book banning for YA fiction

In class we have been doing a lot of work on the topic of banned books. We have read many articles that discuss the dark and gruesome topics in many YA (young adult) books. It was interesting reading different authors’ opinions, even from Sherman Alexie himself (author of “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian”!), which was interesting because many people thought Alexie’s book should be banned. Even though these authors feel that many YA books are harmless, the authors of other articles beg to differ.  YA books containing self-loathing, self-harm and graphic imagery should be reconsidered for middle school libraries because they normalize these topics for teens and gives them ideas that they may have never considered.

In the article “Darkness too Visible,” the author, Megan Fox Gordon, makes some very essential points about young adult literature. She thinks that many books make very big impressions on the reader, and that this isn’t always a good thing. Reading books is a way of getting advice. Many kids all over the world read books that they can relate to and take advice from. Gordon thinks that it’s not okay that books containing self-harm and graphic imagery are in school libraries because it makes teens think the content in the books are normal. For example, Gordon talks about the book “The Marbury Lens” and includes details about the gore. She says the book is talks about “impaled heads and other dripping, black rot body parts.” If kids read too much of this literature it makes it easier for them to believe that all of this blood and gore is normal. Gordon also compares the novels from a long time ago and says “they seem positively tame in comparison with what’s on shelves now.”

Another reason that some YA books should be taken out of school libraries is that reading these books may put ideas in teens’ heads and give them suggestions they may have never considered. For example, I have the book “13 Reasons Why,” which is about teen suicide. In “13 Reasons Why” the girl who kills herself makes recordings that she sends to all of the people she doesn’t like, telling them it was their fault she killed herself. When I read the book, it had a very powerful effect on me. I kind of respected the character and though I am far from suicidal, I could relate to her and she made it seem cool. I might have gotten the idea to copy the character. These books are extremely powerful because it’s so easy to relate to the characters. That’s what we need to watch out for.

Gordon also mentions a book called “Rage,” which is about a girl who cuts herself. Gordon describes the point where “she had sliced her arms to ribbons.” I do not want to read that book. It might give me the idea that self-harm is cool or the right answer.  I am horrified that someone would even write a book like that.

Some authors including Sherman Alexie think that it’s easy for kids to get a hold of inappropriate books. It might be easy to believe this because there are still apparently “so many other ways” a child could get their hands on a YA book. But slow down there, Alexie! Even though the kids can get books from places other than schools, removing books will limit the amount of inappropriate books that teens read. Because, let’s face it – who wants to go to the public library when you could just go to the one in your school?

All in all, the many articles I read talk about which books should and should not be banned. Now, not all books for teens should be reconsidered for middle school libraries, but specific books containing graphic imagery, self-loathing and self-harm should. You never know how a kid is going to interpret a book and it certainly is better to be safe than sorry.