade, and then yell, "PSYCH!" in the most public and humiliating way possible...it's cruel. It's cruel and it makes my vision go all splotchy with rage.

So. Here's the thing. SHINE is an amazing book. It's an IMPORTANT book. I want people to read it, and I want Lauren to write more books. Hence, a giveaway. I have two copies of SHINE. Comment here, and I will draw one name on Friday. You win BOTH copies, but there's a catch: one copy of is for you. One copy is for the library or youth organization of your choice. Is there a teen center in your town? Give it to them. Homeless shelter? That works too. Is there a teacher at your school with a classroom library that needs a copy? Perfect. I'm not going to check up on you (though a picture or an email would be lovely). My goal is to get this book into the hands of as many people as possible.

Recap, for those of you who like bullet points.

National Book Foundation is behaving very badly indeed.
Lauren Myracle is a class act who wrote a beautiful book.
Comment here by noon, central time, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 to win two copies of SHINE.
One copy goes to you. The other copy goes to the library or youth organization of your choice.
You don't have to retweet or reblog or re...whatever, but I'd love it if you did.