Full discretion: I have not read this book.

What I’m most intrigued by is… the parent had the syllabus at the beginning of the course and signed off on it. I guarantee it listed the specific books. Their objection is “I assumed it was approved by the district.” Why does that change anything?

And second, they reference Common Sense Media’s rating of the book as 17+. This class is an elective only open to 11th and 12th graders, so generally that audience.

“There is such a high rate of mental health issues with kids these days,” the parent said. “Kids shouldn’t have to read this.” No one has to. It’s an elective. Don’t take the class if you don’t want to read it.