OPINION | The book of mine that has been banned most frequently is about a school shooting and the effects of bullying. However, the reason cited for its inappropriateness for kids is not the mention of violence, but rather a single page.
The seventh time I learned that my novelI was in the U.K., in rehearsals for a musical I’d co-written based on Markus Zusak’s novel, which is set in Nazi Germany. The director was determined to physically set a prop book on fire each night because of how shocking and powerful it was to watch. We were testing it out for the first time when the notification popped on my computer screen: about yet another parent complaining that my novel was inappropriate for high school students.
The 92 books fell into three categories: those with mature content, those written by BIPOC authors, and those written by LGBTQ authors. My books were removed because they were, according to the sole parent who made the challenge, “adult romance that should not be on school shelves.” It is worth noting I do not write adult romance. The majority of the books that were targeted do not even have a kiss in them.
Some activists and parents have taken these laws as free reign to remove whatever books they personally do not deem acceptable. Some districts take the books off shelves “pending review”— but months and years go by without a review, and the books remain locked away.
In most school districts where a novel of mine has been challenged—including Martin County—the impetus has come from, a nationwide group that has a binder full of objectionable titles they find “concerning,” which are passed to local chapters, who in turn provide the titles to their local school boards or principals. Those doing the challenging often have not read the books themselves.
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