“We’re going to be adults soon, and we’re mature enough to read that book,” countered Winter Mills junior Crystal Gardner in the December 7 Baltimore Sun. Gardner said that she and several friends have gathered some 140 signatures calling for reinstatement of the novel, which deals with date rape, eating disorders, and self-mutilation in telling the story of an overweight teenage girl grappling with self-esteem issues. Among other awards, The Earth was named a 2004 Michael L. Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Services Association.
“I don’t think those types of books should be available in a public school,” Ecker told the Sun, explaining that CCPS students would be suspended for using the profanity and sexually explicit references he found in skimming the novel. However, he agreed to revisit the issue by reading the book in its entirety after meeting with district high-school librarians.
“I’m sure the superintendent had all good intentions and has the students’ interests at heart. But I think this is not a precedent you want to set,” WMLS media specialist Bonnie Kreamer said. What, if any, precedent has been set may soon become clear: A review committee is currently reconsidering Inside Out, Terry Trueman’s tale of a schizophrenic teen caught in a holdup.
Posted December 9, 2005.