CLIC@JDHL Blog

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

By Hailie Evans

If I were to describe the plot of a book with these three words—boy, girl, and cancer—most everyone would have a general idea of where that story was going.  We see this story repeatedly in literature and media, and we know how this tale ends: the boy and the girl fall in love before the cancer inevitably claims one of their lives, leaving the other to process their grief but grow from the experience, having formed a new and improved outlook on what it means to live and to love.  Yet, what if this was not the way the story unfolded?  In Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Jesse Andrews takes this well-known tale and remolds it to create a story more relatable to his readers. 

Andrew’s book opens with Greg Gaines beginning his senior year of high school, and he is on top of the world.  He has everything figured out: who belongs in what social group, what that means, and where he fits into all of it.  He and his co-worker Earl Jackson (who is also his best friend) are well on their way to surviving the K-12 system, making multiple half-way-decent to good films along the way; that is, until Greg’s mom forces him to become friends with Rachel Kushner, a girl in his grade recently diagnosed with leukemia.  In a platonic narrative of their senior year, Greg shares his journey of surviving the stressors of high school while navigating the challenging concepts of mortality, grief, and the fears of an uncertain future.  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is not the typical tragic love story; rather, it is an exploration of growing up and facing life—both the good and the bad, through the medium of a crudely comedic, low-esteemed high school boy. 

Despite these relatable themes and experiences, Andrews’s book has been challenged repeatedly, recently ranking as the seventh most-challenged book of 2021.  According to the American Library Association, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl has been “banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and degrading to women” (“National”).  In addition to these two reasons, the book has been placed under fire due to being “obscene,” containing “vulgar and coarse language,” and “constituting pornography” (Andrews, “i wrote”; Collier).  Admittedly, this book contains strong language use by the main characters, and there is crude humor revolving around sexual references; despite this, the characters in the book are virgins, and there are no sex scenes within the book.  On multiple occasions, Andrews has defended his book and addressed the elements that people have used to challenge it.  In one interview with USA Today, he describes how “cherry picked passages misrepresent the book and its intentions.  ‘It’s about teenage boys talking about sex.  They’re not having it, they barely know what it is.  They’re joking about it, the way teenagers often do…There’s a kind of an innocent naivete to it that gets totally lost when you’re selecting a couple of sentences and reading it out loud in this aggrieved tone to the school board’” (VanDenburgh).  In a letter Andrews tweeted to the Elizabethtown School District, he addresses the accusation that his book “constitutes pornography:”

There is no denying that the book contains crude sexual references often intended for comedic purposes, profuse swearing, and offensive comments by high school boys about the physical appearances of their female classmates.  However, to challenge or ban a book that addresses important and relatable messages because the content too accurately represents the common culture among teenagers is hard to accept.  Sean Collier says it best in his article discussing the challenging of Andrews’s book: “These books are targeted because they might impart knowledge of the world, as it actually is, to young people; this is an attempt not to shield young minds from obscenity but to blind young eyes against reality.”  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a story detached from the fairytale feel of other similar stories; Andrews addresses that life can be hard, life can suck, and teenagers can be somewhat crude as they find the best route to individually face their reality.  For Greg—like many other kids his age—this form of “dealing with it” is through crude gallows humor. 

While some may view the book’s crude humor, vulgar language, and sexual references as unnecessary and excessive, there is a purpose behind Andrews’s choices as an author.  Neither Greg nor Earl have learned a way to express their struggles and challenges with their relationships, family life, impending graduation, or their friendship with Rachel, the dying girl.  Mortality, grief, poverty, neglect, low self-esteem, feeling detached from one’s peers, facing the frightening moment of choosing a future with no idea of what comes next, and the uncertainty of life—these are all concepts that the main characters of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl face, and they do not always know how to handle it.  Banning and removing this book from shelves removes the voice of the human experience.  Everyone deals with conflict—both internal and external—in different ways.  Saying that Greg and Earl’s response to life’s struggles is wrong implies to people who respond in similar ways to grief and fear that their expression and feelings are wrong.  Some people laugh when others cry; some people make jokes and lash out when they are afraid or hurt; others avoid hard topics, choosing instead to address easy topics that require no emotional turmoil; and some people do not know how to process extreme emotions on their own. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl should not be banned because it is relatable; it is the—sometimes ugly—truth of processing hard things in life, whether that be one’s social life in school, the uncertainty of a looming future, or the death of a friend—lost before one realized that they never even knew who that person was.  How do we deal with the death of a young person, a classmate, a stranger, or a friend?  How do we manage multiple stressors, juggling all parts of our life at once?  How do we find hope for our futures in a life that does not nourish, support, or prepare us?  How do we face our fears of the unknown, find confidence in ourselves and our abilities, and step out of the shadows to claim our lives?  The answer: there is no one answer, and there is no right answer, but banning Me and Earl and the Dying Girl eliminates one more person’s ability to say, that is me.  Those are my struggles, and those are my fears.  I do not have it figured out, but that’s okay because I am not the only one.  I am not weird, I do not ‘have a fungus eating my brain,’ and I am not wrong for having the feelings and responses I do (Andrews, Me and Earl 1).  I am human, and this is life.  It is sometimes frightening and hard to understand, but it is real. 

