Banned Books Week... Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green... #1 Banned Book 2015

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

WHY? Challenge Looking for Alaska?...

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking; sexually explicit; unsuited for age group; offensive language


Challenged in a Wisconsin school district's libraries due to sexual content (2014). Challenged in a New Jersey high school for mature content (2013). Removed from class reading lists in two Tennessee school districts due to sexual content (2012).

Personally I haven't read Looking for Alaska, so I can't comment on what the big deal is. I did read a small paragraph leading up to the "oral sex" part that caused all the controversy and can understand why some parents may not wish their child to read this. But we are talking high school kids, who I'm sure are pretty savvy when it comes to sex and drugs, or at least know more than some parents give them credit for (or want to acknowledge)And according to the author, John Green, just looking at the "passsage" itself, with no relation to anything else is what creates the problem.

“In context, the novel is arguing really in a rather pointed way that emotionally intimate kissing can be a whole lot more fulfilling than emotionally empty oral sex.”

Sharon Browning does a great review of Looking for Alaska on Litstack, and in her closing she writes...

"I asked my daughter – who has read every single John Green book ever written to date, despite reading being difficult for her – if she felt at all compelled to be like the kids in the book when she read it at age 14, and all she did was give me “the look”.  Later she told me that she can identify with a story, or even characters in a story, without needing to be those characters.  That goes for her friends, too.  And in fact, she told me, Looking for Alaska did more to warn her off risky behavior than entice her into following their example.


Sounds to me that John Green was right.  We need to shut up and stop condescending to teenagers when it comes to making assumptions about we think they should and can read.  Thankfully, that was the decision of the Depew School Board, when they voted unanimously to reject the challenge and allow Looking for Alaska to be taught in the 11th grade English class there." You can read the full review and commentary on Litstack.

In response to the challenges to Looking for Alaska, author John Green made this video...

Though I plan to read Drama for Banned Book Week this year, I am going to pick up a copy of Looking for Alaska to read also. If I don't get a chance to read it for this years banned book... there's always next year (or next week!)

Banned Book Week 2013: Sept. 22 - 28th!

It's Banned Book Week! (Really it starts tomorrow) How am I celebrating?! This years choice for reading is Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, which has been banned from school libraries in Randolph County, N.C. recently. Invisible Man won the National Book Award in 1953 and has been called the greatest American novel written since World War II. I don't know why I never read this before, but Banned Book Week gives me a chance to finally crack the spine on this one!

From the The American Library Association...

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.     

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice

It's that time of year, again, when we celebrate our freedom to read and our freedom to express ourselves. The freedom to read what WE would like to read. The freedom to write what we'd like to write.

It still amazes me that books are still being challenged in the 21st century. Parents have the right to monitor and guide what their child reads, but that right shouldn't extend to another child whose parents don't object to the reading material. If every book that has been challenged or banned were not available any longer we would not have books such as Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, Charlottes Webb and even a 1965 Dictionary!

I was a voracious reader when I was growing up. I was never limited to what I could read. I learned from these books. I did not learn hatred; I learned tolerance, acceptance, empathy. I learned about history. If I had questions, I asked my parents or a teacher. Reading opens the mind; Banning books takes away that opportunity. Fantasy did not turn me towards "the dark side", and sex in books did not make me turn into a sex fiend. In fact, reading Sherlock Holmes didn't even make me take up smoking a pipe. I love that parents are involved with what their children are reading! Just don't police what my child can read, or even what I can read.

Banning of books happens in schools, libraries and places that books are available. Protect your rights and the rights of others! Read a banned book this week! We'll be talking about Banned Books this week on Chick with Books, so stop by and see what books are highlighted during the week.

*Curious as to what books have been banned or challenged recently? Here is the 2012 - 2013 list of books challenged or banned as reported in the Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.

Sunday Salon... Banned Book Week Continues... and some Great Banned Books you should READ! Plus a banned book bargain on Kindle!

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake...

Banned Books Week continues with highlights of some great books that were NOT on the top 10 list of someone out there... books that for one reason or another someone found objectionable. Can you believe that Charlotte's Web by E.B. White was challenged? The beloved children's story of friendship between a pig and a spider was challenged for its "unnatural" depiction of talking animals! Or how about Little Red Riding Hood? In 1990 it was banned by two California districts because an illustration shows Little Red Riding Hood's basket with a bottle of wine in it (along with bread & butter), and this could be seen as condoning the use of alcohol! Besides quite a few of my favorite children's books being on the Banned and Challenged list, there are a few recent additions to the banned book list that if you haven't read, you should! Oh, and at the very bottom of the page... you just HAVE to watch the video that The American Library Association put out for Banned Books Week! It's only 2 minutes long, but it says it all!

