Thaindian News

Apr 15 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The American Library Association has a new “Top 5 Most Challenged Books” list, and the very famous “Twilight”, written by Stephanie Meyer has made the ranking.

The list was released on Wednesday, with such names as “IM” and “And Tango Makes Three.” “IM” is a series of novels written by Lauren Myracle which is a story told through instant messages. It was cited number one because of nudity, language, and drug references. “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Rishardson was last year’s number one, and has moved into the number two slot due to it’s homosexual references to a gay penguin couple adopting a baby penguin. Penguins are among the animals which mate for life. They are heterosexual monogamous animals. Number three was Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” and the many reasons include drugs, suicide, homosexuality and being antifamily. “To Kill A Mockingbird” came on fourth, with Twilight taking 5th place, which used to be held by Harry Potter.

Barbara Jones, the director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom stated, “Vampire novels have been a target for years and the Twilight books are so immensely popular that a lot of the concerns people have had about vampires are focused on her books, even though not every book will be right for every reader, the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely are core American values.”

With Freedom of Speech still being a right in America, Barbara Jones is right on target. Parents need to keep a watch on what their kids watch, read, and see, but to censor anyone’s writing simply because we do not agree is stepping into dangerous territory. While some of these book are definitely immoral and not fit for kids to read, once we step into the world of censoring books, none of us will be free to speak what we believe.