Rant: Saw The Hate U Give get pulled from a classroom in Florida and it was nothing like what the parents claimed

My cousin teaches 9th grade English down in Orange County, Florida. Last semester some parents raised a stink about the book being on the reading list. They said it was 'anti-police' and 'too political.' I borrowed her copy and read it over a weekend. It's literally about a girl watching her friend get shot by a cop and then dealing with the aftermath. The whole thing is about grief, family, and speaking up. Nothing glamorizes violence. What changed was this group of 4 parents showed up to a school board meeting in October, got on the local news, and by November the book was on a review list. My cousin told me they didn't even read it. She asked one mom point blank and the lady admitted she only saw a TikTok clip about it. Has anyone else seen a book get banned just from a bad summary online?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily3601mo ago

My cousin had the same thing happen with "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" a few years back. One parent saw a screenshot of a single page on Facebook and went on a crusade. The thing is, once a book gets put on that review list, it's basically dead in the water because the school board doesn't want to deal with the drama. Tell your cousin to start keeping a folder of positive reviews from professional sources and maybe a study guide that breaks down the themes. If she can show the book meets state standards for critical thinking and diversity, that gives the board a reason to push back. Also, getting a couple of students to write letters about why they found it meaningful can be way more powerful than any adult complaining. Most of these challenges fall apart if you just force them to actually read the book out loud at a meeting.

adams.faith1mo ago

Big agree, "read it out loud at a meeting" is a total game changer, @lily360.