Challenges and Censorship ALA’s 2009 #7 challenged book, Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper Jessica Hosey-Heitzman 1

My Sister’s Keeper 2 Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. New York: Washington Square Press, Print. Grades 9-12 (Scholastic.com) Contemporary Fiction

About My Sister’s Keeper My Sister’s Keeper is about a family dealing with leukemia Shows interesting family dynamics and is good for a teen to see a case of a dysfunctional family, to see that many families have problems. Each character speaks for themselves in a chapter. 3

The Characters The main character, Anna 13, was conceived to save her sister’s live, to become a living donor of her cells. She decides that she does not want to donate a kidney and petitions for medical emancipation. Anna hires a lawyer, Campbell Alexander who also has an illness, to represent her. He has had a relationship with the woman appointed to be guardian ad litem, Julia Romano previously (which is the sexually explicit portion) she has a sister Izzy who is a lesbian, and also frequents a gay bar in her neighborhood. Kate, 16, has had a deadly form of leukemia for all of her life. She had a close boyfriend who also had leukemia and died. 4

The Characters The mother, Sara, was a lawyer and tries the case against her daughter. She wants what is best for the family and cannot see that everyone is unhappy regardless of the outcome. Her brother, Jesse, 18, older brother, has rebellion issues because he is often ignored. He has learned from his father, a fire fighter, how to set fires and enjoys burning down abandoned buildings. Much of the foul language comes from him. The father, Brian, sees each of his children and what is going on but doesn’t know how to deal with any of it.

My Sister’s Keeper: Challenges The first reported challenge was in 2006 in Michigan (MI) for unknown reasons, and the result was unreported. 6

My Sister’s Keeper: Challenges The second challenge was in Clawson, MI at a Middle School in A mother thought that the book was inappropriate for as an assignment for her daughter. Reasons listed were: offensive language, sexually explicit content, and sex education. The majority of the committee decided to not use the book in middle schools. The district superintendent decided that it would also not be assigned to high school students. The youth services public librarian decided to continue using the book. 7

My Sister’s Keeper: Challenges 2009 Challenge in Illinois ◦For: Sexism, Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit Content, Offensive Language, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group, Drugs, Suicide, and Violence. ◦The result is unknown Including this in my Library: ◦I would include this book both middle and high school collections. ◦I would value and assignment for high school students library but I am unsure of having it assigned to middle schoolers because of the language. 8

If a parent complains about issues within “My Sister’s Keeper” First let the parent know that there is a system in place to allow for a challenge. Show them the selection policy as well as the "Request for Reconsideration of Library Resources“ form. Form a committee including the principle, a teacher and a parent (as well as yourself), have them read the book. 9

If a parent complains about issues within “My Sister’s Keeper” (cont.) Explain to the committee how the book meets the selection policy: ◦Reputation of author ◦contribution the material makes to breadth of representative viewpoints on controversial issues (shows both sides of the story) ◦High degree of potential user appeal Gain support from colleagues and for the book ◦ALA, NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), other librarians ◦Show awards, reviews, and bibliography lists 10

If a parent complains about issues within “My Sister’s Keeper” (cont.) Consider the situation ◦Why was the student reading the book? ◦Did the parent read the entire book, or an excerpt? ◦Are there other supporters of the complaint? ◦Review the entire complaint and review the book in regards to the complaint. Make a decision ◦Inform the parent, ALA, and NCTE of the result. 11

Awards for My Sister’s Keeper Winner, The Gold Book Award from Nielsen Bookscan UK Winner, Best Novel, Spanish or Bilingual Latino Book Awards Winner of the 2007 Virginia Readers’ Choice Award Winner of the Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award in the high school division. The Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award (2007) Vermont Green Mountain Book Award Master List (2007) Winner of the Margaret Alexander Edwards Award (the Alex Award) given by the American Library Association Best Book of the Year (2005), Bookbrowse.comBookbrowse.com Nominated for an IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Shortlisted for the Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year in the UK, and nominated for a British Book Award, 2005.Richard & Judy 12

References ALA,. Strategies And Tips For Dealing With Challenges To Library Materials. Web. 10 Feb Newsletter On Intellectual Freedom. Web. 3 Feb Picoult, Jodi. My Sister's Keeper. Web. 8 Feb Scholastic.com,. My Sister's Keeper: A Novel. Web. 7 Feb Simon And Schuster,. My Sister's Keeper. Web. 10 Feb