Yes, Flamer Is Banned!

Flamer takes place over a single session at a Boy Scout camp, where Aiden Navarro is trying to survive the summer. He’s half-Filipino in a mostly white troop, he’s targeted by bullies who sense something different about him, and he’s fighting a growing realization that he’s gay. Curato’s graphic novel uses fire as its central metaphor: the campfires, the pyromania of bored boys, and the burning self-hatred that nearly consumes Aiden. The book builds to a devastating climax that directly confronts suicidal ideation, making it one of the most emotionally powerful graphic novels in recent years. It was a National Book Award finalist.

Flamer has been banned in school districts across the country, with over 130 total challenges. Like Gender Queer, its graphic novel format has made it particularly vulnerable to challenges, as individual panels can be taken out of context and presented at school board meetings. Challengers object to its LGBTQ+ themes and a scene depicting a same-sex kiss. The book has been removed from shelves in Florida, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Curato has spoken about the painful irony of banning a book about a queer kid who is silenced and shamed, noting that the act of removal recreates the very harm the book is trying to heal.