Always Running by Luis Rodriquez

in

The true story of a gang member's journey into and out of la vida loca. And not one Ricky Martin joke.

Banned

#68 on the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1996 - Illinois - Challenged as optional reading at the Guilford High School in Rockford as "blatant pornography."

1998 - California

San Jose - Challenged but retained at the San Jose Unified School District as optional reading after complaints the book is "pornographic and offensive in its stereotyping of Latinos." Students must have parental permission to check out of school library.

Santa Rosa - Removed from the high school reading list

Fremont - Removed pending review

2003 - California - Challenged but retained in three Beyer High School classrooms in Modesto after complaints it is pornographic. District administrators removed the book in November 2003 and this descision reversed those actions.

2004 - California - Santa Barbara schools pulled the book after a parent complained about graphic violent and sex passages.

Sources

ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on 17 Aug 01 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running. Simon and Schuster. New York, 1993.

 

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"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

in
Speak
By Laurie Halse Anderson

High school is crazy, right? Like that one time you called the cops because of a super tramatic event but all your friends thought you were being a killjoy. Memories.

Banned

#60 on ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

2010 - Missouri - Parents of Republic School District were cautioned by assistant professor of management at Missouri State University that the book was "soft-pornography" and "glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex," as well as teaching principles contrary to the Bible.

Sources

ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on Feburary 24, 2018 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999.

Doll, Jen. "The Voice of 'Speak' Is Loud as Ever." The Atlantic, 2012. Retrieved Feburary 24, 2018 from https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/10/voice-speak-loud-ever/322345/

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Jensen, Kelly. "15 YEARS OF SPEAK: AN INTERVIEW WITH LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON." Book Riot, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2018 from https://bookriot.com/2014/04/08/15-years-speak-interview-laurie-halse-anderson/

Staino, Rocco. "Anderson’s Speak Under Attack, Again." School Library Journal, 2010. Retrieved on February 24, 2018 from https://www.slj.com/2010/10/industry-news/andersons-speak-under-attack-again/

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"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

in

A man trying to escape prison finds himself locked up in the worst way in this psychadelic novel about conformity, individuality, and sanity.

Banned

#49 ALA's Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

1971 - Colorado - Challenged in Greenley public school district as non-required reading.

1974 - Ohio - Five residents sued the board of education to remove the book from classrooms, saying it was "pornographic" and ”glorifies criminal activity, has a tendency to corrupt juveniles, and contains descriptions of bestiality, bizarre violence, and torture, dismemberment, death, and human elimination."

1975

New York - removed from Randolph public schools

Oklahoma - removed from Alton public schools

1977 - Maine - Removed from required reading list in Westport

1978 - Idaho - Banned from Freemont High School in St. Anthony and the instructor was terminated.

1982 - New Hampshire - challenged in Merrimack high school

1986 - Washington - challenged but retained in Aberdeen high school for use in honors English for promoting "secular humanism"

2000 - California - Parents at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District complained about profanity and sexual situations and petitioned to have the book removed. Parent of children aged 7,8, and 17 Anna Marie Buckner said "It teaches how very easy it is to smother somebody. I don't want to put these kinds of images in children's minds. They're going to think that when they get mad at their parents, they can just ax them out."

Sources

ALA. "Banned and/or Challenged Books from the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century." ALA. 2018. Retrieved on 2018 Jaunuary 26 from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bbwlinks&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=136590

ALA. "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009." Retrieved on 18 Jan 26 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

Baldassarro, R. Wolf. "Banned Books Awareness: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey." world.edu. 2012. Retrieved 2018 January 26 from http://world.edu/banned-books-awareness-flew-cuckoos-nest-ken-kesey/

Biography.com. "Ken Kesey Biography.com." The Biography.com website. A&E Television Networks. March 23, 2016. Retrieved 2018 January 26 from https://www.biography.com/people/ken-kesey-9363911

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Viking. 1962; 2002.

Tran, Mai. "Parents Ask School District to Ban 'Cuckoo's Nest.'" LA Times. 2000. Retrieved 2018 January 26 from http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/03/local/me-60611

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"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska
By John Green

An angsty kid meet some new friends in this heartbreaking tale of whiny smokers cussing a lot.

Banned

2008 - New York - Challenged, but retained for the 11th grade Regents English classes in Depew despite concerns about graphic language and sexual content. The school sent parents a letter requesting permission to use the novel and only 3 students were denied permission.

2012 - Tennessee - Challenged as required reading for Knox County High Schools' Honors and as Advanced Placement outside readings for English II because of "inappropriate language." School Superintendent Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr. said that a parent identified this as an issue and the book was removed from the required reading list. He didn't say whether the book was still in the schools.

2013

Colorado - Parents of Fort Lupton Middle and High School challenged the books use in a 9th grade classrooms for sexual and alcohol content

Tennessee - Banned as required reading for Sumner County schools by the director of schools because of a sex scene that was "a bit much" and  "inappropriate language." The book was retained in the libraries.

2014 - New Jersey - Challenged in the Verona High School curriculum because a parent found the sexual nature of the story inappropriate.

2015 - Wisconsin - Challenged, but retained in the Waukesha South High School despite claims the book is "too racy to read."

2016

Kentucky - Marion County parent complained about book being included on 12th grade english, "calls the novel “filth” and lists his fear that the book would tempt students “to experiment with pornography, sex, drugs, alcohol and profanity.”" The book was removed from circulation until the school committee reached a decision. "Another resident has written to the local paper describing the novel as “mental pornography” and detailing the number of times the “‘f’ word” is used (16) and the the “‘sh’ word” is used (27)."

New Jersey - Challenged, but retained in the Lumberton Township middle school despite a parent questioning its "sexual content."

Sources

Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read. ALA. 2014.

Guardian - John Green fights back against banning of Looking for Alaska

Guardian - US battle over banning Looking for Alaska continues in Kentucky

Marshall University Libraries - Banned Books - Looking for Alaska

National Coalation Against Censorship - Looking for Alaska Under Fire in Kentucky

NJ.com - N.J. school district bans John Green's 'Looking for Alaska'

Office of Intellectual Freedom Blog - Here and Here

School Library Journal - Ban on John Green’s ‘Looking for Alaska’ Sparks Anger

School Library Journal - John Green Says ‘Looking for Alaska’ Challenged by Colorado Parents