The Parent's Guide to Banned Books

Recently my father described puberty as discovering your parents' mistakes. He figured there were three stages. 1. Annoyance. 2. Pity. 3. Endearment. As a teenager, their irrational rules and repetitive faults frustrate you. Once you've made peace with it for yourself, you can focus on the way they suffer from them. And eventually, it becomes a kind of cute trademark flaw which continues to mess up their wrinkled little lives. Since I'm stuck in stage one for another year or three, here's an ode to all the mistakes parents might make in regards to Banned Books. So hand your laptop to your folks and allow them to suck in every last detail about avoiding some tricky but tempting fatal missteps in the world of censorship.

The Parent's Guide to Banned Books by Sennett Young

Well isn't it good to get together and talk about this? Today, I'm addressing you. You who have been complaining all our lives we didn't read anymore. You who simultaneously deny us the privilege of doing so. Here're the things you should always and never do, along with a step by step guide on how to treat your child's questionable book choices.

Banned Books: Eleanor & Park

At thirteen, I went to a friend's home for a sleepover. We were in the bathroom with the four of us, and one of my fellow guests proposed taking her curling irons and curling our hair. My friend told us we couldn't because it would raise the electricity bill. I imagine I stared at her as if she'd committed a murder. I'd never encountered problems with money in my life. We're not extravagantly rich or anything. We live in a middle-sized terraced house. But never had my parents told me not to do something like use a curling iron because it cost money. They were always able to pay their bills and even set some money aside. My mother's a bit of a cheapskate, but not because we can't afford anything else. I remember it because it was the first time I ever realized how privileged I was compared to people even in my own country.

Justification: Not granted

Anthem: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths

Rating: *****

Risk: XX

Banned Books: 1984

Last year, I was in Berlin with my German class. We were in a hostel. We walked a lot. We slept very little. To conclude our journey, we went to an old DDR prison. It was interesting, but I would have probably enjoyed it more if every bone in my body didn't ache under the crushing force of physical exertion and sleep deprivation. All I wanted to do throughout the whole thing was sit my lazy butt on a chair. Or a stool. Or a boulder. I actually sat on the floor at some point. Anyway, this would have been bearable on its own, but we were observing a communist prison, right? So this guide proceeded to tell us, in detail, about the forms of torture used in cells. A repeated punishment was some variation on not sitting or not being forced to walk constantly. I HAVE NEVER RELATED MORE TO ENEMIES OF THE STATE THAN IN THAT MOMENT.

Right before we would be allowed to sit down during the conclusion of the tour, our guide asked us if any of us had read the novel 1984. I was sad I couldn't play Literate Kid since I hadn't read it yet, but he told us the premise (which I already knew about) and how it was based on totalitarian governments in real life (which wasn't new to me either). Still, he was interesting to listen to, putting from of speech on a pedestal that was almost too much for my democratic socialist brain. Almost.

Justification: Not granted

Anthem: Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel

Rating: ***1/2

Risk: X. Like no, this is not risky whatsoever.

Banned Books: The Diary of a Young Girl

I remember, once, at age ten, watching this series in class. It's called Thirteen During the War. Basically, it's a Dutch series about WWII from different perspectives to teach to older children (first years of middle grade). One episode was about concentration camps and Jews, and there was this one scene ín the gas chambers. You saw all of these bare feet walking through the ways first, their owners believing they were going to take a shower. Then the camera cut to a mother and daughter, who had been followed throughout two episodes. The two of them talked a little until a horrified scream cuts through and the mother kind of holds the girl and then the camera cuts away. I was near tears, but the boys were laughing because the mom's bare br**sts had been showing. I laughed along to mask my emotions. I hadn't even noticed. For weeks, those bare feet haunted my waking hours.

Justification: Not granted

Anthem: You by Keaton Henson

Rating: ***

Risk: X

Banned Books: The Giver

Justification: Ungranted.

Anthem: Clarity by Zedd

Rating: ***1/2

Risk: X, all but nothing.

Review: I read this book over a year ago and saw the movie even before that. The sequels are okay, but nothing tops this first installment. The book is middle grade, which is noticeable in the style, but overall it's an atmospheric novel enjoyable for everyone. I would round off to four stars on Goodreads.

Banned Books: Fahrenheit 451

I'm an opposer of censorship. I wouldn't be writing about banned books if I was in favor of it. But because the discussions about censorship are often related to human rights issues, it fascinates me in its horrificness. So when Youtube's new advertising policies dropped, I was both furious and intrigued.

Content that is considered "not advertiser-friendly" includes, but is not limited to: 

"Controversial or sensitive subjects and events, including subjects related to war, political conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies, even if graphic imagery is not shown"

At first glance, this doesn't suggest censorship since the channels aren't forbidden. They just stop receiving money for their work. But in a way, that's the same. Imagine authors who write critical books don't receive any kind of 'salary' anymore for their work. They'd stop. I wouldn't have anything left to watch if these channels go bankrupt.

What I like to watch:

1. Human and social rights issues
2. Political satire and news programs
3. Movies about psychology (Anesthesia, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Perfect Sisters) and talks about movies.

The beauty of the internet is its ability to stream information freely all over the world. No matter what the government thinks or the big media has time or money for, everyone can have a voice. Fahrenheit 451 celebrates our freedom of speech. Our freedom to read. We are responsible for this freedom and should protect it, maybe at all costs even.

Interesting videos on Youtube's policy: Comicbookgirl19 & The Young Turks Explain #YoutubeIsOverParty

Justification: Not granted

Anthem: Creep by Radiohead

Rating: ***3/4

Risk: X

Banned Books: Looking For Alaska

I love this book in a painstakingly agonizing way. Because Miles and I have, even though in different depths, the same reason to believe in the afterlife and the soul that will life forth there: the labyrinth of suffering.

A wise man once said, "The only normal people are the ones we don't know very well." Having found it recently, I believe it might be my favorite non-literary quote ever, which says a lot, since I adore quotes as much as the next person. I have come to find it true. As soon as you start paying attention to any given individual, you will find they are less happy than they made out to be. Once you know this, it hurts. It will always hurt, for various reasons for various people. Whether you notice that a supposedly perfectly happy girl is at a loss as soon as she's parted from her two friends or witness an outburst from the normally so calm boy, it stings in a way I can't explain. Maybe it's the way I see myself in that girl, and my brother in that boy. Maybe it's because neither of the two will ever know I saw or cared. Maybe it's the way I can only think of Alaska with the picture of my self-harming friend inhabiting the back of my mind, who wears long sleeves even in the heart of summer. And because I can't muster the strength and bravery to tell anyone that I saw and cared, I pray. And I just hope that God makes them feel a tiny bit better the next day. But I'm happy I see it now, too, because the knowing has flooded my mind with little bells that ring at the touch of an individual I dislike. They warn me he or she suffers or will suffer or has suffered, and I have no right to judge him/her.

Justification: Not granted

Anthem: Off I Go by Greg Laswell

Rating: *****

Risk: XXXX. I'm not brave enough to recommend this to my formerly depressed, smoking, drinking friend.