Works Cited

Andrews, Jesse. Cover Image. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Chad Beckerman, Amulet Books, 2012.

Andrews, Jesse. [@_jesse_andrews_]. “i wrote a letter to the elizabethtown (pa) school district, who is considering a request to remove my book.” Twitter, 28 April 2022, 6:07 p.m., https://twitter.com/_jesse_andrews_/status/1519815484329193473

Andrews, Jesse. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Amulet Books, 2012.

Collier, Sean. “Collier’s Weekly: Book Bans Are Back, and as Backwards as Ever.” Pittsburgh, 11 April 2022, https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/colliers-weekly-book-bans-are-back-and-as-backwards-as-ever/

“National Library Week kicks off with State of America’s Libraries Report, annual ‘Top 10 Most Challenged Books’ list and a new campaign to fight book bans.” American Library Association, 4 April 2022, https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/04/national-library-week-kicks-state-america-s-libraries-report-annual-top-10

VanDenburgh, Barbara, and Mary Cadden. “Authors of most banned books in the U.S. speak up: ‘We can’t take these freedoms for granted.’”  USA Today, 25 September 2022, 9:26 a.m., https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/09/16/banned-books-authors-talk-about-controversy/7963024001/

Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This book review is part of a series of Banned Books Week reviews from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 ENGL 460: Banned Books class.

For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.

Speak Up: Why Speak Has Been Challenged and Banned

By Jordan Hyry

Trigger Warning for Sexual Assault/Rape

During the 2021-2022 school year, more than 1600 books were banned from public schools across 32 states (Figueroa). If you are unfamiliar, banning a book consists of removing it from a library or school, while challenging a book is the attempt to ban it. This occurs because officials deem the book sexually explicit, having offensive language, LBGTQA+ content, violence, and being considered unfit for an age group, among many more examples. The act of banning and challenging books is the best-known example of censorship or taking away free speech. When books are taken from libraries and schools, officials hurt those who see themselves within the stories.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel that frequents the banned and challenged list. This novel follows Melinda Sordino and her experiences through high school at Merryweather High during her ninth-grade year. The first few chapters of the book depict Melinda like many high schoolers. Like any teenager, Melinda and her friend Rachel experiment with new identities, clothes, and personalities. We see Melinda struggle with her identity, family, and attending a new school. While at a high school party with Rachel, Melinda desperately tries to fit in and consumes multiple alcoholic beverages. She leaves the crowd for a breath of fresh air, which is when the Beast pounces. Between loud music, alcohol, and no consent, the Beast rapes Melinda. In an effort to get help, she calls the police, which quickly displaces the party, sending adolescents running in all directions and leaving Melinda alone once again. Understandably, Melinda is sent into a deep depression, becomes more isolated from her ‘friends,’ and loses all sense of her self-worth. To put the cherry on top, Rachel becomes friends with the Beast. Going to movies, sitting together at lunch, and not long after, they began to date. This pushes Melinda into more of a depression. Although there is a happy ending (no spoilers here!), this is an excellent story of a survivor and how Melinda overcomes what happened to her. According to RAINN, “on average, there are 463,634 rape and sexual assault victims each year in the United States”. So, why is this book constantly challenged and banned, seemingly being kept from those that may relate to this story? Let’s take a look.

