Banned Books Special: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; A Moving Novel About Friendship in Time of War and Conflict

Banned Books Special: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; A Moving Novel About Friendship in Time of War and Conflict

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: When we are kids, we are told and believe that everything is going to be okay. We believe that our best friends will be our best friends for life, our families will always be together, and that the bad things that happen in the world that grown-ups talk about on the news won't possibly affect us. We look forward to our favorite games, cartoons, summer vacations and holidays like Christmas with great excitement. As we grow older and are hit with the realities of death, divorce, poverty, war and so on we become more aware how dark life really is and look back on those childhood days with an idyllic nostalgia.




Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is about that. It is told from the point of view of Amir, an Afghan man who recalls his childhood friendship with wondrous detail and how that friendship changed because of world events and Amir’s own weaknesses.




Amir’s best friend growing up was Hassan, the son of his family's servant. The two grew up in 1970’s Kabul and even though they are separated by class, ethnicity, and religion (Hassan’s family are poor Hazara Shiite Muslims while Amir’s are wealthy Pashtun Sunni Muslims.), the two share some things in common. They both lost their mothers as infants (Amir's died in childbirth and Hassan's walked out on him and his father shortly after he was born.) and their fathers were also childhood friends as well as master and servant. Amir and Hassan share many interests such as American Western films, adventure stories which Amir reads and Hassan listens, and kite flying. Kite flying is a particularly important past time as the two participate in the annual Kite Flying Festival Events in which Amir flies the kite and Hassan runs after it. Hosseini develops his two lead characters really well as he explores their childhood games, interests, and families. Even though there are some conflicts, the two are portrayed with the innocent idealism of childhood. They are ready for fun days, adventure, and dreaming of their future until life and reality hits them in the faces forcing them to mature long before they reach adulthood.




The two families become affected by the Soviet attack on Afghanistan and the constant days of bombs, armies, and fighter planes that fill the Afghan landscape. They are also affected by the increasing racism that Amir’s classmates feel towards other ethnic groups like the Hazara. One classmate, Assef openly admires Hitler’s Final Solution and is fond of taunting and physically bullying Hassan for being from a different ethnic group.

Besides the troubles from the outside world, Amir also recognizes conflict at home. While Hassan swears unconditional loyalty to Amir, Amir feels guilty that he doesn't feel the same. As an adult, he is filled with guilt for all of the times that he teased Hassan for being illiterate or pushed his loyalty by bossing Hassan around. Above all, he feels remorse for his jealousy that his father, Baba treated both Hassan and Amir equally and that he got along with the active practical Hassan better than the introverted literary Amir.




Both the political and the private struggles culminate during the Kite Flying Festival when Hassan is attacked and raped by Assef and his friends. Instead of defending his best friend, Amir ran in fear. Ashamed of his actions, Amir orchestrates the dismissal of Hassan and his father, Ali from Amir's family home and his life.




Even though the two friends are separated, the Soviet-Afghanistan conflict and Hassan's rape followed by Amir’s inaction continue to follow Amir. Even as he and his father flee Afghanistan for America and live a life as impoverished refugees, Hassan continues to haunt Amir like a ghost. Even when Hassan’s not there in body, he’s still there in spirit and in Amir’s consciousness.




Despite the troubles both in his former country and in his mind, Amir begins to settle in America. He rekindles his relationship with Baba as the old man mourns his former life, befriends only other Afghan refugees, and health declines. Amir becomes his caregiver seeing a man who he once thought of as having a high honor code, shriveled into despair. Amir also marries another Afghan immigrant with a troubled romantic past and begins a career as a talented best-selling author.




Just when Amir begins to settle in his new life, he receives a letter from an old friend that forces him to return to Afghanistan. The chapters when Amir returns to Afghanistan are among the most heartbreaking as he sees a country torn apart by war. He travels among destroyed buildings, little vegetation, the Taliban ruling their country with violent and religious dogma, adults with missing limbs and gone mad with grief, and children who have been deprived of their childhoods. Afghanistan becomes like a giant graveyard as Amir recalls his youth which seemed so pleasant at the time and contrasts it to the destroyed country before him.




