Banned Books

I've always known about the banned books list because my mom was continually looking into the books added to the list. When looking it over just now I thought it was interesting how many books were on there and the reasons that they were banned--it almost seems as though people could find reasons to put just about anything on there! A few that stuck out to me were To Kill a Mockingbird, Brave New World, Gossip Girl, Hunger Games, Thirteen Reasons Why, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, these are all very different books. Brave New World and To Kill a Mockingbird are classics, but it's said that they're either sexually explicit, racist, have offensive language, or a combination of them, but both of these books have powerful messages about why racism is a bad thing and shows why with a story. Thirteen Reasons Why was one of my favorite books growing up because it addresses bullying and how it comes in various forms, but the site says that it is unsuited because it discusses suicide. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is another powerful book that tells a story about the struggles teens go through with school, family, and peers, but it has many reasons to be on the list.

I understand why some schools limit the books allowed in their libraries, but it's hard to say what exactly should be limited. Some books may be obvious, such as elementary students probably shouldn't be reading Brave New World or Thirteen Reasons Why, but that doesn't mean students in middle school or high school shouldn't be allowed to read them in school. It can also be tough when saying if schools should be allowed to limit the books made available because there are private and public schools. I think that it is more acceptable for private schools than public to have banned books because parents and families know going into the school and having their child there that this is something that could happen. Private schools are selected and paid for, but public schools are not, and sometimes the libraries there are the only ones children may have access to and what they can find shouldn't be limited beyond reason. The same thing goes for public libraries, people have the choice of what to rent and shouldn't be limited.

People might see a variety of books on my shelves, from Perks of Being a Wallflower, Harry Potter, Milk and Honey, and Dracula. Some people might just look at this and see that I read many genres, but others might judge me based off the witchcraft in Harry Potter, the homosexuality in Perks of Being a Wallflower, or the sex in Milk and Honey. Honestly, I just like to read the books people recommend for me and I don't often stick to one genre.