Speak has been challenged in 2011, 2012, 2021, and 2022. YEARS after the novel was first published in 1999. Although there is no apparent reason for ten years between some of the challenges, it is interesting these challenges came years after the novel was published. It was first challenged by an associate professor at Missouri State University in 2010. The professor, Wesley Scroggins, “deemed the discussion of rape as “soft pornography.” To him, the novel was “filthy” and lacked morality” (Winkler). It has also been challenged due to a political viewpoint, claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity (Winkler). Scroggins is correct in one sense; rape is immoral, but it is a reality for many people, and Melinda is one of those people. In a recent interview with Ali Velshi in August of 2022, Halse-Anderson states, “anyone who finds the rape up of a 13-year-old as pornographic has larger problems that I can’t help with” (Velshi). There are no vulgar words during the description of the rape, but the inclusion of rape is what many find uncomfortable. Let’s say Scroggins was successful in his challenge, and this book was removed from libraries and schools. Those searching for reclamation of their lives, their voice, will no longer have this book. Melinda will lose her voice again, and this time it will stay lost. On this theme, Halse-Anderson states, “our kids need us to have the courage to talk about things that many parents are uncomfortable with.” Banning this novel means silencing the stories and voices of those that have experienced rape. Indeed, parts of this novel are uncomfortable and hard to read, but it is important to be uncomfortable sometimes. We need to work on being uncomfortable so that others may share their stories and so we can help survivors of sexual abuse; everyone is harmed when sexual abuse is not talked about.

When I first read Speak, I was in 8th grade and reading an experience similar to mine. Three years prior, I was sexually assaulted by a classmate. I had told an adult, but I still found myself semi-voiceless as only a three-day suspension was punishment, and I was bullied by the offender for many years after. When it happened again, three years after reading this book, I found comfort in knowing there were others like me (although this should have never happened in the first place). I knew it was not my fault; I knew I could grow from the ‘experience,’ and Melinda helped me. From Melinda:

Knowing about sexual assault can keep it from happening. We, as readers, need to keep this novel on the shelves so students know that rape is something that can be discussed and is nothing to be ashamed of. They can ask for help and receive it when they are ready. This book can be removed from shelves when it is no longer socially relevant (good luck with that).

Works Cited

Collegian, The. Banned Book Highlight: "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson., 2018. Web. Oct 25, 2022.

Figueroa, Ariana. New Jersey Monitor September. An ‘unprecedented Flood’ of Book Bans Engulfs U.S. School Districts, PEN Report Says., 2022. Web. Oct 25, 2022.

Halse-Anderson, Laurie. Speak. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999.

RAINN. Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence. Accessed 23 October 2022.

Velshi, Ali. "Laurie Halse Anderson on "Speak" | Velshi Banned Book Club List." The Philadelphia Citizen. -08-08T20:44:20+00:00 2022. Web. Oct 25, 2022 <https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/laurie-halse-anderson-speak/>.

Wikipedia. “First Edition of Speak.” Wikipedia. [Book Cover]

Winkler, Savannah. Banned Book Highlight: "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson., 2018. Web. Oct 25, 2022.

Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This book review is part of a series of Banned Books Week reviews from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 ENGL 460: Banned Books class.

For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Review

By Lily Mead

Stories have always been used to share experiences and a variety of experiences. But how often are main characters with autism represented? Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a novel written by Mary Haddon is a beautiful, heartfelt story of a young boy on the spectrum processing the complicated nature of life, love and human relationships. This book was given to me by a beloved friend who passed away a week after giving me this book. This review is dedicated to Carol Shultz — lover of Curious.

Christopher Boone is our fifteen year old narrator and protagonist. He is an extremely intelligent student but struggles with understanding other people. When he is overwhelmed he curls into a ball and rocks, he cannot connect with other people emotionally in the ways he sees others do. He also only likes prime numbers, so every chapter of the story is marked with sequential prime numbers. Set in England, in the year 1998, our story starts when he discovers his neighbor's dog, a sheer black poodle named Wellington, murdered with a pitch fork. This discovery sends him on an investigation spiral that creates more questions than answers. After a traumatic interaction with a police officer, he is told by his father to not continue his investigation. Christopher ignores this instruction and continues his investigation chronicling it in his journal, the book itself. With the help of his neighborhood he solves the Wellington mystery but discovers bigger secrets along the way. His mother, Judy, whom he believed died of a heart attack years ago is alive and well, living in London. She was overwhelmed by the demands of raising a neurodivergent child and starts an affair with their neighbor Mr. Shears, owner of the dog Wellington and eventually abandons a younger Christopher. His father, Ed, has kept this secret from Christopher for years and has even prevented attempted contact between the two. Ed is struggling with being a single parent and does not handle his own emotions well, at one point reacting physically and violently to Christopher. After the truth of what happened between his parents is revealed, Christopher sets out on a journey to reconnect with his mother and find a safe place in the world for himself.

