https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm Choose a book that has been banned or challenged (list provided on GC). Include an image of the book and a brief summary (1-2 sentences). After reviewing the common reasons given for challenging a book as "unsuited or inappropriate", discuss why this book was banned and then give a personal reflection/opinion on the banning of this book and books in general. en-us 2022-02-02 16:38:38 UTC 2026-02-20 21:25:12 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png 22bmendoza https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025886288 This book tells you about the history of racism and how there can be hope for a anti racism world. The book also explains to us why racism still lingers in the world. I believe it was banned/ challenged because it was about racism involving the author's public statements. In my personal opinion I don't believe this book should've been banned/challenged because it was a public opinion from a different perspective which shouldn't have been banned/challenged. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:23:19 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025886288 22drivera3 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025892891 this book may have been looked as an unappropriated book to read as it was mostly over the subject of the power communism had over other nations which would then lead to the brutal things people went through these communist govern nations ]]> 2022-02-02 17:26:23 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025892891 22dmolina2 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025893538 Animal Farm is about farm animals who rebel against their owner. They hope to make a farm by themselves where all animals are equal.
Animal Farm was banned due to its communist critique. It was also banned to protect Stalin's reputation and to keep communism going.
I believe they banned this book due to it talking about communism and they didn't want individuals to believe communism is good.]]> 2022-02-02 17:26:40 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025893538 22dnguyen16 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025893690 "Invisible Man" written by Ralph Ellison tells the story of a young black man in the 20th century. The author features the discrimination and racism that occurs on a daily basis towards African Americans. This book was challenged in schools due to its vulgar honesty and brutal truth of what many black people face on a day-to-day basis. I believe that it is important to see the truth and have a wake-up-call to open readers' eyes about the issues society has pushed aside. It is important to be educated on topics such as racism, so that history does not repeat itself.]]> 2022-02-02 17:26:44 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025893690 22htran7 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025895043 Thirteen Reasons Why is about a high school student, Hannah Baker, who commits suicide and releases tapes with thirteen reasons why she committed. This book was challenged because it's unsuitable for the targeted age group and contains drug abuse, sexual assault, suicide, and graphic scenes. Books like these shouldn't be open to exposing young readers to suicide and sexual content, especially when the entire plot is portrayed by high school students. Parents were probably afraid that their children would be influenced by the young students. As someone who read the book and watched the show, I was disturbed by some scenes that included self-harm and sexual assault. I support the challenges and banning of this book because although the author may have wanted to spread suicide awareness, the book was entirely focused on blaming other students for suicide and disturbing actions. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:27:22 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025895043 22esegura2 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025895416 The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" was about this young girl and her dealing with racism in her town. The book was banned and challenged because there was racial slurs and a negative effect on students. I feel like if the book had a negative effect on students then it was a good thing to ban and challenge it.]]> 2022-02-02 17:27:32 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025895416 22mmeeks https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025898658 "To Kill a Mockingbird" is about Scout, a young girl, growing awareness of the prejudice and hypocrisy in the world. She learns how racism can affect ones life, and that they can become killed for actions they did not do. Many people feel the need to ban this book due to the nature of racism explained in the text. They feel that it has a negative effect on students, as well as letting them know that racism is okay, when it is not. I personally understand why people want to ban this book, but I also think students should still read it to see what it was like being someone black, and the hatred they faced. It is always important to know the history of your country and the actions people living in it have done. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:28:56 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025898658 22jhuynh5 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025899019 The Gulag Archipelago was a near heretical novel within the borders of the Soviet Union due to it being a book recounting of all the horrors of the Soviet gulags and the brutal communist totalitarianism of the Soviet state. The book written by a survivor of the Soviet Gulags, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, heavily denounces the Soviet government due to their totalitarian structure, and the actions of the Soviet Union in their secret police and forced labor camp networks. