Week Two: Banned Book Challenge (now with answers)

[Deanna and Jess]

"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow." - To Kill A Mockingbird

First sentences can be memorable - it is often what draws us into a story and keeps us reading. Below are the first sentences of books that have been challenged or banned. How many can you identify?

1) “I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975.”

2) "I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one.”

3) “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

4) "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."

5) “All this happened, more or less.”

6) "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

7) "124 was spiteful."

8) “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.”

9) “We slept in what had once been the gymnasium.”

10) "It was a pleasure to burn."

Feel free to post your guesses in the comments. We will post the answers next week!

[Rebecca]

3) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
6) Catcher in the Rye ?
10) Farenheit 451?

[Lee]

2) Ender’s Game
3)Harry Potter & Sorcerer’s Stone
6)Catcher in the Rye
9)Handmaid’s Tale?

[Kate]

I didn't know all of them, but:

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's [Philosopher's] Stone
4. The Great Gatsby
5. Slaughterhouse-Five
6. The Catcher In The Rye
7. Beloved
9. The Handmaid's Tale
10. Fahrenheit-451

[Deanna and Jess]

Here are the answers!

1. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
6. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
9. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury