banned books

Banned Books

LinneaLeave a comment

Banned Books Week may have ended on September 24, but it’s important to keep the conversation going as more books continue to get challenged. Most commonly, books by Authors of Color or LGBTQ+ authors get challenged (Publisher’s Weekly).  

While it’s nice to believe that challenged books get a bump in sales and promoted more, that just isn’t the case for the majority (Book Riot). Often, authors don’t even know their book was challenged as very few challenges become newsworthy. It could be as simple as a bookstore choosing to pass on buying a book because it is “subversive” or a school library quietly pulling a book from their shelves.  

One way to help combat challenges is to read! Read banned books, talk about them with friends, and let your local library know that you are glad they have books by Authors of Color, books by LGBTQ+ authors, books that reflect actual communities. Don’t know where to start? Here’s a list of the most challenged books from 2021 (ALA): 

  1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe 
     
  1. Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison 
     
  1. All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson 
     
  1. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez 
     
  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 
     
  1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie 
     
  1. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews 
     
  1. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 
     
  1. This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson 
     
  1. Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin 

-Linnea

Read With Pride

MeganLeave a comment

Today marks the beginning if Pride Month, a celebration created to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. While great strides have been made in securing equal rights for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the work is clearly not done as evidenced by a number of new anti-gay laws as well as book and program challenges in school and libraries. In fact, in 2021 half of the 10 most challenged and banned books were books with LGBTQIA+ content.

Why is this so concerning? Because representation matters. For LGBTQ youth, it can be a matter of life and death. Seeing positive, realistic portrayals of queer characters is life-affirming. But books written by and/or about LGBTQIA+ characters aren’t just for for queer kids. These books can help cisgender, heterosexual readers understand the experiences of their gay friends and family members. Reading about the lives and experiences of people who are different from us helps build empathy and understanding.

So, go forth and read with Pride! Not sure where to start? Check out this list: https://www.epicreads.com/blog/lgbtq-ya-books-pride/