In the article "Justice Denied," the author Dan Barry discusses multiple "racially motivated killings," including one in 1965 when Frank Morris (African American) was murdered by 2 white men for unknown reasons, and they weren't charged. I chose this article because it shows one of the many brutal, racially motivated killings that continue even now. Just last year, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, who was 28. Zimmerman claimed to have acted in self- defense, but Martin wasn't carrying any weapons. Zimmerman was found innocent, and wasn't charged. Many people thought that it was because George Zimmerman was white and Trayvon Martin was black, and if it had been the other way around, the shooter would've spent the rest of his life in jail. This is another one of the racially motivated killings that are still occurring today.

I am currently reading "Crazy," by Anne Reed. Connor, one of the main characters, has a close friend named Isabel, another main character. Isabel is severely bipolar, and Connor is trying to help her through all of her highs and lows. But, Isabel always tells him to leave her alone, that she doesn't need his sympathy, and so on. Connor keeps trying to help, and Isabel won't let him.

Towards the beginning of the book, Connor realizes that Isabel's problems are getting to be too serious for him to handle, so he asks if he can talk to his mom (a therapist) about her. Isabel immediately responds with "Just because you can't figure me out doesn't mean I'm crazy. How could you even say something like that?" Connor feels the need to apologize, even though he was only trying to help. How was he supposed to know it would upset her so much? I think that Connor feels the need to always give in to Isabel, even when she gets mad at him for helping her.

Every once in a while, Connor gets fed up with trying to help Isabel and her always rejecting or insulting him for trying to help. Towards the middle of the book, Isabel asks Connor to forgive him for something that she had done, and he doesn't. He tells her, "No. I will not forgive you. I am sick of always forgiving you... I have to pretend it doesn't hurt because I'm afraid that if I tell you how I actually feel, you'll run away even more. You get mad, and I apologize for things I didn't even do wrong... Everything is always about you." Connor finally tells Isabel how he really feels, and how he can never even do that because he's afraid she'll get mad. It was extremely brave of Connor to finally admit everything he'd been thinking, since he had always been so afraid to.

In the book so far, Connor continually goes back and forth between always forgiving Isabel and giving her everything she needs, and telling her how sick of it he is all the time. Isabel is always surprised and upset when he reveals how he's been feeling, but its because she only thinks about herself whenever she makes any decisions. She never thinks about anyone else, especially not Connor, so she really can't be too surprised when he tells her that he doesn't want to be treated so badly anymore.

Dear Ms. Berner,

I understand that M.S. 51 is planning to ban certain books from the 6th grade libraries at school. Many articles show how banning books badly affects students, and why letting them read books they are interested in is so important. Books shouldn't be banned because students who are dealing with heavy issues that they might not want to talk about often turn to books that discuss the same or similar issues.

When a child or teen feels uncomfortable talking about a problem going on in their lives, they often turn to books that are about the same issues that they are dealing with. This way, they feel understood, knowing that other people have dealt with the same issue, and that they are not alone. "Illness, depression, sexuality- these are all things teens are going to bump against in their lives, whether directly or at one remove, through family members, friends, or other representations in media. The Daily Mail seems to be suggesting that it is inappropriate for these issues to be looked at in one place where difficult subjects have been most sensitively explored for teens: fiction written specifically for them." ("Sick Lit? Evidently Young Adult Fiction is Too Complex for the Daily Mail," by Michelle Pauli). If teens don't have books to turn to, they will feel as though no one understands what is going on in their lives and they have no one who they can talk to about it.

Many teens who are dealing with complicated issues in their own lives might feel as though adults are uncomfortable with or afraid of talking about whatever is going on in their lives. "Ignorance is no armor. And those whose lives are touched by the issues I write about deserve to know they are not alone." ("Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti- Censorship Manifesto," by Ellen Hopkins). If these students see that not everyone is afraid to talk about the issue if people are currently writing about it, they will know that they are not alone. This will cause the students to be able to talk about the problem freely.

Some parents, teachers, or librarians might argue that many younger students (such as 6th graders) are too young to read about darker topics such as the ones found in many young adult books. In "Darkness Too Visible," author Megan Cox Gurdon explains that young readers are surrounding themselves with "dark images," which is apparently "unhealthy." But everyone is different, with a different maturity level, so a book that may be too "dark" for one 6th grader could be interesting and even useful to another. "If you don't like the content in a book, don't read it. If you don't want your child to read a book, take it away. But you do not have the right to decide 'appropriateness' for everyone. What's perhaps not right for one is necessary to another." ("Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti- Censorship Manifesto," by Ellen Hopkins). This shows that some teens need to read certain books to know that they are not alone against the problems they are facing.

In conclusion, books shouldn't be banned from the 6th grade libraries. If 6th graders are dealing with a certain issue, and they read a book where the character is dealing with the same issue, they wont feel as alone knowing that others have dealt with and understand the issue. Also, teachers, librarians, and parents don't have the right to decide what's appropriate for everyone. A parent should be allowed to make sure that their child doesn't read a certain book/ genre, but that doesn't mean these books should be taken away from the entire grade. "This (book banning) is merely a stupid, cruel idea invented by some marketing maven who thinks only of the convenience of supermarket shelf stackers and nothing of the way in which children come to books." ("Age- Rated Books: Right or Wrong?," by Anne Fine).