Haddon’s tale of Christopher's adventures has been challenged and removed from reading lists repeatedly. The most recent challengers have issues with the amount of swear words used throughout the novel and the atheistic point of view shared. The f-word is used 28 times, the s-word 18 times, and the c-word is used once (“Banned Books 2020”). The author's response to the particular challenge was, “Christopher is completely unaware of the offence that swearing is intended to cause and therefore it simply washes over him”, Haddon also felt that it is, “not just a novel that contains swearing but a novel about swearing ”(Flood). The use of swear words is not intended to be vulgar, it is to show how neurodivergent brains process intent and language in their individual ways. The atheistic perspective gleaned by the challengers is built on the fact that Christopher repeatedly uses the lord's name in vain — well at least nine times he does. In Texas, it was also challenged because it was believed that the novel was polluting the minds of the youth. One concerned parent stated, ““I am not interested in having books banned. But to have that language and to take the name of Christ in vain – I don’t go for that. As a Christian, and as a female, I was offended. Kids don’t have to be reading that type of thing and that’s why I was asking for an alternative assignment … I know it’s not realistic to pretend bad words don’t exist, but it is my responsibility as a parent to make sure that my daughter knows what is right or wrong.” (Flood) The content of the story is rarely cited as the reason for banning.

There are many reasons this novel should not be banned or censored. Primarily, it is a novel that represents what it can mean to be autistic. It should be noted that the author himself is not on the autism spectrum or a specialist in this field and wrote this novel primarily based on his own research. Also worth noting is that Christopher is exhibiting what is called ‘Savant Autism’, which is a very rare form of autism where the person exhibits above average intelligence in a particular subject. Regardless, it is so important that autistic people are represented in our reading resources. This leads to more exposure for neurotypicals and ideally fosters a better understanding of our autistic communities. Most importantly, it is a story that people on the spectrum can read and feel seen. Curious is also a story of a teenager processing trauma. Christopher is put through many challenging situations and is able to persevere. It is important for people to read stories that have similar or parallel experiences as Christopher does. Teenagers deal with difficult situations daily and reading about a fellow teen dealing with these experiences can help guide people on their own journeys. The authors response to his book being challenged was, “The assumption is that I should be morally affronted when this happens – and it has happened surprisingly often – but the truth is that it always generates a really interesting debate among school kids and librarians and parents, not just about Curious, but about literature and freedom and language, and this is an undeniably good thing” (Flood). This just solidifies the point that books should not be banned because they offer a resource and a way to facilitate conversations.

Humans will continue to use stories as a way to educate each other and safely experience things outside of their day-to-day lives. Humans will also continue to challenge concepts and experiences, feeling that they are protecting their youth. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a perfect example of why it is important to keep these diverse stories on bookshelves and in students' hands.

References

“Banned Books 2020 - the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Marshall Libraries, 24 July 2020, https://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/curious-incident/.

Flood, Alison. “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Pulled from Children’s Reading List.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 12 Aug. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/12/curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time-pulled-from-childrens-reading-list.

Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Red Fox, 2014.

Book cover: curious incident of the dog in the night-time" by bookish in north park is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This book review is part of a series of Banned Books Week reviews from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 ENGL 460: Banned Books class.

For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.

Challenged: Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

By Amanda Rosenberg-Smith

History is a major component into what makes not only an individual but an entire society. It is an over-arching theme throughout history that the past cannot be ignored because if we do, we will be enslaved to that history, to that trauma forever and that is the evilest notion of them all. Leslie Feinberg illustrates this in her novel Stone Butch Blues, a story that integrates American history with fictional stories that seem all to real. Stone Butch Blues focuses on LGBTQIA+ rights in an era of history where discrimination, and segregation of several “abnormal” demographics was a common theme. Although a sad reality, Feinberg gives insight into one story that encompasses a plethora of different experiences that could be held from a variety of individuals. This review will help in the understanding of why this novel is often challenged and what is lost when it is left out of circulation.

Stone Butch Blues is an amazing novel that alludes to past American histories. The novel is centered around issues in 1940’s America that encompass many truths about what life was like for LGBTQIA+ in that time. The novel introduces many real experiences these individuals would have had to bear in this time. Feinberg brings to life a relatable story that would have otherwise gone untold. Like many other novels this one is fiction; however, it holds real value into true life experiences held by many. It can be seen throughout the novel how one characters experiences can shape a world of others, including the readers. Feinberg uses the character Jess Goldberg to tell these stories. Within the novel Jess, who does not conform to gender or sexuality ‘norm,’ struggles with many aspects of their life. In a society where they are unaccepted and thrown out, Jess navigates to find themselves, and who they were meant to be. This does not come easily however, with many difficulties, such as life has. Jess is an active participant within these struggles and gains the strength to eventually find themselves and who they are, even with struggle and trauma. Susan Stryker, former executive director, LGBTQIA+ Historical Society describes the writing of Stone Butch Blues and Leslie Feinberg as “a historian, an activist, a relentless bridge-builder. The one whose 1993 novel, Stone Butch Blues, gave the word transgender legs" [citation missing].