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:29:06 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025899019 22nnguyen22 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025901923 The Invisible Man tells a story of a young black man who is unaware about racism. As he meets more individuals in different situation and events, he begins to see the reality about racism and his own lack of identity. There has been complaints concerning vulgarity, rape, and incest, thus the Invisible Man has been banned. I think that this book was banned because it contain sensitive topics and it can be seen as an inappropriate book for school ]]> 2022-02-02 17:30:23 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025901923 22jnguyen11 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025903687 The Hate U Give is about Starr Carter who lives in a poor neighborhood but she attends a fancy prep school. She one day witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. It has also been banned or challenged from many schools because it includes strong language and discusses topics like racism, police brutality, and bias. I believe that the book should not have been banned because these topics are important to learn about when growing up. This book would have been relevant a few years ago when there was the problem with police brutality which left many people angry. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:31:10 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025903687 22cperez3 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025903777 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling is a book about an orphan named Harry Potter who is suddenly told is a wizard and is sent to a school to learn magic and goes through a journey of discovering the reason for his parents deaths and even coming face to face with the man who killed his parent. The book was banned due to concerns of witchcraft which is frowned upon in religious communities which sometimes also refer to the book as satanic. I feel that the banning of the book was overkill because after reading the whole series there's no real harm to it, the series sets up the good guys and the bad guys and has them fight each other eventually but for the most part its just kids going through the challenges of school ]]> 2022-02-02 17:31:13 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025903777 22mcastro3 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025904668 A novel about a girl who got raped at a party and is afraid to speak up about it because her abuser torments and threatens her. I believe that this got banned because it has some strong language about rape and people did not like that. I see why people would dislike the book because of the strong language but at the same time it is sort of factual that this type of stuff happens and it is something that is not talked about enough.]]> 2022-02-02 17:31:33 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025904668 22elopez2_2_1 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025905018 Animal Farm is a novella written by George Orwell. It's a story about a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer and hope to create a society where animals are equal, free, and happy. This has been challenged most likely due to the fact it describes how totalitarianism flourishes and a theme of communism can be taken away from the pig's dream in the novella. This story introduces communism as a system of hope for the future, which is commonly discouraged. I think there's nothing wrong with high school students reading it, as long as there are multiple discussions about the themes and main ideas in order to understand the author's purpose and apply it to reality.]]> 2022-02-02 17:31:43 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025905018 22smeeks https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025907122 Of Mice and Men by author John Steinbeck is about two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, who are constantly moving from one ranch to another to find new working opportunities. I think this book was banned because there was a part where Lennie was abusing a woman and eventually killed her. Due to the recent banning of books, I can understand why this book why banned/challenged.]]> 2022-02-02 17:32:25 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025907122 22clagusay https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025909470 This book is about a 17-year old Starr Carter that had to learn about police brutality, racism, and activism after witnessing her black friend killed by a police officer. She learns how the different people in her life react when she finally speaks out against the issues her community faces every day. It talks about the serious issue of police brutality and racism which are the top reasons for a book being challenged/banned. To me personally, I don't think books that challenge heavy topics like these should be banned for reasons that everyone may not be comfortable with it. It's good to be challenged as well as learn new perspectives from serious topics, especially issues where minorities may face. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:33:25 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025909470 22thuynh5 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025911061 Of Mice and Men are about two migrant workers, George and Lennie. George is a small and dark man. Lennie is a giant man but he had mental disabilities. George knows that Lennie loves to pet soft things but often accidentally kills them, especially dead mouse. George throws it away because he is scared that Lennie might catch a disease from it. The book was banned because of racism and inappropriate language. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:34:03 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025911061 22ele https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025911949 To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee, written in 1960. It is set in the mid-1930s in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. A coming-of-age story of an intelligent, unconventional girl, this book depict Scout's growing awareness of the hypocrisy and prejudice present in the adult world. The book was Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students. I acknowledge the reason for it being ban in some places, however I feel like this novel should not be banned because it teaches about life in the past and how the world is the way it is now, showing that this novel has the ability to educate kids about the past and potential impact on their behavior towards others.

