Forbidden Book Club hoping to reduce stigma against challenged books
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The Forbidden Book Club held its annual Banned Book Fair at the Bartlett Center, giving away hundreds of banned and challenged books, with a turnout that pleasantly surprised organizers.
The event was funded through community donations and grant programs, including one from the American Association of School Librarians, awarded in recognition of the club’s efforts to expand access to diverse literature.
Sydney Pinion said the club started modestly, meeting once a month to read and discuss books that had been challenged in their own town.
“Ten of these books that we had today were books that were challenged in our town and were thankfully not banned,” Pinion explained. “A lot of other ones are just things that are classically challenged and banned.”
According to Pinion, many challenged books are targeted because they feature authors or characters who are people of color or LGBTQ+.
Others, she said, get “swept up in a kind of fear” without being read or understood.
“I think a lot of people mean well,” she said. “They think they’re protecting kids from something big and scary. But in reality, a lot of these books have really important messages. They can help us feel more connected to our neighbors. They can help us be more empathetic.”
One of the most challenged books in the club’s collection is Looking for Alaska by John Green, a title Pinion said she likely would never have picked up on her own before the club’s reading list.
“After I read it, I was seriously so moved,” she said. “It was a life-changing story. I think everybody should read it at least once.”
Critics of banned books often argue that exposing young readers to themes like drug use, racism, or sexual abuse could inspire harmful behavior. Pinion disagrees.
“I remember reading Crank by Ellen Hopkins when I was a student in this district,” she said. “I’ve never seen drugs in my life like that. Reading about other people’s struggles doesn’t make you go down that path. If anything, it’s a cautionary tale. It shows you the real world.”
She recalled being in eighth grade when an English teacher placed a book in her hands that she “really, really needed at that time.”
“Not every book is for every person,” Pinion said. “But when you can get a book to somebody that really needs that story, it can make a huge difference in their life. It can help them feel a little less alone.”
Organizers say events like the Banned Book Fair are important to reducing stigma around controversial literature and opening pathways for students who may be navigating the challenges these books explore.
