Recs if you like All American Boys...

Combo of new and older fiction written by talented Black and African writers ranging from adult to YA to middle grade. Thriller, fantasy, literary fiction and everything in between!

Feel free to make suggestions!

This list highlights the influential books that have been banned, censored, or widely discouraged at various times and places due to their provocative ideas, controversial content, or challenges to authority. These stories preserve critical thinking, protect intellectual freedom, and remind us why questioning dominant narratives is essential now more than ever.

A list of Banned or Censored books (from around the world) that I want to read and form my own opinions about...

All of these are from the list that Texas lawmaker Matt Krause in October of 2021 tried and in many cases succeeded to get banned from classrooms and school libraries. There are quite a few interesting and odd choices in there which is part of why I wanted to share this list on here. Not necessarily recommendations but there are some pretty good books on here. As well as a lot of textbooks

Unfortunately here in the US, a lot of books are banned in schools for ridiculous reasons. Here are just a few of them.

In October 2021, Texas State Representative Matt Krause initiated an inquiry targeting a list of approximately 850 books in Texas public schools, alleging they could cause "discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress" regarding race or sex. The list disproportionately targeted LGBTQ+ topics, race/racism, and sex education.

This is my project to read through this list for myself - utilizing my local library system for access to these titles. Follow the journey or join along!

I am very passionate about Young Adult Literature as a high school English teacher. I think people often pass books by simply because they're labeled "YA". Here are some of the best YA books I've read over the past 10 years of studying to become a high school English teacher and teaching 9th graders.

Books that focus friendships, good or bad.

Books that have main characters who deal with real issues, from losing friendships to racial violence, as they come of age.