andrearbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Property of the Rebel Librarian by Allison Varnes was another J read I absolutely adored. June loves reading, but she finds to has to keep some of her latest reads recommended to her by the school librarian hidden. When her parents find she's reading The Makings of a Witch, they find this to be extremely inappropriate. They're concerned to the point that they go to school setting in motion a book ban process. June is frustrated, and she believes she should have freedom to read what she wants and explore through books. She decides she's going to fight the system by starting her own locker library. From there, June becomes the underground "rebel librarian" for her classmates. I loved that this was book banning explored from June's perspective. Her frustrations and emotions were so real, and I loved her determination to keep her classmates reading. Book banning is problematic, and I dig that there's a children's book that can help them (and adults, too) understand the issues, as well as the power of knowledge and reading. Even as an adult reader, I left this one inspired by June's willingness to fight the system and save the library!
jls12's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Is this book exaggerated? Yes it is. HOWEVER in todays world most of the books mentioned are in fact banned books in one place or another. The message is clear and I actually liked how exaggerated it was. There are communities out there today that are extremely strict and ban books. Trust me banning a book is not going to stop a person from getting their hands on it. Instead, be open to discussions with children about the topics rather than banning them.
jackaroni_with_cheese's review against another edition
4.0
My thought as I finished this novel was thank goodness that my parents never told me what I could and couldn’t read growing up. They never stifled my dreams or demanded I be someone I wasn’t. And I am thankful for that.
mostlyromancereading's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, gosh, I may be 20 years older than June and more of a Ms. Bradshaw at this point, but this one got me.
Having been raised with the same kind of strict parenting as June and having had my books taken away as punishment, this reached right into my past and hit me in the feels.
Perfect for middle grades and up, though it won’t be for everyone.
Having been raised with the same kind of strict parenting as June and having had my books taken away as punishment, this reached right into my past and hit me in the feels.
Perfect for middle grades and up, though it won’t be for everyone.
thesweaterlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Yes to the girl power, book power, and kid power!
storytimed's review against another edition
2.0
Could have been a really good story on censorship and the power of literature, but it completely refused to condemn or even criticize the people banning the books, or address even lightly the usual reasons behind book banning (mostly political or religious). You can actually talk about those topics in a light, child-appropriate way, but this book didn't even try. This is a book about banned books that itself feels censored.