Author John Green hits back as his novel The Fault in Our Stars is moved to adult section in library
As John Green’s book The fault of our stars, was first published in 2012 and reached the top of the bestseller lists. The love story about two teenagers with cancer captured the hearts of teenagers around the world and was soon adapted into a film starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort.
Now the book, a favorite of older teenagers, has been moved to the adult section of a suburban Indianapolis library.
Green used X, formerly called Twitter, to express his frustration.
“That’s ridiculous. It’s about teenagers and I wrote it for teenagers. Teenagers are not harmed by reading TFIOS. “This is a major embarrassment to the City of Fishers,” he said.
“Obviously, I have only a small voice in these decisions, but you will not catch me alive or dead in Fishers, Indiana, until these ridiculous policies are revoked,” he added. “Which I think means there will be no Top Golf or IKEA for a while.”
At the local library, staff have spent hours browsing through books and moving those that don’t meet board guidelines from the young adult department to the general department. Books were targeted for their language about sexuality and reproduction, profanity, and criminal acts.
This isn’t the first time one of Green’s books has upset administrators and parents. His book In search of Alaskaalso aimed at older teenagers, has become an integral part is among the American Library Association’s 10 Most Challenged Books, making the list in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 2022because it’s sexually explicit.
In 2008, the author filmed a YouTube video titled “I’m Not a Pornographer” and explains that a school in Buffalo, New York planned to teach In search of Alaska up to 11th grade. But some people, he said, found the book controversial, so school officials gave parents a choice: have their children read the book or find an alternative.
“But there were a few people who weren’t happy with that solution,” Green said in the clip. “These people didn’t actually have kids in 11th grade, but whatever. They believe my book is pornographic and will provoke immoral thoughts and actions in children. These people believe that no one should be allowed to read the book, even the people whose parents signed the permit.”
And now, with book bans on the rise across America (2022 saw the highest number of attempted book bans), Green said The Independent Earlier this year, it announced these parent groups had come together “to take over America’s school systems.”
“There are attempts to ban not just books, but entire subjects from the high school curriculum,” he said. “There are attempts to rewrite American history to better fit contemporary narratives centered around America’s supposed greatness.”
The book, a coming-of-age story with the themes of loss and forgiveness, includes a scene in which the main character Miles is given oral sex by Lara, a friend. A few pages later, in a highly emotional scene, Miles kisses another character, Alaska.
By juxtaposing the two scenes, Green is trying to show “that physical intimacy can never replace emotional closeness,” Green said in the YouTube video.
Still, it’s those very scenes that have prompted some to ban the book.
“It’s always a shame when your work is read in bad faith,” Green said The Independent in an interview earlier this year. “It’s always a shame when people read your work to find out what they hate about it, because of course that’s not why someone writes.”
It’s “particularly disturbing” when this particular passage is taken out of context, he adds, because “taken out of context it fails to serve its purpose – which is to suggest that the romantic encounter between Miles and Lara was awkward and awkward.” is.” unfulfilled precisely because they lack the emotional connection they need for a fulfilling romantic encounter.”