The explicitness of this novel is the root “cause” of why this novel may be banned or challenged. Stone Butch Blues includes topics such as mental health crisis, suicide, violence, and lude sexual acts. Moses states “Feinberg's novel interrogates the relationship between racism, sexism, and exclusive class structures” (76). With many of these topics we can see the history of novels that contain them to be banned or challenged. Most often parents or educators are the ones to challenge or ban these novels within the school systems on the basis of the protection of children. This argument is seen throughout as well and may be cause to why we see the banning of books as a trend. To counteract this, however, this specific novel also identifies American injustices against the LGBTQIA+ communities within the 1940’s. Stories like these create a narrative that disrupts the superficial American identity, which in turn gives America a tarnished past. It can be concluded that when these things come up, such as slavery or the treatment of Indigenous peoples, they tend to be rewritten or in other words sugar coated as a means to protect the ‘American Image.’ This fact alone may be cause into why this specific novel, and others like it such as Beloved or Bless Me, Ultima, are often challenged or banned. These reasons, on an educated basis, are not valid into why some choose to include Stone Butch Blues and other alike from circulation.

When novels such as Stone Butch Blues are cut from circulation many voices are lost, not just the voice of the author. Within this specific novel the voices lost would include those in the LGBTQIA+ community and those who actively participated in this portion of history. The loss of these voices indicates a loss of truth, and a loss of empathy for those involved in like stories. Stone Butch Blues and other like novels that hold historical values are a key component into the education of these topics. Although the novels are fiction, they still hold value, history, and purpose into the formation of educated opinions on such topics such LGBTQIA+ histories. When books such as these are banned or challenged, we lose history, we lose the ability to empathize, and therefore let the victims of such injustices go unknown and forgotten, even though this is a fictional novel. There is too much purpose within these novels to disregard them as they have been. For readers the connection to something, the empathy is much more then the actual story.

Stone Butch Blues gives the ability for readers to immerse themselves in what was, but also in what could be. This novel was set in the 1940’s, however, a majority of the situations within the novel can be taken as they happen today. From law enforcement issues to the talk of LGBTQIA+ rights, or even societal norms these things can be identified even eighty years later. Although a sad reality, novels such as this give the reader an empathetic view or perhaps a relatable view. Stone Butch Blues gives a sense of purpose as Dorothy Allison has said, "I'm alive because I picked up the right books at the right time. Some people on the page persuaded me my story was not over yet" (Gay Book Club). This is true for the readers of Stone Butch Blues as well and holds presence not just with this specific novel but with others alike that are often banned or challenged. Novels such as this give way to a feeling of belonging, strength, and love where when we remove such novels, we lose the ability for youth or even young adults to find themselves and be who they truly are.

Through the personal experience of reading this novel it has held a presence in my heart as I have a personal connection to the LGBTQIA+ community. I was referred this book by my wife, a woman who does not read much (self-admitted) but chose to pick up this novel stating that as a masculine identifying women this book changed the way she saw herself in the world. She communicated to me that this novel gave her a chance to see her own experiences in the world, specifically the commonalities in the traumas. It did so with myself as well, it gave me the ability to identify with different characters throughout the novel and gave me insight into my role in not only society but in my marriage. Together we have faced a variety of the same issues, such as harassment or violence as being a same-sex couple is still not fully accepted within society. Seeing the impact, a novel can have on a personal level and a marital level is astonishing but proves the point that these novels have a place in our world.

Leslie Feinberg is an artist of a sort, where her medium is story telling is of real fictional stories. The use of a different stories to make an encompassing fictional story allows readers to identify with some or maybe all aspects of this novel. Feinberg brings life to a subject rather untouched for its time and gives a story that is relevant even in today’s world. Due to the novels explicit use of certain violent and sexual circumstances it is often banned or challenged. This creates the basis for multiple books being banned and often leads to harmful outcomes such as the ones listed above. Stone Butch Blues leads us to the stories of the past that are still evident in society today. This is a crucial notion in the review of this novel, the importance of history and the variety of shared experiences we can see between then and now. History is a crucial part of education, in so, when we take away novels that portray history in a relatable, true forum, we become endowed to repeating it.