The first banned book today I want to showcase is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. What a wonderfully written book of friendship, loyalty and betrayal! The novel centers around the friendship of two boys, Amir & Hassan, in Afghanistan. Amir is the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant. They are from different classes but are the best of friends and inseparable. The book has been challenged repeatedly for its violence and a sexually explicit scene. That particular scene was brutal and heart wrenching... The story brought me to tears and haunted me for quite some time afterwards. The meaning of friendship, the horrors of war and a class system that seems unfair. If you haven't picked this book up I would highly recommend it. There are some amazing twists and turns in the plot and the story spans the time from boyhood to manhood for these two characters. A friend lent me this book and as I reluctantly picked it up to read it, I found myself lost in the story and couldn't put it down.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult was pulled from classrooms in Clawson, Michigan in 2008 because the story was to racy for middle school children. "Anna Fitzgerald has spent her whole life in and out of hospitals, not because there is anything wrong with her, but because she has the ability to help keep her older sister alive. In fact, that was the sole reason Anna was conceived and genetically selected. Her older sister Kate has a rare form of leukemia and her parents will try anything to save her. When Kate needs one of Anna's kidneys, at age 13, Anna decides enough is enough and sues her parents for the right to control her own body." This was a thought provoking and wonderfully written book. Jodi Picoult is known for her books dealing with sticky issues and this story is a good example. We read this in my reading group and the story lends itself to a great discussion! The ethics of having a baby to help a sick sibling... Moral obligations to a member of your family... Harvesting of organs... But this isn't just a straightforward story of family obligations, there are things going behind the scenes between these two sisters who do indeed love eachother... If you haven't read My Sister's Keeper yet, put it on your TBR list!

One of my favorite books of all time, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett! Removed from a Cleburne, Texas high school English summer reading list in 2009 because the novel contains a rape scene and passages of explicit sex. By the sounds of it, that is all you would remember of the story, but it's definitely not. This book was also my very first recommendation on Chick with Books! Here's my blurb about it from February, "A wonderful story with all the elements! Adventure, treachery, art, love, sex and superstition. What starts as a story of Tom Builder and his love of family & craft, grows into the tale of the assasination and sainthood of Thomas Becket. The characters are so real they almost walk out of the pages! So, get ready to experience the building of a magnificent cathedral, the world of 12th-century England and a cast of characters you simply will not forget. You will not be able to put this book down once you open it. You'll wish there were 900 more pages!" If you like stories set in the middle ages you will love this book! We also read this in my reading group. I had to do a bit of convincing because it was such a thick book, but EVERYone loved it! The pages just flew by! When you are done with the book tell me what you thought of William!

Want to see the list of the top 100 banned or challenged classics? Here's the link to the American Library Associations list. And here's the link to the beginning of Banned Book Week here at Chick with Books. Read all about what the Freedom to Read is all about, and see who else is participating in Banned Books Week! What books have you enjoyed that can be found on the banned & challenged book list? Are you going to read any banned books this week? Let me know what books are on your shelf and what you're reading! ....*Oh, and I just started Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger... if you look at the post before this one, I talk about meeting Holden Caulfield!

Stop by tomorrow for Memoir Monday and our memoir that was a banned book!

*P.S. The Kite Runner, My Sister's Keeper and Pillars of the Earth are all Kindle Ready! And Pillars is a bargain right now at under $7!

Happy reading... Suzanne

I Read Banned Books! Join Banned Book Week to Celebrating Your Freedom to Read!

"Reading Revolutionary" cartoon created by the talented Stephanie Piro and used with her permission just for this occasion! All copyrights Stephanie Piro. Cartoons may not be used without written permission". You can find Stephanie at www.stephaniepiro.com and at her other hang-out (and business), www.thesixchix.com .

Hey Everyone! It's Banned Books Week! This is the week we celebrate the Freedom to Read!

Over the past eight years, American libraries were faced with 3,736 challenges

"Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. This years event is September 26−October 3, and is meant to highlight the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States." The art of the banned book is not just happening in The United States, censorship is a worldwide! Here at Chick with Books, we are going to celebrate our Freedom to Read by highlighting some great books this week that were either banned or challenged, in The U.S or outside the U.S. So stop by this coming week to see what challenged or banned books are featured! The Sunday Salon will be a little different this week too because I'm going to feature some great books, all from the 'censorship' list. And follow my progress as I crack open the spine of Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger!

There are some other places to check out Banned Book Week at... First I'm involved in the Banned Book Challenge at The Biblio Blogazine! It's a fantastic blog and is hosting a whole bunch of people who are reading and reviewing banned books this week! There are links to everyone involved! And my friend Lisa, who has a great blog called Book Blab, is also doing her share of celebrating the freedom of choice at her blog! Stop by her blog to see what she's reviewing! Also check out the ALA (The American Library Association) website and their list of the top 100 Banned or Challenged books! Anyone else doing something special for Banned Books Week?! Share your info here so we can check it out! And share with us some great books you've read that are on "the list"!

Here are some other Wonderful Bloggers celebrating the Freedom to Read this week...

* Cait is celebrating Banned Book Week on her blog, escape through the pages ! She's having a giveaway for The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier to celebrate, as well as reviewing all sorts of books! Check her blog out by clicking on her blog's name!

* Salamandergrey is also celebrating BBW on her blog, Pencil-Pushers and Ink Splotches.

Check out her take on BBW by clicking on her blog's name!

*Jennifer is celebrating at her blog NY Book Cafe ! Check out her cool blog by clicking on her blog's name!

*Icedream is celebrating on her blog Reading in Appalachia ! Her first recommendation & review is for Looking For Alaska by John Green. Click on her blog's name to read all about it!

* Lexie is also celebrating with an amazing list of discussions! Her blog is Poisoned Rationality! Click on her blog's name to visit her events!

*Mary is celebrating on her blog The Sweet Bookshelf! She says "we are discussing some of my favorite banned books this week. At the end of the week we will be discussing ways we can get involved and how to protect our favorite books from being banned!"

*Tracie is celebrating on her blog Yule Time Reading! First post is a a list of 10 banned books and why they are banned! Click on her blog to read the list!

A Special Thanks goes to Stephanie Piro, who is the talented artist who drew the cartoon above for Banned Book Week! Thanks Stephanie! I think it encourages us all to be reading revolutionaries!