Out of these ten, I’ve read The Perks of Being A Wallflower, Looking for Alaska, Thirteen Reasons Why, The Hunger Games, and Wintergirls. I read most of these when I was in college.
As for the others, I’ve only read parts of them, or heard of them through various media sources or other bloggers. However, I plan to add these five to future TBRs.
The books that are under fire in the town of Palmer are F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby; Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man; Joseph Heller’s Catch-22; Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried; and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
Members of the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School Board met in mid-April to “approve the district’s High School English Elective Curriculum and reading list.” After lengthy discussions, “an amendment was introduced during the meeting to scratch the five books off the curriculum. Five members voted in favor of the removal, two voted against. The vote has no impact on the books’ placement in school libraries. In the same vote, the board also removed ‘The Learning Network,’ a resource for educators from The New York Times Company as a mentor text for district teachers.”
Palmer is about 40 miles from Anchorage in the southern part of the state. It serves 46 schools and more than 19,000 students.
Board members received a one-page flier from the district’s Office of Instruction regarding the potential controversies. “Concerns about the pieces of literature, according to the flier, included sexual references, rape, racial slurs, scenes of violence and profanity.”
All this to say that the books have not been banned from the district. The article was written to make the point that the school board voted in favor of removal.
What about community members?
According to the article, “No community members had signed up to comment prior to the meeting.” And, “since the decision was made as an amendment, community members didn’t have a chance to give their input.”
“The material for the English elective class were reviewed through a stakeholder survey, a community survey and a council of educators — including teachers, librarians and administrators — among other reviewers in the 2019-2020 year, the school district said.” The recommendations were then brought to the school board.
Positive spin on the situation
There is some good news. A Facebook page was created after the meeting, advertising “The Mat-Su Valley Banned Book Challenge.” Any student that read all the works can enter for a change to win $100. However, the administrators of the page have considered upping the monetary prize because of the interest in the challenge. At the time the article was published, over 200 students had joined the page.
Protecting students?
There were several quotes in the article regarding the students, and the school board’s intent to protect them from the content of these books. Many of them depict abuse and violence.
“To think that by not reading ‘Why the Caged Bird Sings’ means therefore children will not be exposed to sexual abuse is … closed-minded and ignorant.”
“‘There are many, many students in our district who don’t know that the trauma maybe they’ve experienced is trauma that somebody else has written about and yes, they can go and talk to somebody then,’ Welton said in the meeting.”
‘”I think you’re putting your head in the sand,’ she said. ‘If you really, truly believe that you are protecting your children, you can protect them by just saying, ‘Don’t take that class.'”
The main takeaway for me is that these books are for an English elective class. To me, however, I think these quotes hit the nail on the head. If these students aren’t supposed to or allowed to read these books in school, what other opportunity would they have to read them? Would these students take them out of the library themselves? Apparently, the chance to win money is plenty inspiring.
If you’re interested, check out the links regarding banned and challenged books below.
For me, I’ve read The Great Gatsby and The Things They Carried. I read Invisible Man and Catch-22 so long ago! I’ve read parts of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I think I’ll add the last three to a future TBR. I re-read The Great Gatsby every year. And I think I should re-read The Things They Carried at some point.
Originally, I didn’t really care for this book as much as others. However, I’ve had a change of heart. It’s still not my favorite book of the series, but I now understand why many people love this one in particular.
I fell in love with Lupin. I now realize why many people enjoy and are enamored with his character. I also learned more about the history of Hogwarts and the characters who came through before Harry, Ron, and Hermione – Especially Harry’s parents.
I’m excited to move on to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Another favorite!
I first heard about this book from Sara’s review on her blog, The Bibliophagist!
I found my copy at 2nd and Charles in Newport News this summer.
One of the beautiful things about graphic novels is you get a great story, plus beautiful illustrations. The writing of Brian Vaughan and illustrating by Cliff Chiang did not disappoint!
This was a quicker read than I expected. The first night, I got through about a quarter of the book. The next time I picked it up, I got through another 10-15 pages. Last night, when I finished it at the chiropractor’s office, I’d flown through the rest of it in less than 30 minutes. All told, I think it was roughly an hour to 90 minutes for me. The illustrations in particular were incredible, and I wanted to keep turning the pages!
I was left with wanting to find Volume 2 immediately. However, I’m going be a responsible adult here, and wait a bit before purchasing the next one.
I loved the characters, and the adventure they are thrust into within minutes of the book’s opening. I also appreciated the setting – 1988 – and the “vintage” vibes and multiple references. I felt like I was watching everything unfold in the background.
I received this book through a fun gift exchange on Facebook. I’m part of several American Girl groups, and one of them started an Elfster gift exchange last year for Christmas. The group has done it three times since then. It’s been very popular!
I don’t remember ever reading this particular mystery, so I was thrilled to get it!
The book is a solid 171 pages, which is great for American Girl’s target audience of 8 years old and up. Being a mystery, it does have some frightening moments, but it’s also an easy ready, with shorter chapters and a good story.
Set two years after Samantha’s original books, she and Nellie set sail on the RMS Queen Caroline, headed for Europe. Now eleven years old, they want to have fun on the voyage, but are accompanied by a French tutor to help them keep up with their schoolwork while they miss school for two weeks. Along the way, they meet quite a cast of characters. When the legendary blue sapphire disappears, everyone on the ship is a suspect! And Nellie appears to be hiding something as well.
For years, Samantha’s character has been criticized as snobby, stuck-up, and privileged. Her original books are set in 1904, and it’s no secret that her family is wealthy and of high society. However, Samantha is kind, and reaches out to Nellie and her sisters, especially when they realize they have all been orphans due to their parents’ early demises.
