This week is Banned Books Week, and I have been trying to think of something to post about it. Luckily, this week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) theme is books we don't want people to forget, and that works just perfectly with Banned Books Week. The best books to remember are the ones others want you to forget.
1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Hands down one of the best, if not THE best, young adult novel I've ever read. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and do it this week.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Another brilliant novel, which is also often challenged. In happier news, this was recently made into a movie and is in theaters now. I would really like to see it!
3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is a classic in YA lit as far as I'm concerned. Who remembers the Scroggins challenge?
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I don't think anyone in America went through high school without reading this book, it is that much a part of American literature and our culture. A masterpiece, one that will never be forgotten.
5. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. The first in a series of historical fiction about a black family in Mississippi, in 1933. Needless to say, there is abundant racism, and it's been banned for language, yet how can we forget this time in history and ignore what happened? I listened to this on audio, narrated by Lynne Thigpen (I remembered her from the game show Carmen Sandiego), and it is excellent.
6. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. This is just a great book that I feel doesn't get enough attention anymore.
7. The Giver by Lois Lowry. Another classic in children's lit, now complete with the release of Son today!
8. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. An older paranormal romance, before they got truly eyeroll-inducing. I thought this werewolf story was very well done, with the ending I wanted (maybe not the one you would want, but I was happy with it). This one has been challenged for sexuality and unsuitability to age group.
9. Anastasia series by Lois Lowry. I've only read the first in this series, but it was so funny that it's hard for me to forget it. I really should continue the series.
10. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. This will forever be my favorite and have a place in my heart.
There you have it! My top ten favorite banned/challenged books that shouldn't be forgotten. I'm sure this list could be added to, because unfortunately many cases are made each year for banning or censoring books. Celebrate your right to read this week by reading one from this list, or really any book you want.
#1 - I almost put it on my own list! Great collection you have here... all classics. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have A Wrinkle in Time on my list and I almost put Speak in there too. Great picks! This is the second list I have seen with Blood and Chocolate. I am going to have check it out some time. Here are my picks http://wp.me/pzUn5-1ei
ReplyDeleteThanks! It is quite good, I like Klause's work. She resolves things differently, and in my opinion better, than many other authors who write in her genre.
DeleteI think it is sad that I have never read A Wrinkle in Time. I was not assigned it in school and I just never got around to it after, I need to get it soon! Thanks for reminding me!
ReplyDeleteDo it! It's the best.
DeleteNew follower! I really need to read Perk of Being a Wallflower.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my TTT.
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI think we have a winner! You nailed it when you said "the best books to remember are the ones others want us to forget." Nice!
I remember that Scroggins idiot all too well. I'm a regular visitor at the Vonnegut Memorial Library, so he hit a nerve with me too. I'd like to think I struck a blow against censorship in a post I wrote about his ignorance & misrepresentation of Slaughterhouse Five.
Jay
Thanks! The amount of support the literary community gave the banned authors and books after the Scroggins incident was just amazing. Glad to hear you were a part of it. :)
DeleteI always forget about Blood and Chocolate, which is odd because I loved it as a teen. And I just saw The Perks Of Being A Wallflower--it's really good!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Top Ten Tuesday.
http://www.consumedbybooks.com/2012/10/top-ten-books-on-my-fall-tbr-pile.html