Vegan Virgin Valentine

This book was challenged at a high school in Florida because of inappropriate language. I'm not sure what language because nothing in the story stuck out as potentially offensive or different than any other YA book I've read. (Of course, in most of the banned book lists I wonder the same thing: What in the world are these people objecting to?!)

I'm guessing some of it had to do with the title. Because, OMG, reading the word "virgin" makes me want to run out and have sex. Because nobody knows that taboo word. Because it's not a very important part of Jesus's birth. Because we're not teaching abstinence-only sex ed. (Well, we were.)

In fact, the book has some really great messages about sex. The main character had been pressured by an ex-boyfriend to have sex, but she didn't. Her niece (only a year younger) has sexual escapades that she later regrets.

Or maybe people are just touchy about the word "vegan."

I've also read Mackler's The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, which I really enjoyed. Both of these books are really good. I loved both of the main characters and their journeys. I will defnitely read another book by her.

In Vegan Virgin Valentine, the main character, Mara, is an overachieving high school senior. Her neice (who is just a year younger) moves in with the Valentine family becuase her mother has, in a sense, abandoned her. The niece is wild and all around bothersome to Mara. The book explores issues of love, sex, friendship, and family.

Another banned book = another ridiculous person out there.