Flagler Schools receives challenges for 20 books on library shelves

Twenty books that are on the shelves of Flagler County school libraries were challenged between Oct. 6 and Oct. 19, according to a school district document.

Four different people requested that the books be removed from the shelves. Three of the individuals are listed on the Flagler County Chapter of Moms for Liberty website as part of the chapter leadership team. Chapter president Shannon Rambow is among those challenging the books.

The reasons for the challenges ranged from explicit sexual descriptions and references to sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, sexual assault and pedophilia, excessive violence and profanity, sensational use of illegal drugs and underage drinking, racism and “other gender references”.

The reasons given for the challenges ranged from explicit sexual descriptions and references to sexual activity, teenage pregnancy, sexual assault and pedophilia, excessive violence and profanity, sensational use of illegal drugs and underage drinking, racism and “other gender references”.

All challenges include page numbers and, in many cases, citations of objectionable material.

rambow; Terri McDonald, Chapter School Council Coordinator; and Christine Glancy, chapter secretary; were among the four challengers. They did not immediately return phone calls or emails from the Observer search for comment.

Many of the challenges did not include the names of authors or publishers. A few of the challenges could not be found on Flagler Schools online catalog for media center resources or were not listed at the school the challenge cited.

Most of the challenges involved books on the shelves of the library at Matanzas High School and Flagler Palm Coast High School. “The Upside of Unrequited” by Becky Albertalli was contested for Buddy Taylor Middle School and FPC, but was not listed in the Buddy Taylor Catalog.

“Tilt,” by Ellen Hopkins, was contested for both high schools, but was only listed in the FPC catalog. “Push”, by Sapphire, did not chart for any of the high schools in which it was contested. “Crank”, by Hopkins, was contested for Matanzas and Indian Trails Middle School, but was only listed in the Matanzas catalog. “The Court of Mist & Fury” and “Dreaming in Cuban” were contested for FPC but did not appear in the school’s catalog.

“Lucky,” a memoir by Alice Sebold, describing her brutal sexual assault, is not listed in any high school catalogs. Scribner stopped publishing and distributing the 1999 book after the person convicted of the crime was exonerated after serving 16 years in prison.

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, by Sherman Alexie, has been contested for Indian Trails Middle School and FPC, but is not in the FPC catalog. “L8R G8R”, by Lauren Myracle, was challenged for Indian Trails but is not in the school catalog.

“Sold”, a novel by Patricia McCormick is a fictional story about a young girl from Nepal who is sold into a sex slave, told from the girl’s point of view. The book, which is in the Matanzas and FPC libraries, has been challenged for containing “explicit aberrant sexual activity, including rape of a minor, prostitution, and explicit violence.”

On her website, McCormick said she “interviewed Calcutta red-light district women and girls who were rescued from the sex trade” to research her book. She said she was inspired to write the novel after meeting a photographer who documented young girls working in brothels overseas.

All of the challenges were for library books only, not teaching materials. They were disputed for individual schools. The district’s challenge document was generated as a result of the state’s new requirements for media centers and instructional materials challenges, school board attorney Kristy Gavin said.

Each challenge will be reviewed by the school’s media specialist, Gavin said. If the media specialist decides that the book meets the criteria to remain on the shelf, then it will be reviewed by the full school media center committee.

Gavin said some of the books had been on the shelves for years and hadn’t been seen for some time. Each challenge will be reviewed by the school’s media specialist, she said. If the media specialist decides that the book meets the criteria to remain on the shelf, then it will be reviewed by the full school media center committee.

If the committee decides the book meets the guidelines, then the challenge can be elevated to the district level, Gavin added. A district media review committee would review the book. If the committee decides to keep the book on the shelves, the challenger would have 30 days to make a written appeal to Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt.

If Mittelstadt does not reverse the committee’s decision, the challenger would then have 10 days to appeal to the school board, Gavin said.

School board member Jill Woolbright’s book challenges followed the district-level process last year. Mittelstadt reversed the committee’s recommendation to return “Not All Boys Are Blue” to libraries.

Here is a list of the 20 books that were challenged:

1. Sold, Patricia McCormick

2. The Unrequited Advantage, Becky Albertalli

3. Lucky, Alice Seybold

4. Push, Sapphire

5. Tilt, Ellen Hopkins

6. Crank, Ellen Hopkins

7. Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher

8. The Truth About Alice, Jennifer Mathieu

9. Girls From Nowhere, Amy Lynn Reed

10. Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo

11. The Black Flamingo, Dean Atta

12. Breathless, Jennifer Niven

13. A Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J. Maas

14. Lady, Elana K. Arnold

15. Haters – Jesse Andrews

16. What Are Girls Made Of, Elan K. Arnold

17. Dreaming in Cuban, Christina Garcia

18. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl1, Jesse Andrews

19. The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie

20. LG8R G8R, Lauren Myracle