angelreads, Author at Angel Reads

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Discussion: Banned Books

Jun 12, 2014

I was watching a past episode of Tea Time by Epic Reads a few days ago and it was all about Banned Books. Last year around September when Banned Books Week is held I just couldn’t believe that books are still getting banned today.

I cannot hold my anger in about this issue. Mot only are books still getting banned but for the most stupid reasons. Don’t get me wrong parents are allowed to not let THEIR child read certain books, but they cannot prohibit others from being able to read what they want.

Banned Books

Books can be banned from school libraries, school reading list, etc. Banning a book from these sorts of things essentially causes the removal of the material. Even the notion of challenging a book to be banned makes my blood boil.

There have been so many books throughout history that have been banned or challenged and I understand certain books being banned 100 years ago but we are living in the 21st century, come on people. Banning a book from, let’s say a High School Library for offensive language? Hello parents, your teen children do and will swear, you did, they do. Saying it is not age appropriate? If the main protagonist is age 15, then I am pretty sure it is suitable for 15 year old teens.

From 2000 to 2009 here are some stats as to why most books were banned or challenged:

1,577 challenges due to “sexually explicit” material
1,291 challenges due to “offensive language”
989 challenges due to materials deemed “unsuited to age group”
619 challenged due to “violence”‘
361 challenges due to “homosexuality”
274 challenged due to “occult” or “Satanic” themes
291 challenged due to “religious viewpoint”
119 because they were “anti-family”

Yes, I know that banning books doesn’t happen everywhere and I think it rarely happens in Australia anymore, but it does still happen and it just shouldn’t. Like I said before, if a parent doesn’t want their child to read a certain book, sit them down, tell them why you don’t want them to read it, make them understand. Don’t go and try and ban the book so others, whose parents will let them read it, cannot.

What I don’t understand is how some books people are trying to ban are less ‘offensive’ than some PG (M in Australia) rated films and TV Shows. These are appropriate for 13+ (15 +),yet they swear and sometimes they have nudity and violence, but books that have less of this content get banned! It just doesn’t make sense.

I totally understand when a parent doesn’t let their child read certain books or watch certain things, but don’t take that away from others just because of your beliefs. It just isn’t fair on others. If that were ever going to happen to me, I would be furious. I cannot name how many times J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series has been challenged. This just makes me so angry.

I also understand why certain books such as let’s say Fifty Shades of Grey being banned from a High School library. That is logical. But banning it from, let’s say a college library or a local library, just isn’t right. People can read what they want.

I just think the whole concept of banning books, and even challenging them is out of date. The reasons are even more ridiculous. Looking for Alaska by John Green has been challenged for: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, being sexually explicit, and being unsuited to age group. Drugs/alcohol/smoking I don’t know about you, but I hear about this nearly every day in the media. I see people smoking all the time, so why do people want to ban a book because it contains things that actually happen? This is seen in real life.

Again, I understand parents not letting their own children read certain books due to religious values and their own values and that is totally fine.

Challenged Books

Here are the top ten books last year that were challenged out of 307:

Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
Looking for Alaska, by John Green
Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

You can find about more about banned books and banned book week which will be from the 21st of September to the 27th of September this year on the Banned Books Week Site.

Sorry that this post turned more into a rant then a discussion. I just have really strong feelings about this topic.

What are your feelings about banned books? Has your school or library ever had a book banned?

Book Review: Tease by Amanda Maciel

Jun 9, 2014

Tease by Amanda Maciel

Pages: 338 (paperback)
Publish date: April 29th 2014
Publisher: Hachette Children’s Books , Blazer + Bray
ISBN: 9781444918717
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Emma Putnam is dead, and it’s all Sara Wharton’s fault.

At least, that’s what everyone seems to think when Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma’s shocking suicide. But Sara is sure she hasn’t done anything wrong, because Emma brought it on herself. Sara is adamant that she was the victim – not Emma.

Inspired by a true story, TEASE is a thought-provoking must-read that will haunt you long after the last page.

Tease:

I received an e-copy of Tease from Hachette Children’s Books on Netgalley for review. This has in no way influenced my review.

I have tried to write this review many times before but I just couldn’t seem to do it. Not because it wasn’t good, — I think Tease was an amazing book but because it dealt with a topic that is just so hard to read about.

Tease is from Sara Wharton perspective, one of the bullies of Emma Putnam who by the time we are reading has already committed suicide. Let me tell you it was really hard reading a book from a bully’s point of view, from their life. But I learned while reading Tease that bullying doesn’t just effect the victim but effect so much more.

I am not condoning bullying or bullies in any way but Tease is able to make the reader see not just victim’s perspective but from the perspectives of everyone else.

Sara is, well, I think manipulated. Yes, she does bully Emma on her own account, but I think that deep down, she is actually being bullied herself by the manipulation of her ‘best-friend.’

Tease was a very hard book to read, but, like I said before, not because it was a bad book, but because of the subjects it deals with. There were a couple of times where I had to put the book down and just recapture my thoughts and feelings because sometimes it was a lot to take in.

I felt bad for Sara. What she did was horrible, but she had to deal with the consequences on her own. I felt like she was a pawn in a chess came. She was used as the mover. She did everything, but with the influence of others. Yes, no one can make you feel something, but they can change your feelings towards something.

Sara’s best friend wow, now she is a bully through and through. She was the puppeteer and Sara was the puppet.

A lot of people don’t like Sara at all, but I think there is much more to this story than what is really displayed. She is just so ‘weak,’ you could say, she doesn’t understand that what she says hurts people.

I like how Tease went back and forth from the present to before Emma’s suicide. It gave me an insight on who the real bully was. Not just what is on the outside. It also gave us an idea of who Emma was and how she acted. What happened to her was horrible, but she also did some pretty bad things herself.

The language used in Tease is a bit out there and, from other young adult books that I have read, it’s one of the few that uses that sort of language. But then I realised that the language that is used by almost every teen and it’s normal. It may not be nice in anyway, but it’s real. And that is exactly what Tease is: real and raw

Tease was hard to read, but it is so powerful. How one little thing can lead to another little thing and then something big. How one mistake cannot just ruin your life, but the lives of those around you.

Favourite Protagonist Battle Recap

Jun 8, 2014

Okay I know that it has been over a week since voting closed for the final of favourite protagonist battle but with things being so hectic with school I just haven’t had enough time, but now I do.

Firstly I like to thank everyone that participated, you guys were just amazing, it wouldn’t have worked without you in any way. Thank you for voting every round and entering the giveaway, you were all just amazing.

Now to the Winner. In the last battle we had Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy Series Vs. Hazel Grace from The Fault in Our Stars. I have no idea how you were able to choose who you wanted to vote for because it would have been impossible for me to choose.

To the results… and the winner is Rose Hathaway!

Congrats! And here are the results of all your voting.

Again thank you so much for everyone voting!

Now to the winners of the Giveaway! The Winners are…

Ebony E
Eugenia
Ciara B

You will get an email from me soon.

I cannot believe how amazing you all are and because of that, I will be having a battle every 6 or 12 months haven’t decided as of yet how frequent it will be. I will keep you posted when I do decide. So the battle will have a different theme every time, so it won’t just be a protagnist battle.

I Hope you all had fun voting and are looking forward to more from me. Don’t forget to like me on Facebook, follow me on bloglovin, and catch me on twitter, for more from me. You can also subscribe to receive my posts via email. Check it out in the sidebar!