The American Library Association (ALA) once again released it's list of books which were most often challenged by the public to be banned from libraries in America. As usual most of the books are children's or YA titles and are challanged by parents who believe they are targeted to an age group too young for the content.
Top 10
1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: Insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Reasons: Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
6. Lush by Natasha Friend
Reasons: Drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
7. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
Reasons: Sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Reasons: Drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint
9. Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology edited by Amy Sonnie
Reasons: Homosexuality, sexually explicit
10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Religious viewpoint, violence
Twilight would have been banned if they did it because it was corrupting our youth to enjoy awful garbage.
Also, who was censoring Nickel and Dimed? The big businesses?
Posted by: the sixler | April 13, 2011 at 07:09 AM
Note the reason: "Inaccurate". Barbara Ehrenreich hasn't got a clue how to live cheaply. Put simply, it is not difficult at all to survive on a part-time minimum wage job with reasonable quality of life - I'm doing it right now, and I've even got a computer and broadband internet access to post this. No additional income, either - just my paycheck, minus FICA for wars that don't need fought, social security I'll never be able to collect, and once Obamacare goes into effect, insurance that I don't need. Ehrenreich's work reflects nothing except the fact that some people can't cope with hard times and feel the need to blame others for it.
On the other hand, I'm against censorship, period, even if it is such a great steaming heap of reek as Nickel & Dimed.
Posted by: Albert W | April 21, 2011 at 04:26 PM
"Sexually explicit" for Hunger Games. Further proof that whoever challenges books never has a clue of what it is they're actually trying to ban.
Posted by: PK9 | May 15, 2011 at 04:33 PM
Where the hell is there ANY reference to sex in 'The Hunger Games'?
Posted by: Miranda | May 15, 2011 at 08:30 PM