Sex, drugs and jihad: why these 9 books were banned or challenged in N.J.

By Joe Brandt | For NJ.com

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(Flickr user Abhi Sharma)

Joe Brandt | For NJ.com

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This week, September 24-30, is Banned Books Week, held annually during the last week of September to celebrate the freedom to read.

During the past year, librarians anonymously contacted the American Library Association 323 times with reports of media -- not just books, but plays and movies too -- being challenged or pulled from the shelves, said  James LaRue, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Of those, 25 reports came from New Jersey librarians.

The ALA publishes a report each spring noting publicized challenges  -- attempts to have a book removed -- and actual removals of books.

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Here are the 9 books that have been challenged or removed in New Jersey since 2010.

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Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology edited by Amy Sonnie

BANNED BY: Rancocas Valley Regional High School and Burlington County Library

The book, written to "celebrate the hues and harmonies of the future of queer society" through prose, poetry, artwork and performances, was panned by conservative groups including Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project for its depictions of homosexuality, including a drawing of two Boy Scouts watching men have sex.

Revolutionary Voices was removed from the shelves at Rancocas Valley High School and the Burlington County Library. The 9/12 group also tried, but did not succeed, in removing:

  • Love and Sex: Ten Stories of Truth edited by Michael Cart
  • The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell.
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

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CHALLENGED BY: Westfield High School

Parents of students at Westfield High School in Union County challenged the book’s inclusion in freshman English classes in 2012 based on “some very sensitive material in the book including excerpts on masturbation amongst other explicit sexual references, encouraging pornography, racism, religious irreverence, and strong language.” It was not removed from the curriculum.

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Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami

BANNED BY: Monroe Township Public Schools

In 2011, this book was removed from the summer reading list for middle and high schools in Monroe Township Public Schools in Williamstown, Gloucester County, after parents complained about a gay sex scene in the book.

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Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff

BANNED BY: Monroe Township Public Schools

This book, whose author later joined the writing staff of the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, chronicles Sheff's use of drugs and his experience with recovery. Like Norwegian Wood, Tweak was also pulled from Monroe Township Public Schools' summer reading list in 2011 after parents complained about depictions of drug use and a homosexual orgy.

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The Middle School Survival Guide by Arlene Erlbach

BANNED BY: Delanco Township schools

This was pulled from the Walnut Street School library in Delanco Township, Burlington County because it “provided too much information about sexual issues for middle school students."

The book was written with the help of 200 kids between fifth and tenth grades who gave advice about using a locker, dealing with multiple teachers, and other aspects of middle school life including sex and dating.

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Looking for Alaska, John Green

CHALLENGED BY: Verona and Lumberton

Green's New York Times bestseller, which was considered for a film adaptation, was challenged in Verona, Essex County, in 2013 by a parent who did not agree with the sexual nature of the story. It remained part of the school's curriculum.

The book was also challenged in 2015 in Lumberton, Burlington County, for a similar reason.

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History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond by Bert Bower and Jim Lobdell

CHALLENGED BY: Roxbury Township

This was challenged, but retained, as a supplemental textbook in 2015 in Roxbury Township, Morris County. Parents criticized the textbook for its depictions of Islamic jihad. According to a local blog, parents were also upset that students were learning the Five Pillars of Islam.

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Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman

CHALLENGED BY:Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District

This play was challenged in the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District in Monmouth County in 2015 because the play was deemed too sexually explicit for high school teens. A committee of parents, school board members and one parent determined that the book should be taught during the school year with teacher guidance, instead of as a piece of summer reading.

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Cal, by Bernard MacLaverty

CHALLENGED BY: Rumson-Fair Haven School District

This book about a man in the Irish Republican Army falling in love with a victim of an IRA attack was challenged for its inclusion in Rumson-Fair Haven’s school summer reading list. It was also part of a 1984 film starring Helen Mirren.

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Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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