Banned Book: Who's In My Family?

This is a cute picture book about families and how different they can be. The main family is mixed race, and they go to the zoo one day and talk about all the different families they see around them. Harmless, right?

Well, this book was banned because it portrayed *gasp* same sex couples! That does NOT portray family values, according to people who are overly sensitive. I'm going to try and stay off my soapbox, but if you don't like something, just ignore it. If it's not being forced in your face, there's no reason you need to address it.

Except MY LIBRARY's copy... I repeat, MY LIBRARY!!!!!!!'s copy, had two pages taped together. Someone had neatly, deliberately, folded one page over another spread at the corners AND TAPED IT DOWN.

FOLDED pages in a library book. TAPED CORNERS in a library book.

My heart sank when I saw this, and not just because of the folding and taping. I mean, that too, because, c'mon, they're library books! Let's be gentle with them so everyone can read them.

But mostly my heart sank because I knew why those pages were taped together.

I very carefully peeled off the tape and unfolded the corners...

Yup.

The page with the same sex couples.

You know what? If it's your book, you do what you want. Except, joke's on you because you BOUGHT the book, and the author is just laughing as you tape the pages together because he got your money - you can do whatever you want with the book now.

But a library book is for everyone. And maybe some parents don't care if their kid sees same sex parents in a book. Maybe some parents are happy about it, because they know their kid will see this in the world, and seeing in a book just hits that point home - this is real. Some people will be happy to see themselves portrayed in a book, and some kids will be happy to see their two mommies or daddies portrayed in a book. 

If you don't want your kid to see it, then turn two pages at once. Don't tape them. Better yet - if you don't want your kid to see it, don't check out the book. Don't restrict what other people see when they check out the book.

After all this research into banned books and thinking it was preposterous and dated, I was SO saddened, literally, legitimately saddened, to see this in one of my library's own books. 

Have you seen any censorship in books or libraries?

Keep Her by Leora Krygier

Keep Her is a book about the arts, about adoption, about love, and about finding yourself. But it's hard to pick up on all of those themes, because they're seamlessly ingrained into the story. It's not until after you finish the book, after you think about it on and off and on for days, that you realize what you read.

And that's good. I think that's how this book should be digested. Because when you're reading it, you're just reading it. It starts a little slow, and you don't feel very connected to the characters. It's like real life, in that you're drawn to them for some reason, but you can't put your finger on why. And you learn more about them, bit by bit by bit, but you never fully understand them.

Initially, I didn't like this. I usually love knowing characters as well as I know myself. But about halfway into the book, I realized that this method of showing was important. It told me more about the characters than just telling could do. So I began to appreciate it. And hopefully, knowing this ahead of time, you'll appreciate this book from the beginning, as it should be.

Maddie makes collages out of bits and pieces of other people's lives, and that's how she finds meaning in her own. Being adopted, she doesn't really feel confident in who she is. She wants to go to art school in New York, but starts doubting her talent, even though her acceptance should tell her all she needs.

In a freak flood, she meets Aiden, a boy who lives for the sea for many different reasons. Their paths cross and the occurrence seems like an accident, but it guides her on a path that needs to be taken. Based on what happened to her in the flood, Maddie takes a course in emergency response. She learns from Aiden about his time on a boat. And she learns more than she wants to about life and love and sacrifice.

This book is one that's hard to summarize in a review, because you don't want to give too much away. Peeling away the layers along with Maddie is one of the best parts of the story. This is one of those books where, when I got to the end, I was in disbelief, until I flipped back to the front and re-read the sentences and that deep, cool feeling of understanding washed over me. The ending was on my mind for days and days.

The ending made me reach out to the author and ask her what inspired her to write this book, because you can tell it came from a deep, personal place.

"I first started writing this Girl Meets Boy story, Coming of Age story while sitting at my local Starbucks. I began thinking about Starbuck himself, the hero character in Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick. It led me to reread Moby Dick, which in all honesty, was not an easy read, but certainly got me thinking about oceans, whales and the environment. In my research I also came across the true story of a  Greenpeace 2008 mission to save whales, and it all clicked for me. I knew I had to include this backstory in my novel. 

I also wanted to write a book which hopefully (and not I hope in a preachy way) inspires young people to take action in whatever way feels good to them, whether for their family, their community, the environment or simply to further their own goals and dreams."

Since finishing this book, I've recommended it to so many people - including all of you. It comes out TODAY, so pick up your copy!

Please check out Leora Krygier's site and follow her on Instagram @leorakrygierauthor.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author for free, in exchange for an honest review.