Works Citied

Feinberg, Leslie. Stone Butch Blues: A Novel. Leslie Feinberg, 2014.

Gay Book Club. "Banned: Stone Butch Blues." https://gay-bookclub.com/?q=article/banned-stone-butch-blues

Moses, Cat. "Queering Class: Leslie Feinberg's 'Stone Butch Blues.'" Studies in the Novel, vol. 31, no. 1, 1999, pp. 74–97. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/29533313.

Book cover from GoodReads.com.

Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This book review is part of a series of Banned Books Week reviews from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 ENGL 460: Banned Books class.

For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.

Looking for Alaska

By Mckenzie Williams

Looking for Alaska is the debut novel by John Green that took the world by storm, and in some places for the wrong reasons. The novel was the 4th most banned book between 2010 to 2019 according to the American Library Association. It was banned and challenged for offensive language, sexually explicit content, and the inclusion of drugs, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Despite its frequent challenging, this novel is important because it is a coming-of-age story whose themes discuss searching for meaning, grief, hope, and relationships, both romantic and platonic.

In Looking for Alaska, Miles "Pudge” Halter is a teenage boy who has an expertise in memorizing the last words of famous people. He leaves his hometown in Florida to attend Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama his junior year. Upon his arrival, his roommate Chip “The Colonel'' Martin introduces Pudge to his friends: Takumi Hikohito, the hip-hop extraordinaire with mad rap skills, and Alaska Young, the smart, defiant, beautiful, and often off-the-wall love interest of Miles.

Alaska learns of Miles’ obsession with last words and tells him Simon Bolivar’s: “How will I ever get out of this Labyrinth” (Green 19). The two agree that if Miles can solve the riddle of the Labyrinth, Alaska will find him a girlfriend. Later, Alaska sets Miles up with Lara, their Romanian classmate. They go on a date that ends in disaster when Miles throws up into Lara’s lap. Despite having feelings for Alaska, Miles continues to date Lara because Alaska claims to be madly in love with her boyfriend Jake.

The group manages to pull off a series of pranks and celebrates with a night of drinking. While celebrating, Alaska confesses that when she was eight her mother died of an aneurysm.  She feels guilty for not calling 911. Upon hearing this, Miles concludes that the labyrinth is human suffering and that people must find a way out.

A week later, the group holds another celebration that ends with Miles and Alaska spending the night together. Later that night, Alaska receives a phone call that makes her hysteric and irrational. Miles and Chip set off firecrackers to distract the principal, Mr. Starnes, so that Alaska can leave campus. The next morning, they find out that Alaska was drinking and driving and died behind the wheel. Miles and Chip are devastated and feel guilty for letting her leave, so they take it upon themselves to investigate the reason behind whether her death was intentional or not. They conclude that Alaska died the day after the anniversary of her mom’s death and felt guilty for not visiting her grave. She was in a rush to the cemetery when she died.

As a celebration of Alaska’s life, Miles and Chip team up with the Weekday Warriors, a group of rich kids, to hire a male stripper to speak at Speaker Day, a prank originally planned by Alaska. The prank went so well that even Principle Starnes was impressed. On the last day of school, Takumi confesses in a note that he was the last person to see Alaska before she died. Miles realizes that letting her go doesn’t matter and he forgives her for dying.

Despite Looking for Alaska being a coming of age novel, some people have taken certain scenes out of context and even go as far as to say the novel is pornographic. In the Depew School district in Buffalo, New York, a school offered Looking for Alaska as reading material for a class. Parents wanted it removed from the course because of its sexually explicit content (Winchester). The scene they are talking about is when Miles and Lara have oral intercourse. John Green responds to the banning of Looking for Alaska in a video titled I Am Not A Pornographer on his YouTube channel Vlogbrothers. In the video, Green says:

The point of the novel is to fulfill the purpose of a coming-of-age story which is to highlight the growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood. In Looking for Alaska, Miles experiences many firsts. Miles’ sexual encounter in the novel is his first, and he learns that his connection to Lara is more emotional than physical. Miles also experiences his first loss and learns how to cope with grief. He learns to be on his own because this is his first time away from his parents in a foreign place. He is exposed to peer pressure. These are all things that happen to teenagers in the world, not just in fictional novels.

