The Cider House Rules

John Irving's The Cider House Rules was the 12th book in my 2022 #FReadom project to read books removed or threatened in Texas libraries and schools. After it appeared on the Krause list, North East ISD recommended its removal in favor of something more "updated."

I'll reserve judgment until I've read the proposed replacement, but the moral wrestling with the causes and effects of pregnancy, orphans and abortion are no more out-of-date in Irving's novel than in the Dickens and Brontë novels that were its orphans' bedtime stories.

For the first 2/3 of this nearly 600-page book, I was wondering how I'd ever get through it; then, just when it seemed like everything was wrapping up (albeit with more than 100 pages left), it exploded into action. Yes, it probably could have been tightened up, as I felt like sometimes I was re-reading things over and over (e.g. Dr. Larch's journal entries), but I'm glad I stuck with it--the writing was fun, the characters were compelling, and their stories all combined effectively to illustrate how important it is to have the freedom to choose. Would recommend.