Censored: Highly Challenged Books From the Last Decade
by Christopher Deems on 2020-09-29T09:00:00-04:00 | CommentsBanning books is a form of censorship. To ban or remove a book from circulation, whether it be in a school or a library, is to ban the spreading of ideas. It is to stifle speech, change, and innovation in equal measure. Books are meant to be read, and their contents and ideas are meant to be discussed amongst everyone. As such this is why every September since 1982, libraries across the United States celebrate Banned Books Week, an entire week of advocacy highlighting these attempts at censorship and the damage it does to our society.
In honor of this year's Banned Books Week, we librarians at Heterick Memorial Library would like to shine a spotlight on some of the books that have faced threats of censorship. This list is only a small sample, and a more extensive list of titles can be found on the American Library Association (ALA) website. Each book featured below is available for checkout from Heterick Memorial Library.
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
This graphic novel follows Callie, a middle school student who loves theater and is the set designer for her school's drama department. This year, the school will be putting on a performance of Moon over Mississippi, and Callie's determined to make it the best show yet. Of course, in order to do so, she'll need to deal with both the onstage and the offstage drama of middle school life. Drama has been challenged and banned for it's LGBT+ characters and content, and for going against "family morals/values".
George by
Publication Date: 2015-08-25
George is a girl who was born in a boy's body. When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's a girl. George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever, but when her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web, George and her best friend Kelly come up with a plan. One that will show everyone who George is, once and for all. George has been banned, restricted, and hidden because of it's LGBT+ content and titular character, has faced challenges that it's inappropriate for it's intended audience, and that the book conflicts with religious viewpoints and "traditional family structures". In reference to George, some have also claimed that schools and libraries should not "put books in children's hands that require discussion".
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by
Publication Date: 1998-09-01
The Harry Potter series follows Harry and his friends' adventures at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book in the series follows another year in Harry's education while more of his frightening destiny is revealed. Given that the main characters of the Harry Potter series are witches and wizards, it should come as no surprise that the books have been banned for referring to magic and witchcraft, with some claiming that the books contain actual curses and spells. Characters use “nefarious means” to attain goals and set “bad examples.” The series has also been called anti-family and unsuited for it's intended age group.
Publication Date: 2014-09-04
The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere. From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. I Am Jazz has been challenged and relocated due to it's LGBT+ content and for having a transgender character. The book has also been challenged for discussing a topic that is "sensitive, controversial, and politically charged".
Publication Date: 1986-12-12
Set in the near future, Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now, and everything has changed. The Handmaid’s Tale has been challenged many times since its publication in 1985, primarily because it was viewed as too sexually explicit for high school students. It is often viewed as having anti-Christian themes, as well as for the use of profanity and violence.
The Hate U Give by
Publication Date: 2017-02-28
Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug and a drug dealer, while protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. The Hate U Give has been challenged, restricted, and banned from school libraries, with individuals complaining about "inappropriate language" and "pervasive vulgarity." In 2018 the Mount Pleasant (SC) chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police demanded that the book be removed from an optional reading assignment list, stating that the book was "almost an indoctrination of distrust of police and we've got to put a stop to that."
Thirteen Reasons Why by
Publication Date: 2007-10-18
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and as he follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever. Thirteen Reasons Why was the third most challenged book of 2012, having been banned, challenged, and restricted primarily because critics felt that the book romanticized or glorified suicide. Challenges also arose because of its representation of underage drinking, drug use, smoking, and sexual activity making it unsuited for its intended age group.
This Day in June by
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
An exuberant reflection of the LGBT community, This Day In June welcomes readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united. Also included is a Reading Guide chock-full of facts about LGBT+ history and culture, as well as a Note to Parents and Caregivers with information on how to talk to children about sexual orientation and gender identity in age-appropriate ways. Since it's publication This Day in June has been a frequent target for banning and restricting access at libraries, with individuals charging that the book promotes "perversion" and "exposes children to LGBT" imagery.
As mentioned at the beginning of this list, these titles make up only a small portion of books being banned across the country, and the full list is almost assured to grow every year. But it's important to remember that while all books will face some form of opposition based on their content, we can still fight to defend them. Whether by advocating for the freedom to publish our ideas in print or online, or just by reading and discussing these books with others, we can further ensure that the ideas in these books are not banned from society.
All this week, Heterick Memorial Library will be posting about censorship and banned books on our social media pages. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all of our updates, and if you're interested in reading any of these or other banned books, feel free to email us at reference@onu.edu for more information.
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