Challenging the Content of "Vegan Virgin Valentine"

726 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Books being banned essay

Banned means to prohibit; to not allow someone to read it. It could be for many reasons, but most are for inappropriate topics for teens and kids. Most books are banned from libraries and schools. Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler is one of the books that was challenged because of fowl language and references to sex and drugs.

Mara, the main character, is a perfectionist. She has straight-As, is in National Honors Society, and is a future Yale student. She is competing with her only ex-boyfriend for the Valedictorian. Her life changes completely when her niece V, who is only a year younger than her, comes to live with Mara. V is a slutty, druggie that has an attitude. This story takes the reader on an adventure of two complete opposite girls who have to learn to love each other. Mara eventually learns that she cannot control everything and has to take life as it comes.

The novel was challenged at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Florida in 2007. It was challenged by John and Anna Ferrell. They wanted it banned because “They use the f-word everywhere else. That's unacceptable” (Weeder). They felt that the book was inappropriate because of the constant swearing. The book was kept in the school. The decision was justified because in the end it is the principal's decision. One must respect that.

The novel has foul language. There are many swears words in the book. In the very first chapter the character V uses very offensive language. She is in the car on the way home from the airport and the narrator, Mara notices her hand. “I stole a peek at her hand. Down each finger, from her pinkie to her pointer, she'd scrawled f***, f***, f***, f***. On her thumb it said everyone. Yikes” (Mackler 9). Seeing this in the ...

... middle of paper ...

...m exposure to topics that are too mature for them.

Works Cited
Weeder, Roger. “School Library Book To Get Second Look.” firstcoastnews.com. First Coast News, February 2007. Web. 29 November 2009.

"Joint Letter To Mandarin High School Principal Regarding Vegan Virgin Valentine". NCAC. N.p. March 16 2007. Web. 29 November 2009. .

"Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2009". Banned Books Week. N.p. n.d. November 29 2009 .

"Joint letter to Duval County Superintendent about Objections to Books in Jacksonville School Libraries". NCAC. N.p. March 16 2007. Web. 29 November 2009. .

Show More
Related

  • Why Was The Outsiders Banned

    373 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many might think that all teenage or young adult books would be filled with happy thoughts and positive things, but you don't learn lessons from everything being perfect. That’s where banned or challenged books come along. A challenged book is a book that has been requested by many to be moved off a library's shelf. A banned book is a challenged book the has been removed from the shelves. The Outsiders was one of the best-selling books of its time and has won 5 awards since. It was banned and challenged for many reasons by many school districts. By examining its usage of expose on family dysfunction, strong language and portrayal of gang violence, it is clear why some would have it banned.

    Read More

  • Go Ask Alice Paper

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    While researching the book you discover that in South Carolina, the Berkley County school district, was one of the first to pull the book from schools and libraries. This occurred after a mom protested the book when her 8th grade daughter had to read little experts from the book to her classmates. The student's mother did not want her to be reading a book with so much profanity and references to sex. One of the most controversial lines that comes from the book is when Alice writes in her journal “Another day, another blow-job”. She does these blow jobs in exchange for drugs.

    Read More

  • The Banning Of The Book Forever By Judy Blume

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever read a book and wondered “How is this book allowed in public libraries?” Most students do not pay attention to content; however, many parents disagree with the content their children are reading, whether the book is being taught in class or the child picked it up in the school library. Surprisingly, some school librarians and teachers disagree with certain books permitted in schools. The book Forever by Judy Blume is an example of a challenged and controversial book. Judy Blume is a children’s book author, which most people would not think that her books have been challenged.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Models Don T Eat Chocolate Cookies

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most readers should be able to relate to the characters in this book. The main character is a thirteen year old girl named Celeste Harris. She is an overweight junior higher who thinks nothing could be worse than popular mean Lively Carson stealing her best friend, Sandra. That was until her Aunt Doreen secretly enters Celeste into a pageant for plus-sized girls. Regardless, Aunt Doreen is a typical average aunt who is always in people’s business and has two daughters. While Kristen is the youngest and looks like a Barbie doll, Kathleen is the oldest who is getting married. Now, Sandra has been Celeste’s best friend since third-grade. That is until, Lively Carson, Celeste’s worst enemy who always makes fun of her, changes that. Finally, Violet Page is a famous large-sized model who is the host for the Miss Husky Peach pageant. She also is married to Theo Christmas who is Celeste celebrity crush ever since she saw him in concert.. Readers can learn a lesson from each one of these characters.

