The Missing Books

What causes people to want to ban certain books and what are the consequences?

When a book is challenged by a person or a group of people, they are being requested to be removed from libraries, bookstores or schools in order to restrict the availability of these books to the public. This is due to books consisting of political, religious, sexual or socially controversial content. For example, the profanity and inappropriate language used in a book could be considered unsuitable for younger audiences. When books are banned, this means that the book that has been challenge was successful. This does not mean banned books are illegal, but are more tough to find.

Many people challenge books that consist of inappropriate language or scenes to protect their children from being exposed to this type of content at a young age. For example, in 2017, the most challenged book was Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher as it confronted topics such as suicide, consent, drug and alcohol use. Others argue that since public libraries are funded by the government, the books that are accessible should be books that are considered to have the best interest of the public in mind.

You may recognise various books that have been banned in different places around the world such as To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Even Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling was banned in the United Arab Emirates as it is thought to promote magic.

On the other hand, banning books is essentially banning new ideas and thoughts which many say is taking away from our freedom of speech. Although it is understandable that parents may want to ban books and control the content that their child is reading, they should not take away the opportunity for someone else to read these books. Books should be allowing us to explore controversial and complex topics such as racism, gender equality, violence, sexuality, suicide and much more.

Readers also benefit from reading these books as they may relate to a character who is going through a similar situation they are going through, which can help them figure out problems in their own lives and learn more about themselves. This makes the reading experience much more important and valuable.

Reading challenged or banned books can help us learn about the world around us by providing a gateway into the various life experiences, ideas and opinions of other people. They make us contemplate our own values and thoughts on a diverse range of topics by giving us the opportunity to think about and understand the world from a different perspective. With books being a vital source of knowledge, we should not be fighting to take them away but to encourage others to read more.

---

Written by Victoria Yu