taking a stand

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction, middle grade
Review: I really wanted to be able to give this book 5 stars, based on its portrayal of a courageous 4th grader who takes a stand against books being banned from her school library, and its top-notch discussions of the First Amendment and censorship.  When Amy Anne's favorite book (From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler) is banned, along with several others, normally shy and reserved Amy Anne starts to stand up for what she believes in.  She and her friends start gathering copies of the banned books to share with their fellow students from the "Banned Books Locker Library".  Their efforts get more ingenious the more books are banned, and the conversations that are engendered because of the controversy are spectacular.  This is a great book to teach about civil liberties, without having students feel like the lessons are being shoved down their throats.

Unfortunately, as good as it is in those areas, it is equally bad in others.  Amy Anne's parents are completely oblivious to her feelings of frustration at home (her two little sisters are always right and she is always in the wrong), and whereas the First Amendment is very strong, due process seems not to exist at all.  The portrayal of the motivations of the parent behind the book banning was weak, and those of the school board non-existent.  These flaws really brought down an otherwise excellent book.

not as effective as it should have been

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction, YA

Review: Doctorow had all the right ideas in writing this book. Through his fictionalized account of a terrorist attack on San Francisco's Bay Bridge and BART system, and the resultant crackdown on the city by the Department of Homeland Security, Doctorow tries to paint a picture of what can happen when the zeal for security bests protection for civil liberties.

Unfortunately, his excellent point is drowned out by his heavy-handed sermonizing. Anyone reading this book will probably already understand the danger of protecting America by taking away civil liberties, so Doctorow is preaching to the choir to begin with. To hammer in his message so emphatically is somewhat insulting to his readers' intelligence. More subtlety would have made this both a better book as well as a more effective one.