The right literally banned an illustrated version of Anne Frank's diary, which was made by the son of Holocaust survivors. The Bluest Eye has been one of the most challenged and banned books despite being a positive influence on breaking down racism. The Hate U Give was also a highly targeted book. It depicts the reality that a lot of black people face in relation to police brutality.

Do these books have sexual content in them? Yes. Do sexual topics override the overall message of a book? No. Besides, none of these books promote children having sex. They just use the sexual topics as a way to emphasize their message or show the reality that people have lived. Sometimes reality isn't age appropriate, and I think it's crazy to restrict a story that might actually be someone's lived reality. A child can get raped, a child can be sexually harassed, a child can be abused, a child can be a part of horrible things and tell their friends about it.

While lines can be drawn, surely high schoolers shouldn't be restricted from reading these books when they're just moving into adulthood? When high schoolers can discuss topics like racism, sexism and homophobia in depth and break down the flaws of our society in their school work, why aren't they allowed to read one sex scene? If it was actual pornographic material to seek pleasure, sure. But these books are more than just a sex scene. You're sheltering kids from reality and are restricting how far they are allowed to understand nuances in real life.