Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights

Gr 8 Up–Through fiction, essays, comics, verse, brief interviews, and lists, 16 authors discuss book bans, why they matter, and how to empower readers. A diverse cast of authors share how book bans have impacted them, personally, but also consistently focus on how these actions impact young readers and the harm done in these attempts to silence entire identities and erase lived experiences. The anthology begins with a comic by Maia Kobabe that explores what it’s like to have the most banned book in America, looks at statistics of recent bans, and offers ways to support libraries. Many contributors draw connections between their younger selves and why they write what they write now. Standout entries include Bill Konigsberg recalling being sexually abused by adult men when he was a teen, and what it’s like to be a survivor of grooming and now have that accusation hurled at him, and Isabel Quintero’s on being labeled a “big mouth” when younger and now using that big mouth to be heard. Pérez and Fong bring teen voices into the collection, collaborating on comics that look at a teen who started a YouTube channel advocating for access to diverse books, and one about a parent group in Texas working to ban books and the teens there who wouldn’t be deterred. Interspersed lists offer themed reading suggestions, highlighting books featuring abortion rights, memoirs, sex and sexuality, Native nations, bans and censorship, Black experiences, and more.