Ban This Book

Amy Anne’s parents are amazed and surprised that she would take such actions. Principal Banazewski tries to get Amy Anne to confess that Mrs. Jones gave her the pulled library books and tries to get her to name others who helped her put together and circulate the collection. When that does not work, she says she will simply use the sign-out cards to see everyone involved: “We have a list of all the students who checked out books from her illegal little library” (163). Amy Anne realizes the paper trail will incriminate many students. Principal Banazewski forewarns of angry parents and potential lawsuits. She suspends Amy Anne for three days.

On the first day of her suspension, Amy Anne reads Indian Captive and stays in bed. Her parents request a meeting with her after she has dinner on a tray in her room. They tell her how shocked they are, though they are also relieved that a cause moved her to speak up. Her mother, however, tells her she cannot do the opposite of what an adult says just because she thinks they are wrong. Amy Anne wants to ask about adults who really are wrong in their decisions, but she does not say anything; she is done speaking up. Her parents mention that they now know she is not in any clubs and that her lies about that hurt the most. She would like to tell her parents how desperate she is for quiet reading time, but again, she says nothing. To punish her for the methods she chose, her parents ground her for a week—without books. Amy Anne is devastated: “My books were all I had left” (169).

She returns to her room. Angelina tries to check on Amy Anne, but Amy Anne sends her away. A few minutes later, she feels something furry: “Angelina was gone, but she had left me her favorite stuffed pony to make me feel better” (171).

Later that night, Amy Anne hears the 11 o’clock news come on. She creeps down the hall when she hears the school mentioned. In a piece about the BBLL, Mrs. Spencer explains that the school board agrees with concerned parents that the books removed were inappropriate and potentially harmful. Then Amy Anne hears that the board fired Mrs. Jones. A board member explains why: “Whether deliberately or through negligence, Dr. Jones let those books circulate against the express orders of the school board” (173). Amy Anne thinks that Mrs. Jones losing her job was all her fault.

Amy Anne returns to her elementary school with great anxiety, convinced that all the students will hate her for getting them into trouble with the BBLL. When she arrives, everyone else is in class. She opens her locker to see dozens of notes of support from classmates. In Mr. Vaughn’s room, the reaction is stunning: “Everybody else broke out cheering and clapping. Everybody but Trey” (176). Rebecca runs to hug her, and Mr. Vaughn claims missed her as well. Rebecca asks how they will get back Mrs. Jones and the books. Amy Anne sees that Rebecca and others are counting on her (Amy Anne) to plot the next moves.

Amy Anne heads toward Trey in the cafeteria, upset that he caused her suspension and the demise of the BBLL, when Jeffrey Gonzalez stops her to apologize. He says he became emotional after reading Bridge to Terabithia—in a good way, a way that helped him to express his grief and begin to let go of anger. His parents called the principal to thank and commend Mrs. Jones. Instead, Principal Banazewski discovered how Jeffrey came to have a banned book. Amy Anne tells Jeffrey it was not his fault. She is surprised and sorry that she assumed the blame rested with Trey. Jeffrey tells her about an alternate dimension on Star Trek in which people are the opposite of their true natures; he uses this notion to explain his grief-filled anger of the last weeks: “That was the Mirror Universe me” (181). Amy Anne wonders which version of herself is the “bad” one: the one who makes no waves, or the one who fights a poor decision.

A substitute librarian is in the school library when Amy Anne arrives to return Indian Captive. She is snappish and shushes students; Amy Anne thinks of her as the “Mirror Mrs. Jones” (184). She turns to go and runs into Trey, whose pile of papers goes flying. Amy Anne helps to collect the pages, then realizes they are dozens and dozens of Request for Reconsideration forms. He indicates he is filling them out. Amy Anne has had enough of Trey. She lashes into him verbally, telling him why she dislikes him, starting with the picture he drew of her as mouse and leading up to his mother’s actions against the library. “What’s going to happen when you challenge every single book in the library? […] there won’t be a single book left on the shelves for anyone to check out!” (186).

Trey tells her that is exactly what he wants. He also explains that she used to be quiet, so he drew her as a mouse; he sees her differently now. He explains that his plan is to have so many books banned that everyone will see how silly it is to ban any. Amy Anne points out that some people may not understand his motives and think he is serious. Trey is magnanimous and claims he is the right one for the job. He hopes that “Maybe in the end everybody’ll see why I did it” (188). Amy Anne has a sudden plan to help.

Later in the library during Mr. Vaughn’s class, Amy Anne convinces Danny and Rebecca to vote in Trey as the BBLLs challenge response coordinator. Danny and Rebecca love the plan but wonder how they can find a reason for banning so many books. Trey responds, “Trust me […] Books have been challenged for all kinds of crazy reasons” (191). He lists several: witches, gay characters, dark and gloomy moods, etc. He tells them Walter the Farting Dog was challenged for using the word fart 24 times, and that they “just have to start thinking like people who see stuff everywhere that bothers them” (192).

The four set about filling out 500 Request for Reconsideration forms on books that are “too violent”; “too gory”; and “too scary.” Also on the forms go books on witches, gods, demons, sex, swearing, gay characters, negativity, or potentially libelous treatment of any group. Rebeca especially gets into the fun: “Goodnight Moon? The mouse in the room is a health code violation, the red balloon is a choking hazard, and look at this picture of the illustrator on the back—he’s smoking a cigarette!” (194). They prepare for the next school board meeting and are feeling good about making a strong point in front of TV cameras when Amy Anne’s sister decides to ruin their plans.