Looking at a single scene out of context and making assumptions about the novel can cause misunderstandings and the story can lose meaning. The purpose of Looking for Alaska was not to be pornographic or explicit, but to highlight the reality of the human experience. People in reality smoke, drink, swear, and have sex. When topics like these are censored in a novel, society loses a realistic voice within fiction. This novel is directed towards young adults and it exposes them to tough topics vicariously rather than directly and the audience can learn from the novel just like the characters do. Looking for Alaska should not be banned because it accurately portrays human existence and the plights of young adulthood.

Works Cited

Green, John. Looking for Alaska. Dutton Books, 2019.

"Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books: 2010-2019", American Library Association, September 9, 2020.http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2019/. (Accessed October 21, 2022)

VlogBrothers, “I Am Not a Pornographer.”. YouTube, 30 Jan. 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMPtYvZ8tM&t=72s.

Winchester, Laura E. “Committee Will Review Controversial Teenage Book Board Will Then Decide If Novel Can Be Textbook.” Buffalo News, 23 July 2020, https://buffalonews.com/news/committee-will-review-controversial-teenage-book-board-will-then-decide-if-novel-can-be-textbook/article_9897ea03-14c1-5d06-864a-388a4548d6d0.html.

Book cover from Amazon.com.

Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This book review is part of a series of Banned Books Week reviews from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 ENGL 460: Banned Books class.

For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.

The Exploration of the Unconscious: A Philosophy of Life

By Daniela Castiblanco Diaz

Sometimes words are insufficient to comprehend the abstractness of life, however, human beings are able to create a path of wisdom, consciousness, and finally an understanding of the spiritual interconnection of cultures and religions through experiences. Rudolfo Anaya, the author of Bless Me, Ultima conveys the reconciliation and integration of the Mexican and American culture through Antonio’s life. In his novel, he demonstrates how societies have adopted the wrong idea of culture and religion instead of the harmony between both. Even though Bless Me, Ultima is a great book for immigrants who feel in the middle of two worlds, it is also a good book for everyone who wants to connect to their heritage and roots.

Bless Me, Ultima is a portrayal of Antonio's journey into his heritage as well as the natural and religious worlds. Antonio is a unique seven-year-old boy who faces multiple cultural and religious dilemmas where he questions his faith and beliefs in order to understand his search for the truth. Although Antonio wants immediate responses to his questions and a deep understanding of the world in order to have control over his life, Ultima enlightens him through a direction of reconciliation between his heritage and religion. Ultima is an old curandera who represents the connection between Catholic doctrines and Indigenous traditions and thus comes into Antonio’s life to help him restore harmony between these two aspects. Ultima aims to teach him the healing properties, and that “magic” comes from the wisdom of past experiences. She demonstrates to him that religion and cultural teachings can respond to inquiries that the other leaves unanswered; both of them can coexist.

However, the powerful message of this story has been limited due to the banning of this book in some states. Bless Me, Ultima has faced many challenges since its first publication in 1972. It was the first time someone wrote about Chicano culture (American people with Mexican origins), and hence, it produced culture shock where confusion and judgment abounded. Anaya introduced Mexican traditions in order to show his identity and his love for the combination of cultures. He wanted to represent and at the same time give a voice to those who have never been heard, but his purpose was never understood. According to Las Cruces, in 1981, the Bloomfield School Board in New Mexico decided to burn all copies of the book due to its “Spanish profanity” content.

During the years 2006 and 2008, the state of Arizona prohibited “Raza Studies” (raza in Spanish means race) due to its social consequences. The lawmakers stated that those fields of studies could bring a misinterpretation of how American and Latinos were, provoking an idea of white men as “racists” and people of color as the “victims.” Moreover, according to American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom Bless Me, Ultima was among the ten most challenged books from 2008 to 2013 because of its “obscene” material in the brothel scene. This notion of harmful content also progressed to other Southwestern states. In 2008, the state of Texas confirmed a state law (HB 2281) that forbids “ethnic solidarity” and thus any Mexican American studies program (Politico). The legislative body decided that schools could not teach anything that offends or cause resentment of American values, or that generates social divisions instead of promoting a community as a whole. Although Rudolfo Anaya died in 2020, Bless Me, Ultima continues to face challenges and banning in public schools due to its sensitive content, specifically in culture and religion.

As one reader states in Las Cruces Sun-News, “Bless Me, Ultima could be perceived as offensive, but not by anyone who’s actually read the book,” I agree that the power of a story should never be undervalued and misjudged, especially when it can reveal a social reality and when it can give a voice to people who has never felt identified. And as Anaya stated, “But a novel is not written to explain a culture, it creates its own.” Bless Me, Ultima has the purpose to show how there is no right culture or right religion. It wants to present how everything is alive and connected, and how God is represented and found everywhere. However, it also teaches us that if it is good, there is bad and if there is God, there is Evil; no more than the real world.