Amir's return to Afghanistan also gives him a chance to confront his past guilt. He learns the truth of some family secrets involving his father, Amir, and Hassan and also learns of Hassan's current whereabouts. In one suspenseful passage Amir encounters a former enemy turned Taliban leader, and Hassan's young son. This moment and the aftermath when Amir bonds with the boy give Amir a second chance to face his old fears and atone for his past inaction in running when Hassan needed him the most.




The Kite Runner is a moving novel about a friendship that is torn apart by war, deception, and conflict. But ultimately it is about getting beyond that conflict and reconciling with and forgiving others and oneself.

Banned Books Special: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; The Story of a Spokane Native American Boy is Both Humorous and Heartfelt

Banned Books Special: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; The Story of a Spokane Native American Boy is Both Humorous and Heartfelt

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Sherman Alexie's National Book Award YA Novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has the unfortunate and dubious distinction of having both book and author being banned and challenged at different times. The book has received accusations of “profanity, frank sexual discussions including masturbation, frequent alcoholism, and a negative portrayal of the home life of the Spokane Native American tribe.” (among other things) If this laundry list wasn't enough, in 2018 it's author, Sherman Alexie has been accused of sexual harassment by several women. These allegations caused many schools and libraries to cancel Alexie's scheduled readings and also caused Alexie to decline the Carnegie Award for his current release, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me: A Memoir and for the American Indian Library Association to rescind it's 2008 Award for Part-Time Indian.

While the former accusations are technically true, like many banned and challenged books, Part-Time Indian is so much more than what it's accusers believe it to be. More on that later.

Now for the latter accusation towards Sherman Alexie himself, I am a proud supporter of the Time's Up Movement and if these allegations against Alexie are true, they are certainly awful. He should avoid making public appearances for now since it will only make him, his audience  and accusers uncomfortable. Should his current books remain on shelves? I hope so for they still have something to say. However, it is up to the patron or customer whether they wish to borrow or buy them. Any future endeavors? Perhaps a cool-off period would be wise for some time until all legal issues are finished and then publishers etc. can do what they feel is right depending on the verdict and Alexie’s plea.

But what about The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian? An award winning well-written book that has been published and praised beginning a full ten years before these accusations came about? I have always believed that the artist should be separated from his or her work. There are plenty of good novels as well as films, shows, and other forms of art made by people who have done horrible things and were horrible people.

 With Mists of Avalon for instance, I admire Morgaine as one of my favorite female characters in literature. I cite the book as a prominent influence assisting me down my path as a Wiccan and a Feminist. However, I find Marion Zimmer Bradley's sexual abuse towards her daughter deplorable and inexcusable.

I feel the same way about Arnold Spirit Jr. Why should a bright, talented, funny protagonist get punished because his creator behaves terribly towards women? I say give Alexie the allegations and the trial, but leave Junior alone. He’s a great kid even if his author isn't.

It's not like Arnold Spirit Jr. doesn't have enough problems of his own which he deals with both humor and earnestness in this wonderful book that has the ability to make its Reader laugh or cry or do both.

14-year-old, Arnold Junior lives on the Spokane Reservation in which everyone he knows lives on or below the poverty line. He is no stranger to going to bed hungry and he has several relatives or friends’ relatives who are alcoholics.

His father is a depressed alcoholic who while doesn't beat him mercilessly like his friend, Rowdy's father does, disappears for days on end on a drunken binge. Jr.’s sister, Mary AKA Mary Runs Away is a high school graduate who has dropped out of life by just remaining in the family's basement in a deep depression.

