Letter To Ms. Berner About Banning Books

Dear Ms. Berner,

Young adult fiction is just that, young adult fiction. Adults cannot try to understand something that is meant for kids. And if they do read a YA book, they have to get the meaning, not just the "bad references." When these adults want to ban books, they are censoring kids' views of the world. Young adult books that have "inappropriate" content help kids get over their problems, and therefore should not be banned from 6th grade libraries.

Bill Moyers said, "A lie can be exposed, but censorship can prevent us from knowing the difference." Simply meaning, a lie can be discovered; but if the lie is censored, you will never know the truth. If you take away the plot, the improper topics, we will never know the whole story. 6th graders need to read books to get the knowledge of our world. But if we try to read these books without the "dark subjects" we miss the true meaning of the book.

According to Ellen Hopkins, author of several NY bestsellers, her books help people turn their lives around. Hopkins explains in her article, Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto, "...straight down into the same hell my book represented so well. But one day, she found that book. She saw herself in those pages, and suddenly knew she didn't want to be there.” So this lady read Ellen Hopkins' book, Crank, and turned her life around. Because she didn't want to end up like the character in the book.

             Meghan Cox Gurdon claims in her article, Darkness Too Visible, that, “teen fiction can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors, constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is.” Basically saying YA books portray life disgustingly and lie about what life really is. But this is not true because the issues in these books happen in real life. William Porter, another person supporting banning books even admitted that, “these darker books reflect what today's faster-maturing teens routinely see in their multimedia world,” in his article, Teen Fiction Plots are Darker and Starker. Confirming that teens see these “horrible” topics almost every day.

            So banning books would not be helpful at all. “I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters.” Sherman Alexie says in his article, Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood. Kids going through traumatic times don’t have to be protected and won’t have anything to connect with. The bad and vulgar topics make the story. The books that are “inappropriate” can help kids get though their problems and shouldn’t be banned from 6^th grade libraries.

                                                                                                               Respectfully,

                                                                                                                               Rachel Duke

"Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie

       The article "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie, is a counterargument to Megan Cox Gurdon's, "Darkness Too Visible". Gurdon's article claims that Young Adult fiction is too vulgar and inappropriate for young adults. While Alexie's article claims that the topics of these "inappropriate will not traumatize an already abused kid. I agree with Alexie's proposal, because he gives examples of his claim, Gurdon does not expand on her thoughts.
       In Alexie's article, he says "Does Ms. Gurdon honestly believe that a sexually explicit YA novel might somehow traumatize a teen mother? Does she believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will somehow shock a teenager whose life has been damaged by murder and rape? " To show that many kids have already went through these experiences. He goes on to use himself as an example of this claim. "They wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil though a future serial killer had already abused me." This proves his claim and is an example that he gives supporting details to his argument.
       On the contrary, Megan Cox Gurdon does not support her claims with examples. When she says "It has to do with a child's happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart." But then she never expands on this idea. She goes on to ask what do you think is a child's mind when reading a YA novel. As if she knows, but in Alexie's article, he recounts a real story of a teenager telling him what was on his mind.
       So, is YA fiction too dark? Is a good inquiry, but the way Gurdon explains it is not good enough to compare to Alexie's argument of the benefits of these books.