Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Most Targeted Books

A lot of popular books came out of 2009, but some parents have tried to have these banned from libraries after displaying inapproprate morals and messages to their children. We take a look at the most targeted books of 2009:
( does contain some plot spoilers )

#10 The Chocolate War written by Robert Cormier

"Jerry stands up to mob rule in Trinity High School by refusing to sell chocolate. He is beaten up and fails to upend the status quo"

Parents atemted to ban this book as it had reference to nudity, contained offensive language, was sexually explicit and was unsuited to the age group.

My comments:
Well this book sounds like it is describing real life, and that is something you want to show your kids, not hide them from. yes, being sexually explicit does mean it was not suited to the age group, but just because it was written about a kid does not necessarily mean the target audience is kids.

#9 The Colour Purple written by Alice Walker


"Sisters Celie and Nettie live in the house of their abusive stepfather. The eventually find independance and solace in one another"


Parents wished to ban this book for its offensive language, being sexually explicit and therefore unsuited to the age group.

My Comments:
Well I think that many teenagers out there could probably relate to this book, and it does include details like rape etc so this can give the reader happiness knowing that someone had it worse. If you can't handle it, don't read it.

#8 The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things written by Carolyn Mackler

"Overweight teenager rebels against her family and finds contentment and self-confidence"

Attempts at banning this book were because of the offensive language, it being sexually explicit and unsuited to age group.

My comments:
Teen obesity is common and results in the person being bullied and can lead to depression and other things similair. I believe it is a good book for the self esteem and the offensive language and sexual references is just the author paying attention to detail.


#7
My Sister's Keeper written by Jodi Picoult

"Thirteen year-old Anna sues her parents for the rights to her body. She gets into a fatal accident and her kidney is transplanted to her dying sister"

This book was flagged for sexism, suicide, offensive language, being sexually explicit, violence, religious viewpoints, homosexuality, drugs, and being unsuited for the age group.

My comments:
I haven't read this book, but have heard much praise for it. Again many of this is attention to detail. I think the reader has to remind themselves it is just a story. As for being flagged for homosexuality and sexism, seriously ? I mean, if one were to make the main character male, the females would complain, and vica versa. And for the homosexuality, get over it.


#6
Catcher in the Rye written by Robert Cormier


"Teenage brat goes to big city and calls everyone a phony. He learns a thing or two in the process"


Named as having sexually explicit material, offensive language, and being unsuited to the age group.

My comments:
Again, haven't read this book but it is a classic and again, just because it is written about a teenager it is not necesserily written for teenagers. This is the secong time Cormier has been flagged for inappropriate books.

#5 Twilight (series) written by Stephanie Meyer

"Girl falls in love with vampire, werewolf, vampire again..."

Flagged for having a religious viewpoint, being sexually explicit and being unsuitable for age group.

My comments:
Well I read this book and enjoyed it. It was not as "slutty" as the description depicts it as. Just because the series was written by a person of a specific religion does not mean it has religious viewpoints. Vampires and werewolfs is not a religious viewpoint, but rather myth and legend. Sexually explicit? Wow, parents if you think that was too much, you ought to know what your kid does when you're not looking...


#4
To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee


"Atticus Finch defends a black man falsely accused of rape. The justice system fails but Finch's daughter shows that there's still hope"


Parents complained about it as showing racism, offensive language and being unsuited to age group.

My comments:
Well, sorry parents, but you pay for your kids to study this book at school. Racism is displayed, but that is the point of the book.

#3 The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Daniel Chbosky

"A teenager named Charlie writes letters about craziness that is high school"

Flagged for religious viewpoint, being anti-family, suicide, drugs, homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language and being unsuited to age group.

My comments:
This is my second favourite book. All the things it was flagged for are what makes the story so great. It was written in it's particular style so that teenagers could find it easy to relate to, which it is. The story is superb. I think the parents need to open there eyes and realize what life is actually like, and stop with all this homophobic nonsense. Seriously, people need to realize that books are records of events, not preachers of events.

#2 And Tango Makes Three written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnett

"Two male penguins raise a chick together"

Reported for homosexuality.

My comments:
O M F G. In this day and age people are wanting to ban books if they display the 'disease' of homosexuality ? And especially in a CHILD'S BOOK! It's people like this that need to grow up, and read more about it. It is common nowadays for two gay partners to raise a child, and this children's book can help other kids and adults understand more about it.

#1 TTYL, TTFN, L8R, G8R (series) written by Lauren Myracle


"The first novels written out in IM form tells the story of three BFFs and their adventures in high school,lol"


Parents complained that this book showed nudity, offensive language, drugs, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.

My Comments:
I haven't read this book, but again my guesses are that the author was paying attention to detail. Immediately I assume the book was written in a style teenagers would relate to easily, but perhaps it was written like this so that parents can become more aware of what their kids are doing and what life is throwing at them. I think that depending on the way you look at it, the book can be a positive or a negative, as with all the other books.

Finally, I think the reasons parents were trying to ban books from libraries are completely ridiculous! People should be more open minded and try to look at it from all perspectives and don't let prejudices cloud their judgement. If a parent has reasonable reasons they don't want their children to read that book, then don't let them read it. It is a much more realistic option than banning it all together as not everyone shares the same views as them. What do you think ?

-Daniel Sanders
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