The BookKids Blog!

Acclaimed author K.L. Going has written many books for young readers, including her latest King of the Screwups and a short story in the anthology No Such Thing as the Real World, alongside the likes of M.T. Anderson, An Na, Jacqueline Woodson, and other YA greats.  She is prolific, but probably best known for her 2004 Printz Honor novel, Fat Kid Rules the World, which chronicles the life of Troy, an obese Manhattan teenager on the verge of suicide as he rediscovers life with a new – if unlilkely – friend. Of course, it is Fat Kid that puts Ms. Going on our list of banned and challenged authors.  Here are her thoughts on the subject:

BookPeople: What book(s) of yours have been banned or challenged and what were the reasons given?
K.L. Going: Fat Kid Rules the World has been challenged and banned due to bad language and “sexual content.”

BP: What was your reaction when you first heard your book(s) were being challenged?
KLG: I am pretty thin-skinned (I’d never make it as a politician!) so I cried. I know, I know. Everyone thinks you should be happy and it’s great publicity, which is true, but at the end of the day it’s also just hurtful.

BP: How do you feel knowing there are people out there who don’t want young readers to have access to your books?
KLG: It makes me furious because I read the e-mails from kids who have benefited from the book, and who tell me how they feel like the Fat Kid and they think no one gets that. I have gotten e-mails from kids who have literally said they were at the point of suicide, like Troy is in the beginning of the novel, and that reading about a character like themselves made them rethink their decision. How dare people take that connection away from the kid who needs it! If they don’t want their own kids to read my book that’s fine, but don’t make blanket judgments that affect other people’s freedom of choice.

BP: Has having your work banned or challenged changed the way you write?
KLG: I try very hard not to let it.

BP: Sexuality, magic, expletives, race, and LGBT themes (among other topics) are often the reasons people challenge books. Why do you write about these topics, and why do you think it’s important that they are included in young people’s literature?
KLG: My job as a writer is to reveal the truth, and this doesn’t apply only to easy truths. When expletives are part of the world I’m portraying, I use them. If they don’t apply I’d never throw them in just for shock value. You’ll find that some of my books include bad words and others don’t for just this reason. As for sexuality, if that’s part of what teens are experiencing and grappling with, we’d do them a disservice not to include it in a portrayal of teen life. To whitewash reality sends a message that these parts of life are shameful, and I don’t believe that’s helpful.

BP: Has your status as the author of banned books affected your career as a writer?
KLG: Good question. I’m not sure! Perhaps people see me and my work differently because of it. I’d imagine that for some readers it’s a plus and for others it’s a deterrent.

BP: What are your favorite banned books, and why?
KLG: I love the classics and when books like Tom Sawyer and Of Mice and Men are banned I think it makes it clear to us how absurd book banning really is and how much it’s affected by the perceptions of our limited time.

BP: If you could say anything to Judy Blume, a literary legend and author of many banned books, what would you say? And what one question would you ask?
KLG: I would say thanks for producing books I loved as a child, and I’d ask if she ever cried about her books being banned or if she took it in stride.

BP: What advice would you give a student (or parent, or concerned citizen) whose school or library is facing a book challenge?
KLG: Be prepared! In my experience, book banning is a very hot topic and can lead to some outrageous reactions that a sane, balanced person would not expect. At one of the schools where Fat Kid was challenged but the school voted to keep it on the shelves, some of the board members received personal threats. How one justifies threatening violence to ban bad language I will never know, but it happens.

BP: Since burning books is tragic, but bonfires can be fun, what should we burn instead?
KLG: How about toasting marshmallows?