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Three Banned Books Your Teen Should Definitely Read
Growing-up, I was always a rebellious child and that carried on through my teen years. I remember in high school, I would beg my English teacher to sneak “banned books” to me so that I could read them because reading a “banned” book is so much cooler than reading a book deemed as “safe.”
In the United States, a “banned book” refers to books that are not allowed to be held in public school libraries or taught in curriculum. This form of censorship is not recent, it has been happening for decades. Reasoning for these book bans varies, from reasons ranging anywhere between the book not being seen as age-appropriate to a book containing transgender characters. Each year, a top 10 list of the books that were most widely banned is released during National Library Week, which happens to be next week. In honor of this important week, here are three “banned books” that your teen should read anyway.

To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird is perhaps one of the most well known (and in my opinion, one of the most important) pieces of literary fiction that young teens should read (it is usually studied during Freshman year of high school). Published in 1960, this book tells the story of a three-person family consisting of a lawyer father and his two children living in the south during the Great Depression. The book deals with themes surrounding racism, injustice,
The Kite Runer- Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner is classified as a “coming of age” tale about two childhood friends in Afghanistan in the 1970s. The novel takes place over many years and it includes themes of bullying, friendship, and forgiveness. The book has appeared on the ALA’s list numerous times, taking top spots in 2008, 2012 and 2014. It was banned due to sexually explicit content, homosexuality, religious views,

The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
This title may be familiar as it was made into a very successful movie in 2012 featuring actors including Logan Lerma, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller. Despite the movie being an important watch and a pretty good adaptation from the original, the book is what I will focus on. This story revolves a lot around mental health, a topic that many teens today know a lot about. The story follows a teenager, Charlie, who is on his way to beginning Freshman year of high school. He suffers from PTSD following his best friend’s suicide and was hospitalized because of it, but throughout this “coming of age” tale, he experiences friendship, love,
How do you feel about the idea of “banning” books? Which of these banned books has your teen read? Let me know in the comments below.

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