Let's Talk is a new weekly feature here at i swim for oceans. I think it's important that we all have our say, and there's something to be said for raising our voices. Simply put, here on the little old blog, I like to host some of my very own discussion posts because, well, I like to converse with you all.

And so, Let's Talk will feature questions or prompts, which I will answer, too. Love it or hate it, weigh in or don't, it's my hope that Let's Talk will at least get you thinking...and maybe even get you discussing with the rest of us!

Question: What are your thoughts on book censorship in schools?

Hello, hot-button issue! When I started this feature, I knew I wanted to make it a mix of fun discussion topics and heavy-hitting, relevant issues that concern people beyond the book blogging and publishing world. What is a bigger discussion topic than censorship? Censorship, in and of itself, simply makes my skin crawl. I believe that there is merit to just about any written work, and to ban a book across the board, regardless of the content makes me want to pull up my soap box, stand with my head held high and preach to the world just why exactly I think book censorship in schools is wrong.

I'll state it right here and now: my opinions will rub some people the wrong way. I don't apologize for my opinions because they are really and truly my own. Just as I want people to respect my opinions, I truly respect opposing viewpoints. Simply put - I think that banning books across the board in schools is wrong. Many school boards like to gloss over the messiness and call their reading curriculum a "selection," rather than the blatant banning that I believe it is. I'm not going to lie and say that some of the banned books I've seen don't have messy content...because they do.

Consider Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn. One of my all-time favourite authors takes a harrowing story of an abusive (both emotionally and physically) relationship between teens and creates a story that is startlingly realistic and relevant for the young adult crowd. Is it brutal? Heck yeah. There's no glossing over the violence and the drama. There shouldn't be. Abuse is abuse. There are no shades of gray, and a story like that is important for teens who might otherwise be scared into silence because they are the abused and ashamed, or they're the abuser and are afraid to seek the help they need to get better. A Washington school district banned this book due to the graphic nature of the content. Is it right to take this book out of schools just because it makes the parents uncomfortable that their children are reading it? It should make the kids uncomfortable. It should make them think.

Take, for another example, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Written about a young teen who is raped at a party, haunted by the memory, taunted by classmates and friends and damaged to the core, this book is harrowing. I'm not going to lie. It's not an easy read to stomach. Last year, it was referred to as "soft core porn." Needless to say, the bookish community was outraged. Such a comment says that we should ban this book because the victim brought it on herself. The rapist should be allowed to run free through the story. Should such a book truly be banned because it makes someone upset? It's not meant to be pretty, or easy, or simple. Real life is messy. Real pain is tangible and speaks volumes to someone who might otherwise be too afraid to speak up that they, too, were a victim. The same goes for another of the author's novels, Wintergirls. Tackling eating disorders and cutting, it's a hard-edged approach to an all-too common disease. Should it really be pushed under the rug?

There are so many books out there today that are banned because of their "offensive" content. Think of Catcher in the Rye, or the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Think of Bridge to Terabithia, or Harry Potter, or Lord of the Flies. Yes, books might offend people. Content speaks volumes to different people in different ways. That's a good thing. In my humble opinion, parents should read what their children are reading. If you have a problem with the material, discuss it with your child. Don't fight it. Embrace the challenge and open the communication. Speaking about it might just diminish the fear of those words, and children might actually stand to gain more from reading it.

For a long while now, I've been a huge fan of Alex Flinn's writing style. The author has the unique ability to spin incredible fairy tales, while also creating gut-wrenching stories full of life, reality, compassion and depth. Censorship is a hot button issue in the book industry, as well is in the world today, as a whole, and I couldn't sit idly by when I heard the news that Alex Flinn's critically-acclaimed novel, Breathing Underwater, is facing censorship in Richland, Washington. Below is a description of the novel:

Nick is one of the chosen few at his high school: intelligent, popular, and wealthy. People think his life is pretty easy. Except for one thing. Nick has never told anyone about his father's violent temper.

When Nick meets Caitlin, he thinks she is the answer to all his problems. Caitlin is everything Nick has ever wanted—beautiful, talented, and in love with him. But then everything changes, and Nick must face the fact that he has gotten more from his father than green eyes and money.

The Richland, Washington school district is stating that that Breathing Underwater features "profanity," "dark themes" and "sexual content." As a conservative individual who has read the book, I can objectively state the profanity never goes beyond name-calling such as "b*tch or "slut," the dark undertones mimic the severity of the situation that the novel is actually bringing to light and the sexual content is merely alluded to. There is no action, there is no physical description and, frankly, the content to which the school board is referring is much like a tactful fade-out, if you will.

I believe there is value to books that tactfully broach upon the difficult-to-stomach issues of real life. There are going to be teens in this world that can relate to the trauma that Caitlin faces, both emotionally and physically. There are going to be boys that can relate to the internal battle that Nick fights every day to control the violence inside him. Simply censoring and glossing over such important and valuable content would be severely detrimental to the children whom the Richland, Washington school district are teaching. To ban a book simply based on the presumption that the content is too much for the sensitive minds of the children is narrow-minded and egotistical. Frankly, there are probably students who won't have the courage to stand up and step out of a situation without reading a novel like Breathing Underwater.

Breathing Underwater has won dozens of awards and honours, but perhaps the most valuable of all was not so much an award, but a clear and distinct recognition of its necessity for teens. In 2007, Rhode Island passed the Lindsay Ann Burke Act in honour of a young woman killed by her abusive boyfriend, making it mandatory for all schools in the state to address dating violence in their curriculum to raise awareness to the severity and detrimental nature of it. Nebraska and Ohio passed the act in 2009, as well. Breathing Underwater has been recommended reading for the course since.

Last year, the school district fought to ban the book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and lost due to public support and the upholding of the novel's merit. It is my hope that as a YA community, we can rally behind not only the integrity of Breathing Underwater, but also the author in this situation. To the Richland, Washington school district: life isn't all sunshine and roses. In some situations, there is a dark underbelly that needs to be exposed to properly educate and grow the minds of the individuals being taught.

There is still time to help Alex Flinn and support her novel, Breathing Underwater. We are a vast community, and we have the opportunity to make a significant impact. Please, if you can take just a moment to do so, tweet this, share it, blog it and get it out to others that the censorship of Breathing Underwater must be stopped.

 If you would like to email the school district to rally for the cause, please do so HERE.