2023 Readings Wherein I Failed to Comment

Night by Elie Wiesel 🔖🔖🔖🔖

Looking for Alaska by John Green ✖️

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly ✖️

Beloved by Toni Morrison 🔖🔖🔖🔖🔖

First published September 16, 1987 

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Awards: Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize • Winner of the 1988 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award • Winner of the 1988 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

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Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.

Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present.

Combining the visionary power of legend with the unassailable truth of history, Morrison’s unforgettable novel is one of the great and enduring works of American literature. (Source: goodreads)

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When I first tried to read this 13 years ago, I allowed narrowness to stop me after chapter one. Thankfully I've grown up since then.

This is one of the most amazing pieces of literature I have ever read. I was engaged, moved, invested, outraged, sad, disgusted. And so aware of my privilege of being able to shut the book and "forget" this is real life.

Toni Morrison was a brilliant woman and one of the best authors of all time. The flow of her words and story, the symbolism, the "beat" so to speak, is unmatched. The character development is a piece of art, and the imagery of how they developed for and into each other is amazing. There is so much depth to the imagery, I am certain I missed more than half of what this all meant. I am certain she didn't write this for me anyway ... I'm grateful I could eavesdrop on this masterpiece.

If you get a chance, listen to Toni Morrison read this story to you. Life changing.

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Why was this banned?  This book contains sexual activities; beastiality commentary; violence; racial commentary; profanity; and derogatory terms.

Sexual activities. Yes. 

Beastiality. Yes. This was a difficult part for me as a reader. 

Violence. There were discussions of how slaves were treated in great detail. 

Racial commentary. A lot. It includes slavery discussions and imagery. 

Profanity. More than 35 N word. A few B word. Several other infrequent curse words. 

Derogatory terms. N word as described above, and other terms regarding black people. 

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Further exploration: 

Curriculum unit from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute 

Lesson plan from EDSITEment

The Great Questions Foundation

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 🔖🔖🔖🔖🔖

I first read this in 2005 and rated it 5 stars. My second time through I still need to rate this 5 stars. There are certainly parts that are long and boring. I loved the character development. I loved hating the true monster. There are some incredibly beautiful parts to this novel. I do think it is a book everyone should read at least once.

Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison 🔖🔖

Published April 3, 2018

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Awards: 2018 Booklist Editors' Choice Pick, 2019 Alex Award from the YALSA Adult Books for Young Adults Task Force
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For Mike Muñoz, a young Chicano living in Washington State, life has been a whole lot of waiting for something to happen. Not too many years out of high school and still doing menial work—and just fired from his latest gig as a lawn boy on a landscaping crew—he knows that he's got to be the one to shake things up if he's ever going to change his life. But how? In this funny, angry, touching, and ultimately deeply inspiring novel, bestselling author Jonathan Evison takes the reader into the heart and mind of a young man on a journey to discover himself, a search to find the secret to achieving the American dream of happiness and prosperity. That's the birthright for all Americans, isn't it? If so, then what is Mike Muñoz's problem? Though he tries time and again to get his foot on the first rung of that ladder to success, he can't seem to get a break. But then things start to change for Mike, and after a raucous, jarring, and challenging trip, he finds he can finally see the future and his place in it. And it's looking really good. Lawn Boy is an important, entertaining, and completely winning novel about social class distinctions, about overcoming cultural discrimination, and about standing up for oneself. (Source: goodreads)
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I read this one as it is a commonly banned book. I can see why parents are uncomfortable with this book, though I do not support it being banned. There are more than 100 F words and numerous references to the sucking of d*ck.

There were some really solid morals to this story and the levels in which the main character learned them were believable and well done. I do think it could have been done without the overabundance of cursing and d*ck references.

Let kids read within age appropriate guidelines, and have open discussions with them about the topics included. This is not one I'd recommend to my own kids, yet if they read it, we would have a lot to discuss. 

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Why this book was banned: 

Sexual activities including molestation. As mentioned above, mention of sucking body parts. Molestation I must have missed, unless they are considering two boys of the same age (4th grade) having a sexual experience together "molestation". I think that's "exploration". I'm not saying it's appropriate, but it's not to the level described. 

Sexual nudity. There is discussion of body parts including nipples. 

Racially charged commentary. There are Mexican characters, the main character and friends of the main character, who are treated with disdain and injustices. There are also negative comments made of gay people.

Profanity and derogatory terms. As stated above - a lot. Mostly the F word, more than 50 S word, lots of the A word, and common use of the term "d*ck". "F*g/F*ggot" are used frequently as well. There are other derogatory terms for body parts, and one use of the C word. 

Alcohol and drug use. I think there was one reference to a side character smoking pot. Several references to alcohol. 

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher 🔖🔖

Fun, easy read. Interesting piece of Carrie's history.

Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black 🔖🔖🔖

This was enjoyable. It's written in a way that a lay-person like myself can understand the human bones, what they do, where they are, what they look like. She knows how to speak to us on a level that helps us understand without making us feel stupid. While I am fascinated by the body and how the bones play out in investigations, I lean more toward a crime junkie. There was definitely that in this book scattered throughout, and very enjoyable. I do wish there were more crime solving stories. I'd recommend this one.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell 🔖🔖🔖🔖🔖

I absolutely love this book! I hope I get to read it to my grandchildren. Representation matters.

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For further consideration: 

Diversity Lesson by Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre 

Family Lesson Plan by British Columbia Teacher's Federation

Equality and Diversity Lesson Plan by Highland Literacy

Lesson Plan from Human Rights Campaign 

Teacher's Guide from Simon & Schuster 

Anti-Bias Creative Drama in the Classroom Lesson Plan

Book Module by Prindle Institute