Celebrating Banned Books Week and One of My Favorite Banned Books

Did you know September 24-October is Banned Book Week?

From the America Library Association:

“Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger
that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.”

In 2010:

-348 books were challenged.
-The top 3 reasons these books were challenged:
Sexually Explicit Content, Offensive Language and Violence
-Parents are the number 1 initiator in challenging books
-Schools are the number 1 initiator by institution

The top 10 most challenge books of 2010:

1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson- this has been challenged since 2006
2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
6) Lush, by Natasha Friend
7) What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
8) Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

The top 10 most challenged authors of 2010:

Ellen Hopkins
Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Sonya Sones
Judy Blume- Five of Judy Blume’s books are on the list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990 to 1999: Forever (7), Blubber (30), Deenie (42), Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret (60), and Tiger Eyes (89). Judy may be one of the most challenged authors ever.
Ann Brasheres
Suzanne Collins
Aldous Huxley
Sherman Alexie
Laurie Halse Anderson
Natasha Friend

One of my all-time favorite banned books and one I would take with me if I was stuck in an underground bunker as the zombie apocalypse occurred is Nancy Garden’s 1982 YA novel, Annie on my Mind. Almost 30 years has passed since Annie on my Mind has been published and it has never been out of print. Even though Annie on my Mind is the “Best of the Best Books for Young Adults” by the ALA and is one of the 100 most influential books of the 20th century by the School of Library Journal, it’s number 48 on the top 100 most frequently challenged books according to the ALA.

If you haven’t read Annie on My Mind, you must! This is a book I want to have babies with and one of the first GBLT YA’s I’ve ever read. Annie on my Mind is a tender and beautifully written romance between two teenage girls. The narrator Liza lives in an upscale neighborhood and attends private school. One day while Liza is at the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC) she’s meets Annie. Annie is the daughter of Italian immigrants and doesn’t come from a privileged family like Liza does. But these two become good friends where eventually their friendship becomes something more. Liza falls in love with Annie, which confuses and scares her. Annie figures out Liza is hiding something because Liza is suddenly acting strange around her. Liza admits her feelings, and Annie more than willing accepts Liza’s love. From that they start to date secretly and become intimate. But their relationship is discovered to their dismay. Now they’re forced to tell the world from their family to friends what they are to one another. The biggest issue is if Liza and Annie can stay together regardless of the scandal and those who think what they have is immoral and wrong.

I have so much love for Annie on My Mind. I can’t believe any parents or school would want to ban this book. Annie on My Mind shows how sweet and innocent falling in love is with that one person who understands you, regardless of their gender. To deny anyone a book like this or stop the means in reading it, is so very sad. So what if Annie on My Mind is a Lesbian YA romance? The reason Annie on my Mind was banned is because two teen girls so fall in love with one another and act on their attraction, just like most teenagers tend to do when in a relationship. There’s one love scene that is so incredibly tame, especially when compared to current YA’s being published today. Thirty years ago a book like this would have caused waves, now I can see it being more accepted and welcomed because of the message Nancy gets across so well.

Annie on my Mind is one coming of age tale I must re-read every year and an absolute keeper that gets an A+ from me. If you’re interested in reading a banned book, a YA or a GLBT romance that will stick with you long after you finish reading, Annie on my Mind is that book.

I bet we all at one time or another have read a book that has been challenged or banned. This is the week where we celebrate challenged or banned books.

Why not visit your local library and take out a banned book and read it in honor of this week? Or better yet, donate a banned book to your local library.