Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. So this current rash of book bandings

are often focused on books that deal with race and gender identity. George M. Johnson's All Boys

Aren't Blue deals with both head on. And it's maybe no surprise that it is one of the most

challenged books in the country right now.

It wasn't even a surprise to Johnson.

They told NPR's Lila Faddle about how they saw other books get banned, and so it was more than

likely that this book would get challenged.

It was just a surprise at how much of a hubbub it caused.

But, and I think this is important to remember while we do this week on banned books,

Johnson says that the support they've gotten from parents, librarians, and I think this is important to remember while we do this week on banned books, Johnson says that the support they've gotten from parents, librarians, and kids far outweighs the haters out there.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR

reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant

events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get

your podcasts. When George M. Johnson was growing up, they didn't see themselves in books.

So Johnson wrote the book they wished they'd had.

The 2020 memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue.

It's about the love that I had from a black family as a young black queer boy from

Plainfield, New Jersey, who at the age of five didn't really

understand why I was different, but knew that I was different, even if I didn't have the words

to say it.

Johnson says it's for teens that might feel alone as they navigate their identities and the

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