And guess what? After most school officials that banned the book actually read it, they reversed the ban. Why? Because it’s an incredible and important book with a ridiculously strong voice. It’s about things that every teenager experiences and it’s about life on a reservation, which most readers have not experienced. That is why it’s so important. Honesty should not be silenced. Schools should be celebrating the fact that students want to read anything so badly.
In a Huffington Post article, Ron Dicker wrote, “The author himself defended the novel's more mature themes in a 2011 Wall Street Journal essay, saying he didn't write to protect the readers. ‘It’s far too late for that,"’ Alexie explained. ‘I write to give them weapons -- in the form of words and ideas -- that will help them fight their monsters.’”