I think it's no surprise how I feel about book banning.
Not a fan, folks. Not a fan.
Some of those banned books are my absolute favorites. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, for example, changed my life as both a person and writer forever. I owe so much to someone I've never met.
That's exactly how I felt after reading Hold Still by Nina LaCour. I actually recommended it a couple months back. LaCour's writing is not only gorgeous, but her characters feel like long lost friends. Through them, I learn about the world and myself. I see light where darkness reigns supreme.
Which is why banning it from school libraries is a mistake.
Sure, parents--the good kind--want what's best for their offspring. They care about them, of course. But telling other parents' offspring what they can and can't read? That's overstepping, folks. Big time. And more likely than not, teens who pick up Hold Still need to read it. Not for a grade, but for themselves. For their friends, or loved ones, or strangers they wish they could help. F-bombs and sex are in the book, and if teens take issue with those particular story elements, they will choose to put the book down on their own.
But here's the kicker: we have to let them choose.
They are not little kids. They are young adults.
Please stop disrespecting them.