Besides his family and social background, Junior’s health is a concern. He is a hydrocephalic, a condition which causes excess fluid in the brain. He is nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other so that causes him to wear thick large glasses. He is susceptible to seizures and speaks with both a stutter and a lisp. All of these problems give Junior permanent membership in, as he dubs it, “The-Black-Eye-Of-The-Month Club”, constant bullying by other kids and a pair of 30-year-old brothers who really should have something better to do than beat up a 14-year-old boy.

Any one of these problems would be enough to put most people into despair and a permanent state of depression. But Junior is able to challenge his life's difficulties with his sarcastic wit and talent for drawing.

Junior is often given to one-liners that often poke fun at himself and the people around him.

One passage at his grandmother's funeral displays Junior's wit perfectly. A white billionaire whom Junior recognizes as Ted gives a long clichéd speech about how he relates to the Indian culture and feels Indian in his bones. Junior merely rolls his eyes and privately riffs the guy’s attempts at humility. (“Do you know how many white strangers show up on Indian reservations every year and start telling Indians how much they love them? Thousands. It's sickening. And boring.”)

Besides his words, Junior's drawings reveal his true soul especially with his drive to become a cartoonist.

 The illustrations by Ellen Forney are the highlights of the book as they reveal Junior's thoughts and often make many good points in clever satiric ways.

For example, an illustration of Junior's parents is titled “What My Parents Would Have Been If Somebody Had Paid Attention To Their Dreams.” The pictures depicts Jr.’s mother as “Spokane Falls Community College Teacher of The Year 1992-1998” and his father as “The Fifth Best Jazz Sax Player West of the Mississippi.” (Complete with “a stylish bob from Vidal Sassoon for $50.00” for Mom and “a white dress shirt from KMart -cause he likes to 'keep it real,’” for Dad.) Illustrations like this show the humorous asides that Junior makes to try to make sense in a world where his parents have long ago given up on their dreams that were closed because of their race and socioeconomic status.

Besides Junior's sense of humor, another thing that pushes him along is his desire to move from the Reservation and see other places. On his first day at the Reservation high school, Junior becomes aware that the textbook that he is given is the same one his mother used-over 20 years ago. In a fury, he hurls the book at the front of the classroom. Instead of becoming angry, Junior's teacher sees a burning desire in the teenager to make something of himself. He also remembers that Junior's older sister, Mary, wanted to be a romance novelist and like everyone else including her parents gave up on her dream. The teacher recommends that Junior transfer to Reardon, the nearby mostly white school in which the only other Native American is the school mascot.

The transfer causes more problems for Junior to handle. The white kids treat him like he’s a strange sideshow attraction. People on the Reservation think Junior sold out and is acting white, particularly his best friend, Rowdy who gets into some violent fights with Junior.

 It is only when Junior gains some success on the school's basketball team and befriends a couple of outsiders in Reardon: Gary, the school nerd and Penelope, a  popular girl who is also bulimic, that he begins to adjust to his new surroundings.

Despite all of his troubles, Junior is aware that he has the love and support of his family. This is particularly shown when over the course of the book, Junior and his family attend three funerals, each one sadder than the last. Junior holds onto his mother and father, grateful that they love and support him. He also reflects about how many of the Reardon kids don't have a father or mother in the picture. Junior knows that despite the poverty and difficulties, the Reservation also includes family that are tied by love, blood, and support.

Like many banned and challenged books, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is greater than the accusations thrown at it. It is funny, moving, tragic, and is a truly memorable story of a boy who acknowledges, mocks, and embraces his family and heritage.

