We're big (BIG) fans of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling Twilight series, so it was a surprise to hear that the books are among the top five books most complained about.
Though seeing as the news has come from the American Library Association, perhaps we shouldn't be so shocked.
The Twilight series ranks fifth on the annual report of "challenged books" released by the organisation, who think the complaints reflect general unease about supernatural stories among parents and teachers particularly.
The novels were challenged due to it being “sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and [having] offensive language.”
"Vampire novels have been a target for years and the Twilight books are so immensely popular that a lot of the concerns people have had about vampires are focused on her books," says Barbara Jones, director of the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.
"It is the books which are read frequently which are frequently challenged – with all the hype around Twilight and the movies and the celebrities I was actually surprised Meyer's books weren't higher," added Angela Maycock at the ALA's office for intellectual freedom.
Topping the 2009 chart was Lauren Myracle's IM series, novels told through instant messages that have been criticised for nudity, language and drug references. Last year's most complained about book, And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was second this year, cited again for its story about two male penguins adopting a baby. Third was Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which was complained about for drugs, suicide, homosexuality and being anti-family.
Well, that gives us a few books to add to the Geeky Girl reading list.
Also cited were classics such as JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and Alice Walker's The Color Purple.
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