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Charlotte and Matthew sort copies of The Perks of Being a Wallflower before members arrive. The teens say discussing books with peers helps them process complex themes together. | Kayla Borg, LkldNow
7-minute read
On a cloudy November day, two teens, Matthew and Charlotte, both 14, stand outside the Lakeland Public Library. They’re not here for a study group or a test prep session on a Sunday afternoon. In Florida, where book access has become a flashpoint, and teachers are increasingly cautious about what can be discussed in classrooms — these teens are here for the books, community and freedom to learn.
A moment later, there’s a click, and the librarian unlocks the sliding doors.
Charlotte and Matthew head straight for the resource desk. They’re led to a meeting room, where they rearrange tables and open a box filled with brand-new paperbacks. Charlotte stacks them in neat rows, runs her palm over the covers, and smiles.
Matthew pulls out a blue marker. He writes “Banned Book Club — Come in” on a sheet of printer paper, highlights it in orange, adds a smiley face, and tapes it to the door.
A hand-lettered sign marks the meeting room at Lakeland Public Library where the teen-led Banned Book Club gathered on a recent Sunday afternoon. | Kayla Borg, LkldNow
According to a 2024 report from PEN America, Florida removed approximately 4,500 books from school libraries during the 2023-24 school year — more than any other state.
“If young people aren’t allowed to practice their reading skills through authentic experiences, then why would we assume they’ll grow up as readers?” said Dr. Lindsay Persohn, assistant professor of literacy studies at the University of South Florida. “We have to give them real books.”
The moment the idea sparked
Both Matthew and Charlotte said it wasn’t originally about taking a stand — it was just one of those conversations that went deeper than expected.
Matthew recalled, “We just talk about different things that are going on — and it turned into this conversation about banning and challenging books. And we were like… what if we started a book club?”
Both teens said they didn’t know very much about book bans at first, only that it made them curious.
“We wanted to do research,” Matthew remarked. “We wanted to see what’s going on.”
They didn’t start with a list of titles in mind — they started with themes: books that deal with real issues teens see around them but might not get to talk openly about.
“Things like racism, sexism, ableism,” Charlotte said. “Like… basic human rights. We wanted to explore books that could happen to people in their everyday lives.”
“A lot of these banned or challenged books are affecting minorities,” Matthew pointed out. “We wanted to stir up some voices that might not be getting heard.”
Persohn said research consistently shows that self-directed reading builds not just academic ability, but identity. “When you read what you love, you start to see yourself as a reader — and that sense of ownership changes everything,” she explained.
For Matthew and Charlotte, this isn’t an act of rebellion. It’s literacy, community, and the freedom to learn. And for the teens walking into this meeting room on a Sunday afternoon, it’s a place to feel less alone.
What qualifies as a banned book?
“Banned books — we use it like an umbrella term… some books have been challenged and not removed, and some have been removed but brought back.”
Both teens said the heart of the issue isn’t the label — it’s the loss of connection and representation. “It makes me think of my personal, individual rights — like, is there something I’m not allowed to talk about?” Charlotte asked.
She added that teachers — the very adults young people turn to for context — are also caught in this uncertainty. “Especially with the censorship issues, it makes me think teachers who aren’t able to speak about things that might be critical to learning.”
Persohn said authentic literature helps students “rehearse for the best and worst moments of life” — safely, through the pages of a book. “Stories let students step into another person’s experience,” she noted. “That’s where empathy and critical thinking grow.”
“Books have been the one thing that has hit me the hardest — stories that stay with me forever,” Matthew shared.
Youth-led and why that feels safer
Matthew explained that reading as a group creates a different kind of learning. Part of the reason this works, they both say, is because it’s led by teens, not adults.
They both explained they’re not just thinking about this moment, they’re thinking about the middle schoolers who will come after them, and the high schoolers who are just now discovering the power of seeing themselves on the page.
According to Persohn, adolescent-led reading spaces are particularly powerful. “During those years, you’re figuring out who you are and where you fit in the world,” she said. “When teens lead their own reading circles, it builds both confidence and connection.”
Charlotte wants younger kids to feel confident enough to use their own voice, ask their own questions, and choose books that reflect the full spectrum of their lives — not just the ones adults feel safest about.
“It feels more personal,” she said. “They know they’re not just telling a random adult this — it feels like a safe space because everyone is our age.”
“And maybe they’ll get their own ideas about things and they’ll grow,” Matthew added.
Parents cheering them on
For their parents, this moment feels both familiar and brand-new — like watching echoes of their own adolescence, but with more agency than they had at that age.
“I was thrilled,” Matthew’s father Nick said when asked how he feels about the creation of the banned book club. “Peer to peer communication is very, very important.”
Alyssia, Charlotte’s mother, added that discussion of the books and themes leads to positive “sparring,” which she differentiates from “arguing.”
“Great solutions and the meeting of minds comes through that process,” she explains. Alyssia said she understands the weight books can hold because of her own childhood. “Books, to me, matter — and I buy them. I don’t rent them, because I don’t want them taken away.”
Both Nick and Alyssia are extremely proud of Charlotte and Matthew.
“One of these days, when I grow up, I want to be just like Matt,” Nick said of his son.
Their first book: ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’
They’ve picked the book “Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, published in 1999 — a title that in the state of Florida is currently banned in Brevard, Volusia, Hernando, Indian River, Leon, and Manatee counties, though not in Polk.
“We thought this would be an interesting book to start with,” said Charlotte. “It’s banned because there’s a homosexual character — and because it raises awareness for teen mental health.”
Charlotte and Matthew say that the choice isn’t about shock, it’s about seeing complex feelings on the page and having a safe place to process together.
What this means in Polk County
This banned book club isn’t forming in a vacuum. It’s forming inside Polk County’s real literacy landscape.
According to the United Community Indicators dashboard from United Way of Central Florida and GiveWell Community Foundation, only about 73% of adults in Polk County demonstrate basic literacy skills, lower than neighboring Hillsborough county. And among high school students, the state’s own English Language Arts End-of-Course (EOC) exams show Polk County teens are more likely to score at Level 1 or 2 — and less likely to score at levels 4 or 5 — than their peers statewide.
“When students choose to read on their own, they’re not just practicing comprehension — they’re encountering new and rare words that strengthen vocabulary and test performance,” Persohn added. “It’s those incidental encounters with language that build the kind of reading stamina standardized testing actually measures.”
None of that is the responsibility of the teens in this room. But it is the backdrop they’re navigating.
Here, the goal is simple:
Read together. Think together. Talk together.
“Rather than restricting what students read, join them,” Persohn explained. “Talk with them about the stories they’re choosing. Books can be open conversations that help families and communities make sense of the world together.”
The club shares updates and meeting dates on Instagram: @bannedbookclublkld and has created a GoFundMe to help with the purchase of books and supplies.
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.
