When a book is banned or removed from library shelves, my usual response is to read the book to see what all the fuss is about. That was my response to an ADN report that the Mat-Su Library Advisory Panel had unanimously recommended the removal of the book “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins from the library, with one member even recommending that it be burned.
While the book was not a pleasant read, I wonder if the panel members actually read the book all the way to its conclusion. Panel members were correct that the book dealt with themes of incest, rape, drug use, abuse, bulimia and suicide, but eventually readers learned that the two supposed “twin sisters” were actually a single individual experiencing dissociative identity disorder (DID), presumably the result of the trauma of losing her twin sister in an accident that occurred while their father drove drunk and by his subsequent sexual abuse of the surviving twin.
Sadly, while abuse, drug use, eating disorders and suicide are unpleasant to think and read about, they do exist in society — possibly even in the lives of Mat-Su library users. It should be noted that the book ended on a hopeful note, with the surviving twin being in treatment for her disorder and in a much healthier living situation.
For me, the book communicated that treatment does exist and recovery is possible. And my message to the Mat-Su Library Advisory Panel is that their action on the book really didn’t protect anyone, as banning books largely increases their sales. And truthfully, I did not need their protection.
— Tina D. DeLapp, EdD, RN, FAAN
Anchorage
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