'Twilight' series on list of most challenged books?

'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer - Hatchette Books

Every year, the American Library Association issues a list of what it perceives to be the most "challenged books" on library shelves based on, as the Associated Press outlines, what is "most complained about by parents and educators."
Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series has apparently left enough such disgruntled parties in its wake because it has been chosen for this year's list of "most challenged" books by the ALA.

Meyer's multimillion-selling "Twilight" series was ranked No. 5 on the annual report of "challenged books" released Wednesday by the American Library Association. Meyer's stories of vampires and teen romance have been criticized for sexual content; a library association official also thinks that the "Twilight" series reflects general unease about supernatural stories.

"Vampire novels have been a target for years and the `Twilight' books are so immensely popular that a lot of the concerns people have had about vampires are focused on her books," says Barbara Jones, director of the association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Interesting, isn't it?
Let's look at these criticisms one by one.
"Criticized for sexual content" - This one sticks out quite a bit. Yes, there is a lingering, under-the-breath bit of sexual suggestiveness in the Twilight series, but, as any Twilight series reader will know, the pay off scenes are quite PG-rated. In fact, one of the biggest complaints some fans had about Breaking Dawn, the fourth in the series, was that it didn't show enough of the consummation of Bella and Edward's marriage. Sigh. Discussion of this point could go on and on and on . . .
"General unease about supernatural stories"/"Concerns people have had about vampires" - So, basically the suggestion here is that Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series has become so popular that it's now a lightning rod scapegoat for overall concerns about the nature of vampires in modern literature. This sort of explains reason number one, which would certainly be more aptly applied to other series whose sexual content is more dominant (i.e., the Sookie Stackhouse stories). Is it right, though, to substitute concerns about a particular book series with those of a genre's entirety? Tough question.
A look at some of the other books listed - The Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple, and To Kill a Mockingbird, for instance - suggests that this list is more aimed at sheltering students and readers from the uncomfortable truths of things. Put 1984 and Farenheit 451 on there and you've got yourself a regular censorship party.
That's not to say there aren't legitimate issues within the Twilight series, of course, but these ones come off as a bit questionable.
This all, ironically, comes from the Office of Intellectual Freedom. Go figure.
You can read the rest of the list here.