Yorktown Considering Removing 9 Books From School Libraries

YORKTOWN, NY — Nine books in the libraries of Yorktown High School and Mildred E. Strang Middle School are under scrutiny after the Yorktown Central School District received complaints about them.

A spokeswoman for the district told Patch that when a community member or parent raises a formal objection to a book the district's policy requires a thorough review to investigate those concerns.

The books for which complaints have been received include works by LGBTQ writers, young adult authors, African Americans and even a Nobel Prize-winning author.

All of the books were challenged on the basis of vulgarity.

"At this time, no determination has been made regarding any of the challenged books," the district told Patch, "and the books have not been removed from the library collection."

They are available in the libraries either digitally or in hard copy while the review process continues, according to a spokeswoman.

The books and where they are located are:

• "Lawn Boy" by Jonathan Evison (MESMS Library)
• "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Perez (Yorktown High School Library)
• "Beyond Magenta" by Susan Kuklin (Yorktown High School Library)
• "Jack of Hearts and Other Parts" by L.C. Rose (Yorktown High School Library)
• "The Hate You Give" by Angie Thomas (Yorktown High School Library)
• "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe (Yorktown High School Library)
• "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George Matthew Johnson (Yorktown High School Library)
• "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison (Yorktown High School Library)
• "Looking for Alaska" by John Green (Yorktown High School Library)

When asked, the district did not provide information about who made the challenges or whether they were made anonymously.

As far as who is on the review committee, the district said it is made up of faculty, staff and one community member. A different community member is randomly chosen to serve on the committee for each book.

"The district is committed to completing the review process as soon as possible," the statement said.

Sarah Gambetta, a parent in the district who is disappointed to see a public school seek to limit access to diverse literature, said that books are not designed to make people comfortable all the time.

"The books on the list deal with complex, harsh topics that are both windows into other people's experiences," she said in a statement to Patch," and mirrors for readers to see their own experiences reflected."

Gambetta said the stories the books tell are important, "even if some are uncomfortable."

Jenna Jaramillo, a Yorktown mother of two children, also takes issue with the books being removed from libraries.

"These books may not be for everyone," she said, "but they're for someone."

George M. Johnson, whose coming-of-age memoir "All Boys Aren't Blue", has become the No. 1 banned book in the country, described the book as a love letter to the Black experience and the Black family dynamic.

In an interview with Lambda Legal, he said that one of the dangers of banning books is that children are being told they don't have a right to read about people like themselves and that their oppression and their ancestors' oppression are not real and don't matter.