The question that never seems to get asked in any of this “censorship/ban” conversation: Why are authors of YA and child books writing books with such controversial content? Should they? And why are the publishers encouraging them?

This never used to be a problem because both authors and publishers just knew better than to “go there.” Now, it’s like a race to go there. Whatever restraint existed has been blown up, and it has left parents scrambling to hold back the flood when the authors and publishers used be the gatekeepers.

A public library is just that: a public service facility. To that end, the local community sets the standards and the folks who run the library should ensure the catalog reflects the community standards. Different communities may have different standards. The local libraries should reflect those standards and abide by them.

This is how it has always worked, and it worked well. We need to stop trying to impose some kind of “one size fits all” mentality where the self-appointed power brokers of the coasts tell the rural folks in the Midwest that they suck because they don’t want their kids exposed to books they find objectionable. Likewise, the Midwesterners should not be telling the coast-dwellers how to stock their libraries.

I have noticed some authors greatly overdo the use of “made his/her/their way” when talking about characters traveling. A few times is OK, but it can become the de facto movement expression, and it’s grating after a while.