In discussions of books aimed at adolescents that contain explicit subject matter, one controversial issue that has arisen is whether or not these books are too prominent in society today. Meghan Cox Gurdon argues that dark books “rife with explicit abuse, [and] violence” are too prominent in society and are negatively affecting the adolescent population as well as increasing the occurrences of these taboo practices and phenomena in society. Sherman Alexie contends in his article, Superman and Me, that children have a right to read these books if they want. Also, he believes that this literature allows the reader to extend the bounds of their empathy as well as to “save their [own] lives” (8). My personal view is that children and adolescents …show more content…
This memoir talks about events that occurred in Iran that are unbeknownst to most Americans. And yet, this is book is in the top five of the ALA banned books list for 2014. One of the main reasons for this call to arms is the sexual promiscuity and sexually explicit content that was throughout the book according to Chicago Public Schools. Marjane, when talking to one of her peers about birth control in the novel, is met with great amounts of opposition by everybody else in the class. To this opposition she retorts that “[her] body is her own” (308) and that it is her discretion to choose with whom she lays. Those who identify with the more conservative Gurdon may view this as a bold claim because, just like the radical islamic culture of Iran, openly expressed sexual promiscuity is a taboo that is attached to females in our culture. While I agree that the reasons for censoring this book are for the most part sensible, I disagree on the basis that there are more reasons to allow adolescents to read these books as it serves a valuable purpose. One can find more examples that compliment Alexie’s viewpoint of controversial books being soul food for the spiritually ill adolescents and children than examples that support Cox Gurdon’s call for retention of