Challenged books

I think books are challenged due to inappropriate content or themes that might be seen as too mature for audiences of the age range it is targeted towards.

Flight

The book Flight could be one of these challenged books, as its target audience is primarily teens. Flight‘s themes of racism and violence could be seen as too mature for the slightly younger audience it is targeted towards.

Some of the issues that Zits experiences in Flight can relate back to teens today, such as violent urges, poor decision making, helplessness, and self-identity.

Numerous things in Zits’ life could be seen as controversial due to their severity, like being a foster child or problems with alcoholism. These could be unintentional influences toward teens in similar situations to pick up bad habits like drinking or drug use.

Flight chapters 9-12

Violence hurts more than the people it’s used on.

chpt 9: “He’s a child, and im supposed to slash his throat.”

Chpt 10: “No, the indians down there killed a little girl. Shot three arrows into her belly and left her to die.”

Chpt 11: “I had wanted to kill, but now I just want to stop.”

Banned Books

There are many books out there that are definitely not meant for children, for example, books like The Loop or Stung that have very mature themes and topics. Stung is a novel written by Bethany Wiggins and follows the character Fiona Tarsis in a dystopian world where certain people have turned into mindless beasts, which has these mature themes, such as Loss of identity, Abuse, Murder, Death, and many others. These themes are generally meant for mature readers, and so I do not think that Stung should be available to children, though teens should be able to read it after the age of 14.

The Loop, like Stung, shares many of those mature themes, which is why most adults don’t recommend it for anyone under 15. The Loop has many of the same themes as Stung, but also features its own, such as Torture, mutilation, abuse, and PTSD. These themes are generally meant for mature readers, and so most adults do not think that The Loop should be available to children, though they add that teens should be able to read it after the age of 15.

Pine Ridge and Flight

There are numerous connections between the article “AIM occupation of Wounded Knee begins” and “flight.” The first connection is the deaths of many Indians during the operation and the execution of Junior during the book. The second is the presence of AIM during both. The third is Russell Means and Dennis Banks, who are the parallels to Hank Storm and Art in Flight

Zits

The most important trait of Zits’ character in the novel “Flight” is the fact that he is still a teenager. Due to his younger age and underdeveloped brain, Zits experiences many more troubles than he otherwise would if he were an adult. This aspect makes every impulsive decision more sense in context, and allows the author to explore more creative pathways with the character’s growth.

Zits is a great representation of a teenager, due to his flaws and how they affect his decisions. Teens are usually rebellious and impulsive by nature, just trying to fit in however they can, especially teens in foster homes like Zits. This is why I believe Zits to be an accurate representation of a teen; due to his impulsive nature, rebellious attitude, and overall flaws that are uniquely relatable.

Teenagers and loneliness

Teenagers are people under the age of 18, but older than 12. however, being a teenager physically is different than mentally. physically, you’re still young and growing so your mind hasn’t reached its full adult maturity until around 17. The teenage mind, as stated before, is in its most vulnerable period, and it is most susceptible to outside factors typically causing rebelliousness and explosions of emotions, such as anger.

loneliness is a feeling associated with isolation, whether intentional or not. it can feel like alienation or lack of support, even if you’re around people constantly. Loneliness is never as simple as just being alone for an extended period of time, its a deep ache or pain, like a knife in your chest. it can feel like your whole world is caving in, and everyone around you is just watching it happen, not even trying to intervene.

teenagers can feel lonely easily compared to most other stages of life, this is due to the aforementioned brain development. The brain is at its most vulnerable period to extreme emotion, thus feeling alone or disconnected is common among young teens, even if they are around friends and family constantly.