    Read More

  • To Ban or Support the Controversial Book, The book Looking for Alaska by John Green

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Knox County, Tennessee the tenth grade English class challenged the book in 2012. Parents of the tenth grade class wanted the book removed from the reading list. People think the book is pornographic, and fifteen year olds should not be able to read the book. “We ran with it to the TV room, closed the blinds, locked the door, and watched the movie...It opened with a women standing on a bridge with her legs spread while a guy knelt in front of her, giving her oral sex” (Green 87). The board of educat...

    Read More

  • Banning Books Essay

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Books are banned for many reasons but more times than not it is because of the sensitive information found within the novel that agitates the reader. As long as people have been able to develop their own opinions, others have sought to prevent them from sharing. At some point in time, every idea has ultimately become objectionable to someone. The most frequently challenged and most visible targets of such objection are the very books found in classrooms and public libraries. These controversial novels teach lessons that sometimes can be very sensitive to some but there is much more to challenged books than a controversial topic. What lies within these pages is a wealth of knowledge, such as new perspectives for readers, twisting plots, and expressions that are found nowhere else. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird, contains references to rape, racial content, and profanity that have caused many to challenge the novel in the first place. The book was banned from countless

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Should Be Banned In Schools Essay

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although this book uses offensive words, it is such an important part of this time period. Some adults may not want their kids reading these stories in school because they can repeat the words and use them offensively. People could also feel that this book isn’t appropriate because it was written so long ago and uses old-fashioned phrases that don't teach students proper English. People will always have their own opinions.

    Read More

  • The Tyranny of Banned Books

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    Foerstel, Herbert N. Banned in the U.S.A.: a Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994. Print.

    Read More

  • The Banning of Books in American Schools

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    Trelease, Jim. "Book Banning Violates Children and Young Adult Freedoms." Book Banning. Ed. Ronnie D. Lankford. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Rpt. from "Censorship and Children's Books." Trelease-on-Reading.com. 2006.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Rock n Roll & 20th Century Culture

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    The New Republic, Vol. 210. (1994): May, pp. 39-42. Wattenberg, Daniel.

    Read More

  • Unbann Catching Fire

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many reasons that violence is one of the reasons that the book has been banned. “He determined to strand me outside district 12 until he can apprehend to arrest me? Drag me to the square to be locked in a stockade or whipped or hanged?” (Collins 151). This isn’t really a strong bloody gory violence that would cause a student to get sick in class it’s a basic violence that you would see in any other book that involves killing and fighting. And by exposing this type of violence to children it will raise their maturity level and have the children comprehend that there is violence around them in the world and they’re going to have to learn to deal with it. 56% of the book is challenged by parents and only 13% by libraries. This tells the reader that parents have a more difficult time with the book so you ask yourself is it more of the parents why they see the book? Or is it their child’s way they see the book? both child and parents are going to see the book differently so children may like the violence in the book but the parents may say th...

    Read More

  • The Catcher In the Rye Should Not be Banned

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, The Catcher In the Rye, should not be banned from inclusion in the literature courses taught at the high school level. Banning this novel contradicts an individual's inalienable rights as an United States citizen. It limits freedom of speech and as well as other forms of expression. Although controversial, profanity is not a reason to limit an individual's rights. America is founded on principles that are not fueled by exceptions. Profanity is not an exception to freedom of speech. The Catcher in the Rye should not be excluded from curriculums at the high school level.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold Books

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are multiple reasons why a book can be banned or challenged. Book banning causes the removal of materials in schools and libraries due to “inappropriate” content. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, was banned due to sexual content and language.

    Read More

  • Censorship in Schools

    3744 Words  | 8 Pages

    Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database. This article addresses some of the reasons that censors attempt to remove books from the curriculum: Many censors feel that works are not age appropriate for students. Staff, Wire Reports. (2002 October 3). Book banning spans the globe.

    Read More

  • Why the Gossip Girl Series Has Been Banned

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many reasons why books get challenged and/or banned. According to Robert Doyle, the main reasons for banned are sex, profanity, and racism (Doyle, 3). The most common initiator of the challenge is a parent or group of parents (Challenges by, chart 2). Challenges can also come from: patrons, board members, or organizations (Challenges by, chart 2). Challenges can also come from whole institutions; usually they come from schools (Challenges by, chart 3).

    Read More

More about Challenging the Content of "Vegan Virgin Valentine"

Open Document