Reviews

You Can't Say That: Writers for Young People Talk about Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell by Leonard S. Marcus

andreannechat's review

4.0

So interesting! I loved reading this book. The interview format works well in this case. All the authors interviews have interesting things to share. Their experiences are all different yet are so similar, and it was fascinating to read their side of the stories.

I found this to be quite inspiring and I brought it to class for my students.

juliana_aldous's review

4.0

“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book...” --Dwight D. Eisenhower

You Can't Say That is a set of 13 interviews with authors of banned books. They talk about their experiences, what books inspired them, and why they write. It is a good book, designed well and belongs in the young adult section of your local library.

Matt De La Pena
Robie H. Harris
Susan Kuklin
David Leviathan
Meg Medina
Leslea Newman
Katherine Paterson
Dav Pilkey
Justin Richardson
Sonya Sones
R. L. Stine
Angie Thomas

So many good authors/books on this list and I've added their bibliographies to my TBR excel spreadsheet (now at 8812 entries). I have read a number of them and I think The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas should be on every American bookshelf. Dav Pilkey gives me a warm feeling when I think about reading his books to my daughter.

Keep fighting for books, keep fighting for authors.

raix's review

challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

I liked that this book featured a good range of writers of both older and newer works. I was familiar with some of them and not with others. The interview style makes it a lot more engaging than a collection of essays might have been, and I felt like this also made it easy to read quickly. Each author gives some background of how they began writing before addressing the issue of censorship/banning of their work. I think that might be particularly interesting for young readers. It's unfortunate to read some of these stories of censorship from the 80's and 90's knowing that we are moving toward that again today. I was struck by the respect these authors have for their young audiences and I hope reading a book like this will encourage them to stand up for themselves and their right to art and information.

jli1030's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

msgabbythelibrarian's review

4.0

How appropriate that I have been reading this book...since my library is currently being challenged by a far right wing of extremists who are seeking to ban books. I don't care if you agree or not with LGBT or Christianity or whatever and what not....IT IS NOT GOOD WHEN WE TRY TO IMPOSE BELIEFS ON OTHERS. (And I say this as a white heterosexual Christian)

I have some killer quotes forthcoming!! Anyone who wants to reflect on the power of words, here from these popular authors who have been "silenced" for one reason or another. It's a good read. And timely.

duncnjacksmom's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

jess_westhafer's review

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

benisatree6177's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

krismarley's review

4.0

Candlewick, why did this book take TWO MONTHS to ship? Second, why did you make the pages shiny slick? I'm not much of an annotator but this is a text I would DEFINITELY mark up!

mmz's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

 You might think that all writers have a similar response if their book is banned or challenged, and to some extent you'd be right.  For example, nearly all the writers featured in this collection say that they understand that parents who seek to have books removed are doing it out of love and a feeling that they need to protect their children.  I'm not sure I actually agree with that, but I appreciate the impulse behind such a generous interpretation.  Beyond that, the writers' thoughts vary quite a bit.

Through the interviews in this book, Leonard Marcus gives readers insight into not just the writers' responses to having their books banned or challenged, but also into their writing processes.  This book is certainly a must-read for fans of any of the included writers, and for defenders of intellectual freedom, but also for anyone interested in hearing writers' thoughts on their own work.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.