Crazy Lady!

Crazy Lady! by Jane Conly is on the ALA's list of most frequently challenged books, though I honestly have no idea why. It's about a kid named Vernon whose mom died. His dad's doing his best to keep the family together. Vern is failing several subjects in school, and really needs help with English, in particular. Tutoring is out of the question, really, because it costs $2 an hour (did I mention it's set in 1981?) That's money the Dibbs family doesn't have. Vern happens to live one street over from a slum, basically, and there's a drunk "crazy lady" and her mentally challenged son that walk up and down the streets and get made fun of. It's pretty weird. Anyway, one day Vern helps the lady, Maxine, out, and she asks what she can do for him. Vern mentions he needs help in English, and Maxine gets him set up with their neighbor, Miss Annie, who used to be an English teacher. Miss Annie doesn't ask for money to help Vern, but she does have him do things to help Maxine and her son Ronald. Vern is not thrilled about this at first, but eventually becomes friends with the small, somewhat dysfunctional family. Vern ends up holding a fundraiser to earn money for a new pair of tennis shoes for Ronald, so he can join the Special Olympics. And then all of a sudden, Maxine decides that life is too much for her alcoholic self to handle and sends Ronald off to live with relatives in North Carolina. Vern is upset. The end.

I really don't know why this book is on the "Banned Books" list, other than the fact that there are a few swear words (I counted less than 10, and nothing too serious). And then there's Maxine's alcoholism. But this isn't the only middle school-level book that features those two elements. The book was rather tame, in my opinion. The worst side of alcoholism we see is just some silly things Maxine shouts in the streets. There's no abuse or anything. The book doesn't tell kids how to get drunk. I don't understand it. The best I can figure is that the book is on the list because in 1993, when it was written, maybe parents were a little more uptight about that kind of thing. In our library, the book is classified as a "J"- a juvenile novel. It's shelved in the children's section and is intended for readers up to middle school. I think that simply relabeling the book as a "YT", a book for younger teens, would solve any problems parents might have with this book. Make it clear it's meant for middle schoolers.
To be completely honest, though, I think the book could probably be weeded from our shelves. It contains dated language and has virtually nothing to appeal to young audiences today. It was kind of lame. I'm fairly sure the only reason we've kept it around is because of its notoriety.