Here at INscribe Digital, we are celebrating the end of Banned Books Week 2013 by revisiting our most loved banned or challenged books. We vow to read one (or a few)! In honor of the week, we’ve put together a collection of our five favorite INscribe titles that made the list this year, and in years past.
The INscribe Favorite Five
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Bloomsbury); 9781408803721
Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament, and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. Neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that will shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier (AudioGO); 9781620641989
Winner of the Newbery Honor! The Revolutionary War comes alive in this contemporary classic for young adults. The War had no clear-cut loyalties–it divided families, friends and towns. Young Tim Meeker’s 16-year-old brother goes off to fight with the Patriots while his father remains a reluctant British Loyalist in the Tory town of Redding, CT. Tim’s always looked up to his brother, who’s smart and brave. With the war soon raging, Tim knows he’ll have to make a choice — between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father. Over the course of the war, Tim learns that life teaches bitter lessons and does not guarantee clear answers. My Brother Sam Is Dead is a stirring, probing tale full of action and suspense, putting listeners right into the heart of the Revolutionary War.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London (Dover Publications); 9780486110516
A classic novel of adventure, drawn from London’s own experiences as a Klondike adventurer, relating the story of a heroic dog, who, caught in the brutal life of the Alaska Gold Rush, ultimately faces a choice between living in man’s world and returning to nature.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (Dover Publications); 9780486111537
This 1906 bestseller shockingly reveals intolerable labor practices and unsanitary working conditions in the Chicago stockyards as it tells the brutally grim story of a Slavic family that immigrates to America. Though once full of optimism, the family soon descends into numbing poverty, moral degradation, and despair. This fiercely realistic American classic will haunt readers long after they’ve finished the last page.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (Dover Publications); 9780486115610
This ebook provides the unabridged text of Chopin’s classic novel, plus a complete study guide that helps readers gain a thorough understanding of the work’s content and context. The comprehensive guide includes chapter-by-chapter summaries, explanations and discussions of the plot, question-and-answer sections, author biography, analytic paper topics, list of characters, bibliography, and more.