Book evaluation committee approves three contested titles

By Heather Michon
Correspondent

The Learning Resources Review Committee (LRRC) held its first meeting after a short summer break on Aug. 29 and is on track to complete its review of 16 challenged titles in late September.

The books under review during this session were Amy Reed’s The Nowhere Girls, Saundra Mitchell’s All the Things We Do In the Dark, and Ashley Hope Perez’s Out of Darkness. All three titles have faced challenges in school districts across the country for their frank depictions of sexuality, sexual violence, racism, and other sensitive topics.

As in their previous discussions, the LRRC evaluators were not persuaded by the criticisms. Throughout their discussions, members focused on the way depictions of sex or violence fit into the story rather than seeing the graphic material in isolation. 

The Nowhere Girls, which focuses on a group of young women who come together to challenge their school’s toxic culture, was praised for its strong messages about solidarity and openness.  

Ann-Marie Parrish, Columbia District representative, said the girls in the story “empower each other through difficult confessions and communications,” and the author realistically described the social world of modern teens.

FCHS Principal Margo Bruce said scenes involving sexual violence could be distressing for some readers but were “critical for the story” and was entirely age-appropriate for readers in grades 10-12.

Sometimes, the decisions were easy.

“I would not have a problem with my teen daughter reading this” said Director of Elementary Instruction Gemma Soares in their discussions of All the Things We Do In the Dark.

Other times, it was more of a challenge.

The group spent the most time discussing Out of Darkness, a historical novel framed around the deadly 1937 New London School explosion in Texas and full of depictions of racism, segregation, and trauma. 

All evaluators agreed it was a tough read. 

One reader said she almost couldn’t recommend the book to anyone because it was so dark. At the same time, she felt it was “also so important” for young people to look at the injustices and challenges of the past.

All three books were approved to remain on the school library shelves.

Only three books remain on the challenged list, which was submitted to the School Board in October 2023. The LRRC began its work in February by whittling the list down to 16 titles since many of the books were not actually held by the schools.

Of the 13 books evaluated so far, all have been approved as age-appropriate and will remain on the library shelves.

The final evaluations are scheduled for Sept.  26 at 5 p.m. in the FCHS Library.