We don’t do teen girls any favors by tearing one group of them down to lift another up.

And then I went silent, because I realized at that point I’d been talking for like three minutes straight and I just kind of sat there.

Afterward, I had several people come up to me and tell me how much my impromptu rant had resonated with them. It was a good experience.

And so this is why someone tearing down Sarah Dessen’s books angers me so much. Her books are wonderful. They are insightful and smart - and unrepentantly aimed at teenage girls. That person who tried to take those books away? They don’t respect teen girls.