Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. So it's banned books week, a campaign by the

American Library Association to promote reading books that some powers that be don't want you to be

reading. Now, attempts to ban books have ramped up a lot this past year. And not at all

surprisingly, some of the most challenged

books are books written by black authors for a YA audience. So we're going to feature two of

those books on the show today. In a bit, we'll hear from Jason Reynolds and Brendan Keely about their

2015 book All American Boys. But first, Angie Thomas's The Hate You Give is about a young girl

named Star whose friend, Khalil, is shot and killed by a cop. Thomas talked to former NPR host

Lulu Garcia Navarro in 2017, and there's a section where Thomas talks about the Kalil's in her own

life, unarmed black men killed by police,

and how often people hyperfixate on their past and what imperfect things they may have done,

rather than what was done to them.

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 I was 12, my parents had two talks with me. One was the usual birds and the bees.

The other talk was about what to do if a cop stopped me.

That's Angie Thomas reading in the voice of her narrator, Star Carter, early on in her debut novel.

Mama fussed and told Daddy I was too young for that.

...