Are you in favour of censorship? Or do you value your freedom to read anything and everything?
You might have noticed (our latest quiz and top 10 were probably a bit of a giveaway) that it is currently banned books week, which means that libraries and bookshops are working to draw attention to the problem of censorship. It's something we rarely think about in Britain, but censorship is a very real problem around the world, with the American Library Association reporting over 400 challenges to controversial titles in the past year alone.
Young adult fiction is often particularly badly hit, and this year's list is no exception. Six of the ten most challenged titles are children's books, and four of that six are YA fiction.
Racism, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit scenes, gritty topics like suicide and drugs, and talking animals, are all listed as valid reasons for challenging books. When it comes to young adult fiction, though, there's another reason: all the books appearing on the list have been deemed 'unsuited for age group'.
The real problem it seems, then, is you. Or, rather, YA fiction's intended audience, who are deemed too young, perhaps too impressionable, to deal with such difficult or taboo topics.
Yet the books that are condemned as most inappropriate are also the books that young adult readers most enjoy. Popular titles often top the most-challenged list, with J.K Rowling, Stephenie Meyer and Philip Pullman frequently in the firing line. This month's teen book club read, Patrick Ness's More Than This, will most likely be banned in many countries for its explicit portrayal of a homosexual relationship, but reviewers on this site have praised it as 'provocative' and a 'painfully human book'. It seems like a paradox.
So we'd like to hear your thoughts. Are you in favour of censorship? Or do you value your freedom to read anything and everything? Is there a balancing act to be had somewhere in the middle? Send us your thoughts at childrens.books@theguardian.com or let us know on Facebook
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