Sunday, August 8, 2010

Judy Blume, Queen of Censorship

Who has decided that books need a happy ending or a sad ending? Or any specific ending at all? Judy Blume's novels tend to have very ambiguous endings and she has no trouble selling her novels to young people all around the globe. Wait, I take that back, because of her ambiguity she is popular amongst young people, but she is one of the most challenged authors out there right now. She currently holds four spots on the 100 most challenged books from 2000-2009 according to the American Library Association, as well as five spots on the 100 most challenged books from 1990-1999, also from ALA. The novels most challenged are as follows:

Forever [teenage sex, love, and loss]
Blubber [bullying and body image]
Deenie [masturbation and sexuality]
Tiger Eyes [masturbation and sexuality]
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret [sexuality and religion]

Each of these books is censored and challenged for dealing with issues that young adults have to deal with on a daily basis. And they don't always end happily (or at all in some cases.) Some people believe they can protect teens from these issues by removing books, but seem to forget about the reality on which the texts are based. Judy Blume is now part of the National Coalition Against Censorship and is constantly battling challenges to her books. All I can say is, "Way to go Judy Blume! Keep up the good work." What about you? Have you read any of Judy's books? What do you think about them? What sort of reception have you seen or heard toward her novels?

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