Meet the Activist: Inaaya F.

Inaaya F. is a high school student who loves to read, write, debate global issues through Model Un, and volunteer for Teen Court!

Inaaya F. is a high school student who loves to read, write, debate global issues through Model Un, and volunteer for Teen Court! As part of Novelly’s SPEAK! Activist Network, Inaaya immersed herself in coursework on the freedom to read movement and made plans to diversify bookshelves in Florida.

Inaaya is planning to diversify bookshelves at her school library by hosting a bake sale and other fundraisers and using the money to buy books.

Thank you for fighting for our freedom to read, Inaaya! ✨

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Your Banned Book Shopping List

The American Library Association (ALA) compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books each year in order to inform the public about censorship in libraries and schools. The lists are based on information from reports filed by library professionals and community members and from news stories.

1. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Number of challenges: 151
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

2. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

Number of challenges: 86
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Number of challenges: 73
Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, EDI content, claimed to be sexually explicit

4. Flamer by Mike Curato

Number of challenges: 62
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

5. (tie) Looking for Alaska by John Green

Number of challenges: 55
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

5. (tie) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Number of challenges: 55
Challenged for: depiction of sexual abuse, LGBTQIA+ content, drug use, profanity, claimed to be sexually explicit

→ See all 13 books on the list here.

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Join the freedom to read movement

→ Explore the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)’s Intellectual Freedom Center.

→ Read and share a piece from the Novelly library that would likely be banned or challenged.

→ If you are an 8th-12th grade English Language Arts teacher interested in amplifying diverse youth authors in your classroom, submit your interest here.

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Diverse Youth Voices. Amplified.

Novelly is on a mission to get e-books by underrepresented youth published and taught in the English classroom, so that every student can feel seen and inspired by what they read in school.

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