Today is the birthday of Ray Bradbury, author of one of my favorite books of all time, Fahrenheit 451. The YA market was very different when I was a teenager, so much so that it barely even existed. There was no Harry Potter or Hunger Games back then, and as a young reader I jumped into science fiction at an early age, starting primarily with writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs. I first read Fahrenheit 451 when I was 13 years old, and it changed my life. Set in a dystopian future where books are illegal and it is the jobs of fireman to start fires, Bradbury’s book follows the adventures of Guy Montag. A dutiful fireman who does his job of burning all books and the homes in which they are hidden, Montag begins to question his role in the oppressive society, and finds himself branded an outlaw when he decides that books must be preserved. Though it’s not considered to be a YA novel, Fahrenheit 451 is a perfect book for teenagers. Exploring themes of alienation, blind allegiance to questionable authority, and a societal disconnect from its own humanity, all of which are subjects teens can relate to.
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BadAzz MoFo 
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