Today I bring you the 10 most challenged books from 2010. I always find it extremely interesting to see exactly what people, mostly parents, find offensive and why. Honestly, I find it ridiculous, but I was also reading "inappropriate books" since I was little, so I digress.
The 10 most challenged titles of 2010 were:
And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin RichardsonReasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language, racism, religious viewpoint, sex education, sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group
Reasons: offensive language, racism, religious viewpoint, sex education, sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
Reasons: drugs, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
Reasons: drugs, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group
Reasons: sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group
Lush, by Natasha Friend
Reasons: drugs, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group
Reasons: drugs, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group
What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint
Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint
Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie
Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit
Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit
Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence, unsuited to age group
Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence, unsuited to age group
There are two reasons listed above which really bother me. (1) Homosexuality; it's as if they think that people can "catch gay". It is both offensive and hurtful to challenge or ban a book because someone might love someone of the same gender. I don't file any complaints citing heterosexuality. (2) Religious viewpoint; for a country which was founded by people running away from religious persecution, there seems to be a lot of it going on here. This country is not a "Christian" country, and last time I checked we didn't even have a national religion. Stop trying to enforce beliefs on others; this is the land of the free, not the land of God.
That's my two cents. What do you think of the list? Lists from previous years can be found here. Let me know what banned/challenged book surprised you most in the comments. The 2011 challenged book list will be released during Banned Books Week, and I will be posting that as soon as it is up.
Remember: Do your part to support Banned Books Week!
I saw this list on Friday and created a display for my library using these books. They are such amazing books, can you imagine if no one got to read them?!
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