Bless Me, Ultima is a good book because it shows the reality of society. Most people tend to question themselves about religious and cultural differences, as can be perceived in the book. The main character’s perceptions of religion vary throughout his entire journey. Every time Antonio thinks or experiences something new, he comes up with a new question. And even though Antonio is willing to believe in God, he still finds many pitfalls in his questions. He is afraid of becoming a man because that means he has to sin and he has to face “evil things.” However, at the end of the book, his father expresses that life is not perfect and hence sin is part of living; but not every sin means evil, and some sins are just part of our personal growth. Antonio’s father says, “I think most of the things we call evil are not evil at all; it is just that we don’t understand those things and so we call them evil. And we fear evil only because we don’t understand it” (275). This statement opens Antonio’s mind, it makes him think critically about the meaning of God and evil, and that his deep analysis of experiences will make him understand that good and bad are part of life. That is why Bless Me, Ultima should not be banned. The book is not influencing anyone to sin or to follow evil. The book is showing the nature of questioning life, the nature of a little boy who wants to know everything. Besides, it is clear how Antonio’s desire is to be Catholic even though he has more questions than answers. It is showing a philosophical path of understanding good and bad.

Bless Me, Ultima presents controversial, but real topics that are part of our daily lives. As human beings, it is natural to question ourselves and our environment. We want to know and understand life without living it. That is why this book is essential for the notion of understanding life. This book takes human beings from a utopia to Earth, it makes us keep our feet on the ground by accepting that experiences are the path to wisdom and to the development of the integration of knowledge. Besides, it does not contain any explicit content. Brothels are part of temptations that people must overcome. The book wants to show how good and bad things are going to be presented in life, but that it is our decision to do it or not.

On the other hand, the book has been banned because “it is designed for a certain ethnicity.” As a Latin girl in a foreign country, I feel identified with Bless Me, Ultima. This book connects me again with my historical roots and culture. It reminds me of the importance of connecting my body, mind, and spirit through the acceptance of the coexistence of culture and religion. Bless Me, Ultima is a philosophy of life, where there is no absolute truth and where everything connects to form wisdom. Even though it mentions Latin American and Chicano cultures, it can be adapted to any culture or ethnicity. The purpose does not change, this voice of wisdom is for everyone no matter the religion, culture, or country. And by banning this book, we are not only losing the voice of the Chicano population, but we are also losing the voice of humans who want to plunge into a world of interconnecting every aspect of life.

But the real question is, why are we afraid of knowledge? Knowledge is the best mechanism to evolve as human beings for our benefit and hence for a collective benefit. Bless Me, Ultima presents unspeakable topics that one day or another will be expressed in the world. This book demonstrates how not everything needs a radical position or decision, things should have a balance. It conveys how the balance makes people progress and have a better quality of life. People tend to focus on extremes instead of following the integration of heritage, culture, and religion. Books are the best method to culturize people, books provide values that will contribute to individuals and to societies.

Work Cited

Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. Grand Central Publishing, 1999.

Leah Romero, Las Cruces Sun-News. “‘Bless Me, Ultima’ Under Review in Oklahoma. Here’s Why.” Las Cruces Sun-News, 26 Feb. 2022, https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2022/02/26/new-mexico-bless-me-ultima-under-review-obscenity-oklahoma-rudolfo-anaya-culture-book-ban-censoring/6909410001/

“What Arizona’s 2010 Ban on Ethnic Studies Could Mean for the Fight Over Critical Race Theory.” POLITICO, 11 July 2021, www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/11/tucson-unified-school-districts-mexican-american-studies-program-498926

O’Connor, Acacia. “Judge Upholds Arizona Law Banning Ethnic Studies.” National Coalition Against Censorship, 3 Jan. 2020 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/11/tucson-unified-school-districts-mexican-american-studies-program-498926

Book cover from National Endowment for the Arts.

Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This book review is part of a series of Banned Books Week reviews from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 ENGL 460: Banned Books class.

For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.

ENGL 460 Students Share Banned Book Reviews

"Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship" (American Library Association). 

To celebrate Banned Books Week this year, each day this week, the Jim Dan Hill Library will share book reviews written by students from Dr. Emilee Howland's Fall 2022 Banned Books English class. For more information about Banned Books Week and how to get involved, please visit BannedBooks.org.