Banned Books Special: Drama by Raina Telgemeier; A Cute Charming Graphic Novel About Love and Identity at a Middle High School Drama Department

Banned Books Special: Drama by Raina Telgemeier; A Cute Charming Graphic Novel About Love and Identity at a Middle High School Drama Department

Spoilers: Callie, the excitable protagonist of Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel seems to be born for the stage so the 7th grader is a part of Eucalyptus Middle School Drama Department. However unlike many other starstruck teens, she does not want to be center stage singing and acting. (In fact an early moment reveals that she can't carry a tune.) Instead she turns her interest into set design. She pores over coffee table books and art books revealing the intricate sets of the old Ziegfeld and Broadway shows and strives to make her productions just like them. (with a third of a budget for a school production.) The intrepid teen deals with her grandiose ideas and the complicated love lives of herself and the other students in this charming and cute graphic novel which deals with friendships, romances, and discovering one’s identity in the world of the theater.

The kids are tasked to perform Moon Over Mississippi, a musical/love story. Callie is thrilled not only to design the intricate Antebellum sets but that she also gets to fire a prop cannon. (She hoped to fire one with pyrotechnics, but the stage manager and director/faculty advisor had to remind her of the potential damage to the auditorium and potential loss of life.) Her best friend, Liz is excited because as costume designer she gets to watch classic films like Shenandoah and Gone With the Wind to sketch the beautiful hooped skirt gowns and handsome Union and Confederate uniforms and to find details for the costumes even if it means going into the creepy prop and costume vault. Callie's friend Max is excited in his role as spotlight technician and that he also gets to boss the other kids around including Liz and Callie.

The fact that most of the main characters are crew members instead of part of the cast shows that these roles are just as important if not more so than the ones onstage. The people who contribute to these roles are just as creative and talented as the performers.

Besides the hijinks onstage, the Reader is drawn into the hijinks off and Drama begins to take on the attributes of a teen sitcom or light-hearted soap opera with the requisite love triangles, more like Love Dodecahedrons, present.

Let's see if I can get this straight (deep breath): Callie is at first in love with Matt’s older brother, Greg who sees Callie mostly as a friend. Greg has an on-again-off-again relationship with Bonnie, the most popular girl in school who also plays the female lead in Moon Over Mississippi. Bonnie eventually begins dating West, who plays the male lead. Callie befriends two twin brothers, Justin and Jesse. Justin, who gets the part of a comic relief, is openly gay much to Callie's initial confusion and eventual acceptance. Callie develops a crush on Jesse, who assists her in constructing sets. What Callie doesn't know is that Jesse is also gay and is developing a relationship with West. Meanwhile, Matt harbors a secret crush on Callie which he hides behind snide remarks and deadpan sarcasm.

While as in many programs the love triangles, or whatever shape, is overdone, many of the characters are prone to hysterics and melodrama. (like most teens particularly ones involved in drama already). However the characters are so cute and likeable that it's easy to root for them despite them being thrown into the non-stop pairings.

Standing out in particular in the cast are Callie and Jesse. Callie is practically the engine, the driving force, behind the production. She gets excited by even the minute details such as tossing magnolia leaves at the young lovers during their big love song. She knows, loves, and studies Broadway musicals enthusiastically turning her hobby  int an obsession and a potential career.

She draws the other crew members into her enthusiasm by getting them excited and thinking this is going to be the best production ever. She makes suggestions for the various departments from lighting, to costumes, to acting and they take them willingly. Partly because many of her ideas are good, with the exception of the pyrotechnics cannon.  For example, she suggests soft lights for romantic scenes instead of red because “it looks too much like danger.” Also the others relent to Callie's suggestions because they know she will pester them until they agree.

 She is also persistent in creating the various facets of the set design. She obsesses over the cannon filling it with confetti and sound effects so it could create the perfect explosion that would startle the audience out of their seats. She uses the cannon not only in the play but in the cafeteria as free publicity advertising the play which creates a long line of students buying tickets.

Jesse also stands out in this charming cast. While his twin, Justin is a bit of a gay stereotype with his exuberant personality and love of being center stage, Jesse is very shy and standoffish. While he has a good singing voice and has the musical memorized (thanks to he and Justin having the soundtrack at home.), Jesse has tremendous stage fright and is content to stay behind the scenes.

