“Why find offence in fiction?” asked author Ellen Hopkins, whose novel Crank has been the subject of frequent challenges.
Books, especially those intended for young adults, “provide a non-threatening framework within which these issues can be safely explored and discussed.” Platt said that although parents were “often tempted” to protect their children from “harsh realities”, the “well-intentioned efforts eventually become counter-productive, depriving young adults of the opportunity to begin to understand the difficult realities that are a part of our world and theirs”. “YA books are targeted more frequently because they often deal with many of the complex and troubling issues that arise in their own lives, or in the lives of someone they know – issues such as sexual identity, substance abuse, sexual abuse, mental illness, bigotry, bullying, and violence,” she said. Judy Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week national committee, agreed. In particular, works that that portray persons of colour or who are gay or trans often become targets of challenges,” said Caldwell-Stone. “YA literature often includes realistic portrayals of the lives of teens who face challenges in their lives – which means that the characters may use profanity, express their sexuality and challenge the status quo, often to the dismay of some adults who believe that adolescents should be sheltered from such realities. “We believe that it is, in part, a reflection of the popularity of ‘helicopter parenting’, overprotective parents, but the impulse to restrict youth access to certain books or ideas has been with us for centuries.” “The challenges arise from the desire of parents or adult community members to shield young people from language, ideas or views that they deem objectionable or too mature for adolescents,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. The ALA’s list of the year’s most-complained-about titles is topped by Sherman Alexie’s award-winning teen read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which came under fire for reasons ranging from its inclusion of violence and sexually explicit scenes to its offensive language. Put book after book after book into a kid’s hands. Reading engenders critical thinking, not to mention empathy, so don’t take a book out of a kid’s hands. “Adults who would like to police the thoughts of others might very well be acting from a place of love,” she said, but added: “Teenagers are smart. “Teen lit takes on everything – sexuality, gender identity, oppression, violence and every other topic under the sun – so it makes some people uncomfortable.
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