Abby

D Block

This One Summer

Imagine the most perfect book. The plot is captivating, the topic is

something you are passionate about, and the book is relatable to your life. You

go to the library shelf to snatch the book of your dreams, but it is not there. You

run to the librarian and ask, “Where is the book?” They look at you with a sigh

and answer, “That book has been banned because it was deemed inappropriate

for a child your age.” How outrageous. No book, including This One Summer by

Mariko Tamaki should be banned, regardless of its mature content.

This One Summer contains profane language and discussions of sexual

relationships; consequently this might influence kids who read the novel to

partake in similar behaviors. There is a scene in the book were Rose, the

protagonist, overhears some guys talking about having sex with a particular girl.

They refer to the girl’s friends as s****. Later that day Rose is joking around with

her friend and makes a comment about the girls in her town being s****. Having

these kind of moments included in books definitely might scare parents into

thinking that their kids will copy the behaviors inside the novel, such as swearing

and being disrespectful to others. Also, reading a book that contains characters

discussing sexual behaviors very nonchalantly might lead some kids to be

believe that they too should be having sex, even though they are not aware of

the consequences.

Though all of these concerns are reasonable, John Green, a published

author of many award winning books might lead you to believe otherwise. John
Green claims, “ “Text is meaningless without context,... a parent shows one

particular page of a novel to an administrator and then the book gets

banned...That kind of narrow perspective reading seems only to happen inside

the offices of school.” In This one Summer, almost immediately after Rose says

the word s***, her mother rushes in and says, “Bit strange calling someone you

don't even know a s***.” Rose and her mom then have a discussion about not

using explicit language. The scene is actually very positive and it is a learning

experience for Rose, and the reader. This proves that pulling a small sentence

out of the book that seems inappropriate might actually be a very beneficial

message. Usually this is the case if the passage is read in context.

In the book This one Summer, there is a devastating and painful scene to

read. As a result, kids could feel emotional distress when reading. In the scene

Rose’s mom is opening up about her traumatic experience with her miscarriage.

She mutters, “I miscarried. Lost the baby. Last year. In the water, I was

swimming and I felt the baby. Go.” Having a downhearted topic such as a

miscarriage being discussed in a book can be extremely mortifying for children.

Many feel that a story with painful ideas should not be written about in a novel

their child has access to.

Though it might feel wrong to expose a child to such traumatizing topics, it

actually can be very important to a child's development to be aware of these kind

of situations. A dependable website discussing pros and cons on controversial

Issues states, “Books are a portal to different life experiences and reading

encourages empathy and social-emotional development.”. Reading books about

different people's stories might be sad or frightening but teaches kids to have

understanding and to be more accepting. In addition, banning books takes away

vital stories and perspectives. If one person doesn’t agree with the content of a

book it’s not fair to censor media from everyone.

Lastly, in This One Summer there is a scene which includes teenagers

doing unsafe activities such as drinking alcoholic beverages and attempting to

commit suicide. Many believe that kids should not hear about topics such as

these because they are extremely controversial. In the novel, there is a guy who

gets a girl pregnant and does not call her even though he knows that he got her

pregnant. The girl yells at him when she is drunk. The guy is very obnoxious,

and does not offer any help to her. The girl proceeds to go into the ocean to try to

kill herself, and Rose's mom has to swim in and saves her. Many parental

guidances think that the topic of suicide can be triggering for kids, and that it’s

better for them to not know that self harm even exists. Also if there is a child with

depression, they might learn from the characters in the book and try to commit

suicide.

Though these are valid fears, a quote from famous author, Ellen Hopkins

may shift your opinion. Hopkins argues, “Sticks and Stones do break bones and

ignorance is no armor.” It is safer for children to know about the dangers of the

world so that they are prepared and knowledgeable to go about resolving the

problem. Ignorance is not protection, and it is actually harmful to kids. Children

and early teens will feel overwhelmed and clueless if they are not educated

about these real world problems. Books are a safe places to learn about the
world because a child is reading dangerous issues from the comfort of their

home.

Books are big influences on people's lives, and individuals should have

the choice of whether they want to read a book or not. Stand up for provocative

books and stories, and don’t let anyone censor valuable information from you.