By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Eleven more books have been deemed acceptable to return to Beaufort County School District (BCSD) libraries following the most recent Book Review Committee meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Okatie Elementary School.
Of the 11 books reviewed in the October meeting, the committees decided that eight should be returned to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12 only and three should be returned to library circulation without any restrictions.
The eight books that are to return to BCSD for Grades 9 through 12 are All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, Confess: A Novel by Colleen Hoover, Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, November 9 by Colleen Hoover, Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson and Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas.
The three books that are to be returned without any restrictions are Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler and The Duff by Kody Keplinger.
October 2023 marks one year since 97 books were removed from BCSD library shelves following a complaint regarding the content of the books.
According to the BCSD website, since December 2022, 85 committees have reviewed 84 different books with two books being returned to the review process due to a tie vote and four books being removed from BCSD libraries for the next five years.
Identical by Ellen Hopkins was originally reviewed in May 2023 and was re-reviewed in September 2023 when it was returned to library circulation for Grades 9 through 12.
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee was originally reviewed in August 2023 and it has yet to be scheduled for a second review.
The four books that were removed following their review are 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.
Genie Reynolds Brainerd of Lady’s Island said she has participated in one committee for every meeting as a School Improvement Council (SIC) member.
During the most recent meeting, Brainerd helped to review the book November 9 by Colleen Hoover.
Brainerd said that while she typically considers herself to be more conservative, she is not a book banner.
“I feel that people who ban books have never been on the right side of history,” Brainerd said. “There have been some of the books that I’ve read that were definitely not my preference and I don’t want any children reading it, but that’s not for me to decide. It’s for me to decide what I read and guide my own children.”
As for the process, Brainerd said that she feels like the whole thing has gone just as smoothly as it possibly could.
She has served on committees with people who she disagreed with as well as people she agreed with, but she said everyone spoke their minds respectfully and were OK to “agree to disagree” if necessary.
Andrew Conlon, a parent from Beaufort, participated in his second review committee on Oct. 11 and reviewed the book All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.
He said there were only three people on his committee including himself and after reading the book, he was lost as to why it would be a challenged book.
“I’m happy to shout from the rooftops that I think the district was foolish to implement this review process rather than sticking to the already established rules around challenging books and especially the process for parents restricting library materials from their own children,” Conlon said. “It’s a waste of time and money and I think they’re treating this whole anti-intellectual exercise with way more respect than it deserves, and it’s cowardice not to do more to stand up for education.”
Just as Brainerd said, Conlon said the books were not ones he would have selected for himself but he thinks it’s incredibly important for children “growing up outside the standard mold of society to have this type of literature available to them to help them navigate it, and figure things out and especially to know that they aren’t alone.”
The books reviewed on October 11 will remain off BCSD shelves until after the Beaufort County Board of Education meets and votes on whether to uphold the decision of the review committees.
So far, the Board has voted to uphold all the decisions made by the review committees.
There are 14 books left to review from the original list of 97 books.
The next review committee meeting will be held on November 8, 2023, at Okatie Elementary School at 5:45 p.m. and the books that will be reviewed are Boy Girl Boy by Ron Koertge, Flamer by Mike Curato, Grit by Gillian French, Lucky by Alice Sebold, Scars by Cheryl Rainfield, Shine by Lauren Myracle and The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley.
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.
