Author John Green's bestseller "The Fault in Our Stars" has been banned from Riverside Unified School reportedly because one of the parents, Karen Krueger, thinks that the book is not appropriate for the middle-school students.
"I just didn't think it was appropriate for an 11-, 12- and 13-year-old child. I was really shocked it was taught in middle school," Vanity Fair quoted her as saying.
Apparently, Krueger thinks that the book has a "gloomy plot" and "sexual content", something that young kids should not read.
Krueger requested the responsible members and committee of the school to ban the book from the library.
"I still don't think 12- and 13-year-olds need to read about a 16- and a 17-year-old having sex," said STEM Academy teacher and committee member Jennifer Higgins, as reported by The Press Enterprise.
However, there were some members of the school who were against banning the John Green novel. Green's novel is a bestseller and has been made into a movie starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort.
The film talks about the two teenagers Hazel and Gus who are suffering from cancer. The two meet at cancer support group and fall in the love. It talks about the journey of two people and how they find support in each other before they die.
The film was nominated for several awards and won Golden Trailer award for best romance.
Post the banning of book from Riverside Unified School District middle schools, Green suggested on his Tumblr account that he is upset by the fact that children at the school won't be introduced to the idea of death and would stay in the fairytale world of immortality.
He even said he is happy about the fact the "younger generation at Riverside would never experience mortality, which is great for them".
"The Fault in Our Stars" has been praised by many notable personalities. Renowned author Jodi Picoult said that the book is "an electric portrait of young people who learn to live life with one foot in the grave." The book was listed in Top 100 Children's Books of 2012 by Kirkus review and 10 Books of 2012 by USA Today.
The actors of "The Fault in My Stars" movie, Woodley and Elgort are yet to comment on the banning of book from the school.
