Context:

A Chicago Public Schools ban of Persepolis in 2013 sparks the fictionalized Wake Now in the Fire, tracing how students respond to censorship and how freedoms of reading shape their identities. The narrative parallels real events, showing how librarians, teachers, and student organizers navigate restricted access, while highlighting that Persepolis remained available in libraries with teaching caveats. The piece notes a rising wave of book challenges in the U.S. and ties the story to broader struggles for youth agency and expression. It closes by pointing to ongoing debates about censorship and the power of literature to mobilize young readers.

Dive Deeper:

• In 2013, CPS restricted access to Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis in some classrooms, without a published explanation of the decision-making process.

• Dapier's Wake Now in the Fire, illustrated by AJ Dungo, follows fictional high schooler Aditi and centers on how students respond to the Persepolis ban, including organizing and reporting on the issue.

• Two Lane Tech seniors emerged as key voices in the protest, appearing on Chicago Tonight in March 2013 to explain why they chose to mobilize and push back against the order.

• The book alternates between fictional classmates' reactions and a broader student journalism effort that documents impacts and spreads information to the public.

• Ultimately Persepolis was allowed in CPS libraries and teaching could proceed in 8th to 10th grade with added training, while it remained restricted below eighth grade due to depictions of violence.

• Authors and characters reflect on censorship as a form of oppression, linking the historical moment to a contemporary rise in targeted book challenges and youth-led advocacy for access to literature.