Jesse’s shyness also pertains to his sexuality. Even though Callie pursues him as energetically as she does everything else, he is too terrified to tell the truth. He continues to follow her around because he is uncertain with how he feels and who he wants to be.

 It is only in the end when after Bonnie has a meltdown backstage and refuses to go on, that Jesse assumes her red gown and plays the female lead. He finally becomes comfortable with himself.

 In assuming a female identity, Jesse recognizes his own real identity as a gay young man and pursues a relationship with West.

While Drama is cute and charming and filled with laughable moments, at heart it tells a sweet story about how romance can be found only when people are being their true selves.

Banned Books Special: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher; A Moving Heartbreaking YA Novel About Suicide And Those Left Behind

Banned Books Special: 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher; A Moving Heartbreaking YA Novel About Suicide And Those Left Behind


By Julie Sara Porter


Bookworm Reviews





Spoilers: Bullying and Suicide are important topics these days especially with teenagers. People often believe that suicide is ultimately no one's fault. (Not even the deceased because they were often depressed and had mental illnesses that controlled their way of thinking) However, there is a growing awareness that slut-shaming, body-shaming, public embarrassment, cyber bullying, and physical and psychological bullying can be key factors in contributing to a person's depression or low self- esteem. The consequences of those actions can damage a person's already fragile psyche and result in that person's suicide.





Jay Asher’s YA novel 13 Reasons Why (which has become a series on Netflix) is a grim and heartbreaking look how a young girl's suicide affects those around her particularly those she blames for her final actions.





In the beginning, the Reader learns that Hannah Baker is dead. Her friend, Clay Jenson mourns her loss as he receives a strange package of seven cassette tapes and a note advising whoever receives them to listen to them then pass them along to someone else on the list. Borrowing his dad's old stereo, Clay listens to Hannah's voice as she sadly and with buried fury tells about those who hurt her or did little to help her, those that she blames for her suicide.





Each account shows in great detail the events that surrounded Hannah making her realize how few people she had to turn to. She documented various moments when other kids at school spread rumors about her. One boy gave her her first kiss but told everyone he went farther with her. Hannah's reputation was then marred as a slut. Another boy put her name on a list with the moniker “Best Ass” which inspired another boy to pinch and grope her.


These two accusations gave Hannah a false reputation that she couldn't shake of being a wanton party girl. They resulted in escalated mistreatment such as when a girl in school spread rumors about Hannah's so-called sexual adventures and sex toys. (When in reality the girl tried to help Hannah avoid a Peeping Tom by pretending to perform for him with Hannah) More serious and tragic consequences resulted when a boy raped a friend of Hannah then Hannah herself.





Hannah also laid blame on the seemingly nice people who failed to help her when she needed them the most. A teacher and guidance counselor appears on Hannah's list when she recorded their conversation and told him all that happened particularly her rape. Hannah was so far gone in despair thinking everyone was against her that she took badly his advice “to just move on.” Actually he advised several suggestions including reporting what happened to her to the police, but in Hannah's mind, she doubted everyone. His suggestions only confirmed her belief that no one cared how she felt.





Clay listens to the tapes anxiously wondering why he was on the list. While Hannah appeared to absolve Clay of any guilt saying he was a good friend, in the most heartbreaking moment he realized that it wasn't anything he did but what he didn't do: He didn't listen to Hannah when she needed help, didn't ask her what was wrong or realized that anything was wrong. His crime was not doing enough to help her.


While this realization fills Clay with shame and guilt, he uses those feelings to help another depressed girl, Skye. This shows that Clay learned from his inaction with Hannah and helps another troubled girl so she doesn't follow Hannah's lead.





13 Reasons Why shows that our actions and words have grave consequences and despite what our mothers told us names can break our bones, or spirits. Hopefully though in the final moments between Clay and Skye, The Reader learns that words and actions can also lead to healing broken spirits as well.