The novel is a surreal and hallucinatory tale of a young runaway on an Oedipal quest to find his mother and an ageing simpleton who searches for lost cats. "I opened up to a page that made me go 'Wow, this isn't normal.'" "It's really sending the wrong message to kids about what's appropriate." Arata told a local news station in January 2019, citing the book’s "obscene" and "very vivid descriptions" of sex. The Republican lawmaker, of New Gloucester, MA, was so shocked by what she read that she felt compelled to introduce a bill to criminalise educators who teach it. When US State Representative Amy Arata picked up her 17-year-old son’s school copy of Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore, she did not like what greeted her eyes. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (2002) One pastor reportedly fumed: “Whose job is it to make sure the books that are being taught are on an approved list? How many other books are being taught that are not on an approved list?” The imbroglio was put down to the inexperience of a teacher unfamiliar with the school’s book approval process.
Parents complained about its "vulgar", "graphic" and "just unnecessary" subject matter and the school board leapt into action, voting swiftly to pull the book from the honours class’ required reading list. But the expectation on the young boys’ shoulders weighs heavy, culminating in a violent act that will leave one girl traumatised and the town in disarray. Published in 2017, it tells the story of a rusting forest community that pins its hopes of glory and economic revival on its junior hockey team as it competes in the national championships. The outcry erupted after it was discovered that Beartown, by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, had inveigled itself into the McMichael High School’s curriculum without pre-approval. A book, parents said, was having a terrifying effect on their 16-year-old children. Last October, a cold gust of fear swept through North Carolina’s Rockingham County School District.
Soon, free speech organisations jumped in to defend the book before the author himself slammed education authorities for wanting to "control debate and limit the imagination." It remains one of the most banned books in circulation. At least 17 schools across the US crossed it off their reading lists sparking student protests and petitions. They ranged from its use of "filthy words" to "reference to masturbation" to themes viewed by many as "anti-Christian". The multiple award-winning coming-of-age novel was lauded upon its 2008 publication for tackling such touchpoint issues as racial identity, bullying, poverty, disability and more and as a result, many schools across America incorporated it into their curriculums. This bestseller, which tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who leaves his Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school, upset a lot of people for a lot of reasons. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (2009)