It’s time for us to SPEAK
Books are a big deal.
But, being able to choose what books you (or your children) read is an even bigger deal, and when some extremist tries to take that away– well, I shouldn’t even have to explain how wrong that is.
Unfortunately, it happens all the time, and it’s happening right now to a book that teenagers need to have access to. My favorite part about anyone trying to ban a book is, as soon as they start their campaign, it brings the book a big pile of press, and people who’ve never heard of it get exposed to another great story.
So, in a way–we can almost thank this guy–I know that’s a bit unconventional, but maybe his ridiculous campaign to have this book banned will turn out to be a good thing.
As long as the book doesn’t actually get removed, I welcome a little misinformed radical ranting. I am not in ANY WAY condoning what he’s doing, but the fact that he’s inadvertently shining the light on a story that children from an otherwise sheltered background might have missed–I’m totally cool with that.
Librarians are smart, savvy people who don’t back down without a fight, and I know there are many out there that will never let this book disappear from the shelves of their library. Thank you librarians!
What we have to do is help them make sure this book stays in the library. That’s our job as parents, writers, readers, and just as people. So, readers need to keep reading these books, writers need to keep writing them, and teachers and parents need to make informed knowledgeable decisions about what they’re kids read instead of listening to other people.
Maybe there’s a girl out there that really needed to know this book was in her library, and now because this guy’s an idiot–she will.
It seems so foolish, the whole thing, doesn’t it? What is this guys thinking? I think he’s basing his opinion of the book on the movie, and even then, what a creepy assessment. Censorship is dangerous, but especially so with a book like SPEAK.
P.S. I wish I’d seen this before. I would’ve linked it to my post. I’ll try to do so now, but for some reason, altering a post after I post it, always screws with the formatting. Stupid blogger.
People can be so dumb.
As soon as I heard about this I ordered a copy of SPEAK for myself and my little sister. You’re right, this is one of those important issues we all need to stand up for.
I only read Harry Potter because some people wanted it banned for witchcraft. I’ll have to check out Speak. =)
@Jamie — it certainly would, on both points.
I’m confused. Is the guy trying to get it taken out of the library or get it removed from the English class curriculum?
I think if the guy can get parents to pay attention to what their teens are learning in school so that they can discuss these issues with them instead of just continuing to pretend they don’t exist in teenagers’ lives, that could also be a positive thing. But I absolutely don’t agree with anyone trying to get books banned.
LHA is one of the bravest YA authors out there – she tackles things that are literally life/death for teens. She should be applauded, not kicked by a closed-minded few. I’m buying a copy of SPEAK this week just ’cause. Maybe we really can get it back onto the best seller list.
@Kendra, Wouldn’t that be AWESOME?!?! If that guy pushed her back on the NYT list?? It would serve him right, eh?
It’s really great to see the support out there for the books that tackle hard subjects. They are the books that my students connected to the most!
@Paul, Agreed! I think if we don’t press the issues and tell the truth, we’re doing kids a huge disservice!