Welcome to the Banned Books Blog! This December 2024, we have two books about school and everything that goes on inside of it.
These titles may be available in other formats or languages. Check our catalog for availability!
Some of you may have already heard this, but New Jersey is making great strides in preventing book banning! Governor Phil Murphy signed a law that clarifies how sensitive and controversial material will be evaluated in addition to protecting librarians from any legal recourse.
But have you ever wondered how much book banning costs? According to The Cost of Conflict, researchers estimate the time and money spent across the United States approximates 3.2 billion dollars per year, or anywhere from $25 to $80 per student. That's money that could otherwise be spent on healthy school lunches, reducing the digital divide, paying teachers more, or updating facilities. Not only that, but some school districts are spending tens of thousands of dollars for increased security due to the unpredictable and sometimes violent nature of...you guessed it, book banners.
Also of note with the current state of book challenges is a survey that Book Riot and EveryLibrary put together. 67% is the magic number—this percentage of parents say they’ve never felt uncomfortable with a book their child checked out, their child has never felt uncomfortable reading a book, and they consider book banning a complete waste of time. However, the results were interestingly mixed, with 85% of respondents saying they trusted librarians but with 80% of respondents saying that school librarians should offer content rating systems.
But with the Banned Books Blog, there is no debate. There's only reading!
Title: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Reason for Challenge/Banning: This book was banned primarily for its depiction of a homosexual relationship, but also for its language and discussion of racism.
Summary: At Niveus Private Academy, Devon and Chiamaka are the only students chosen to be Senior Prefects who are also black, which makes them targets for a series of anonymous texts revealing their secrets to the entire student body. Both students were on track toward valedictorian and bright college futures, but this prank quickly turns into a very dangerous game and they are at more than one disadvantage as it looks like things could turn deadly.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Teen fiction
Length: 422 pages
Content Warnings: Racism, homophobia, slurs, violence
Challenge/Banning Response: I agree with the book's editor, Foyinsi Adegbonmire, when she says, "I think in its most basic form, it sends the message that authors aren't allowed to talk about racism or homophobia...especially if they're making it clear that the traditional way of things may not be the best way." This book challenges what the best way is. From ivy-league level high schools to gangs, it's clear that tradition is both emotionally and physically harmful to our main characters Chiamaka and Devon. Whether it's the institutionalized racism that destroys friendships, careers, and lives or the socialization of homophobia in tight-knit groups, it's clear that Chiamaka and Devon have been affected in the past and in the present—they just hope that it won't affect their future, too.
In my opinion, this book is not a roadmap for how to make things better, though the resolution is certainly inspiring and hopeful. Instead, this book highlights how pernicious racism and homophobia can be, from subtle institutional cues to full-on beatings. It's certainly a difficult read—but how incredible must it feel to read about these characters who went through such horrid trials...and won? To ban Ace of Spades is to deny a fictional but relatable success story. It's also to ban a totally intriguing and thrilling book, but this book is no more harsh than the current everyday realities of many students.
Personal Thoughts: If you love thrillers and social critique—not to mention Gossip Girl—then this is the book for you. I felt for the characters—Chiamaka, with her grandiose dreams, and Devon, with his desire to simply live a life where he doesn't have to worry. Where Chiamaka deals with the everyday viciousness of the social ladder, Devon deals with poverty and worrying about whether his mother will find out he's gay. Chiamaka is type A, Devon is just ready to get out of school and move on. But when the two are thrust together into a position of power that turns out to be a threat to their lives, they form a shaky alliance in order to survive.
And while they're doing all of that, they have to make sure their grades stay up. Chiamaka must navigate her trauma and guilt as well as a crush on a girl, and Devon suffers a breakup that has him absolutely swirling until a boy he's forgotten about comes along. There's so many good aspects about this book, and they're all memorable and absolutely dramatic.
Title: All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Reason for Challenge/Banning: This book was banned due to its depiction of immigrants and for a minority of straight couples.
Summary: Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yamulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other's traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Children's picture book
Length: 44 pages
Content Warnings: None
Challenge/Banning Response: For a book about welcoming every student to a generic school, parents seem to take a lot of offense. I'll start with their complaint about a minority of straight couples, as that is easier for me to tackle. We see straight couples overwhelmingly in media from books to television to ads. Alternatively, gay or bisexual or otherwise identified people are rarely seen and often depicted as single and either sterile or extremely sexually active—and rarer still in happy relationships. For a book to illustrate gay couples is to nod to the fact that families look all sorts of ways! Besides, given the fact that adults aren't even the topic of this book, an offended reader could simply hypothesize that the gay couples are simply very good friends wanting support on their child's first day of school. An enthusiastic reader, could of course, simply read these couples as gay. And to those who are uncomfortable with being the straight minority—imagine how LGBTQ people must feel when they're the minority...all the time!
Many parents also dislike the depiction of immigrants in this book. Remember—this is a book about and for children. There's nothing in this book that actually says that these children and their families have immigrated to this school which may or may not be located in the United States. Instead, they view the illustrations of children pointing to where they're from (which, is that where they've moved from, or is it where their family is from?—for example, my family is Irish but we're certainly not from Ireland at this point) as proof that these children must be immigrants. But that's not the true complaint—the real complaint is that Alexandra Penfold, in her children's book for children, is not differentiating between legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants.
I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that one. Again, this is for kids—and wouldn't these parents, as both parents and adults, want a solid education for children? It just baffles me that some adults have challenged a book titled All Are Welcome, especially when it's children being welcomed into an educational space that is freely offered anyways. I also don't know why the differentiation between legal and undocumented immigrants is such a point of contention for a book not even about immigration. For me, it really goes to show that people who choose to challenge and ban books do not sit down, think critically, and pursue other modes of action such as not reading the book.
Personal Thoughts: This book was so cute. I loved the rhyming, I loved the illustrations, and I loved how truly inclusive everything is. I've read plenty of first-day-of-school books and this is great for dispelling any anxieties or jitters, especially with how it shows the teacher smiling and the children easily making friends with each other.
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