Crrrrrrrrack. Cracking open a book for the first time is my favorite sound in the world. For me, there is nothing like jumping in a new world, meeting new friends, and conquering a new adventure. I will fight for the words I read, for the words I love. A book should not be banned from libraries. Libraries are sacred places that a person can go to to find inspiration, hope, courage.

The most challenged book is Harry Potter. Harry Potter is the first novel that stuck with me, it is the novel that gave me my passion for reading. I learned the true contrast in good vs. evil. Harry Potter gave me my firm belief that good will always conquer evil. I think that taking away those learning opportunities from children and young adults is a sin within itself.

I am inspired every time I heard an author standing up for their work that is being challenged. I am inspired by reading their words. I am inspired by their fight and passion. I learn something new in every novel I read. I read when I need to cope with things. I’ve read books that have given me courage. I’ve read books that help me deal with losing a loved one. Meeting fictional characters that can make me laugh out loud or cry from their losses are characters that stick with me. They’re the characters that I live and breathe for. They’re the characters that I remember years down the road. So, these groups that try to take away books from the children, they aren’t only taking away a book. They are taking away learning opportunities.

I understand if a child’s parents feel like their child is too young for certain topics inside of books. But, a couple of parent’s should not be able to stop other children from reading books. The pure magic that one can find within a book’s pages is utterly amazing. I wouldn’t trade the privilege to read any book I desire for anything.

Two of my favorite books were challenged this year: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. Speak is an epic novel about overcoming a rape. It’s about a girl who speaks up for herself after she is attacked at a high school party. I hope this novel is never taken off any library shelf. A young girl or boy could read this novel, they could find that courage they need to come forward about their own sexual abuse. And, Twenty Boy Summer is a novel about coping with loss. I read this novel right after I lost a close childhood friend of mine. This story helped me cope after the funeral. It helped me remember the good times I had with my friend. It helped me cherish his memory in a good way. It helped me focus on his life and not his death. Books can do that. Books, stories, authors, characters, they have all changed my life.

I will continue to fight for the words I love and cherish. I will continue to read those books that people want to rip of the shelves. We, the book readers of the world, we will not be silent. We will not sit quietly will the books we love are taken. We will stand, we will fight.