Why Crank Should Be Banned

consumes her, readers cannot escape the horrors of Kristina’s reality, which may be extremely traumatic for young adults who are ignorant of such matters. Yet another concerned parent concluded, “I know that [the novel] is supposed to be ‘real’ so that kids will relate. But how can I introduce my daughter to this world? You may be thinking, ‘You're so naive....she already knows about it!’ but she doesn't. At least not in the kind of detail that Crank provides” (“Reading Teen”). Parents find the content of Crank and other young adult texts too detailed, graphic, explicit, and provocative for their children, so they do not want their kids going anywhere near it. The controversial themes found in Crank do not align with what an overwhelming
Since 1990, studies conducted by the American Library Association prove that parents consistently lead the crusade against young adult texts, and most often claim that the works they challenge contain certain scenes that are “sexually explicit,” or include dialogue that uses “offensive language,” and in some cases also argue that the texts are “unsuited for any age group” ("About Banned & Challenged Books"). Many parents have these exact issues with Hopkins’ novel, proving that this controversy is not unique to Crank, but spans the entire spectrum of YA literature. Parents want to protect their kids from sexually explicit content in literature, yet their daughters are giving blowjobs under the bleachers after school, and their sons are doing more than just making out in the back seats of cars (Saletan). Furthermore, guardians are concerned that there is too much swearing in young adult
While parents are too busy trying to prevent their kids from reading about controversial themes and protagonists, since it will introduce them into a world they are unprepared to find out about, they fail to notice that their kids are acting exactly like the main characters in the novels they so desperately want their children to avoid! Parents claim that YA literature contains material that is inappropriate for their children, and may give them negative ideas about how to behave, yet their kids already know all about this provocative, controversial world because they live it everyday, proving that the content reflected in YA literature is not so unfamiliar for adolescent readers. Crank appeared on the Banned Books List of 2010, citing reasons of drug use, offensive language, and sexually explicit material for the ban, proving that adults feel the text deals with themes that are too mature for an adolescent readership ("About Banned & Challenged Books"). Despite the claims adults make about the explicit and