September is one of my favorite months of the year. Aside from it usually marking the beginnings of a new school year and the autumn season, the best part about September is Banned Books Week: a week dedicated to books overprotective parents and governments do not want people to read.
Every September, I make it a point to read at least one banned book. I have read a few good ones over the years, although there is still some on my list that I want to cross off.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Outsiders is one of the banned books I plan on reading this September. I tend to put priority on books that my friends who typically don’t read much or like to read enjoyed. The Outsiders follows Ponyboy, a “greaser,” who comes into a moral dilemma after his friend murders a “soc.” Looking forward to see what the fuss is about.
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Another banned book I have put on hold in the library, Go Ask Alice is a book I have had on my radar for years. It is a first-person account of a teenaged girl’s drug addiction told through her diary. I can guess why this book was banned, but this is a book I want to read so I can become more educated on the subject of drug abuse.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
An American classic that has been banned because of racial slurs, Gone with the Wind is a story I am familiar with but I have not read the book nor seen the movie. Honestly, this is one of the few books that intimidate me. I knew Gone with the Wind was a big book, except I was ignorant to how big until I found a copy at the Trident Bookstore on Newbury Street in Boston. The edition I found could have knocked someone out.
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
A memoir graphic novel, Persepolis covers the author’s childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The story covers her life from ages six to fourteen, as the country unravels midst her home life as the daughter of Marxists. This should definitely be an interesting one.
Forever by Judy Blume
Probably one of the most controversial books on this list, Forever follows a teenaged couple’s first sexual experiences and their intense romantic relationship the adults in their lives insist won’t last. Judy Blume is frank about sex in this book—which the case should be regarding educating young kids on sex. I doubt my own parents would have let me read this book when I was younger, if they even knew what it was about. But I am 24 now, so I don’t care.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
I was introduced to Kate Chopin in college and I have read a few of her short stories. While she’s not on the same level as Jane Austen or Edith Wharton for me and I disagree with some of her ideologies regarding marital infidelity, The Awakening is still a story I’m interested in. A married woman finds passionate physical love with another man and, of course, things do not go so well for her. What is juicier than that?
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Banned as pornography until 1960, Lady Chatterley’s Lover covers the love affair of a well-to-do married woman and a man that works for her. Sounds a little kinky, doesn’t it? Critics say this book is up there with Kate Chopin’s The Awakening in its slightly more positive and impartial portrayals of extramarital affairs. But given these books were both written in the Victorian era and people married more for status than love, the authors likely handled infidelity differently than more modern authors would.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
I have seen the play and the movie adaptions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I enjoyed both of them. It explored everything wrong with the institution of 1960s American mental health hospitals. Though the females were either sluts or Nurse Ratched, I liked the main characters. I expect I will like the original book, too, once I get around to reading it.
Cut by Patricia McCormick
Cut is about Callie who self-harms and ends up in a treatment facility for girls with problems like hers. This book has been frequently challenged and banned in the past decade, though I can’t find out why. Given the subject matter, I can guess. But kids self-mutilate; other kids need to be educated on the subject. I want to be educated on the subject.
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Frequently challenged or banned for violence and sexual content, Killing Mr. Griffin is a horror movie in book form. A group of teenagers accidentally kill their super strict English teacher in a prank gone horribly wrong. Then, they start dying off one by one. Lois Duncan is an author I have wanted to try out for years. Killing Mr. Griffin might be a good place to start.
