Welcome back, literary besties!
Banned Books Week will be held next week from Oct. 5-11, and this year’s theme is “Censorship Is So 1984–Read for Your Rights.” I find this year’s theme very on-brand because we’re living in a timeline of contradictory viewpoints on censorship.
If you’ve never heard of Banned Book Week, it is an event held by the American Library Association. Banned Books Week is an event with the sole purpose of drawing attention to the harm of censorship, specifically in literature. Its efforts are focused on getting enough attention from literary lovers and educators alike to fight against the restrictive access to books.
According to the Banned Books Week website,which you can access here, its list for banned books for each event is compiled from the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. The lists are also based on the most challenged books of the year prior. These books are not banned from any specific locations, but have been removed from the shelves of school libraries.
Justifications for this censorship are commonly based on the fact that the books include LGBTQ+ characters and/or themes, and they touch on the sensitive topics concerning racism or the call for societal justice. The most commonly known claim for censorship, especially in the education system, is that the books are too obscene for minors.
As a literature lover, I believe that every book has its own purpose, and there is something about the book or the author’s points within the book that supports its existence. Although banning a book doesn’t change the impact that it will have on readers’ lives, censorship in itself restricts the voices of authors telling their stories. Most books that address controversial topics have a point of view or a twist to important moments of people’s lives. I believe books shouldn’t be banned, but that we should ban censorship surrounding books in its entirety.
After going through the list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024, I wanted to list my favorites:
“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe (pronouns: e/em/eir):
A memoir told via comic strips about Kobabe’s journey of self-discovery. Includes the confusion of dealing with these feelings in adolescence and how this helped Kobabe grow into adulthood.
I loved how creative this book is in expressing such a personal experience in comic form. Not only does it help people experiencing the same thing have a sense of community, but it also appeals to younger readers because it’s so easy to read and the words are accompanied by pictures. Kobabe’s comic novel also appeals to a new demographic of comic book lovers that might not be interested in the traditional novel.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky:
This coming-of-age novel follows Charlie–a social recluse–via letters between Charlie and an anonymous friend. Through these letters, the reader experiences the themes of love, trauma, mental health and the repression of memories related to childhood sexual abuse.
I read this book for the first time when I was 17 years old. At the time, I could personally relate to the theme of wanting and trying to understand love around the teenage years.
“Looking for Alaska” by John Green:
This is another coming-of-age novel, where we follow the main character, Miles–who is known as Pudge–as he and his friends are in search of the “Great Perhaps” in life, and the “Great Perhaps” is life’s big meaning or a bigger, profound existence. However, the girl he falls for–Alaska–dies in a car accident after a night of partying. After losing Alaska, Miles and his friends have to grapple with grief and how this connects to this “mystery” of life.
I actually read this book during my second term of enlistment, when I was searching for what I was meant to do after, or searching for my life’s greater purpose. I think this book is great for younger adults getting ready for adulthood.
If you find yourself in between reads, or experiencing a seasonal reading slump–pick up a banned book from your local bookstore or online platforms!
See you the next time the literary radar goes off!
