John Green’s award winning novel Looking for Alaska has been deemed pornographic and was banned in the Knox County school system after a parent complained that the book went against what she was trying to teach her child.
The parent, Lori Seal, complained that the book doesn’t warn against sexually transmitted diseases or the risk of pregnancy. It also contains words Seal considers inappropriate for any 15-year-old. Out of 216 pages there are 281 occurrences of such words Seal considers inappropriate. That calculates to 1.3 times per page which indicates to Seal that it is the theme of the book
I not only think they should take it off the required reading list, they should take it out of the schools,” Seal added, “What literary benefit would my son gain from reading this book. It is pure porn. I was embarrassed to stand up there and read that, but as a parent I am teaching my son abstinence, then the schools promote and encourage sexual behavior.
The school’s response:
After the meeting School Superintendent Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr. told the Journal that the parent identified this as an issue a couple of weeks ago and they have already removed it from the required reading list. He didn’t say whether the book was still in the schools.
As for the literary benefit of Looking for Alaska, below are a list of awards that it has won.
– Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
– An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
– An ALA Quick Pick
– A Los Angeles Times 2005 Book Prize Finalist
– A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
– A 2005 Booklist Editor’s Choice
– A 2005 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year