Showerthought: Reading Slaughterhouse-Five in my high school library got me flagged by a parent group in 2019

After a mom saw me checking it out and complained to the principal, they pulled it from the shelf for a month and that made me wonder how many other kids miss out on great books because of one complaint; has anyone else had a specific book get restricted at their school library after a single parent spoke up?

2 comments

2 Comments

jana_hernandez1mo ago

Wait, a parent was actually watching what books kids were checking out and then followed up with the principal over it? That level of busybody energy is honestly terrifying.

blake_smith1mo ago

My high school had a similar situation with "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and I ended up just checking it out from the public library instead. That loophole is what I tell younger readers to use now if their school pulls something dumb like that. The irony is those complaints usually make more kids want to read the book out of curiosity. Still sucks that one person can ruin access for everyone else though.