Banned Book Week could be just about my favorite week of the year! I love freedom from censorship. LOVE IT! I love celebrating this freedom. Naturally, I think everyone should be able to read whatever they want, whenever they want. The only person who should censor is the person reading.
When I was young and I would happen across a book that was too old for me, I would put it away, immediately, without any thought of reading that book again. I think that is what most young people do when they find a book that is too old for them. For banned book week, I read “Looking for Alaska” by John Green. This book has been challenged multiple times and was fought by John and Hank and other nerd fighters. Watch the video below, it’s great!
It was banned because it was “pornography.” The scene is question is not pornography. It is nowhere near pornography. It is actually very tame if you consider some of the other sexual scenes that teens can watch and read.
This story is important to literature. The scene it was banned for is important for the story. There is so much good that can come to teens by reading this book. It deals with life, death, love, and so many relevant themes to teens and adults alike. It asks us to find a place in the world where there is not automatically a place. I cannot imagine how helpful this would be for a teenager who is dealing with issues. Learning through literature is so much easier than learning through nothing. It helps us find a healthy way to relate to the world. I for one would never want to take that away.
In the words of John Green, “Stop condescending the teens!”
Brittany's Library 