Banned Books Week + Giveaway!

Well, today is Banned Books Week, as you can probably tell from the title of this post and the picture above.

But what is Banned Books Week, you ask? Basically, it’s my favorite book holiday. See, I hate censorship. I don’t believe teens should be censored with what they read, no matter how heavy the subject matter may be. It’s deprivation of books. It’s unfair. We should be able to choose what we want to read. We can handle–and we should be allowed to handle–as much as we want. We know what we want to read. We know we can read it. So why is someone else keeping us from reading it? It just bothers me.

But wait! Along comes Banned Books Week, which makes for a happy John. Why? Because Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read, encourages us to read what we want to read, let’s us read all those books that are challenged by many of our book “gatekeepers.” And I love it. Banned Books Week lasts from September 30th – October 6th, and to celebrate, I wanted to highlight some awesome banned books that I either read or were recommended to me via twitter/fb/other. We’re also doing a giveaway of a banned book at the end of this post, so be sure to enter that!

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Banned Books To Read:

(Please note that I haven’t read all of these. Many were recommended by other teen writers to include in this list.)

Looking For Alaska by John Green

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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Forever by Judy Blume

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The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

(This one was actually written by a teen!)

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Crank by Ellen Hopkins

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

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Lord of the Flies by William Goldberg

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Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein

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The Duff by Kody Keplinger

(This isn’t officially banned, but I imagine it has gotten opposition. Plus, the author wrote it in high school!)

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinback

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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And finally, my friend Helen Boswell’s Mythology has recently been banned, and to celebrate Banned Books Week, she’s doing a free promotion of her book from now until October 3rd. Get it free today by going here!

(There are a ton more banned books, but these are the ones I was asked to add to the list. If you have any additions, please let me know in the comments! Other banned book lists can be found here and here.)

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My challenge to all of you is to read one banned book this week. Tell me which one you plan to read by commenting below, and maybe even come back and let us know how it is when you finish. And if you’ve already read one of the above-listed books, tell us!

For Banned Book Week, I’m going to read Looking For Alaska by John Green. I’ve already read The Fault In Our Stars by him, and I’ve heard this is the book to read next. Plus, John Green is awesometastic from his vlogs, and I adore his characters, so why not?

So what are your thoughts on Banned Books Week? What book are you reading for it?

And guys! By answering the question above in the comments section, you’re entered to win your choice of an eBook or paperback copy (if paperback, you MUST live in the U.S.! If eBook, you can live anywhere) of the awesome but banned book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. You have until the end of the week to enter!

And please, everyone, give a HUGE thank you to Leigh Ann Kopans and the YA Misfits for this giveaway! They’re the ones who are providing the book! Leigh Ann is also the best supporter of teen writers ever, so be sure to follow her and the YA Misfits if you haven’t already. Seriously. They’re great. Leigh Ann’s twitter account is also the best thing ever.

(Note: If you’ve already read/don’t want to win The Perks of Being a Wallflower, you’re still welcome to comment, just mention that you don’t want to be entered in the comment.)

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