Freedom to read is hard. Very hard. It is so easy to say a book isn’t appropriate for someone else to read. Then I think, how would I feel if someone wouldn’t let me read a book I wanted or felt the need to read? I had a real wake-up call when I was taking a Young Adult Literature class many years ago. I was assigned to read the book We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier. I had such a strong reaction to the first few chapters that I refused to finish it. It was horrible, violent, cruel, appalling. I could not imagine any reason to read it or why it should even exist on the planet. I eventually went back to it because it was required reading. I did it under protest.
When I completed the book, I began to understand. The characters were true. You followed many of them first hand, learned of their motivations and went with them on their journey as they sorted out feelings, learned from their experiences and met with the consequences of their actions. It made you think and analyze. I began to understand the value of the book. There is a need for some young adults to experience violence through a book in order to make sense of why it happens in the world. It was a valuable lesson for me. Not only can’t I judge a book by its cover, I can’t judge it by the first few chapters. Would I read the book again? No. Furthermore, I would be careful before I recommended it to someone else. However, it does teach a needed lesson which is why libraries all over the nation kept it on their shelves when it was being banned in 1993.
Freedom to read is very hard, but I’m glad we live in a country where we have that freedom.
Miss Christina
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