What is Banned Books Week?
This week we are celebrating our right to read! Did you know that there has been a huge rise in books being banned and challenged in recent years? A book challenge is an attempt to remove a certain title from a library or classroom collection, and a book ban is the removal of it.
In many states in our country, books have already been removed from school and public library shelves. As students, teachers, librarians, and community members, we need to defend and speak out for our freedom to read! Are you in?
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Callie rides an emotional roller coaster while serving on the stage crew for a middle-school play.
Claims: sexually explicit, "advancing gay agenda"
A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer
The victim of one of the worst child abuse cases in the history of California, tells the story of how he survived his mother's brutality and triumphed over his past.
Claims: graphic descriptions of child abuse, profanity, violence
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
When Clay Jensen receives thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who died by suicide, he spends a heartbreaking night listening to her recount her story
Claims: suicidal themes, sexually explicit, drugs/alcohol use, "unsuited for age group"
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds
When Quinn witnesses a police officer brutally beating 16-year-old Rashad, their community starts to divide on what happened and blame spreads like wildfire fed by ugly words like “racism” and “police brutality.”
Claims: alleged anti-police bias, profanity, alcohol/drug use
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual survival competition, 16-year-old Katniss's skills are tested when she voluntarily takes her sister's place.
Claims: violent content, "horrific death scenes, and anti-family values"
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Claims: mysticism and paganism, glorifying witchcraft
Captain Underpants Series by Dav Pilkey
Captain Underpants, an aptly named superhero from one of the George and Harold's homemade comic books, accidentally becomes real when the two fourth graders hypnotize their cruel, bossy, and ill-tempered principal, Mr. Krupp.
Claims: offensive language, partial nudity
Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
A thirteen-year-old Dutch-Jewish girl records her impressions of the two years she and seven others spent hiding from the Nazis before they were discovered and taken to concentration camps.
Claims: "sexually offensive and depressing for young readers"
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
It's Christmas time and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school...In this classic from 1951 a teenager explains the events following his expulsion from prep school and subsequent nervous breakdown.
Claims: accused of being blasphemous, racist, misogynistic, ableist, and "a bad influence on children"
Go Ask Alice, Anonymous
This is the real story of drug addiction, drug slavery, and drug death, as told by an actual teenage victim in her own intimate words.
Claims: explicit language, references to rape and drug use
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school.
Claims: sexually explicit, offensive language, violence, "unfit for age group"
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
A freshman named Jerry refuses to participate in a mandatory school chocolate sale, leading to him being targeted and manipulated by a secret student organization, exposing the power dynamics and cruel social pressures within a Catholic boys' school.
Claims: excessive violence, sexual content, profanity, themes of rebellion
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
When a service is create to tell people when they will die, teenagers Mateo and Rufus meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day.
Claims: explicit representation of LGBTQ+ characters
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
When 17-year-old Bella meets a handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction, she soon comes to realize he is not wholly human.
Claims: sexually explicit, unsuitable for age group
Montgomery Middle Library
Mrs. Alvarez, Teacher Librarian
Email: imelda.alvarez@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/sweetwaterschools.net/mom-library-website
Instagram: @mom_library
Phone: (619) 662-8230