Thursday, April 15, 2010

2009 Challenged Books


One of my favorite authors (Jodi Picoult) and one of my least favorite--and that's being very kind--(Stephenie Meyer) have an interesting connection. Both are on the ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009:

1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality

3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

9. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

6 comments:

Heather Manes said...

Where's the homosexuality in "My Sister's Keeper"? It's been a while since I've read it, but I don't remember that...

Stephanie said...

Me, either!

Trisha said...

Julia's twin sister is a lesbian. Nothing to ban it over.

Alex said...

I am always amused by the "unsuitable for age group" comments. After a while, you begin to wonder if the author perhaps intended it for a different age group than originally suspected.

Kind of like the day I realized that Looney Toons were once the entertainment of adults. Crazy.

Stephanie said...

Or maybe the CHALLENGER misunderstood what age group the book was for, or they're helicopter parents trying to insulate their child from the real world, or they're afraid of talking to their child about sensitive issues, or . . . *sigh*

crosshatchedlibrarian said...

Forgive me for coming late to the discussion. I think that since My Sister's Keeper is being used in some high schools that that's where the challenges are coming from.

I don't agree with it, but I know the local high school here has is on the summer reading list, and I believe one other reading list. (Maybe AP?)

And I'm glad I'm not the only one that went "banned for homosexuality? Where was that?"