Children's ✦ Penny’s Take 📱 Kindle
Ban This Book
Alan Gratz · 2017
74/100
👍 Worth It
Penny here — this one's got real spine, following a shy fourth-grader who takes a stand for the right to read. Kirkus liked it overall but flagged it as contrived and polemic in spots, and there are indirect nods to mature content in the banned books it references, so I'd preview it if your family wants to go in eyes-open. Still, it's a smart, timely conversation-starter for middle graders.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Indirect references to sexual content within banned books discussed in the story (not depicted); some conservative/faith-based families may want to preview first. We still scored it 74; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety72
Substance / usefulness75
Craft & writing68
Originality70
Evidence & accuracy75
Hype vs delivers60
Age-fit75
Human-eye read72
Penny’s verdict74
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