There are a lot of books that have topics that can be very controversial. Many books and movies involve angels and demons and heaven and hell. My opinion is authors should be able to write about this without criticism or repercussions. Some people, parents for example, believe their children shouldn’t read stories about demons, vampires, violence, and sex. I believe they should be able to, if they believe that they are old enough to handle it. Some books have age recommendations, and parents are free to follow this, but it should be the child’s choice of what they read.

The Mortal Instruments, for example has humans mixed with angels, called Shadowhunters, who fight demons. I personally love this series, it’s my favorite out of all the books I’ve ever read, and that’s a lot. The main character is a girl, Clary, and she’s a normal human being in the beginning of the series. By the end of the third book we figure out she has more angel blood in her than most Shadowhunters. The other main character who’s a boy, Jace, is also a Shadowhunter and he too has more angel blood than most. The reason that they have angel blood is because the villain, Valentine fed it to their mothers through a powder when they were pregnant. Valentine is actually Clary’s father, and what he did was so completely wrong.

The Vampire Academy could be construed as an extremely controversial book if you take it apart. It’s about vampires, and there are good ones called the Moroi and bad ones which are called the Strigoi. The Moroi are protected by dhampirs. Dhampirs are difficult to explain seeing as how there is no one definition of one. The encyclopedia states that they are the children of vampire fathers and human mothers. In The Vampire Academy it’s the children of a vampire and a human, and dhampirs can’t have children with other dhampirs. It also talks about mothers leaving their children at a young age, like at about four years old, to be raised to fight. The alternative is raising them at home and be looked down on by the other dhampirs and Moroi. I believe people should have their own free will. I believe they should be able to make their own choices, because that’s why we have the Bill of Rights.

The Harry Potter Series is the second most read book in the world, second to the Bible. While the series doesn’t talk about angels and demons and heaven and hell, it does talk about magic. Full bloods, half-bloods, and humans, often referred to as muggles in the series, are all in the series. Like in other series, there are good people and bad.

I believe teens should be able to read what they wish, after all that’s why we have the first amendment, the freedom of religion, press, and speech. Freedom of the press, that gives authors the right to publish what they want, right? I think they should be able to do so without criticism. There are much worse books you can read that include vampires. I’m talking about young adult books, and they aren’t bad. Sometimes they talk about sex, but we’re teenagers and we know about it. It’s not encouraging it; it’s merely stating a fact. Actually, in most of the books I do read that do mention characters having sex, they are in love. Not all vampire books are about violence and sex.
I believe parents wouldn’t want their children reading these types of books because they are afraid of how it would affect their children. I read these books, and I’m perfectly fine. I make good grades, I want to go to college, I don’t drink, smoke, or have sex, and I don’t go out and party every night. When my friends are over, we don’t sneak out. I haven’t ever gotten suspended, or even a detention. I also don’t go around punching people and doing roundhouse kicks just because I can. I may have a bit of a temper, but I don’t express it through violence. Instead I read. I read these books, and I’m unaffected by them other than admiring their courage and bravery. If parents are worried that their children becoming some sort of monster that misbehaves and constantly starts mischief, they shouldn’t worry because these books are not going to persuade them to become different. Friends are much more likely to be able to change them, not a silly, fictional book.
People think it’s unsuitable because of their religion, or because they think the book it’s inappropriate because of the child’s age. That simply isn’t true. I’m not the only one who feels this way. An entire week is dedicated to reading books that may have unsuitable themes and content. It’s called “Banned Books Week” and it’s the last week of September. Teens love the books that have been challenged, and we celebrate them every year. Twilight was one of the challenged books this year, as well as The Hunger Games trilogy. I have read both of these series, and I love them. The effects of reading these so called “inappropriate” books are not disastrous, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. I learn by reading these books. I expand my vocabulary, I learn about people, I learn how to be thankful of where we live, and how our government isn’t as bad as it could be. I think reading is a gift, and we should be thankful we can do it.