]]> 2022-02-02 17:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025911949 22kpham9 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025912130 The Handmaid's Tale was challenged due to overly sexual overtones as well as profanity. Many school districts have banned the book after parents have voiced their critic on the sexual and violent content in the book. In this book wives can not get pregnant as they are a sign of purity and due to this are given the privilege to marry. Handmaids do not have this privilege due to their controversial behavior. Wives are to share their husbands with handmaids to conceive a child. This all takes place in a totalitarian society. I believe this book is high school appropriate and should be allowed in all districts. Similar to 1984, the reader goes through series of dehumanizing events which can slightly relate to modern day thoughts and morals. Books like this really make you think about about society's morals and ideas.]]> 2022-02-02 17:34:35 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025912130 22hcontreras https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025912612 This book follows a socially awkward teen who learns to have confidence after making new friends in high school but after learning they have to leave to college his sadness starts to consume him. I believe this book was banned for the sexual content and glorification of alcohol use and drugs. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:34:48 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025912612 22shernandez3 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025912823 This book focuses it's view on the struggles of mental health and being a teenager for Charlie Kelmeckis. Not far into the story, he is taken as a friend by his classmates Sam and Patrick, who show him to live from a different perspective.

Although many have given this book a great review, others believe it glorifies the use of alcohol and drugs, and its sexual content. That is why many adults have determined this book as "unsuited or inappropriate". They believe that this book can have a negative influence on young readers, making them curious to try it out on their own.
After reading this book a few years ago, I definitely think it's important to talk about the struggles of being a teenage and being exposed to traumatic life experiences. The Perks Of Being a Wallflower delivers a realistic high school experience and a lesson for any those who decided to check it out.

]]> 2022-02-02 17:34:55 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025912823 22hpowers https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025915970 This book is the autobiography of a young man entering into his high school life as a shy young man but throughout his first year he is met with the challenges of coming out of his shell. With his 2 friends, Patrick and Sam (who are seniors), accompany him throughout the book. He opens up to new adventures, heartbreak, love, friendship, and reveling a dark secret from his past when he was only seven. With the events that took place within the book I can understand why they banned the book, because of the violence and the two deaths that Charlie had to experience when he was youger.]]> 2022-02-02 17:36:19 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025915970 22aolivas2 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025917202 This book "The Hate you Give" talks about a teenage girl that lives in a poor neighborhood and goes to an up scale school. In between both of these things she has seen her best friend get shot by a police officer. This book got banned due to the strong language and important topics such as racism, discrimination, the intersection of police brutality, and bias. This books is trying to show us the way society uses stereotypes of black people to justify violence and racism against them. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:36:52 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025917202 22erocha https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025919747 Fahrenheit 451 is about a mans desire for knowledge since books in Fahrenheit 451 are burned by fireman to keep "society happy". The book Fahrenheit 451 was banned for the phrase "God damn!" which in my personal opinion its not that bad of a phrase compared to other books with worse language. I think Fahrenheit 451 should not be banned because it helps students understand the importance of knowledge and why it's important to be educated.]]> 2022-02-02 17:38:00 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025919747 22ble4 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025921280 I would understand why this book would be banned, it was to bloody and to violent for the kids to read. It would be the big guy abusing a women then killing her then he gets shot in the back of the head. That was probably one of the only books i enjoyed reading because of how interesting it was and would never thought they would write this book like it was in a horror movie. To gory for the kids to handle so they had to ban it.]]> 2022-02-02 17:38:40 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025921280 22kvasquez https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025926481 "Nineteen minutes" by Jodi Picoult, was taken place beneath the surface of a town to explore what it means to be different in our society. It is about 17 year old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his classmates. This book was banned due to a parent who objected to sexual references, profanity, and violence. This includes things like violence such as bullying and suicide.]]> 2022-02-02 17:40:23 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025926481 22ereyna https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025927518 The book "The Hate U Give" was about this young man who was shot by a police officer and about a teenage girl fighting justice for him. This book was banned for the strong language, along with the discussions they had that were based on racism and police brutality and included topics many thoughts were biased. I think that this book was good in going into detail with the racism and police brutality that goes on that isn't spoken about so much. This book also relates to how the world is right now with all the police brutality incidents going on]]> 2022-02-02 17:40:32 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025927518 22jcastro4 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025930872
