by Kylie Chen (’24)

Banned Book Club is a column that examines the consequences of book banning on different populations and our country as a whole. Each article will feature a different banned book and explore the reasons behind why the book was banned, connecting those reasons to bigger issues within our country.

Banned Book Club: “The Downstairs Girl” and the importance of representation

by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 31, 2023 This year’s Oscars was a major night for Asian representation, with history-making wins for Michelle Yeoh, “Naatu Naatu,” and more. Yeoh becoming the first Asian woman to win the award for best actress was so meaningful for me: it validated my identity by making people who look…

Banned Book Club: “Beyond Magenta” and the significance of context

by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 10, 2023 In October of 2022, Fox News published an article attacking Ms. Betsy Snow, media specialist for Sequoia High School in Redwood City, for “broadcast[ing] sexually explicit books” that included “kink and pornographic images.” I had the opportunity to talk to Snow, who recounted her experience, beginning with…

Banned Book Club: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and erasing identities

by Kylie Chen (’24) | February 3, 2023 Disclaimer: Joanna Ho, one of the authors who was interviewed for this article, is the writer’s aunt. As this publication is committed to providing an accurate representation of its subjects, it is important to note that the interviewee has been portrayed as accurately as possible regardless of…

Banned Book Club: “A Raisin in the Sun” and how banning books impacts education

by Kylie Chen (’24) | November 18, 2022 As students walked into Summer Boismier’s English class at Norman High School in Oklahoma for the first day of school, they were greeted by bookshelves covered in red paper with the words “books the state doesn’t want you to read,” written across in black Sharpie. This was…

Banned Book Club: “Gender Queer,” the most banned book of 2021

by Kylie Chen (’24) | October 7, 2022 “Books unite us. Censorship divides us.” These six words were the theme for the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2021 Banned Books week, and they have become especially important in the past couple years, as an increasing number of books are being banned in the United States. According…