Top Ten Challenged Books

“Not every book is right for each reader, but we should have the right to think for ourselves and allow others to do the same."      
                                     - ALA President Roberta Stevens

Roberta Stevens gives a broad statement which is true.  There are many factors to be concluded from this statement. The maturity level of the reader being one of them and another would be the parents’ way of bringing up their child. I believe that young adults should have the right to choose books of interest with guidance from a counselor, parent, and librarian.  However, ultimately, the decision should be up to the young adult.  I have read “What My Mother Doesn’t Know.”  In my opinion, the book would help a teenager’s struggles with teen sexuality, peer pressure, and boyfriends.  I have also read “Twilight” which I enjoyed the fantasy and romance parts of the book.

This is the OIF’s Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for 2010:

1. And Tango Makes Three –– Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian –– Sherman Alexie.
3. Brave New World –– Aldous Huxley.
4. Crank –– Ellen Hopkins.
5. The Hunger Games –– Suzanne Collins.
6. Lush –– Natasha Friend.
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know –– Sonya Sones.
8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America –– Barbara Ehrenreich.
9. Revolutionary Voices –– edited by Amy Sonnie.
10. Twilight –– Stephenie Meyer.

American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). (2011). Top Ten Challenged Books of 2010. Retrieved on July 10, 2011 from http://atyourlibrary.org/top-ten-challenged-books-2010