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Forever Catches Flak in MissouriOverriding the concerns of a Harrisonville, Missouri, mother, the local school board has decided to affirm the recommendation of a materials-review committee and retain Judy Blume’s Forever in the Harrisonville High School library. Having exhausted the appeals process, the dissatisfied complainant has taken her case to the media. “This book is nasty,” Cheryl Obermiller told the Kansas City NBC-TV affiliate May 10, explaining “the ‘f’ word is used a few times, mostly just to trivialize sex.” Obermiller also argued that the book’s content violates the school’s own student handbook, which bans words or gestures “portraying sex in a manner offensive to community standard, and [without] serious literary value.” Harrisonville High School Principal Ed Streich countered that while some parents might find passages in the 1975 coming-of-age novel offensive, “it does paint a realistic picture of the pressures students face today in our changing society.” The critically acclaimed title, which was eighth on ALA’s list of the 100 most challenged books of 1990–2000, and was returned in January to the shelves of the Elgin (Ill.) Area School District U-46 after a four-year battle. Posted May 20, 2002. |
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