The American Library Association (ALA) has designated September 26-October 3 as Banned Books Week in order to raise awareness of continuing threats against intellectual freedom. You may be surprised to find that even in this modern age of openess and equality, censorship remains a constant threat. Follow along with us this week as our librarians highlight their Favorite Banned Books.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is the heartbreaking story of a family struggling with the sudden and unexplained loss of their oldest daughter. Told from the perspective of the murdered daughter as she watches her family and friends from “the other side”, Susie narrates what happened to her (raped and murdered by the neighbor), agonizes as her parents and siblings mourn, and struggles to come to terms with what her own life on earth meant. There is a lot of sadness in this book, but there is also a great deal of celebration, joy and enduring love.
I LOVE this book! Why does it get banned?
Is it because teens read it?
According to ALA, it was banned from a middle school in Waltham, MA in 2008 and moved to a “faculty section” because it was considered “too frightening for middle school students”. While some horrific things happen to Susie in this book, those scenes are handled without gruesome details. The bulk of the book celebrates life and family and why they are worth the hard parts. Also, most teens have probably read/seen/heard worse on the news!
I too love this book. It’s so true what you said Ann that most teens experience worse things just by watching TV.
No kidding! Though it surprises me a little that it was purchased for a middle school collection. It wasn’t written for nor marketed to teens. It would be difficult to be a librarian in a junior high school library!