This mystery was exciting. The first night reading it, I only made it through the first two chapters before going to sleep. However, the next night, the story was so engaging, I couldn’t put it down. Before I knew it, I had finished the book. I wanted to figure out who the thief was! For a book aimed at young girls, I loved how it was really hard to guess the real culprit. It was like I was playing detective with Samantha and Nellie, navigating the ins and outs of the ship, which was more modest than other ocean liners of the early 1900s.
I was pleased with this book. It has the right amount of character development, conflict, suspense, and mystery. I want to read the other Samantha mysteries now, and go back to re-read her original books, too.
I wasn’t anticipating it would be more than four months in between reviews, but hey, life happens. And I realized I didn’t want to burn myself out with reading the series back-to-back.
Harry narrowly makes it back to Hogwarts for his second year. There are more adventures, and multiple misadventures, and it’s a thrill ride basically the entire time.
There’s more danger and conflict in this book. Originally, I declared this book as my favorite of the series the first time around. Re-reading it now, I can see why I thought that way. I love so many things about this one – The mystery of the Chamber throughout the book, the introduction of new characters, and not exactly knowing what’s going to happen next.
One of my favorite characters in this book specifically is Ginny Weasley. I won’t spoil anything for those who may not have read the book, but I adore her.
I’m looking forward to reading Harry Potter and ThePrisoner of Azkaban soon!
I remember devouring Alex Sanchez’s books from Russell Memorial Library toward the end of high school, beginning of college. I was able to pick up the whole trilogy, plus some other books by him, at 2nd and Charles back in August.
It took me a while to read it, but I’m glad I took my time. This is a good one, for many people to read. Through the fictional world set in New York, Sanchez creates three unique characters – Jason, Kyle, and Nelson. They all have something in common – Coming of age, and trying to figure out their own ways with being gay.
I think my favorite character was Kyle. I kept thinking he would be a friend of mine in high school, and college. Jason and Nelson are good in their own way, and I appreciated how Sanchez makes them different. I liked how he broke up the chapters by character.
I had to remind myself multiple times that this book was published in 2003. I marveled at how far our country, and the world, has come with acceptance and strides with the LGBTQ+ community. It’s been 16 years since this book was published. While the community is still fighting for certain rights, it’s a very different world between 2003 and 2019.
I appreciated Sanchez making this book as “real” as possible. It has its flaws – It feels over-dramatic in several places. But, then again, it’s a high school setting. High school always has drama!
I give him props for introducing other serious situations into the book other than the characters finding their true identities. A lot of the feelings I felt when I first read this resurfaced – Happiness, sadness, and anger.
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy! Look for those reviews soon.
I love 2nd and Charles. It’s a great place to buy used books, among other types of media – They have almost everything you can think of. You can also sell your used items to them. While I was waiting for my most recent buyback to be completed on August 23rd, I found this gem of a book in the $1.00 clearance pile.
It’s designed for readers ages 9-12, but something like that usually doesn’t stop me from reading it.
I loved the different angle the author, Augusta Scattergood, took with the volatile summer of 1964. The main character, Gloriana “Glory” Hemphill, is going through many changes. She dreams of her twelfth birthday at the community pool, but then discovered it’s locked up tight, “closed for repairs.”
Angry, she turns her juvenile anger into action. She truly begins to come of age among her family and friends. She learns about how tumultuous the nation is that hot, sticky summer, especially the state of Mississippi. She works to fight prejudice from her 11-year-old eye. She also begins to discover who her true friends are, and the meaning of family.
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This was a surprise book for me. I bought it on a pure whim, and felt pulled in from the very beginning. I flew through more than half in the first two hours.
I think the author did a good job creating the atmosphere, and capturing how dangerous the summer of 1964 was for many people. She took her own experiences from that summer in Mississippi and wove them into a compelling book that many can learn from and enjoy.
I think this would be a good book for a class to read in school, or simply kids and family to read together.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, and declare that Mosquitoland is my favorite book of 2019.
I had a feeling this book was special when I found it at Barnes & Noble last year, while I was looking for books to purchase with the gift card I received for my birthday.
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I fell in love with Mim, the main character, right at the start. I loved how Arnold addressed mental illness, psychiatric care, and dysfunctional families. I was rooting for Mim the entire time on her journey, which became quite a map of routes, detours, and exits.
I admire Arnold and his creation of his characters. I love how he used music throughout the story. The resounding theme of being on a journey stuck with me the whole time. It was quite a ride.
Arnold is so good with his words and storytelling, that I felt like this story was a mix tape of coming of age, mystery, suspense, a bit of horror, and all of it was delicious. I could hardly tear my eyes away from the book. I wanted to know what happened next.
I found myself a bit surprised with the end of the book. No spoilers — But it was an interesting turn, something I hadn’t considered. It made me like Arnold even more as an author.
I look forward to reading more from Arnold – He has three more books I’m eager to devour.
The first book illustrated several themes. Mia is trying to find her own way among her hockey-loving brothers. She’s dealing with a tough new coach, and snotty Vanessa. Now, she has to triumph over tragedy. Will she make it to Regionals?
Along the way, she discovers several things about her family, friends, and, most importantly, herself. She’s growing up, and trying to do what she loves. However, she also clearly understands the meaning of sacrifice, much better than many of her peers. And even Vanessa changes her tune a bit.
I appreciated the story flowing pretty seamlessly from the first book to the second. And the punches keep coming. For a child audience, these two books are a hard look at a big family who is trying to get by, but they still work together and have fun, and I think that’s a good thing.
Through the local rink and the chance to perform at Regionals, Mia gets a taste of what figure skating could look like for her in middle school, high school, and beyond.
I think both books are still relevant to today, in 2019. It teaches about following your dreams, and working hard to achieve them.
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