As a book blogger and literature enthusiast, I am vehemently against the banning of books. It is a dangerous practice that undermines our fundamental right to freedom of expression and deprives us of the opportunity to explore diverse perspectives and ideas. Living in New Zealand, I am grateful that the banning of books is not a rampant issue, as it is in many other countries. However, this is not to say that we should become complacent or turn a blind eye to the dangers of censorship. We must remain vigilant and stand up against any attempts to restrict access to information and literature. For me, reading has always been a form of escape and a source of knowledge. Growing up in a Christian household, certain topics were considered taboo and were not discussed openly. It was through books and authors like Melody Carlson and Ellen Hopkins that I was able to find answers to some of the more challenging questions that I had about life and the world around me. Their books, such as Findin...

Review: The Price of Silence - Staci Stallings - April 2018 Clearing my kindle, I was scrolling through the kindle and I came across The Price of Silence by Staci Stallings and it had a thriller aspect to the book and so I decided to give it a go. I didn't have any expectations as to such for the book but OMG this was an amazing and powerful read. It even left me at the end going WOW as it packed a punch. This book starts with Robyn Lockhart's parents getting a divorce and moving from a small tiny Iowa to a new town which is a large city with her mother. When Robyn arrives at school, her eyes are opened wide and she feels sucked into a massive sea of students as her old school only had about 150-300 students altogether. During her first class, she meets a great teacher Mr. Tucker who runs the journalism class and newspaper club. He will become a great mentor to Robyn during this novel. She also makes new friends Kat and her boyfriend Chad and Sean Hudson. Duri...