{"id":1941,"date":"2024-11-05T08:48:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T08:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/?p=1941"},"modified":"2026-03-10T17:57:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T17:57:44","slug":"jodi-picoults-nineteen-minutes-tops-pen-americas-list-of-most-banned-books-in-u-s-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/jodi-picoults-nineteen-minutes-tops-pen-americas-list-of-most-banned-books-in-u-s-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Jodi Picoult\u2019s Nineteen Minutes Tops PEN America\u2019s List of Most Banned Books in U.S. Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jodi Picoult\u2019s <em>Nineteen Minutes<\/em>, a novel focused on the aftermath of a school shooting, now leads PEN America\u2019s list of the most frequently banned books in U.S. schools. PEN&#8217;s recent report on the 2023-2024 academic year highlights an unprecedented 10,000 cases of book removals across the country\u2014a fourfold increase from 2021-2022.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Handmaid&#8217;s Tale<\/em> by Margaret Atwood and <em>Water for Elephants<\/em> by Sara Gruen is also prominent among the 4,200 titles removed from school libraries, especially in states like Florida and Iowa, which have implemented new restrictions. Atwood\u2019s dystopian classic explores a world where women are forced into submission, while Gruen\u2019s novel chronicles a young man\u2019s journey with a Depression-era circus.<\/p>\n<p>Kasey Meehan, director of PEN\u2019s Freedom to Read program, emphasized the importance of students\u2019 access to diverse literature, stating it fosters critical thinking, empathy, and personal growth. Picoult, reflecting on her book&#8217;s controversial reception, noted that its themes challenge readers\u2019 perspectives, sparking the opposition that often drives bans.<\/p>\n<p>Source: Swifteradio.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jodi Picoult\u2019s Nineteen Minutes, a novel focused on the aftermath of a school shooting, now leads PEN America\u2019s list of the most frequently banned books in U.S. schools. PEN&#8217;s recent report on the 2023-2024 academic year highlights an unprecedented 10,000 cases of book removals across the country\u2014a fourfold increase from 2021-2022. The Handmaid&#8217;s Tale by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3672,9307,9308,9309,9310,9311,9312,9313,9314,9315,9316],"class_list":["post-1941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-amat","tag-book-bans-u-s-schools","tag-florida-book-bans","tag-freedom-to-read","tag-iowa-book-bans","tag-jodi-picoult","tag-margaret-atwood-handmaids-tale-ban","tag-nineteen-minutes-banned","tag-pen-america-report","tag-sara-gruen-water-for-elephants","tag-school-book-restrictions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1941\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}