I read banned books. In fact, I even review banned books (often before they are banned). Banning books seems to be an epidemic lately. Books are banned or challenged (before banning) by people who are trying to protect children. They feel these books are inappropriate for children. Perhaps for their own children, but they don't want their own children's friends reading them either because kids talk. In early October every year there is a Banned Books Week. This year it was October 5-11. (Next year it is October 4-10, 2026.) It is a week to make aware some of the books that are being challenged and possibly banned around the world. You may be surprised by some of the books on the list. There are many I read in school when I was young, or my friends did in other classes I didn't take. There are books like Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and George Orwell's 1984. There are other classics like Animal House, Fahrenheit 451, To Kill a Mockingbird, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Number the Stars, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, ... the list goes on and on and includes The Holy Bible. Books tend to get challenged if they share cultural identity like A Place Inside of Me or Fry Bread or sexual or gender identity like Spin with Me or It's Okay to be a Unicorn or sexual encounters like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak is our first book for review today. It is recommended for ages 12 to 18 or young adult. The other book we will be reviewing is a picture book!
About the Book:
The groundbreaking National Book Award Finalist and Michael L. Printz Honor Book with more than 3.5 million copies sold, Speak is a bestselling modern classic about consent, healing, and finding your voice."Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, an outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, Melinda becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back—and refuses to be silent.
From Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award laureate Laurie Halse Anderson comes the extraordinary landmark novel that has spoken to millions of readers. Powerful and utterly unforgettable, Speak has been translated into 35 languages, was the basis for the major motion picture starring Kristen Stewart, and is now a stunning graphic novel adapted by Laurie Halse Anderson herself, with artwork from Eisner-Award winner E.M. Carroll.
Awards and Accolades for Speak:
- A New York Times Bestseller
- A National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature
- A Michael L. Printz Honor Book
- An Edgar Allan Poe Award Finalist
- A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
- A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time
- A Cosmopolitan Magazine Best YA Books Everyone Should Read, Regardless of Age
From Me:
This book is powerful. The narrator is Melinda. We don't know the details, but we know something happened to her at a summer party that made her call the cops. She is now an outcast. No one wants to be her friend. She keeps encountering IT. It is the boy who did something to her at the party--laying in the dirt and hurting her. She doesn't want to speak much to anyone. She is starting high school with most of her friends not talking to her. She is figuring out high school and how to forget about this major incident that no one knows about. Her grades are tanking, and her parents are fighting with each other and her. She keeps getting meetings with the guidance counselor and principal. The only class she seems to enjoy is art. The book takes us through the school year of her freshman year. She encounters the senior who did this awful thing to her, and he starts dating her former best friend. She is very worried for her friend.
Talk about a powerful book. I can see why it has won so many awards. This book is one that parents should have to read. It is one that anyone who works in schools should read. It came out in 2011. It is about a young woman trying to make sense of what happened to her at a party. She was raped but she doesn't totally understand any of it. All she knows is she had been a bit drunk and then this cute senior guy talks to her and the next thing they are laying down on the ground with him on top of her. She says no or at least says it in her mind. She is hurt and confused. She goes into the house covered in dirt and calls the police. Another partygoer picks up the phone when she drops it and realizes what she has done. The kids are made. She gets scared and escapes to her house where her parents are both out. Bits and pieces of the story come out throughout the book. When she finally is able to speak the story is known and her life changes for the better.
This is a book that anyone who is old enough should read. It shares the victim's view of being raped. The confusion and the hurt the victim feels. It also shares some of the signs that something has happened for the adults and friends to recognize. It should not be banned. It is a book to help girls who have been raped or assaulted to recover. It is recommended for ages 12 to 18 for a reason. Parents need to be responsible for what they allow their kids to read. Other people should not be controlling what your kids are exposed to or not exposed to. Please check out this book if you work or live with or know with any teenagers.
Our next book falls in the gender identity category for being banned. It is a picture book called It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn and illustrated by Noah Grigni. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
About the Book:
A picture book that introduces the concept of gender identity to the youngest reader from writer Theresa Thorn and illustrator Noah Grigni.Some people are boys. Some people are girls. Some people are both, neither, or somewhere in between.
This sweet, straightforward exploration of gender identity will give children a fuller understanding of themselves and others. With child-friendly language and vibrant art, It Feels Good to Be Yourself provides young readers and parents alike with the vocabulary to discuss this important topic with sensitivity.
From Me:
This book very simply talks about gender identity so the youngest among us can understand as well as the adults and others. It describes that people are boys, girls, both, neither or in between. The words are simple and introduce terms for kids to help discuss their own feelings or perhaps the gender of friends and family members. It introduces a transgender girl with a cisgender boy brother. It talks about non-binary and being both or neither a boy nor a girl. It also talks about how gender can be fluid and change over time. It even goes back to the brother and sister when each realizes the gender they truly are. It gives kids permission to be who they truly feel they are and lets them know they are not alone.
At the end of the book there are pages with helpful terms to know, a note about pronouns and some resources. This book is truly to help families discuss gender identity and to give them the vocabulary to have these discussions. It is so wonderful that kids growing up today can be themselves and identify as they feel. As our society learns more and more about gender, we see that gender is fluid and not set in stone. This book helps share that fact and eases a hard topic for some people to discuss. It also is perfect for the child who may be questioning their gender identity or know someone who is.
This book is banned because there are people who believe knowing about different gender options and feelings will make their children queer. This is not true. It will possibly give younger kids words to describe how they are feeling but it will not make them one way or another. I think it is important for kids to understand these things and learn to accept the differences we all have whether it be our gender identity, race, sexuality or even personalities. This is how we can life in a more peaceful way and it also will help cut down on the suicides of our children. I also love that the people in the book are multicultural. They are illustrated with different races, cultures and even abilities. This book is important to share so that kids can have the language they need to discuss and understand gender identity.
Other banned books to check out: Why?, Mixed: A Colorful Store, We Are Water Protectors, Mary's Monster, We March, I'm Not a Girl, Ace of Spades, Cold and check out this list published by Macmillan and the ultimate annual lists tracked by Pen America. Happy reading!!
