Twilight Book Saga Among ‘Most Challenged’

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson Twilight

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight book series has a number of elements in common with J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter novels: both book franchises involve teens, mysteries, otherworldly creatures, and supernatural powers; both are worldwide bestsellers mostly aimed at young readers; and both are on the list of books most complained about by parents and educators.

Well, at least a certain ilk of parents and educators – those who believe that censorship has a place in what is supposed to be a democratic society.

Today, the American Library Association (ALA) released their annual report on the most “challenged books,” officially defined as “a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness.”

Meyer’s Twilight novels, which include Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, ranked No. 5 on the list. The criticisms revolved around the books’ sexual content, “religious viewpoint,” and that it’s “unsuited to [the targeted] age group.” (Those same people would probably have the highly successful features starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner rated NC-45.)

“Vampire novels have been a target for years and the Twilight books are so immensely popular that a lot of the concerns people have had about vampires are focused on her books,” remarked Barbara Jones, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as reported in the Associated Press.

But Twilight fans, no matter how old or young, don’t despair. The Twilight books are in generally excellent company.

Among the other books found on the ALA’s top-ten “most challenged” list of 2009 are J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (sexual content, offensive language), Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (language, racism, unsuited to age group), Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (sexual content, language), and Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War (nudity, language, sexual content).

This year, Harry Potter wasn’t included among the top ten. Christians have gone after Rowlings’ wizards in the past, but perhaps they’ve decided to give the wizards a break in 2009, perhaps thinking that the Deathly Hallows in two parts and converted to 3D would be more than enough of a “challenge” for poor Harry and his spell-throwing buds.

Topping the American Library Association’s 2009 chart was Lauren Myracle’s IM book series, told in instant-message format. Reasons for the complaints: nudity, language, drug references, and more.

That was followed by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson’s And Tango Makes Three (last year’s No. 1 book), which tells the horrific story of two male penguins who adopt a baby. At No. 3 was Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, cited for drugs, suicide, homosexuality and being anti-family, among other goodies.

The scary part is that out of 460 formal complaints, 81 resulted in books being removed from libraries.

“Even though not every book will be right for every reader, the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely are core American values,” Jones explains on the ALA site. “Protecting one of our most fundamental rights – the freedom to read – means respecting each other’s differences and the right of all people to choose for themselves what they and their families read.”

Also, here is the list of the most challenged books of the first decade of the 21st century. The Harry Potter books top the list, which also includes John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Robbie Harris’ It’s Perfectly Normal, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima (one of the greatest books I’ve ever read), Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Dr. Charles Silverstein’s The Joy of Gay Sex, and Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits.

If religious fanatics and assorted radical ideologues find those books “inappropriate,” that means in their pages they convey something that will open the minds and/or hearts of their readers. Can’t think of a better recommendation to add them all to your personal library.

Below is the list of the top-ten most challenged books of 2009.

1. ttyl, ttfn, l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs

2. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: Homosexuality

3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Anti-Family, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide

4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: Racism, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, Violence

8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

9. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Nudity, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Photo: Twilight (Summit Entertainment)

March 30: Stephenie Meyer, the author of the highly popular Twilight Saga books, has a new one coming out, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will release the book on June 5.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is a novella told from the viewpoint of Bree, who happens to be a newborn vampire featured in Eclipse. The much-anticipated film version of the book, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning, and others, will hit theaters in June. David Slade is the director of the third installment of the Twilight Saga series.

According to Meyer, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner was to have been included in The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide. But apparently Bree Tanner’s tale became much too long to fit into the guide.

The publisher says that for each book sold in the U.S. from the first printing of 1.5 million copies, one dollar will be donated to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. The Fund supports disaster relief efforts such as those currently taking place in Haiti and Chile.