Parker and Rafe are pals at a private boarding school,
sharing books and ideas. When Parker's teacher Miss Lowry
finds him reading a book called 'The Well of Loneliness'
and learns that the main character is a lesbian girl who
dresses as a boy, she considers that it's unsuitable
material for a fifteen-year-old. The headmaster is only
vaguely supportive of the teacher, since this is a classic
novel, but he does tell Parker to hand it over and he'll
get it back at the end of the term. Parker says he's lost
the book. Before long he's lent it to someone else and that
boy is caught reading it; Miss Lowry confiscates the book
and pins up a long list of BANNED BOOKS on the noticeboard.
The list includes 'The Color Purple', 'Of Mice And Men'
and 'Lord of The Flies', some of which are textbooks for
older years. 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' makes it to the
list, along with 'A Clockwork Orange' and 'Naked Lunch'.
The school has never been talking so much about books.
Fritz is sixteen and a rebel, someone who gets concerned
about politics and environmental disasters. He's read a
lot, and he reckons there's money to be made by passing
around copies of the banned literature, which even the
library has been instructed to remove from the shelves. He
asks Parker to help. "Nobody would have read any of those
books normally... but now they were banned, everybody
wanted them," Parker relates as he and Fritz go on a
clandestine book-spreading spree.
This engaging novella tells of more than just the
rebellion; Parker is out and has no trouble but a lot of
self-doubt among the other boys, particularly his straight
best friend Rafe. Fifteen is a difficult time; immature but
maturing fast, idealistic and insecure. Rachel Astruc lives
in New Zealand and with BANNED BOOKS has given us
characters to cheer for and a cause to celebrate. Young
people everywhere should read this book.
At St. Peter’s, an exclusive British boarding school for boys, a teacher’s word is law—and Anthony Parker is leading a rebellion. When he is found reading a book containing “questionable content,” he receives a reprimand from the headmaster. Parker responds by secretly lending questionable materials to other students, aided by his best friend and long-time crush, Rafe. The situation escalates when their draconic literature teacher discovers their subterfuge and compiles a banned books list. Parker and Rafe fall in with Peter Fritz, a broody outcast who’s turning the ban in his favor by buying and lending banned books to students—for a price. As the banned books library grows and hidden feelings threaten the boys’ burgeoning partnership, they discover that the challenges of growing up might outweigh the rewards of bucking the system.
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