By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Beaufort County Board of Education met on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, during their normally scheduled meeting and voted to uphold the decision of the September 13 book review committees.
Board member Angela Middleton put forth the motion that Beaufort County Board of Education “concur with the findings” of the book review committees and it passed 7 to 3, with Victor Ney, Rachel Wisnefski and Elizabeth Hey voting against.
The books in question are Damsel by Elana Arnold, Lea on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, Identical by Ellen Hopkins, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy.
Two of the six books, Damsel and Leah on the Offbeat have been returned to library circulation without any additional stipulations or restrictions.
The other four books have all been returned to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only.
Seventy-four of the 97 books that were removed from Beaufort County School District (BCSD) library shelves in October 2022 have been reviewed, and only four books have been removed following their review – Forever for a Year by B.T. Gottfried, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover and The Haters by Jesse Andrews.
Once a book is banned, it is removed from BCSD circulation for five years. At that time, it can be re-reviewed to see if it can be returned to BCSD libraries.
Identical had previously been reviewed in May but was returned to the review process due to a split vote during the review committee meeting.
The next book review committee meeting was scheduled to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at 5:45 p.m. and 11 committees were to meet.
The to be reviewed on October 11 are All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, Confess: A Novel by Colleen Hoover, Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, November 9 by Collene Hoover, Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson, The Duff by Kody Keplinger and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas.
Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She joined The Island News in 2022. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
