Banned Books- Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

This is the number 1 most banned book of 2023. It is very consistent with theme of most recent book bans. LGBTQIA+ themes,  specifically Transgender issues. 

This book is targeted to a more mature audience.  The author states that it is intended for ages 16+. It does have some nudity and sexual encounters.  As a graphic novel,  some of these things are portrayed visually.  There are no visuals of genitalia, but there are mentions. The nudity all serves to underscore the trouble of understating the world.  It is done on a tasteful a way as possible.

Out of context that sounds very inappropriate,  especially to our infamously sex- phobic society.  In context it is all part of how the author came to understand eir sexuality and gender.  The discussions are brief,  and the most explicit are about being so repulsed by a pap smear as to be traumatized by it,  leading to an understanding of asexuality.

I can understand people being concerned about a young child coming across this book without context.  I would venture to say that it would benefit people dealing with similar issues to have access to it, maybe as part of a sexual education class. 

In absolutely no way does this book glamorize this coming of age.  It’s very awkward and uncomfortable just to read, never mind being the person experiencing this in real life.  It’s not the struggle of coming to understand one’s self,  but of the uphill battle to access information that can help that understanding, and the struggle of gaining other’s understanding and respect. 

If the National Library Association does not even recommend this book to children,  why is it banned so widely? The book found its way onto a recommended reading list for educators.  Fox News picked up on it,  and claimed it was recommended for children.  This led to the rash of bans that followed as concerned parents tried to protect their children. 

So should it be banned? I never support an outright ban.  It is librarians’ job to select material and make it available to those who seek it. It is parents’ job to monitor what their own children are reading.  The recommendations surrounding this book,  if followed,  would not find this book in elementary or even middle schools. In high school,  maybe.  We have to remember that by this age,  many children are having sexual encounters of their own, and many others are questioning thier sexuality and identity.  This would not be out of place in their reading list. 

A book like this can make a massive difference in the lives of people who are going through a similar struggle or the people who love someone going through that struggle.  It can help people understand others who are different from them. 

This isn’t a book I will put in the hands of my kids yet,  but if they find it on my shelf,  we can read it together and have a discussion about what it means. 

Bannability score 0/10. Age appropriate for age 12-16 with parental guidance,  15+ independently.  These ages are not firm,  just guidelines.  Some kids might be ready sooner,  others later.  I think that this book is a valuable addition to a sex ed curriculum. 

Banned Books – The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

Spoiler alert!!!

When I bought this book,  just from the description I figured it had been banned somewhere,  sometime. 

In thirteen-year-old Aster’s family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn’t shifted . . . and he’s still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help — as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself

Amazon product description

Scandalous!!!

My 4th grader read the book.  He was so unbothered by it,  that he didn’t even tell me he had read it.  He is an avid reader and goes through books like crazy.

My second grader read it out loud to me.  At no time did I feel it necessary to hide anything from him. 

So why is it banned? This book was banned in 2020 for LGBTQIA+ subject matter.  

First off.  There are no explicitly LGBTQIA+ characters.  Never is it said. The subtext that a boy would be better at doing a girl thing,  is a not so hidden metaphor for being trans.

At one point,  Aster is told a story about his grandmother’s twin brother,  who had also dabbled in witchery.  He is told that this experimentation caused him to turn to the dark side as it were. 

When the other boys start to go missing,  Aster wants to help,  and witchery is all he can do.  Eventually,  Aster is confronted by a dragon monster and given what seems to be a way out.  The dragon can teach him to shift.  It has been getting embarrassing that Aster can’t shift,  and people are getting worried about it.  The pressure he is feeling from his family nearly pushes him to take this clearly evil spirit up on his offer. 

Aster’s friend Charlie is the only one outside his family.  The dragon bound Aster to not tell anyone in his family, but since he has Charlie to help him see the situation for what it is,  he is able to avoid it. 

Together they devise a trap,  and using Aster’s witchery,  they trap the dragon.  It turns out to be the grandmother’s twin that ran away all those years ago. 

The grandmother finally explains that it wasn’t the fact that he dabbled in witchery that turned him evil,  but the pressure to not be who he really is.  She also reveals that she has some skill in shifting. 

That’s it.  People of one gender learning skills traditionally reserved for another.  It’s not even about sexuality. Literally it’s more akin to a man becoming a nurse or teacher. More like taking a differently gendered career. The metaphor comes mostly in the way the family treats the gender transgression.  And really,  people used to do the same with these careers. 

In the end it’s about being yourself and family accepting one another. 

Bannability 0/10 Nothing remotely harmful.