I've recently read a ton of graphic novels and memoirs - some I loved and others not so much but were still a thrill to read. Guts by Raina Telgemeier I am always on the lookout for Raina Telgemeier's comics, so when I found Guts available at my library's Overdrive catalog last year, I had to request it right away. Her comics are always delightful, designed for the middle-grade audience, and written very well. Guts is a continuation of her Smile nonfiction graphic memoir series (see Smile and Sisters ) and recounts a period in her childhood when she experienced IBS for the first time. When Raina wakes up one night with an upset tummy, she just assumes it's a stomach bug as her mom is also showing the same symptoms. But when it doesn't go away soon but is instead influenced by the daily highs and lows of being a middle grader - good friends, not so good ones, and then the bullies, she realizes there's something else going on. If you have not read the previous
I started writing this post in a totally different direction from where it ended up. So I split it up into two posts and decided to go with the one that was raging in my head at the moment of writing.
Honestly, the very idea that there are banned books seems so ridiculous to me. Fine, there are books you wouldn't want your 10-year old child to read or see included in the curriculum, but how long does one hope to keep the blindfolds on the child's eyes? That's not to say that they will not get the book one way or the other. Remember Dolores Umbridge and The Quibbler edition that she banned? Banning something doesn't really meet the eventual goal for controlling access, instead it usually has the opposite effect. What's needed is a healthy discussion of the offending topic.
What if there is no avenue for that healthy discussion?


The Satanic Verses controversy even has its own Wikipedia page. I myself heard of Salman Rushdie for the first time only after the protests over his books. I can only imagine what life would be life for those authors, to live under the threat of assassination (not even murder) every minute. If something in a book offends you, why not just throw the book at the wall, or rant for a minute? Why threaten the author or ban it? Why make it a national or international phenomenon?

Comments
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
AliBird, you are so right! Why do governments think they have a right to decide what people should know - in terms of free literature? They promote what they agree with, and ban what they don't. So unfair!
Man of la books, haha! That's pretty much what happens though. At least something good comes out of all the banning!
Sheila, thank you! :)