The main theme of Fahrenheit 451 is the constant battle between a man's desire for knowledge and individuality in a society where ignorance and conformity is the norm. This book was deemed inappropriate because of the language that was used in the book. I have read this book and personally it is one of the only books that I have read and actually enjoyed. I believe that in high school books should have more leeway to say certain things and have it be okay. I believe this because high school students aren´t little kids and its not like high school students dont hear and say all the words in the book already in the real world, that are said to be ¨inappropriate¨]]> 2022-02-02 17:41:57 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025930872 22mrosales https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025931015 of mice and men was a book about to guys seeking out for work to make a living, but things take a turn when their friendship between George and lennie came about facing the reality of life. lennie was a normally person a needed help understanding a lot of things but he sure was a strong hard working guy. This book was banned and challenged in most places due to profanity and it was viewed as a filthy book for children. well i honestly liked the book i read this in a past English class and i liked it i did see what most people are saying about the book but i honestly think that's what made it a great story. the use of word or not and the plot twist. 10/10 story you should read. ]]> 2022-02-02 17:42:01 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025931015 22mvicente https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025938296 The Handmaid's Tale is about a country that lives in a totalitarian theocracy that has overthrown the United States. Most of the women's rights have been taken away and they have handmaids in order to conceive a child. This book was banned for being inappropriate because it contains violence and for being sexually explicit. Since the book has LGBTQ themes a parent was concerned about those themes. I personally don't think that this book should be banned because it's really interesting and it keeps you wanting to read more just to see what happens next. Books shouldn't be banned because it's just another way of people showing their creativity and many people lack creativity and without these books then there wouldn't be as many people reading.  ]]> 2022-02-02 17:45:23 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025938296 22rphung https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025951240 Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinback and was published in 1937. The fiction was about two migrant workers who had a dream to start their own farms. However, one of the main characters had a mental disability and accidentally killed a woman with his uncontrollable strength. Out of mercy, the other main character shoots his friend for the punishment of killing their boss' son's girlfriend. Of Mice and Men was banned by many schools because the novel showed racism, discrimination against mental ability, and euthanasia. I do not think that this book should have been banned because it did not promote the ideas that occurred among the characters. Rather, the novel exemplified it in a plot that was interesting and unique. The story exposes the readers to ethical issues and bridges sympathy for people who have mental disabilities. Other social issues such as racism and sexism are also presented in a way where the reader can identify the unethical of past decades.]]> 2022-02-02 17:51:17 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2025951240 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2026328939 Animal farm was written by George Orwell. The book is about animals who want to create a society that is free and equal. It was looked at as inappropriate because it was based off the idea of communism. I think that it's okay to read the book as long as the reader understands the authors main ideas.  In addition, as long as they see that the book is pure satire then there really shouldn't be a problem..
(Veronica C.)]]> 2022-02-02 21:22:35 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2026328939 22tpham3 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2030326815 Fahrenheit 451 takes place in the perspective of a man named Guy Montag, who works as a book burner in a society where the government is trying to censor knowledge to prevent them from becoming smarter than them. The book was banned because adults thought it was too inappropriate for high schoolers to read; the book includes topics such as sex, drugs, suicide, murder, and abortion. I do not believe that the book should be banned and high schoolers should be able to read and study it. I do not like reading books a whole lot so as a result it takes a very interesting book to get me hooked. Fahrenheit 451 was one of the books that I had to read for English 1H but it ended up being very interesting to me so I read ahead of the class. I get that parents are trying to shield their kids from the horrors of the world but high schoolers are not little kids anymore and should be able to read books that contain topics similar to those included in Fahrenheit 451. I also find it ironic that the book that talks about the banning of books gets banned. Anyhow, I think there is a lesson and a lot to learn from these types of books and they should be allowed to be read by high schoolers. ]]> 2022-02-05 01:40:57 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2030326815 https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2038475008 The Book "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher was banned from some areas and libraries because of how tragic and sad this story is. They banned it because this young girl Hannah Baker explains in full detail on her tapes how or why she chose to end her own life. I believe having this book around teenagers that have or are struggling will give them an idea of what they can do than just write a letter. This book also would represent unsuitable because some chapters are really inappropriate and can trigger some trauma to someone that went through what she went through. I believe it should not be banned because people (meaning all teens) will learn as to what happened to her and also learn not to say or do hurtful things to someone else because it could lead that person to end its own life.]]> 2022-02-09 17:32:16 UTC https://padlet.com/knovotny2/l96pt8qlq1p0ozcm/wish/2038475008