I try not to do too many of these giveaway hops. They can get to be a lot of work and frankly I don’t have the money! However, Banned Books Week is near and dear to my heart. I posted a story that illustrates one of the many reason last October. I am a firm believer in the right to read. I acknowledge that not every book is appropriate for every reader but I resist the idea that someone gets to decide that for ALL. So… yeah. Books. Don’t Ban ’em! For the giveaway I’m going to let the winner choose TWO of the books from my top five (actually more since some are series!) These are not in any particular order:
1. Looking for Alaska by John Green. If you’ve been to my blog before you may have noticed that I have a bit of a thing for John Green’s books. This one is not my favorite but I really enjoyed it. You can hear a bit more about one of the challenges in John’s video “I am not a pornographer.”
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Tim Indian by Sherman Alexie. This book has done more to get my “I don’t like to read”-ers reading than any other book I can think of. I literally have boys walk in and say, “What’s that book that everybody is reading that’s kind of inappropriate?” And I know they mean this one (Oh my stars he uses the word “boner!” Middle schoolers have never heard that one!) Last year I had a boy come to me and tell me he had never finished a book before this one. He was so proud of himself and he wanted another book! Ban that. I liked this article Alexie shared on twitter about a school bored that reversed their decision to ban the book after they… get this… READ IT!
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Apparently this book gave a sixth grader nightmares s her mom decided (after reading parts of the book) that it was too violent for teens and advocated violence among teens. Uhhh, anyone who read this book feel like the games were portrayed as a good thing?!? One word: Rue.
4. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I have to admit… When I was young and impressionable I heard from some people I admired that this book promoted bad things and I believed them… for like a minute. Thankfully my sister was like, “How about you think for yourself” and that minute didn’t last long! I adore these books. I found this Christian theologian’s article In Defense of Harry Potter to be interesting.
5. Anything by Chris Crutcher. The man is amazing. Pretty sure every one of his books has been challenged He has a whole section on his website about censorship! He has done so much to fight it! I particularly like his response to the case involving his book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes here in Wisconsin. His books tackle tough issues in a way that teens can connect to. If you’ve never read anything by him you really should. I’ve loved everything but my very favorites are Deadline, Whale Talk, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, and Running Loose.
Okay, now for the giveaway… winner chooses any TWO books from those listed above:
*US only (shipping has been killing me!)
*Must be 13 or older to enter
*Giveaway runs until 10/1
* Fill out this form to enter
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