About this Event
The Banned Book Club is led by Bryn, dedicated to reading and protecting the most important and threatened books for our generation.
This month, we’re reading Flamer by Mike Curato — a powerful and deeply personal graphic novel set at a Boy Scout summer camp. Through the eyes of Aiden Navarro, a young boy grappling with bullying, faith, and his emerging identity, the story traces a tender and painful coming-of-age shaped by shame, longing, and the search for self-acceptance.
The book has been one of the most frequently challenged titles in recent years, targeted for its depictions of LGBTQ+ identity, sexuality, and mental health struggles. Its honest portrayal of adolescence—particularly the inner life of a queer teen—has made it a lightning rod for censorship, even as those truths are precisely what give the story its urgency and resonance.
Raw, compassionate, and visually striking, Flamer captures the intensity of growing up and the quiet courage it takes to survive it—reminding us that the stories most often silenced are the ones that help readers feel seen.
We will meet in person in the loft at our store at The Mark, 117 S. Pineapple Ave. The book club is $26.99, which includes a copy of Flamer to be picked up at Bookstore1 any time before our meeting.
Mike Curato is the award-winning author and illustrator of the Little Elliot series and the graphic novel Flamer, and has illustrated a number of other books for children, including What If… (by Samantha Berger), Worm Loves Worm, and All the Way to Havana.
ABOUT BOOK BANS:
Books are under profound attack in the United States. PEN America's latest report, Banned in the USA: The Normalization of Book Banning, found that 6,870 books bans were enacted during the 2024-25 school year, across 23 states and 87 public school districts. And everywhere, it is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history. PEN America pushes back against censorship and the intolerance and exclusion that undergird it.
Check out some frequently asked questions about book banning: https://pen.org/book-bans/book-bans-frequently-asked-questions/
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Bookstore1Sarasota, 117 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, United States
USD 28.88
